365//365: Day 267 – Mortal Kombat 4 (PSX) [PP]

The first Mortal Kombat game in the series to receive a polygonal makeover, Mortal Kombat 4′s “2.5D” provided a well deserved visual boost, yet left the gameplay on the back-burner. A plethora of new combatants have entered the franchise, most of whom are either uninteresting to play as, or uninteresting to the series, add nothing important to this installment. What we do have is more of the same, with nearly nothing tweaked for the better. Each fighter has the same pitiful number of special moves, the cheap AI tweaks after the third fight comes into play, everything feels stale and dated. Even with the advent of environmental items you can throw, feels tacked on. The biggest head scratching inclusion has to go to the weapons, which feel completely out of place. They can be throw at your enemies at well, adding more useless crap being flung around at any given time. The same tired kombo system is present, as are the asinine special move commands that beg to be revamped. Not as bad as Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, but certainly no where as good as Mortal Kombat 2, this fourth installment is best left untouched, lest you want to decapitate yourself with the disc.

The graphics received a beneficial upgrade, bringing the franchise into the 32 bit era in the right way. Unfortunately, the aspects that mattered most, was lost in translation.

Rating: 4.3