<I>"Word is that this game is horrible."</I> - Jeff Greeson - December 13th, 2001<BR><BR>After playing <B>Mortal Kombat Advance</B> for quite some time I have to agree with the above statement made by Jeff in the previous news posting. I have come to conclusion that not only is it horrible but it <B>IS</B> the worst translation of any <B>Mortal Kombat</B> title to any platform. I never played the Amiga versions of MK1 and MK2, but I am told they are good. However, I have played just about every other version of the game including all the previous portable versions of MK and the MK2 port to the PlayStation that never got released. Each port is fairly good in its own right and very fun to play despite their respective quirks.
<BR><BR><B>MK Advance</B> doesn't seem to meet the same standards that the other portable (or any other port for that matter) of Mortal Kombat to date. If Midway really needed to make a buck and rushed the development of this title, it certainly shows. It seems odd that it made it to shelves before the <B>Tekken</B> port to <B>Game Boy Advance</B> which is out in Japan already. The Tekken project was in the works since before E3 in May 2001, but at that time there were no plans for a port of MK to the GBA -- it was simply a dream of ours. A dream that, until recently, got crushed. So to get on with it here is my mini-review of <B>Mortal Kombat Advance</B><BR><BR>
<B>SOUND:</B> Probably the game's strongest suit, but it still has its flaws. The game music is limited by the GBA hardware, but the soundtrack is recognizable. The game has the voices of each character's name announced when winning and choosing a character as well as the names of the finishing moves (at least the ones I've seen so far). One obvious flaw is the fact that most (if not all) of the male characters have the voice of Sheeva when they jump and move around. Very strange... <BR><B><I>Rating: 6/10</B></I><BR><BR>
<B>GRAPHICS:</B> The graphics of MKA are very plain, colorless and grainy. When compared to the original game you can clearly observe the differences -- especially the lack of color. I feel the character sprites could have been larger and the graphics could have been a whole lot better. Those of you that have played or seen the pictures of Super Street Fighter Turbo Revival can agree with me on how well the graphics of that game look and just come alive with color. I feel Virtucraft could have at least tried to improve the graphics a bit... <BR><B><I>Rating: 5/10</B></I><BR><BR>
<B>GAMEPLAY:</B> The gameplay of this game is the total killer. This game is NOT Mortal Kombat at all. It doesn't feel like Mortal Kombat and certainly doesn't play like Mortal Kombat. The controls are very loose and unresponsive. Special moves take careful planning and tapping of the right buttons at the right time. The D, F moves wont even allow you to do D, DF, F to execute them. The physics and hitboxes of the characters are really weird, with some interesting results: my character's body lays on the ground and gets kicked against the edge of the screen when my opponent walked towards it, but didn't touch it. The computer also has the ability to just wail on you if it pleases, and you don't have many easy ways to break out of this if trapped in a corner.<BR><B><I>Rating: 2/10</B></I><BR><BR>
<B>Overall:</B> Stay away from this game! Rent it if you'd like to see what I'm talking about, but don't risk purchasing it as it is not worth the money. I don't think any MK fan who plays this game can ever forgive Midway for the travesty they have committed upon us. I was once very excited to get my hands on MK Advance, but as time went by and I learned more about it I came to not really care for the game at all.<BR><B><I>Overall Rating: 4/10</B></I>
<BR><BR><B>MK Advance</B> doesn't seem to meet the same standards that the other portable (or any other port for that matter) of Mortal Kombat to date. If Midway really needed to make a buck and rushed the development of this title, it certainly shows. It seems odd that it made it to shelves before the <B>Tekken</B> port to <B>Game Boy Advance</B> which is out in Japan already. The Tekken project was in the works since before E3 in May 2001, but at that time there were no plans for a port of MK to the GBA -- it was simply a dream of ours. A dream that, until recently, got crushed. So to get on with it here is my mini-review of <B>Mortal Kombat Advance</B><BR><BR>
<B>SOUND:</B> Probably the game's strongest suit, but it still has its flaws. The game music is limited by the GBA hardware, but the soundtrack is recognizable. The game has the voices of each character's name announced when winning and choosing a character as well as the names of the finishing moves (at least the ones I've seen so far). One obvious flaw is the fact that most (if not all) of the male characters have the voice of Sheeva when they jump and move around. Very strange... <BR><B><I>Rating: 6/10</B></I><BR><BR>
<B>GRAPHICS:</B> The graphics of MKA are very plain, colorless and grainy. When compared to the original game you can clearly observe the differences -- especially the lack of color. I feel the character sprites could have been larger and the graphics could have been a whole lot better. Those of you that have played or seen the pictures of Super Street Fighter Turbo Revival can agree with me on how well the graphics of that game look and just come alive with color. I feel Virtucraft could have at least tried to improve the graphics a bit... <BR><B><I>Rating: 5/10</B></I><BR><BR>
<B>GAMEPLAY:</B> The gameplay of this game is the total killer. This game is NOT Mortal Kombat at all. It doesn't feel like Mortal Kombat and certainly doesn't play like Mortal Kombat. The controls are very loose and unresponsive. Special moves take careful planning and tapping of the right buttons at the right time. The D, F moves wont even allow you to do D, DF, F to execute them. The physics and hitboxes of the characters are really weird, with some interesting results: my character's body lays on the ground and gets kicked against the edge of the screen when my opponent walked towards it, but didn't touch it. The computer also has the ability to just wail on you if it pleases, and you don't have many easy ways to break out of this if trapped in a corner.<BR><B><I>Rating: 2/10</B></I><BR><BR>
<B>Overall:</B> Stay away from this game! Rent it if you'd like to see what I'm talking about, but don't risk purchasing it as it is not worth the money. I don't think any MK fan who plays this game can ever forgive Midway for the travesty they have committed upon us. I was once very excited to get my hands on MK Advance, but as time went by and I learned more about it I came to not really care for the game at all.<BR><B><I>Overall Rating: 4/10</B></I>