MDK

The Good
MDK is one of my all time favorite games. I just keep coming back to it because I just love everything about it. It's universe, and just the fun of blasting my enemies' heads off with a sniper rifle.

A little about the story: In MDK you are Kurt Hectic, a skinny janitor that is "chosen" to save the earth from evil aliens called Stream Riders. They have come to earth just to crush us, and now Kurt is being sent to the 5 giant trucks that's doing the crushin'. He must battle each commander of these giant trucks and put an end to the final boss, Gunter Glut, the leader of the aliens. A very simple plot, but I like it.

The graphics are just stunning for a game of its age. This was the time of Quake where you would run around in small corridors, and here MDK just launches with an arsenal of huge arenas! This game has some of the most memorable game scenes of the 90's, especially the glass world. Everything is reflected in the surfaces and you really get the feeling of being in a really huge world, giving the game a very epic feel. And it never lags! Promise! I can run this on my brother's stone age Windows 98 computer and it never lags! And not to mention in the first level where you fly over a huge arena bombing aliens and buildings, that just feels incredible. Although the worlds seem polygonal today, the textures and the small details in this game makes it very varied. I still prefer the Windows version over the PlayStation version because the PS1 version had to cut down most of the graphics and using weird scaling methods to make them appeal bigger.

The controls are great. It kind of feels like playing Doom in 3rd perspective, which should give you some idea on how it feels. Very smooth controls that never feel overcomplicated.

The gameplay is really varied too. There are small minigames hidden inside MDK, but they blend with the main gameplay nicely. The level design is also so linear that getting lost is almost impossible. This is what want games to have. I never were so fond of non-linear worlds, because you easily get confused and don't know what to do next. MDK is like old railshooters. Just go straight forward on the path. But there are secrets too of course. Plenty of them, but you can never get confused in MDK, which I think makes it even much more of a classic. Even though the levels are linear, as mentioned before, they feel really big. Each level is composed of several stages, serving as levels within the levels, and the design and gameplay of these levels can vary pretty much, making MDK a very short game that feels like it's huge. Also, the guys at Shiny bring in tons of mad humor, greatly toning down the seriousness of it all. And that's what I like about this game, it never gets to serious! It feels like a breath of fresh air compared to Quake and other action games. It's epic and dark, but there's always some quirky reference or hilarious twist in there to keep you laughing while being blasted by thousands of evil aliens. One of the things to mention is the powerups. Who would've thought the world's smallest nuclear bomb would be used merely to open locks? And how can the aliens take over earth if they are too stupid to notice the difference between the real Kurt and his sidekick, the inflatable dummy decoy? It's just those little details that make MDK a serious action game with humor.

The music is just awesome. Shiny did a right thing in hiring Tommy Tallarico because he gives so much atmosphere to the experience. And the music reflects the level design in variety. Everything from epic rock anthems(Stranger Things, Vengeful Alien), to tribal jungle rythms and big epic themes(title music). The music is pretty much the reason I continue returning to MDK. It feels like being in a really cool movie. The sound effects sound pretty stock, but they never really bring down the experience. Hell, Doom even used stock sounds, but I don't think people mind as long as they fit and don't sound out of place. The voices of the aliens are sometimes incredibly comedic and I can promise you you'll sometimes just laugh your ass off at their speech. And I just love that metallic scream from Kurt Hectic when he dive into the giant cities. "WOAAAAAAAH!!!" I sometimes scream with him.

Also, in the end you get to see a music video. I've NEVER seen that before. A music video!

The Bad
It's a huge game that just feels short when you've finished it. You kinda long for something more. Also, I would love to be able to play this game multiplayer with someone. Either deathmatches or co-operative sessions. But I figure MDK is still great without that, because it focuses on the single player experience, which is just great. But I'd wish they just use more of the world they had created. Also I'd wish they'd include the FMV they had in the PS1 version, because it's so cool to watch, even today. Another thing I hated was the censored version where the blood was colored blue instead of green, and many of the sound effects were replaced to tone down the violence.

Something I also don't like about MDK in general, is that I'm confused about what MDK stands for. But I guess for me it'll always stand for Massive Dose of Kickass!!!

PS: I've heard people complain about the save feature in the initial release but in the version I played I was still able to save anywhere in the game with F2... so what's the big deal?

The Bottom Line
How to describe a work of art? MDK must be played to be believed. Even today with all the realistic and serious games, MDK feels fresh. It has humor without being too silly or cheesy. It still has that epic feel to it. I recommend MDK to anyone who hasn't played it because you are really missing out on a great game.

The Good
MDK is an almost perfect blend of fun shooter. The emphasis of the game is enjoying it, not trying to think about things too much, but to sit and feel the game experience wash over, making it a breath of fresh air to play. Taking the role of Kurt, equipped with a fancy suit that allows for gliding, shooting, sniping and others you face a whole series of mild, shooting based challenges taking out the most comedy of comedy aliens.

The game never immerses itself in any sense of seriousness about what you're doing with aliens who play peek-a-boo with you and levels which are like an enormous kids playground. The controls have been well thought out and are intuitive to use allowing for fast game play.

The Bad
I've no real negative comments about this game, some may consider it too short, but I like short games. Being developed for consoles too means there's check-point style saving, but in a fun and frantic game like this saving halfway through an action sequence would detract from the manic fun.

The Bottom Line
Looking for a fun game that's a world away from heavy games that try to make you believe serious reasons why you should shoot up aliens? This is the one.

The Good
In one word, this game is PERFECT. In more than one word:

• Clever and original map design. You will battle in many environments, from deserts to icy mountains, and inside high tech crawlers. This game features some of the most amazing 3D fight scenes I have seen to date, easily beating modern giants such as Unreal, Quake II, Half Life and such.
• Incredibly fast 3D engine, runs great on a Pentium 166. The engine basically utilizes flat and texture mapped polygons (as well as other nice tricks). Innovative map design and clever use of texturing helps avoid the need for lighting. MDK runs smoothly on modest hardware yet it has complex scenes and objects.
• Simple and configurable interface, which enables you to quickly learn to control Kurt. This is especially important in platform games like this, where you have to jump quickly from platform to platform, parachute while blasting away at the enemy, then landing on the floor, running for cover, switching to sniper mode and taking off people's heads from a distance. You will have to do this and more, and the this interface makes it all easy.
• High quality music and sound effects add much to the atmosphere, and change dynamically from scene to scene. I especially like the James Bond theme when Kurt surfs on the snow while shooting.
• Non stop action. Whether its classic platform actions (clever jumping and parachuting to get from place to place), shooter action (blast away or bomb every moving thing in sight) or a combination of both, you will not be bored.
• The platform game aspect. Power ups, long range jumps, running and sneaking abound. Although some might not like this, I think that this is a vast improvement over the traditional shooter style where you just go up the stairs, ride down an elevator and such. What's the point of 3D if your game is limited to running on planes?

The Bad
Nothing. Really!
Well, there is something I didn't like...
You can only save a game after each stage. Some of the stages are very long, and might take almost an hour to complete even if you know exactly where to go, what to do and you are good at the game. The option to save the game everywhere might ruin it for you, but having to option to save after a very difficult part.

The Bottom Line
If you like Commander Keen. If you like Rise of the Triad. If you like Doom. If you like fun. This is your game. I started playing the game and couldn't leave it alone for a week until I finished it. My family left me and my dog died - but I tell you, it was worth every second!

(No, not REALLY, in case you wondered)

The Good
I was expecting a neat experience from this much vaunted game, but whoa ! Aliens,mirror floors, handheld nukes, and giant exploding cows ! Well, strap yourself in for one of those wacky reviews ! And no, you can't get off ! (Laughs like a mad scientist.)

Gameplay-

Some story first. This is a action game. Like I needed to explain that. But it's a very very very very very very, ...huh...., very very very very very VERY different action game. How ? Let me explain. First off you play Kurt. A ordinary explorer who works with his long time friend Dr. Fluke Hawkins. Along with his robot dog Bones. (Or as Kurt calls him, Max !) A evil force known as The Stream Riders are threatening Earth. (Mostly Scotland for some reason.) And it's up to Kurt to save the Earth with Dr. Hawkins coil suit.

Now on to how the suit works in the game. First is the parachute. It lets you glide and hover for a surprising distance. Another feature of the suit is the chain gun. Yup. Chain gun. Can you say fun !? It works exactly how you think it does. And it never runs out of ammo. (Yeeha !) The next is the most innovative of it's time. The sniper mode ! It shocked me how far I could go out with it. Plus you have all kinds of ammo. Grenades, mortars, and homing bullets. Cool. It's even cooler to snipe at a boss from a distance and see him duck for cover !

Now with the specifics done with, let jump onto the larger view of the game play. Aside from the stuff you read above, you can also carry items. Grenades, tornadoes, "World's Smallest Nuclear Explosion", and the "World's most interesting bomb.

But what good would all these neat weapons be without stuff to blow up ? Well, why are you asking me ? Anyway, you have all kind of adversaries in this game. Ranging from standard grunts, to huge armored flying bots. And at times there can literally be DOZENS of them onscreen at once ! And you can get yourself into real trouble if you don't pay attention. The AI in this game can be pretty tough at times. And there's a re-spawn hub that keeps spitting them out in some area's if you don't blow it up. Some times there are so many, that are so tough, if you just hang around...BOOM ! You loose all your progress. But amid all this mindless destruction, there are a few puzzles. All of them I remember being lob mortars into vent holes. Yeah. a few puzzles.

Most levels only require you to get to point 'a' to 'b'. And shoot anything that moves. But each level takes place inside a moving alien invading city. You have to stop the city from reaching and destroying a Earth city. If you take too long though, the city is doomed. But even if that happens, you can still win the level.

And the last aspect of gameplay is the platforming ! Smooth movement. Some of the platforms are easy to get to. Others require you to stand over vents to launch your parachute to lift you up there. And it can be quite challenging at time. (Look at this if you don't believe me.) Oh yeah, and there about five off the wall bosses. I won't spoil them. One more thing. The loading screens are interactive. Sliding tubes, floating down corridors, and even snow boarding, are in between the levels. But mostly it's walking hallways.

Sound-

I'm doing sound next because it's almost as outstanding as the gameplay. Since the sound here was done by Tommy Tallarico's studio, it's already got a lot going for it there. And it delivers ! Huge explosions ! Funny power-up sounds ! And that awesome cow noise ! My personal favorite was the monkey scream sound from that "I feel top !" power-up. It's not Dolby quality, but honestly, who cares ?! Oh yeah, and the aliens like to scream at you in their language. I'm not sure It would nice to hear it translated ! And then there's the music. Again from Tommy Tallarico.It's a fine example of how Red Book audio is done. It ranges from the most dramatic, to zany circus music. Well, that's it really ! Superb sound overall !

Graphics-

Ah...it's not quite as impressive as the PC version. I'll get to that later though. But it's still a great experience ! HUGE area's to see, towering monoliths, and some of the best mirror reflections I've ever seen ! And the explosions for the time were very impressive. Not just sprite animated flames, but polygons and particle effects ! Explosions are easy to explain, but the overall look of the game isn't. So, I'll let some screenshots do my talking for me. Done gawking ? Good. One thing you might have noticed was Kurt himself. He's not 3D. He's a sprite. (AKA 2D character.) A main 2D character in a completely 3D world is something that I've never heard of to this day ! And works exactly like he's a 3D model. And aside from that, he's been so convincingly rendered and animated, you might not even had noticed if I hadn't pointed it out to you. So how do the aliens look ? Well they're rendered in 3D, but look a little chunky. Aside from that, they move with lots of articulation and expression. Who needs motion capture ? The textures are a mixed bag though. Some are really detailed, while some objects exist without any textures ! But it doesn't detract at all from the gameplay. And the whole vibe this game gave off has never come close to being captured again. Not even it's sequel ! So to wrap it up for graphics, awesome !

Control-

You move with the D-pad. Jump with the X button. Fire with the square button. Change ammo and special items with L2 button. And enter or exit sniper mode with the select button. That's it ! And it's all super responsive, and never lags.

Tech Specs-

Well, there's not much to say other than you save at the end of every level, and it only takes up one memory block. And Bones is the image of the block on the memory card screen.

Sense of Humor !-

Don't expect this again any time soon in my other reviews, but I felt I had to mention this. Giant exploding cows, the laugh out loud captions for power-ups, (World's Most Interesting Bomb for example.), and the ridiculous looking bosses ! My favorite part was where Bones, well, I won't spoil that one. But you get my drift. It's not that obvious style of funny, but a "Are you kidding me ?" ridiculous style of funny. Just play the game and you'll get it !

The Bad
Gameplay-

The only real complaints I have about this game are it can be very hard at times, and it's WAY to linear. I really don't like it when the game starts to feel like a endless hallway. (Don't worry about that hallway fell too much though.) Oh yeah, and it's short ! Shorter than ICO short ! Why must all good games like this be so short ? Why Shiny why ?!

Graphics-

The graphics, while still highly original, are starting to show their age a bit. Polygons without textures ? Soooooo 1993.

The Bottom Line
This is by far one of the best games you'll ever have the pleasure of playing ! Short it may be, it's worth the price of admission ! (And yes I know how tired that phrase is .) It can usually be found for cheap. So if you don't pick this up when you have the chance, you have no excuse whatsoever ! Don't pass it up !

The Good
Since in theory you can put anything in a video game, it's surprising how damned unimaginative many games are. The quest for "realism" has produced many pretentious and mediocre games that fail in the basic requirement for a game; to be entertaining. Arcade-style games have less trouble in this regard, as they can suspend the laws of physics and realism any time they want for the sake of a roller-coaster gaming experience. MDK is one such game. While tactical and strategic shooters bog themselves down with realistic physics, firing modes, and squad AI (sometimes sacrificing gameplay to do so), it's nice to see a shooter that has no pretensions about itself and desires only to entertain.

MDK is an over-the-shoulder 3rd person shooter where you play as Kurt (a cute, androgynous little guy with a chaingun cannon built into his arm), who is apparently earth's sole defence against a menacing breed of Alien spacecraft called Minecrawlers. Your goal is to board each of these Minecrawlers (they're as big as a good-sized city) and shut them down through whatever means necessary. This amounts to progressing through a series of linear levels, blasting enemies, and finding out what you have to do to destroy the Minecrawler. This is different on each level, sometimes you'll have to deactivate a set of switches/blow something up, other times you'll have to fight a boss.

The meat of the game is centered around massive set-piece shooting sequences interspersed with puzzles that are similar to Rayman. You have unlimited ammo, and a parachute built into your exoskeleton that allows you to glide across huge chasms with ease. At the press of a button you can switch into sniper mode, which allows you to zoom in and blow away enemies that are seemingly miles away. This versatile combat system allows the developers to pile on the baddies and force the player into seemingly impossible situations that can be escaped through obscure logic and creative use of Kurt's talents.

To add more variety to the game they threw in a bunch of other oddball gameplay conventions, including rail-shooting, hover board flying, Crash-Bandicoot-style tunnel-surfing, and even a few well-placed mini-games (that actually add to the gameplay instead of serving as mere gimmicks and distractions unlike most mini-games). You get a bonus if you complete a level within a set time limit, and a funny one-liner from your boss if you don't.

Already you have the premise for an engaging and quirky action game. But Shiny pulls out all the stops for their fans by pulling off set-piece stunts of sheer audacity. Have you ever seen something in a videogame so amazing and unexpected it sent your brain into a near-meltdown, something that made you think "HOLY CRAP, I HAD NO IDEA THEY COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT". I'm talking about things like the skydiving gun battle in No One Lives Forever, the zero-gravity level in Quake, the fight against Ganondorf in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where you think you've won and suddenly Ganon comes back to life for a showdown of near-apocalyptic proportions. Yeah, stuff so mind-numbingly brilliant that it takes your dignity, your sense of reason, and the layer of cynical jadedness that surrounds ever gamer and throws it into an industrial wood chipper.

Well, MDK is full of moments like that. Time and again you'll be thinking you've seen it all and then the game will shock you with something new. One time I was running towards an exit or safety with only a few points of health left, thinking "whew, I did it" and than suddenly the walls of the building fell out to reveal massive laser-shooting turrets that turned the entire level into a technicolor killing zone. The whole feel of the game is one of hectic, unbroken spontaneity, as if the level design was being channeled directly from the mind of Dr Seuss to a C++ program. Many tricks and set-pieces could have easily detracted from the gameplay, or played no other part other than eye-candy, but Shiny pulls them off with brass balls. The final boss fight was so hilariously creative I felt the urge to applaud.

The acid-tripping world MDK is set in complements the action and skewers the lunatic, over-the-top feel the game has. Think of Chronicles of Riddick crossed with Tron and you have an idea of what to expect. At no point does the game try to be realistic so any sort of architecture is possible, ranging from urban environments to sandy deserts to completely nonsensical fantasy worlds that were seemingly thought up on the whim of the developers. There's hardly any eye-candy, though this is no criticism.

The game is graphically exceptional with a first-generation polygon engine that looks far less blocky than Quake 2 or Unreal, and is faster too. It doesn't have real-time lighting to play with, but makes up for it with reflective surfaces and even some particle and flame effects. But the star of the show here is Kurt himself, with by far the most detailed model in the game with some exquisitely well-rendered animations and movements (look at him while sidestepping). The enemy models are very blocky but equally well animated, and will gesticulate and taunt you from a distance. MDK is also one of the first games to have a completely bug-free sniper mode, you can zoom in and out on targets anywhere without having to worry about clipping problems.

The music video (performed by pop group BZK) you get when you beat the game was a hoot, and I wish developers would include stuff like this more often in their games.

The Bad
The cutesy enemies and general level of quirkiness would probably just annoy many of you (make no mistake, MDK has "CONSOLE GAME" stamped all over it) and aside from the music video the ending is as unrewarding as you can get, consisting of little more than a short cutscene and Nintendo style a-winner-is-you screen. But hey, the game itself was so crazy and unpredictable maybe my expectations were unreasonably high.

As far as actual criticisms go MDK is insanely linear. You get led by the nose through a series of tunnels and passages with maybe two or three divergent paths throughout the entire game (seriously, I'm not exaggerating) that you need to explore in order to unlock some other area. The game's puzzles are retarded "figure out which brick you need to shoot" affairs that are usually a matter of trial and error. And the final boss fight, cute though it is, is perhaps the easiest part of the game.

And it's damned short.

The Bottom Line
While not for everyone, MDK is a crazed, high-octane shooter full of originality and invention. Games like this one are rare, and to be treasured wherever you find them.

The Good
This is truly an awesome game, an eclectic mix of platform and shooter games with enough wacky and creative touches to spare. Mdk takes what seems to be (and is actually) a brain-dead, cliche premise and renders it with so much style and creativity that the end result is literally a masterpiece. Making use of a remarkably good 3d engine, the game delivers some of the most imaginative and hypnotic scenarios ever to grace a computer screen, with the first good use of sniping sequences blended in seamlessly with massively entertaining shoot-outs. The dinamic soundtrack is simply amazing, truly one of the best ever. Yet all of these wouldn't count for nothing if it weren't for the excellent pace and dinamism the game has, you literally have no "fat" on this chunk of meat, every moment spent with Mdk brings lots of fun and never comes close to becoming tedious or boring, this is probably a result of the excellent mood the game gives you, sure, you'll be taken to dark and sinister alien bases...but you can always count on finding a power-up that makes a cow fall on top of the enemies!

This game is the finest example of that "Shiny-touch" that many have mistaken for failed comedic relief, when it actually serves the purpouse of intentionally mocking and toning down the "seriousness" other games pose. While many would have us believe that their game is a "serious religious experience which will completely take over your life and transform you forever" Shiny takes a more humble aproach and reminds us that this is simply something to have a good time with! (when in reality it does much more). This shouldn't be confused with some sort of nostalgic desire to regress ourselves to the days of pac-man, I truly consider videogames as a viable medium to develop creativity (and in the end, an art) and I'm positive so do the guys at Shiny, but in an age where every game labels itself as "serious stuff" and deathmatch is considered almost a paid sport, something that simply aims to entertain (but which, once again, in reality does much, much more) is truly the stuff of legends.

The Bad
Well, the only bad thing about this game is that it leaves you wanting for more, but then again, is that a bad thing?

The Bottom Line
To conclude: this is a masterpiece of epic proportions...that barely broke even sales (gee... whadda ya know? I thought quality games always managed to hit it big on the gaming industry! surprise, surprise!). As always, Quake was responsible and as a result this game is regarded as somewhat of a cult classic, lots of people will say nice things about it, but few have actually finished it (or played it, for that mather) so if you come upon it on a bargain bin don't pass it up. This is required playing if you want to seriously consider yourself as a game-buff.

The Good
M.D.K (stands for murder death kill?? max doctor kurt?? mother's day kiss?? whatever...) was really groundbreaking in it's time back then in 1997. You play as kurt & your job is to terminate the alien bastards out of this world(for saving earth). You have six missions/levels which you will travel & kick some alien ass. Mdk was the first game (at least on the pc) that had a sniper. Boss battles are just awesome & creative . The graphics (for it's time) were unbelievable, you really felt like part of a living world. The atmosphere while post-apocalyptic has a heavy comedic feeling. Also the soundtrack is definitely a plus, it's helping making the game a powerful & epic experience.

The Bad
Well the game was way way way to short-> only 6 missions(at least they are long ones). another problem is the fact the game can get repetitive at times.

The Bottom Line
Great game! very close to a masterpiece( & some may say it is) By far Shiny's best& one of the best gaming experiences ever.

The Good
- action packed gameplay - intuitive controls

The Bad
trouble running on modern pcs

The Bottom Line
A masterpiece by David Perry! MDK has it all – action, music & humor.

Back in 1997 the software based graphics engine was one hell of a ride! It was fast, had brilliant visuals and a very far visibility - not using any 3D acceleration. The gameplay is a stunning ride through an action packed surreal alien world. The whole game has an unique art style, architecture and creativity that I rarely have seen in other videogames. From mirror labyrinths to abstract paintings, the levels are as crazy as they can get. The music is composed by Tommy Tallarico, with orchestra combined with techno - which perfectly fits to the visuals of the game. The controls and movement are fluid and you can fight a huge number of enemies without getting lost.

The overall experience is a unique and brilliant trip - this game is on my list of the best games of all time.

The Good
This game is lots of fun to play. You have lots of weapons and silly powerups at your disposal and the gameplay is pretty much non-stop. Sniping is cool as well- at the end of each stage you get a total head-shot count that gets you extra points per head! The enemies are funny and the action is fast paced.

The Bad
Somewhat bland graphics.

The Bottom Line
Great! It's got a lot of fun action that will appeal to almost everyone!

The Good
Shiny! What's not to like? This is probably the weirdest shooter I've EVER played. The enemies are weird, the plot is weird and the music video when you finish the game is even weirder. But that's good, right?

This game has a phenomenally fast 3D engine, which runs 100% smooth even on an old P100 in high resolution, and it also looks damn good - so good, in fact, that running the accelerated version doesn't improve performance and the visual quality improvement is negligent.

And most important is the fun factor -- this game is unbelievably addictive! I couldn't put it aside until I completed it.

The Bad
Zero replayability, which is unfortunate since this game is really, really good.

The Bottom Line
Am amazing shooter which is without a shadow of a doubt a classic.