MDK
Description official descriptions
In this 3D shoot 'em up, you play Kurt, and your job is to save the world. Aliens have sent 8 giant fortresses to destroy earth. You run and jump through 6 missions of strange 3D worlds and kill the "Stream Riders" with your machine gun arm. Precise platform jumps are part of the challenge.
Kurt is equipped with a special battle suit with an included parachute and a sniper interface (allowing you to aim precise shooting while standing still) embedded in your helmet. Further weaponry enhancements are available as you progress through the game.
Spellings
- 亡命暗殺令 - Traditional Chinese spelling
- 孤胆枪手 - Simplified Chinese spelling
Groups +
Screenshots
Promos
Videos
Add Trailer or Gameplay Video +1 point
See any errors or missing info for this game?
You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.
Credits (DOS version)
67 People (39 developers, 28 thanks) · View all
Executive Producer | |
Producer | |
Associate Producer | |
QA Lead | |
Testing Staff | |
Sales and Marketing | |
Marketing Manager | |
Business Affairs | |
Sound Design |
|
Original Concept | |
Designed in equal parts by | |
Additional Design | |
Programming & Tools | |
[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 86% (based on 43 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 154 ratings with 10 reviews)
Like a beautiful painting, but with explosions
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.
Windows · by cosmo ruski (39) · 2011
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!
PlayStation · by Ben Fahy (92) · 2001
Imaginative action-packed masterpiece
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.
Windows · by Zovni (10504) · 2001
Discussion
Subject | By | Date |
---|---|---|
Tips | Jim Seward | Mar 6, 2013 |
MDK game series fansite | Mnich47 (2) | Nov 27, 2010 |
Stuck in level 3 | vedder (70822) | Apr 3, 2010 |
Trivia
1001 Video Games
MDK appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Advertising
Early ads for MDK appeared with the slogan: "Prepare for a religious experience." The game's slogan was later changed to: "On a good day, 2.5 billion people will die".
Development
According to MDK developer diary (August 1st, 1996), one level of the game was developed by demosceners.
German version
In the German version the green blood was re-coloured blue and gore effects (cut off limbs, exploding heads after headshots) were removed. Additional changes are the removed "headshot" statistic and different, less human sounding screams for the kamikaze aliens. A detailed list of changes can be found on schnittberichte.com (German).
iMac
MDK was one of two video games, alongside Nanosaur, that were bundled with Apple's original 1998 iMac when it launched in August of 1998. The game was not included with the later (1999) Rev. C, Rev. D, and Rev. DV/SE iMac models.
Intro
The PC version does not have an intro movie (only the Playstation version does), but you can clearly see pieces of the intro in the final video after beating the game, albeit in black in white (intro was made in glorious color).
Movie
There was a plan to make a Hollywood movie based on MDK, but obviously this didn't come about. Shiny also got an offer for an animated series, but they didn't accept since they were holding out for the movie.
Music video
The music video that plays at the end of the game is from the song "Non, Non, Rien N'a Changé" by the French band Billy Ze Kick and whom the development team are apparently fans of (they even urge you to buy their CD's on the readme file... good luck finding any!). The song appeared on the band's 1996 album Paniac and was released as a single in 1997.
North American Edition
The PC version of MDK sold in North America and Canada had a bright yellow sticker proclaiming 'Exclusive North America Edition!' (see Cover Art section). It is not known if there are any differences to the other versions.
References
- In the sled-surfing sequences you'll find a unique power-up not found legally elsewhere in the game (sometimes hidden on an overhead opening you can jump to instead of continuing through the main courses, sometimes laying in plain sight. The hidden arena 9 in world 5, only reachable by using the "givemealliwant" cheat, contains more of them.) These power-ups are actually the face of Jim from Shiny's Earthworm Jim. Get them and for each one you catch a cow will fall on top of your enemies.
- The first minecrawler you must fight is heading towards Laguna beach. This is where Shiny's development studio was located at the time.
References to the game
The PlayStation version of the game can be seen played during the very first scene of an episode of the science fiction series The X-Files. Series 5 episode 9 "Schizogeny" starts with a full close up of the games running, and then it pans across to the main character of the story who is playing it.
Soundtrack
There is a soundtrack disc for MDK by Tommy Tallarico. It was released in 1997. The soundtrack can be bought at http://www.synsoniq.com
Tracklist:
- Prologue
- Stranger Things
- The Enemy Among Us
- Facing the Inevitable
- An Upscale Affair
- Vengeful Alien
- Grenich Time
- Portrait of an Insane Asylum
- A Padded Cell
- New Territories
- Dreaming of Victory
- Starship
- Gunter Planet
- World Militia
- Tribal Unity
- Crossfire
- Bounty Hunter
- MDK (Planet Trax Remix)
The soundtrack disc was packaged along with the game itself in Germany, where it sold over 50,000 copies.
Title
The meaning of "MDK" was the subject of many discussions. The most popular interpretations are:
- Mission: Deliver Kindness (From the manual)
- Max, Dr. Hawkins, Kurt (the protagonists)
- Murder, Death, Kill (from the 1993 movie Demolition Man)
When asked, each MDK developer said that MDK stands for something different:
- My Diary something beginning with K
- My Dog Ken
- Million Dollar Ko
- Massive Dollops of Ketchup
In the FAQ section of the readme.txt file of MDK, the developers state that "MDK" does not stand for anything special, and can be whatever you want it to stand for, such as Mother's Day Kisses.
In a 2009 interview, Perry stated that "Murder Death Kill" was the title used for the first internal promotional video but had to be replaced because a planned toy line.
Information also contributed by Agent 5, Atomic Punch!, Dmichal, festershinetop, MAT, Maw, Mickey Gabel, Sheldonist, shifter and Zovni
Analytics
Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!
Related Sites +
-
Hectic HQ
Fansite about the MDK series, including information about MDK (English) -
Interview with David Perry, MDK Executive Producer
on Gamezilla.com (1998)
Identifiers +
Contribute
Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.
Contributors to this Entry
Game added by robotriot.
Browser added by Sciere. PlayStation added by Adam Baratz. Antstream added by lights out party. Macintosh added by Mullet of Death.
Additional contributors: Ray Soderlund, Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, Игги Друге, Peter Ferrie, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger, Mnich47, Plok, FatherJack, WONDERなパン.
Game added November 1, 1999. Last modified March 19, 2024.