November 22, 2002

Fatality Friday is here!
Well, Midway's planned release date for MK: Deadly Alliance, Fatality Friday, is here.  So, this marks the official release date for the game, but the day has nevertheless lost its effect due to the fact that the game hit many store shelves on Monday, so I guess we just have to live with it.  But, for all those stores that felt the need to stick to this special day, they probably have their copies of MK: DA now as well.  Like I said two days ago, a lot of the characters, secrets, and Krypt objects have already been discovered, and because I am editing this site all alone and am very busy with college, the MK: DA section will not be updated with all the goods until anywhere between Thanksgiving and the beginning of December.  Sorry, I know I am always behind the the other sites with stuff like this, but I'm only one person, and you know that the wait for the results are well worth it here at the MK Empire because they are so thorough and extensive.  So, keep your browsers pointed to this site often to check for those surprises, and enjoy MK: DA on this Fatality Friday!

GameSpot updates with some new MK: DA kontent
On November 20th, GameSpot updated their MK: Deadly Alliance section with many new things for readers to enjoy.  To start off, they posted 25 new screenshots from the game that have never been seen before and in my opinion look so great.  Then, they posted a page dedicated to character fatalities and secret characters for people to easily navigate through.  On top of this, the staff at the site wrote a comprehensive review for the game in its entirety, focusing on graphics, sound, gameplay, and so on.  In short, they give the XBox the overall best rating out of the three consoles (but it's up to each gamer to make his/her own assumption), and they give the game an overall rating of 8.1.  Yet, the average reader review rating for the game is a whole point higher at 9.1, so it all depends on again player opinion.  So, make sure you check out all of their new features when you can.

Official MK: Deadly Alliance Site update
A few days ago, the Official MK: Deadly Alliance Site updated the character profile & information section of the site with biographies and fighting styles for the rest of the accessible characters in MK: Deadly Alliance.  So, now you can read up on more info for Drahmin, Bo Rai Cho, Cyrax, Frost, and Johnny Cage, as well as for the characters that were already posted.  This is well worth a look because there are some cool character sketches and screenshots of fighting styles for us to see, so hop on over if you can.

GameCube and GameBoy Advance games not linkable?
Thanks to MK5.org, they have discovered that an earlier report about how the GameCube and GameBoy Advance versions of MK: Deadly Alliance are somehow linkable/compatable is not true.  They state that after inspecting the boxes for the final version of the game, there's nothing that says that the two versions will interact in any way, so most likely Midway was planning on this but then ditched the idea.  Sorry to anyone was was exicted about this feature, maybe next time.

MK: Deadly Alliance is here!!!!
Despite the fact that MK: Deadly Alliance was slated for its anticipated "Fatality Friday" release, it seems that many stores have recieved the PS2, XBox, and GameBoy Advance versions of the game well beforehand.  On top of that, the GameCube version was shipped out yesterday, and supposedly it is GameBoy Advance compatible.  A lot of people in the U.S. began to report all over the web that their local GameStop, Electronics Boutique, and other gaming stores were already putting out copies on the shelves as early as Monday, the 18th, with some Circuit City's putting them out yesterday, Best Buy and Toys R' Us waiting until today, and still some other stores waiting until Friday or Saturday.  Word has it that Midway did not say specifically that stores had to adhere to the Fatality Friday rule, so a lot of retailers, who usually put out popular games as soon as they can, did just this and started the sale early to all pre-ordered customers as well as some walk-ins.  Unfortunately for me, I will not be getting my copy of MK: Deadly Alliance for the PS2 until Thanksgiving break, and I also will not be able to play it until I get back to school since I do not personally own a Playstation.  I know, pathetic, but I can't help it.  So, for all of you that have the game, enjoy playing anf finding all the secrets before me.  For those who don't yet have the game, call ahead to make sure your local retailer has it and pick it up if possible.  Very soon, I will be posting up a new and improved MK: Deadly Alliance strategy section with all the moves, secrets, kodes, stories, and so on, as well as a new looking MK Empire!  I will also be writing a review of the PS2 version from my own experience, but as for the XBox,  GameCube, and GameBoy Advance versions, I will need others who have the game to offer their input.  So, if you're interested in doing me this favor after you've gotten a good feel for the game, drop me a line and I'll give you more info.  But, for now, enjoy the kombat!

------> Before reading any further, my thoughts on MK: DA so far
Okay, so MK :Deadly Alliance is finally here after nearly four long years of anticipation, and unlike any other release in the past, I've been browsing through many online message boards all over the web and have been studying people's comments and critiques about the game before I actually get it myself.  Some of what I've read is highly pleasing; most, however, is outright negative and skeptical.  As a webmaster, I'd like to personally reach out to my readers and say a few words and make a few points about what I have seen so far.  Please read these observations below.
- A lot of people have been posting plenty of spoilers about the game now that they've had time to read the guide and play the game.  No spoilers are posted on any main news pages of MK sites, and message board topics are labeled "spoilers".  The same rules apply here; there will be no spoilers posted on this page, and the message board needs "Spoiler" as the topic so we don't ruin the surprises for people like myself who don't own the game yet.
- A lot of people have commented on how the game is overall just great.  The graphics for each system are smooth, controls are tight, sounds rock, and there's plenty to be challenged by.
- I've read up on a lot of discouragement about the game since it was released.  Many people feel that there is so much missing in this game that Midway has failed once again and they've lost all faith in the MK series.  This is due to many things, such as...
1.) As of now, there seems to be only 1 fatality per character, and most of them suck.
2.) There is still nothing known about any sort of pit stages.
3.) The Krypt is mostly full of useless pictures and other insignificant objects (besides new characters and stages).
4.) The game has changed highly from a projectile/punch/kick game with cool finishers to a difficult combo/fighting technique game, which the older fans hate.
5.) The hidden character Mokap sucks big balls, and cool oldies like Baraka, Kabal, and Goro are possibly gone for good (Spoiler?).
And so forth and so on.  Now, I feel I need to offer rebutals to prove some of these assumptions at least partially wrong since as of now, it is very early to speculate if they are all true.  Hear me out...
1.) I know people may feel ripped off because fatalities are what make MK what it is, and if Boon feels that focusing more on the fighting styles is key to a better game, and removing a lot of fatalities is what needed to be done, he may have made a huge mistake.  But remember, just because we haven't found them yet and just because the Brady Games strategy guide only lists one fatality per character, does not mean that it is solid fact.  Strategy guides made by Brady always come out too early to contain all the info of the game, just like when I bought a codebook for MK3 only to discover that it was missing moves and a newer one was published like 2 weeks later with what I needed.  So, don't trust the books.  Plus, no one has unlocked all of the coffins yet, and Boon did mention that there is a big surprise once all of them are opened.  This surprise could be more fatalities per character... but who knows?  Just wait and see!
2.) This assumption that there are no pit stages in MK: DA has to be a bunch of crap.  With all the stages I've seen so far and all the stages that are unlockable in the Krypt, how can there not be?  I think that the conventional way to knock people into pits with certain button sequences is long gone, but not pits themelves.  A lot of people are saying how there's no way to turn off the barriers on stages with no walls.  But, they have also noticed that there are sections in many stages where it looks as if you can knock people off/out of the arena.  Could there actually be mid-round pit fatalities?  It's always a possibility.  And to add to this, recently people have discovered that one koffin in the Krypt unlocks a feature that says something like Acid Spit enabled, so I think the Acid Bath may have a "melting" pit in it.  Again, wait and see!
3.) Okay, the Krypt is freggin huge, and sure a lot of koffins only have pics, info, and kurrency in them, but there's plenty more.  You get missing characters, new features, new stages, and possibly something great once you unlock all 676 of them.  Plus, rumor has it that koffins can be opened multiple times, so there may be more than 676 features in the bad boy.
4.) No more can a player kick the game's ass by mere button-mashing and projectile abuse.  The focus of MK: DA is now on pulling off difficult combos and using certain fighting styles to your advantage.  This may be a hard concept for older MK fans to grasp who are so used to the former style, but this game is about fighting, and this is exactly what is stressed the most.  The replay value will be much higher and more intense now that there's so much to memorize, and with so much to master this game won't gain dust as quickly.  I don't know if I will like this change or not, but most likely it will be a good one.  And, this also ties in with the whole one fatality argument as well.  All I have to say is... fighting during the matches is cool, and fatalities are great too.  Which one of these two things is focused on more we do not know yet, so... wait it out.
5.) Ever since people saw the picture of Mokap and read his story, he's gotten nothing but bad reviews.  I personally think he's kind of lame too, but what if he fights well?  Also, there are indications that he may not even be a secret character and that this is just a joke by Midway to tease us about how the game was made.  Another speculation is that he is in the game solely because the guy in real life who did the motion capture sequences for MK: DA wanted a cool way to be paid.  I say whatever, screw speculation, wait it out  And as for the people who were looking forward to oldies coming back, I hate to say it here, but word is that Kabal is dead, Baraka is dead, and Goro is dead.  But, then again, this is MK, and just because stories say so doesn't mean characters will not be back now or in the future.  Isn't Johnny Cage dead too?!  Huh!  Even more is that we can see how there are 28 slots open for character endings in MK: DA.  So, either some characters have multiple endings, or there are still 6 more hidden characters.  We'll have to wait and see.

Okay, that's my two cents, plus some spare change.

--A little extra--
I figured that this stuff would be helpful to the people that already have the game.  Check it out.
TRMK's MK: DA Strategy Guide started November 19th.
Midway's Koffins checklist in their MK: DA section (.pdf format).
Another cool Koffins checklist (Excel and rich text format).
An entire Krypt Database made by the public (very nice).
New Ed Boon interview over at HomeLAN Fed.  Read up on his comments about the newness of MK: DA

Two hidden characters found in MK: DA!!
Well, everyone has probably read so much about this already, as I am late to update as usual.  But, to be informative, a few days ago with the release of the Brady Games MK: Deadly Alliance guide book, MK fans were introduced to two hidden characters in MK: Deadly Alliance.  The first is called Blaze, and he is a fire-like creature who seems to be the anticipated Torch character that so many people have gossiped about over the years, just with a different name (most likely for legal reasons).  Let me tell you, he looks phat!  The second character, who, lately, has recieved a lot of -ish from MK fans, is called Mokap.  He is basically a guy with a hat who is dressed in a motion capture suit since he supposedly was an animator for video games in his lifetime.  He has the motion capture balls all over his body and doesn't look too intimidating.  Basically, he looks more like a rip off of Stryker, but his story says how he is an acting buddy of Johnny Cage.  TRMK was actually the first site to post their pictures and information to the public, but I don't think anyone really knew it because Patrick McCarron hid the link away in a thread on his message board that said how not to post spoilers and he didn't like them (with a sarcastic tone since he actually did put up the spoiler himself).  Unfortunately, he made it very clear not to link to this thread or else he would kick people's asses, so you have to find it yourself.  Luckily, as you will see soon, I have other sources :) (MK5.org)

Brady Game releases MK: DA guide book
Before Deadly Alliance was even in stores, a lot of people began to spill the beans about the game because they were able to purchase the MK: Deadly Alliance Official Strategy Guide from Brady Games at their local game retailer.  This book contains moves for every character, as well as combos, fatalities, secrets in the Krypt, storylines, a cool MK Trivia, as well as a timeline of all the MK games and the first news on the two known hidden characters!  Around this time, they also updated their site with a preview of the guide for Deadly Alliance as well.  They were nice enough to put up a direct sample page of Scorpion's moves, combos, and information for people to view in advance, as well as this story:
    "The ninja Scorpion had assumed for many years that Sub-Zero killed his family and clan, only to later discover that the true murderer was the sorceror Quan Chi. After revealing his treachery, Quan Chi then attempted to send Scorpion to the 5th plane of the Netherrealm. Thinking quickly, Scorpion grappled with the sorceror at the last moment and they were both transported to that forbidden realm. This turn of events boded well for Scorpion as his strength increased the longer he remained there. Quan Chi's powers, however, proved to be useless against him."
You can view Scorpion's page by going here (it is a .pdf file, so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it).  Also, you can check out the page for the preview of the guide book by clicking here.  What is of interest are some of the other features that Brady Games offers (some of which are disabled at this time), and in one of the buttons they have ou can see an unknown character who looks like he is on fire.  Of course, this is Blaze, who we wrote about above, and rumor has it that he is really Torch with a new name.  Maybe... maybe not... :)

Another fatality seen in person
A while back, a frequent member to the MK5.org site by the name of Phoenix was the first to witness Mavado's Meat Hook Fatality.  While he was at the Nintendo Cube Club event in Baltimore, MD, this is what he saw:
    "I recently got the chance to go to a Cube Club here in Baltimore, MD and, because it wasn't very full that night, got a chance to play the game and beat it with Sonya. For some reason I didn't get an ending, but at one point I lost to Mavado and he finished me off with a fatality...and man, was it sick. First, he dug his grappling hooks into the ground and started stepping back slowly. When he stopped, he lifted his feet in the air like he was going to do his grappling hook/kick move. But...about two seconds before he flew forward, SPIKES appeared at the bottom of his shoes. He shot forward and planted his feet in Sonya's chest, knocking her to the ground. He then twisted his feet into her body a bit. After that, when he pulled them out, I swear I saw some kind of organ (possibly multiple organs) come out of her body. Very bloody, but very very cool."
Good job kid!

Interview with Dan "Toasty" Forden, Part II
A member of the  #mortalkombat IRC channel that goes by the name JRF, who recently posted Part I of an interview with the music man behind MK, Dan Forden, was again nice enough to finish off the interview with the posting of Part II.  To find out this time about Forden's past influences that have affected how he thinks up the music for each game, read up on it at Total Mortal Kombat.

GameSpot posts Ed Boon interview
Back on November 6th, GameSpot was lucky enough to score a very long 20 minute interview with MK creator himself, Ed Boon.  In the video you can listen to Boon's responses to various MK-related questions, view some clips from the PS2 opening FMV of the game, and see a lot of in-game fights from the PS2 version as well.  Ed reveals a lot about Test Your Might and Test Your Sight, the different modes in the game, and some secrets as well.  Unfortunately, the video is an amazing 215MB large, and it is only available to GameSpot Complete members.  Nevertheless, you can watch the streaming version for free, but of course the quality isn't all that great.  Luckily, our friends over at The Mortal Kombat Netherealm where nice enough to post 55 various scans from the interview on their site, so check them out.  You don't want to miss the fatality pics!

Interview with Dan "Toasty" Forden
A member of the  #mortalkombat IRC channel that goes by the name JRF was recently lucky enough to get some questions answered by Dan "Toasty" Forden about the new style of music that is being used in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.  Forden's take on the music in the upcoming game is more of an evil perpective to enhance the darkness of the game overall.  To check out the Q&A session in full, hop on over to Total Mortal Kombat and enjoy.

TRMK dishes out great new MK: DA info
Just recently the head honcho over at TRMK, Patrick McCarron, was able to discover a lot more information about several aspects of MK: Deadly Alliance from his stay at the latest Nintendo Cube Club expo held in Chicago.  The information he has consists of fatality descriptions for Kung Lao, Shang Tsung, and Bo Rai Cho, details about the game's endings and the final fight against sub-boss Moloch and head-bosses Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, as well as a spoiler of Bo Rai Cho's ending.  So, if you're interested with all of this and are willing to basically be spoiled, head on over to TRMK and start reading.
Also, on a side note, TRMK has updated their MK: DA Special Moves Guide with the first known fatality, which is Scorpion's Spear through the head fatality!  Read below for the good stuff...
"Scorpion throws his spear into his victims head. At which time he starts to pull at the rope attached to the spear a few times. And he eventually pulls his victims head right off their body. The movements for the fatality are B, B, D, B, (X) in the FATALITY fighting style."
And yet again, TRMK has done even more and compiled a MK: Deadly Alliance FAQ that is set up in Q&A style after readers sent in questions concerning MK: DA and Patrick came through with answers.  The FAQ will be updated regularly, so if you have any good questions, send them to Patrick and he might post them up.

3 new videos at GameSpot Complete
Recently, GameSpot Complete members were given the chance to download three new MK: Deadly Alliance videos from the GameCube version.  In the three videso, you can see Sub-Zero fight Kung Lao, Scorpion fight Sonya, and Scorpion finish off Li Mei with his Spear through the head fatality!!  If you're not a GameSpot Complete member, GameSpot has still been nice enough to post about 30 screenshots of the videos for us to see as well.  But hurry, since there's a time limit on these deadly pictures before they are locked...

PSM magazine covers MK: Deadly Alliance twice
This month sees the appearance of two more magazine debuts that have praised Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.  First, the November issue of PSM magazine did a little preview of the game and had a great picture of Sub-Zero holding Scorpion's frozen head on the cover.  Click here to check that out.  Then, the new issue of PSM magazine (December, 2002 - Holiday Issue #66)  gave us even more with the first ever review of the game.  They have much faith in the game, and though they say it isn't as balanced as Tekken 4 or VF4, it does have greater fighting aspects (obviously).  They gave the game a rating of 8 overall, just behind VF4 with a 9, and it also received a Bronze metal and a "Must-Buy" marking for being one of the best new games for the holidays.  So, if you want to see these two articles in full, hit the newstands A.S.A.P.

Get cool stuff when you buy MK: Deadly Alliance
As I was surfing around Midway.com awhile ago, I stumbled upon a list of stores that will be selling MK: Deadly Alliance on Fatality Friday, and next to these stores was a list of cool extras you can get if you purchase the game from them.  Check out the details below and pick your retailer wisely to get more for your dollar.
Circuit City  --  A PS1 copy of Mortal Kombat Trilogy
EB (pre-sell)  --  MK:DA Exclusive Scorpion lithograph
GameStop (pre-sell)  --  MK:DA collectors coins of Sub-zero, Scorpion, and the Deadly Alliance
Hollywood Video & GameCrazy  --  MK:DA Watch
KAYBEE Toys  --  White MK:DA T-shirts
Target  --  Exclusive Adema "Immortal" CD single
Toys.com  --  Mini MK:DA Strategy Guide
Toys R' Us --  Black MK:DA T-shirts
Transworld  --  MK:DA Carabineer

MK5.org reveals some MK: Deadly Alliance spoilers
MK5.org recently posted a long list of some uknown facts about the final version of MK: Deadly Alliance.  I don't want to be the one to reveal all the details, so if you feel like finding out some interesting tidbits about the game before you play your own copy on November 22nd, hop on over to MK5.org and read the news.

New poll up
Well, the last poll was up for about 4 months and was long overdue for completion.  The question asked "Which system will you buy MK: DA for?"  The results were as follows: 36% GameCube; 27% PS2; 18% XBox; 18% GameBoy Advance.  I was honestly surprised to see a handheld system actually tie with a more powerful console, but I guess a lot of people own a GameBoy.  Thanks to the 99 people who voted, and make sure you check out the next poll which asks "What aspect of MK: Deadly Alliance are you most looking forward to?" by going to the Poll section and voting.

First MK: Deadly Alliance moves list available
Upon his attendance at the lastest Nintendo Cube Tour, the webmaster of TRMK, Patrick McCarron, was able to publish a very incomplete special moves list for the still buggy GameCube version of MK: Deadly Alliance.  The moves list only contains a few special moves for the available characters, but no fatalities or cheats.  However, this is prime time for when moves in the game start to show up in the public eye, so be on the lookout daily for newly discovered special moves, because I know that there will be a lot more than usual compared to past MK games.  So, to check out the moves list, click here and start studying them so if you make a stop on the tour you have the upper hand, and keep your eyes set on TRMK to get more updates as Patrick plays more of the game over the coming weeks.

Midway issues press release for upcoming fighter
With MK: Deadly Alliance almost ready to hit the shelves on November 22nd, Midway issued one last press release on October 31st that pertained solely to the game itself.  Just click here to read the entire thing, or go to the Press Release section of this site to check it out.

New Ed Boon Interview
It seems that a site called Computer And Video Games was recently able to score a very interesting Q and A session with MK creator himself, Ed Boon.  The interview is basically a large explanation of Boon's thoughts on the new MK game as it faces strong competition and enters into the new age of home console systems after nearly four years of development.  If you're interested in reading it all... and you should be... go here to indulge yourself.