Amiga

Mortal Kombat

Having played Street Fighter on most formats I almost wept with frustration when I saw how US Gold butchered the Amiga version. So, it was with a heavy and skeptical heart that I approached Mortal. I couldn't have been more wrong. Probe may have taken their time but it's paid off. Mortal Kombat is a dream come true – a good arcade conversion. This game will set the standards for Amiga beat 'em ups for some time to come.

Mortal in the arcade was a top game. The Amiga version maintains this high level of quality for what is, without doubt, the ultimate Amiga beat 'em up.

Mortal Kombat rivals Team 17's Body Blows in looks, sound and style. It's playable. It's addictive. It's worth every penny. Buy it or be forever sad!

Mortal Kombat is, in my opinion, the best beat-'em-up money can buy on the Amiga. It scrapes ahead of Body Blows for playability and amount of characters and moves, and knocks Streetfighter II into a cocked hat. The Probe Dream Factory has done it again - hurrah!

h no. Why me? I hate beat-‘em-ups, and I hate Mortal Kombat in particular. I played it on the SNES, and laughed pityingly at the lack of blood and gore, the entire hook that the game hangs itself on. I played it on the Mega Drive, and sneered haughtily at the way I completed the entire thing on my first go on the third difficulty setting by only using one move. And now I have got to play it on the Amiga, with a load of disk accessing on top of everything else. Now, if you are a smart kind of reader, you will have realised that no-one starts off a review of Mortal Kombat (a beat-‘em-up) with something like ‘I hate beat-‘em-ups, and I hate Mortal Kombat in particular’unless they are pretty swiftly going to follow it up with “… but what a surprise – it is really great!” We are not completely stupid, And so it is with Mortal Kombat, more or less. Against all my better judgement and all my previous and entirely valid opinions, I had a really good time playing Amiga Mortal Kombat.

MK per Amiga resta uno dei segni più evidenti delle continue lotte affrontate da questa piattaforma e dalla comunità con essa, bistrattata più volte dalle grandi case produttrici e chiusa al mondo del sol levante con tutti i suoi eroi. Ma forse è anche in questo che bisogna ricercare la specialità di questa piattaforma, il doversi rimboccare le maniche e cercare altrove la via d’uscita, snaturando il concetto stesso di Video Game e ricreandolo a proprio modo. Col senno di poi, chi si sarebbe lamentato dell’underground creatosi con gruppi come BitMap Brothers, Team17, Psygnosis, Sensible e tanti altri? Nessuno…

Selbst auf der einfachsten Schwierigkeitsstufe läßt sich die Digi-Konkurrenz nur mit viel Geschick niederringen - sinkt man selbst auf die Matte und muß deshalb ein Continue verbraten, darf man bei der Gelegenheit auch gleich seinen Helden austauschen. An der Steuerung ist jedoch überhaupt nichts auszusetzen, zumal auch Zwei-Button-Sticks unterstützt werden. Die sechs soft scrollenden Hintergründe (Gruft, Hohle, Palast, Garten etc.). sind nicht ganz so bunt, wie man's vom Automaten her kennt, die fließende Animation der digitalisierten Schläger hat man dagegen absolut originalgetreu hingekriegt, und die knackige Soundkulisse geht ebenfalls in Ordnung. Der Todeskampf steht den Helden der Straße somit in nichts nach - Neuerungen darf man demgegenüber freilich auch keine erwarten. Aber was der Spielbalk und dem Konsolen recht ist, kann der "Freundin" schließlich nur billig sein, oder?

Despite the overwhelming possibility of moves, you soon discover the same couple of punches and sweeping kicks that can be used to sap your opponent’s strength. You also do not get the same variety of moves across different characters. They all seem to do the same kicks and punches and even the special moves are remarkably similar. Mortal’s characters just do not have enough personality to pull you in.