I walk into my favorite arcade. Ahh ha, theres a new game. Can't tell what it is yet because of the huge crowd and with me being 12, I can't see over the taller adults that are all over this game. After finally finding a vantage point, I see a beautiful fighting game unlike I've ever seen. Great digitized graphics, large characters, and quick action. Then, the screen gets dark. I almost go into shock when I see this shirtless character with sunglasses in the game uppercut someone else's head off! From that point on, I was hooked. MK was the most shocking game that grabbed the attention of gamers from all over the nation. Its digitized graphics were a first of its quality (Pit Fighter does not count) and the graphics looked absolutely real. Add the creepy music and the dark backgrounds, this game was like no other. Looking back though, thats all MK (part 1) offered. The gameplay was horrific. The most important aspect of a game...GAMEPLAY, was not even remotely close to respectable. Look, when you can beat a game by jumping back and forth with drop kicks, something is wrong. Although that was mostly a problem in the 1player mode, the 2player was just as disgusting. Basic moves were a joke. Did anyone really use the repeated "High Punch" combo? No. Did anyone use the crouching low kick or high kick? Hell no. Sweeping and uppercuts...thats it. I do give credit for the special moves...they were creative as you can get, were very easy to pull off and were just plain sick. Nothing was better than Scorpions "Get over here" or Raidens "AHHDIYDYAYDYAHHHH" (body launch). Of course the real special moves that had everyone talking from the get go, were the fatalities. At the end of every match, the winner gets a short time to pull of a kill move. If done correctly, the background goes dark and depending on which character you are, a fatality is performed. From uppercutting heads off, to ripping spines out of opponents bodies, to burning your opponent to the bone, there was plenty for the bloodthirsty out there. Unfortunately, thats where the fun stops. After the fatalities get old, and after you get numb to all the shocking violence, the gameplay stands out, and your left with nothing worth playing. The sequels of this game improved the MK series dramatically, most notably MK3 when it unveiled its combo system that made combat fun, not just a uppercutting and sweeping festival with a few special moves thrown in. Appreciate this game for what it is, and damn it for what it isn't.
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