1992.
A group of people who called themselves Midway developed an game. A game that would change the thought "games are only for kids". -
Mortal Kombat
The world had never seen anything like this. Its digitized characters, gory fighting and gruesome fatalities made it an instant sellout. Here I explore what made it an unforgettable experience.
Midway Games Inc. scored its first mainstream hit with the U.S distribution of Space Invaders. After making its mark in the arcade game, it moved into home video game market. Sadly due to loses the company finally shutdown in 2009.
During its lifetime, Mortal Kombat was released. It was an fighting arcade game. Later Acclaim Entertainment ported it to all platforms.
Plot:
It take place in a fictional universe where an tournament is being held in Shang Tsung's island. Shang Tsung is the final boss that we have to defeat. The contestants in the tournament have their own back-story and reason for participating. A bunch of the lore was only told in Mortal Kombat Collectors Edition comic which I won't go into.
Gameplay:
It played like any old fighting game except it introduced a couple new concepts. You had 8 - directions to move. Two punches and two kicks. Depending on which direction you press while attacking, a different variant of the attack is performed. You and your enemy have an hp bar which, obviously, you have to deplete to win.
In the single-player you have to play against the seven character ending with fighting a copy of yourself. Then you have to fight three endurance matches. In an endurance match you fight two opponents in row without your hp regenerating. Then you will fight the sub-boss Goro (Shang's servant) and finally Shang. Thus ends the single-player campaign.
One of the new concepts introduced was juggling. An uppercut would launch the enemy into the air and you could attack him whilst airborne and defenseless.
Another new concept it introduced was fatalities, a finishing move that would kill the opponent in an brutal way. This includes burning them, impaling them on spikes, freezing them and then powdering them into fine dust and straight up beheading them and leaving their body to bleed like a fountain. This provides satisfaction of defeating the opponent.
Characters:
The game features digitized sprites based on real actors. There are a total of 7 playable charaters - Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Kano, Raiden, Jhonny Cage, Sub-Zero and Scorpion. There is also an secret character - Reptile.
Reception:
Its one of the most controversial games of all time. But its criticism led to more of its popularity. People could not believe that a game could have such brutality. Parents were concerned that their kids would become violent. So for other ports of the games to various platforms, it was censored.
Due to violence in Mortal Kombat and other game such as Doom and Lethal Enforcers, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, ESRB, was formed to rate games.
Further:
Mortal Kombat has come a long way since 1992 spawning numerous titles and spin offs. The original game has been ported to nearly all devices, There is even an java version of the game(link: https://java.mob.org/game/ultimate_mortal_kombat_3_240x320.html) which I tried and its pretty good. Mortal Kombat 11 is the latest installment in the series and the graphics and gameplay have drastically changed from the original. But it still remains a classic.
My thoughts:
I have played the game (obviously. I mean who hasn't played?) and I have enjoyed every bit of it. The gameplay never gets boring and its always challenging. The endurance matches are especially tough but I did manage to beat them. If you haven't played this yet then you are missing out. My rating 4.8 / 5.
Here ends my lookback on this game.
A masterpiece.
A timeless masterpiece.
