outlet

I feel like a party pooper here, with all the great reviews being wrote, but I need to add my opinion to help others who may have a similar taste in fighting games i have.

First off, I have never been a 'major' mortal kombat fan, I however have felt it to be one of the best series out there. The characters have always been intresting and entertaining and the gameplay has always been upbeat, fast, and bloody. This game has all 3 of those. Fast gameplay, very bloody, and always seeming to say 'go go go go' Each battle seems to take only seconds sometimes, as combos and massive beat downs are recieved and given back.

But here is my complaint in what flaw I see... this is no DOA 3. Some may say "YES!" but for those like me, I loved DOA realistic martial arts, and fluid animation. Some moves were so realistic and to the art, I recongized them from movies and my own limited martial arts training. From the rythmatic stance of Jeet Kune Do to the blocks and solid punches of Karate. Mortal Kombat lacks this, and to a hurting. Johny Cage is such a slug he is an embrassment to both styles he uses in the game. *jeet kune do and karate i think, plus chucks as weapons* Before those of you that are die hards say "Well you just don't know how to string combos together!" I reply, that is fairly true, I am not the best at remembering things like Y Y Y X up + X Left trigger A A... All fights began to look like they all came out of the same can.. as the same combos are repeated over and over for if you use anything else, you may only get 3 hits before you character decides to take a breather. I lack the words to explain exactly how I feel about the animation, not because its "that bad!" but because I honestly dont know how to describe it. When some characters jump, they float up, pause, then float back down. Some flying punches or kicks look like they cut back on animation time by having the whole body hold still other than the arms or feet that are hitting. This leads to less fun for me, because I want to watch realistic and enjoyable fictional fight moves. If someone throws a punch, and they dont even move a shoulder, or waist, or hip, it begins to look dull. All I suggest is rent it first, to see if you have similar view as me. For those who are fans of the arcade, then I dont think you will mind the game at all. Dead or Alive 3 however I feel has much much more fluid animation and realistic styles. The things the mortal kombat characters often look hoky and fake. *not bashing fire balls and the like, speaking only of punches and kicks*

Hope this helps with your purchase or rental.

This game has been in development for quite a while, and in some parts it shows and in other parts it looks like the game was put together in a week. Based on today's standards there wasn't really a lot that drew me in. The graphics are nothing the ps2 couldn't muster, and the music pales to the 16-bit iterations. The player models look really funny. Backgrounds are really still and boring, and no walls are used. A lot of the background themes do not relate at all to the series. Didn't mortal kombat 3 have crumbling stages? The sound effects are not mixed well enough together, but are passable. Player chatter is extremely weak, compared to other titles in similar genres. Speaking of fighters, if you ever play games like virtua fighter 4, tekken 3, and soul calibur this just doesn't live up to that, so that may be in your head. also, the animation is not a pretty sight to behold. The special moves are horrible, again the 16-bit versions upstage DA in this category. And where are the stables like sheng tsung's morph, scorpion's teleport, and others?? Also, the controls are not responsive to what you press until over a half-second. Gameplay is not balanced at all, the weapons are too strong. Performing moves overall seems sporatic. I also will say the story [stinks], endings [stinks], and game modes [sucks]. Konquest sounds cool, but all it is is just a repetitive training level...zzz..zz. And it floors me that midway omitted stage fatalities, something in mortal kombat ONE, and then decided to go with 1 fatality per person. They were wasting time trying to mimic other fighters mode's instead, instead the could of had hundred's of fatalities on the xbox's hardrive. Overall Mortal Kombat deadly allience isn't worth the money, anything noteworthy it does another fighter on the market does much better.

P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C!! I can't belive this is an Mortal Combat Game. What a discrace.I advise you loyal xbox fans to keep a distance from this game.If you want a Fighting game Dead or Alive games are the safe ones.