3. Art Style
The Mortal Kombat series follows a 3 dimensional
photorealistic art style. Although the characters
presented in the games are photorealistic they do
posses extremely unrealistic characteristics. The
characters in the game are only able to move forward
and backwards and are also able to jump and crouch.
However there are opportunities to interact with
objects in the arenas which creates a 3 dimensional
feeling to the arenas.
5. Gameplay Content
Mortal Kombat features both single player and multiplayer game modes which
increases its replay ability by a great deal. The single player offers many different
game modes which are able to be played completely offline. There is a single
player campaign which contains mainly cut scenes due to the limitations of the
games genre and the way the game is built. However The campaign offers many
opportunities for the player to get involved as every cut scene leads into the next
battle that the player has to contribute to. There are also tower challenges where
players have to work through a set amount of random opponents controlled by
the game. These tower challenges add replay ability as well as the player is able to
repeat towers to try and achieve a better score than the previous time that they
attempted it. The multiplayer offers the most for the game with the player being
able to play online against other people for an extra level of difficulty. This
challenges the player to continue to play so that they will be able to be victorious
against others online. The game rewards the player with experience points and in
game currency for victories in the online arena. If the player performs certain
actions during the match they will be rewarded with extra currency and
experience points. The player is able to level up the more they play which is
another incentive for the players to continue.
6. In Game Interface
Character name
and sub-class Timer
Energy bars
Stamina bar
Health Bar
World Interaction
Indicator
7. Comparison
Mortal Kombat is very representative of the fighter genre. Because it is one of
the more popular fighting games the series isn’t too bold in changing up how
the game works as it is already a staple in the fighter genre. The game is easy
to pick up for beginners however when playing against experienced players
the game is also able to present a challenge to hard core players. Mortal
Kombat shares many characteristics with other fighting games as there isn’t a
great deal that can be adapted with this kind of genre. As seen from the
screenshots below other games from the fighting genre are very similar with
their games interface being extremely similar to one another. The only real
way to revolutionise the fighting genre is to add full 3 dimensional combat
instead of the left, right, up, down combat that is come to be expected of the
genre.
8. Box Art
The box art for Mortal Kombat is extremely basic.
On the cover the name of the game can be seen
accompanied by the franchise logo. This text is
placed in front of an image of the series mascot.
The character is holding a dagger which symbolises
the violent themes that the game posses. The
colours used on this box art are fairly dark with the
yellow accents on the characters costume standing
out. Making all the colours fairly dark symbolises
the general sinister theme of the video game. At
the top of the box the PlayStation branding can be
seen. This just shows that this specific copy is for
the PlayStation however it is not an exclusive as
there is no exclusivity branding. The bottom left
displays the age rating for the game. In the bottom
left the studios that helped to create and distribute
the game are credited for everybody to see.
9. Strengths of Style and Gameplay
+ By using a photorealistic art style Mortal Kombat is able to communicate the sheer brutality of the events
that occur in the game to the player. To do this Mortal Kombat uses a vast amount of gore in several parts of
the video game. There are certain ways to achieve more brutal attacks in the game by using different
combinations.
+ Mortal Kombat uses various different gameplay elements to make their game stand out from the rest. The
energy meter is something that is seen in many fighting games however Mortal Kombat put a brutal and gory
spin on the feature which is what players have come to expect from Mortal Kombat. When players achieve a
maximum energy bar they are able to perform an ‘X-ray’ attack. The ‘X-ray’ attack that the player is able to
perform is a lot like any other ‘special’ attack that can be seen from various other fighter games. However in
Mortal Kombat the player is able to see the destruction that they are causing on their enemy in X-ray vision.
Although it doesn’t benefit the player anymore than any other ‘special’ attack seen in other fighter games the
visuals that the player witnesses when performing the attack is very innovative and falls perfectly into the
signature style of Mortal Kombat. Performing these attacks significantly damage the opponent whilst also
rewarding the player with more experience points as an incentive for performing the acts.
+ Like the ‘X-ray’ attacks there are other things that can be triggered in the game to allow the player to perform
brutal attacks on their opponents. The most famous of these are the fatalities and brutalities that Mortal
Kombat have become famous for. Fatalities are able to be triggered at the end of the match once the player has
already won. To perform the action the player simply has to press a certain combination of buttons. Once the
fatality is triggered the player humiliates their opponent with one last gory attack to finish them off. Again this
is come to be expected of Mortal Kombat and has been in the game since the beginning however they are able
to become more gory and realistic as time progresses and technology gets better. Brutalities are very similar to
fatalities however they require more skill as they are to be done during the battle whilst the opponent is still
able to attack the player. These are triggered by the player performing a special combination attack on their
opponent which triggers the brutality sequence. Brutalities don’t reward the player with a cut scene but
instead a quick gory end to the battle. Both brutalities and fatalities reward the player with extra experience
points and so will aid the player in levelling up. These are both brilliant contributions to the fighter genre as
they aren’t seen in other fighter games and so are make the game unique and stand out from the rest.
10. Weaknesses of Style and Gameplay
- There aren’t really any weaknesses for Mortal Kombat using Photorealistic
graphics as it fits the brutal, gory and sinister themes that the players
enjoy from the franchise.
- Mortal Kombat is and has always been set on one platform where the
characters are only ever able to move from left to right with the ability to
jump and crouch. The only thing that makes Mortal Kombat 3 dimensional
is when the player is able to interact with certain objects in the
background to aid them in combat. A weakness that Mortal Kombat faces
is the fact that it is not truly 3 dimensional. If they were to make the game
truly 3 dimensional there would many more gameplay features that would
be able to be added. However the Mortal Kombat games have never been
truly 3 dimensional and so such a big change could put many of the core
fans off of playing the game due to such a drastic change being made.
11. Game Addiction
Although many gamers will deny the existence of video game addiction many experts would
disagree. According to research, roughly 8.5% of children who play video games in the
United States are addicted and similar numbers across the world. According to Douglas
Gentile the reason why more children are getting addicted to video games is due to their
availability. Video games are everywhere in this modern era as most households own at
least one games console or computer that is able to run computer games. Because of this
children are easily able to play video games for long amounts of time. With mobile gaming
becoming even more popular than ever the problem is only getting worse as a vast majority
of people own a smartphone. Without this easy access to video games the number of
people addicted would be far less. The American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5, lists Internet
Gaming Disorder as "a condition warranting more clinical research and experience before it might
be considered for inclusion in the main book as a formal disorder.“ This shows how little is really
known about video game addiction as the manual that classifies mental disorders can’t even
decide weather or not it deserves to be classified as a mental disorder. The sense of reward that
video games offer are the main reason why people get addicted. People are constantly wanting to
keep playing to beat their score or to rank up etc. however in doing so the players are
subconsciously depending on these rewards and with multiplayer games offering an endless
playtime with each multiplayer match being different its getting easier for people to get addicted.
12. Bibliography
Douglas Gentile. (2016). When video games
become an addiction.Available:
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/06/health/vide
o-games-addiction-gentile-feat/index.html. Last
accessed 21st Nov 2017.
