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Wednesday May 19th, 1999

MK Gold Movies and Skull Stage in MK4 for the N64?
Thanks to my pals over at MK Extreme.  I got really lazy because I don't have a staff anymore.  So I just copied it straight from them. Here is what they said:

Wow, thank God Dennis Day was a MK fan at some point, because he just put 2 MKG movies on Sega X. The first movie is Kung Lao vs Reiko in the fire stage. I know, I know, it's just a beta, but I'll still do my usual comments. The chars and stage looks great, the ridges at the button of the walls are actually curvy instead of flat like those other consoles. What's up with the 4 heads on the floor? The arcade has lots of objects on the floor and was smaller...but then the N55/PSX/PC used bigger objects and fewer of it. If they want to be true to the arcade, they should put more of those objects on the stage. Of course, that might mess up the framerate and instead of reducing polygons on the characters/stages, they have to reduce the props. I bet when Goro's onscreen, the rocks on his stage disappear to conserve framerate....kinda like how the backgrounds disappear in Tekken3 when you play as Ogre2. Lets just hope the shadows, as badly done as they were, are implemented soon. Kung Lao looks alright from what I can judge off that video of the screen, but all his animations are swaps from other characters so far. If I was dumb, I'd assume Eurocom had a year to develop this game and I would wish they give Cage, Jax, and Reiko a unique win animation....like how MK2 Cage used to kiss his hands, raise his arms, and folded his arms...instead of doing Shinnok's stupid pose. Movie #2 is Cyrax vs Tanya. The players seem to be doing stupid jump punches so you don't get too much info off of this. Cyrax's temp throw is Goro's pound and throw. Cyrax looks proportional unlike the big-headed real-life digitized Biker Cyrax of old. They are in the Rainy stage....hey look! There's puddles and moss......guess the floor textures rock like the arcade now. There seems to be some clipping issues as a whole section of the mini-walls would disappear when the camera shifted.....and magically reappear as the camera moved out...thusly destroying the illusion of emmersion.

If you care, I got the Game Shark Pro today. For the first time, code generators have been released to the public for a meager price.

Anyhoo, during a text search of the game's entire coding, I came upon the backgrounds text. The first one said Skull. Its in the game then but obviously not finised.

When I finally find the background modifier, we will see how it looks or if its just as unfinished as the psx Skull stage.

Now he sent this in:

I figured you might want to see this despite your hatred for N64. I found the background modifier code thanx to gameshark pro. The Skull stage is 100% complete and does not have any glitches ever unlike the PSX version. The music is a faster version of the Forest stage and it adds to the fighting. It looks cheesy compared to the other stages but it is complete none-the-less.

And here are the pix!

Thanks Sutaz for the pix and info.

More MK Special Forces Info
Thanks to psx.ign.com.

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces

Mortal Kombat returns with a prequel of its own. Preview plus screen shots.

May 19, 1999

Even after two movies, a television show and a host of arcade and console hits, the Mortal Kombat franchise just keeps rolling along. The games were always good for a gory thrill whenever you ripped a bloody spine or heart from a beaten opponent. With Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero Midway tried to bend the fighting genre a little with a dose of side scrolling adventure and it seemed a little awkward moving a big martial arts guy through a platform type world. Now the MK series steps out in another direction with Mortal Kombat Special Forces.

What would a Mortal Kombat game be without a cool story line? Each new MK game usually begins with who kicked whose butt last time around and why so-and-so has to go whoop on whatsizname again. This time you're cast as either Sonya or Jax in search of that evil underworld figure, Kano. Of course all Mortal Kombat fans know that Kano was killed a few games ago, right? Well, in the spirit of that little George Lucas film that's out now, Special Forces is a prequel that takes place before the original Mortal Kombat game. The game follows the adventures of Major Jackson Briggs and Lieutenant Sonya Blade leading up to the first Mortal Kombat tournament.

The game combines 3D fighting, puzzle solving and RPG elements for an experience that'll be completely different from all other Mortal Kombat titles. Playing the game as Jax will be different from playing the game as Sonya and players will make real time decisions that will lead to various twists in the plot. Think Fighting Force but with Mortal Kombat characters and special moves. Some handy power ups and weapons, like machine guns, shotguns, night vision goggles and tear gas will let you whoop @ss, MK style.

IGN64 had a chance to play a little MK Special Forces at the E3 Expo and the initial impression left us wanting smoother animation and crisper overall graphics. The pixelization made the game seem very PlayStation-ish and it didn't seem to take full advantage of Nintendo's 3D powers. The motion capturing was a good effort but it gets lost in Special Forces' overall sluggishness. A faster paced fighter would've been a lot of fun, but the slow, deliberate pace of the game made it feel a lot like Tomb Raider.

Outlook: MK Special Forces could be a good game if Midway can boost the speed of the game and sharpen up the graphics a bit. A typical Mortal Kombat fighter this game is not. With competition coming from Fighting Force 64 this summer, MK Special Forces could really make a move with a quicker game. Plus, it's still Mortal Kombat and that should go a long way.

Friday May 14th, 1999

More MK Info from E3
More News on MK's upcoming games has been released. Read on to read what was said:

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (N64) Impressions
By Jeff Greeson

Midway's next installment in their adventure/fighting genre, Mortal Kombat Special Forces, was unveiled at this yearýs E3. Although in a pre-release form, MK: Special Forces was playable on both the Nintendo64 and PlayStation consoles. Combining elements of role-playing and puzzle solving, MK: Special Forces offers a new platform for the Mortal Kombat series, while retaining the intense fighting action that fans have to come expect.

MK: Special Forces reveals the story surrounding the Sonya and Jax's Special Forces group as they battle against the evil Black Dragon group in seven immersive, 3-D worlds. The Black Dragon, led by Kano, Quin and Kabal, are on a mission to wreak havoc and mayhem. It is Sonya and Jaxýs duty to make sure that nothing goes as planned for the Black Dragon.

The game offers a Tomb Raider style of play along with the fighting style of Mortal Kombat 4. Midway wants to keep both the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation versions of the game similar to each other, opting to go with real-time animated sequences, in opposed to full motion video. The textures on the Nintendo64 seemed smoother, while the PlayStation offered superior audio.

The first level in the game places your character in realistic environments in order to familiarize new players with the surrounding environments. The level requires your character to run around and find keys to open doors and elevators in order to complete your mission objective. While running around the level, you receive messages from other Special Forces members informing you with clues and new objectives. As you get further into the game, the missions become more elaborate and the environments become more surreal. Depending on which player your choose and how events unfold during that level, the story's path can change dramatically, providing the game with extensive replay value.

Your character can perform special fighting moves, like Sonya's patented handstand leg grab, by holding down one of the shoulder buttons while pressing one of the standard punch or kick buttons. In addition to standard hand to hand fighting, you can equip your character with 9mm pistols, machine guns and other weapons from an inventory system. Also, the controls offer a targeting button that switches your character's focus towards another opponent if multiple enemies approach you. Finally, there is a camera button that changes the camera view to right behind your character, incase the camera gets placed in an awkward angle.

Go here for more new MK: Special Forces Screen Shots


Thursday May 13th, 1999

MK Info from E3
What would E3 be without a new MK Fighting Game? Or an MK Action/Adventure Game for that matter. Well they have showcased MK Gold for the Dreamcast and MK: Special Forces for the PS and N64.  This info may be subject to change.  Well here is what I found about these two games:

New MK Gold Select Screen? Baraka's, Cyrax's, Kitana's, Mileena's, and Kung Lao's Select Screen Pics aren't complete but Goro and Noob aren't hidden anymore.  Atleast wo hidden characters Sektor and someone who is unknown for now.

mkgold_dc_01.jpg (63154 bytes)

Mortal Kombat Gold (DC) - Impressions
By Jeff Gerstmann

Mortal Kombat Gold on the Dreamcast looks, sounds, and plays nearly exactly like the arcade version of MK4. The new characters are in the game, but their special moves haven't been completed yet. Load times are nice and short, and the game contains all the modes of the previous console versions of MK4, including team battle, practice, and two-on-two fighting.

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (N64) - Impressions
By Jeff Gerstmann

While not my favorite Mortal Kombat characters, Jax and Sonya definitely make a great team. Special Forces puts them into a game that, at this point, could be described as Tomb Raider meets Fighting Force. The gameplay and fighting system mostly consists of pounding on the punch and kick buttons, though there's some jumping around and gunplay thrown in for good measure. The camera is a little iffy at this point, but it's nothing that can't be fixed. The game looks really nice and runs at a pretty good framerate.

Here are some pictures of Jax for the up and coming MK Special Forces:

mkspecial64_01.jpg (50622 bytes)mkspecial64_02.jpg (52456 bytes)mkspecial64_03.jpg (50629 bytes)mkspecial64_04.jpg (45508 bytes)

Friday May 7th, 1999

Mikicic Updates Again
Dave Mikicic has added the last two characters to his page at MK4.com.   Baraka and Kitana's pages are up and you can click here to go straight to his page.

Mikicic and Forden Update
Dave Mikicic has added another character page at MK4.com this time for Kung Lao.   Baraka and Kitana's pages say coming soon when you click on them.  Go here to see them.  Dan Forden has put up a new MP3 at his page,  Toasty Productions. I don't know which one though.

EB World Adds MK Gold Screens
EB World has added some MK Gold Screens!  I have added them to the MK Gold Screens Section in the MK Gold Section.

Thursday May 6th, 1999

Ed Boon Updated Once Again
Ed Boon has once again updated his site, Noob.com.  This time he added the Making Of MK Gold Section.  I would just like to tell the MK Design Team to keep up the great work!

More MK Gold Screens
More MK Gold screenshots were released at videogames.com.  I know this takes a while to load so I will try to add an MK Gold Screenshots page soon.  They arein the MK Gold Screens Section.  Thanks to videogames.com.

Gamespot Has Some MK Gold News and Screens
Well Here is the info and screens they had thanks to MK Extreme:

Ed Boon and Midway have released some new screens and information on the upcoming Mortal Kombat Gold for the Dreamcast. According to Boon, gamers can expect the exact same quality of the arcade Mortal Kombat 4 at home on the Dreamcast with this new game. Using the same 3D models used in the arcade version of the game, MK Gold's characters are composed of more than 3000 polygons each, and the game is silky smooth at 60 frames per second.

Gamers can also expect to see many characters from MK2 and MK3 (such as Baraka, Kitana, and Sektor) in the MK Gold tournament. All the characters will feature new full-motion videos and backgrounds.

We'll be back next week with more info on MK Gold from the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), but for now, make sure to browse through our first set of screens.

Things I noticed in the picture:

- Moss on Goro's Lair Floor and Stages more detailed
- Spotlights in the Prison Stage
- No moss or puddles on the Rain Stage Rooftop
- The Soul Champer is in the game too, obviously!

MK4 Updated Again
In the character section of MK4.com they have updated it with new character renderings!  Go here to see them but they are still uploading characters the only two pages up are Cyrax's and Mileena's.   Mileena's costume looks like her UMK3 and MK Trilogy one. What are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Wednesday May 5th, 1999

Ed Boon Updates Again
Ed Boon has updated his site, Noob.com, again with more Frequently Asked Questions.   Go to his MK Gold FAQ Section to see what he had to say.   I have put up an MK Gold Section so check it out!

Ed Boon Updates Once Again
Once again Ed Boon has updated his site, Noob.com.   Although you may not notice a big difference on the main page there is.  You can now go to his MK Gold FAQ Section and there is a picture of the Select Screen! Here is what he had there:

goldpsel.jpg (28709 bytes)

Q: What is the difference between MK4 and Mortal Kombat Gold?

A: Mortal Kombat Gold runs on the MK4 engine but also adds characters
     and backgrounds from MK2 and MK3. Since MK Gold runs on the Dreamcast its
     characters and backgrounds use the same number of polygons as the MK4
     arcade machine.

Q: Will there be full motion video movies for the new characters' endings?

A: Yes !!   Mortal Kombat Gold will have new movies for all of the additional characters.

Q: Is MK Gold coming out for the Playstation or the Nintendo 64

A: No, right now there is no plans for versions of MK Gold for either of these 2 systems

Q: Will there be a complete version of MK Gold at the E3 show?

A: No. There will be a version of the game but it will not be complete at E3. Mortal Kombat
      Gold will be available with the launch of the Dreamcast which is currently planned for
      9-9-99.


Q: How many characters are planned for MK Gold?  (andy23k@webtv.net)

A: There are 20 characters on the select screen, however, what is a Mortal Kombat
       game without hidden characters?  

Q: Will there be a PC version? (Frederic.Cote@residences.ulaval.ca)

A: There are no current plans for a PC version either, but with the new 3D cards I suppose
      they can handle it. 

Q: Is are there going to be extra hidden characters like Mileena (my favorite) or Jade
      (my other favorite)??? (Robert2164@aol.com)

A: Mileena is a normal playable character, not hidden. There will be hidden characters
      but don't hold your breath looking for Jade(*). 

Q: Is there any thought on bringing MKGold to the Playstation2? (vgmaster@ix.netcom.com)

A: Thoughts? Yes, but since the system won't be out for another YEAR or so, and since
       we don't have any hardware to work on at the moment, I doubt it. The Playstation 2 will
       most likely get something like MK5. 
 
   DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING MK GOLD ??
                           IF SO JUST CLICK HERE
 

I guess you can Mileena to the list of returning characters!

Tuesday May 4th, 1999

MK4.com and Noob.com Updated!!!
MK4.com and Ed Boon's site have both been updated!  At MK4.com they have changed the silhouettes to what Baraka, Cyrax, and Kung Lao will actually look like in MK Gold.  At Ed Boon's site, noob.com, he has pictures showing new sceens and stuff. Here is what is is like at Ed's site:

 


Mortal Kombat Gold is the definitive game in the MK series, designed
specifically for the Sega Dreamcast ! That is, it is the first MK game that
has the advantages of both an arcade game and a home game.

Wednesday April 28th, 1999

MK4.com Updated
MK4.com has been updated once again.  If you look on The MK Gold Picture the Chest of the cyber ninja it says LK 4D4 which means it is Cyrax.  If you click on the chest of the three silhouettes it will lead you to a picture of them.  Cyrax's is a picture from MK3 while Kung Lao's and Baraka's are from comic book covers.  If you click on the MK Gold logo it will take you to Ed Boon's page.

Thursday April 22nd, 1999

MK Figures
According to Raving Toy Maniac, Infinite Concepts is developing a set of action figures based on Mortal Kombat characters. Here is some information from RTM:

The latest innovation is the Center of Gravity Joint Integrity Technology, which enables these amazingly articulated figures to pose and balance like the human form. Mortal Kombat, with it's strong martial arts themes and colorful characters, was the perfect license to use with these new action figure body types.

The first assortment, consisting of Lui Kang, Shang Tsung, Mileena, Sonya Blade, SubZero and Scorpion, is expected to debut in late summer/early fall. The male characters are 8-1/2" high, and the females measure in at 7-1/2". The female figures will feature a revolutionary new design for the hip joint allowing for both realism and flexability unlike any seen in a female action figure to date.

Fans of Mortal Kombat can look forward to future figures in the line as well, possibly by years end or early 2000. Plans for the second series are tentative at this early stage but top contenders include Kitana, Jax, Rayden and the monstrous half-dragon, Goro!

Thanks to Gamespot News and The Realm of MK.

MK: The Movie On TV Tonite
Tonite MK: The Movie will be on the Superstation, TBS, following WCW Thunder so check it out.

Loads of MK Gold News
MK Gold is the new title for Midway's next Mortal Kombat Game.  It will feature 5 characters from previous wrestling games.  Visit MK4's Official Site for 3 silhouettes of returning characters.  See if you can tell who they are. They appear to be Baraka, Kung Lao, and a Cyber Ninja.  Electronic Entertainment Expo (also known as E3) will debut MK Gold.  You can also see the logo at Noob.com, Ed Boon's Official Site.  I will have a page for MK: Gold up soon.  The following is from videogames.com:

Dreamcast Strikes Mortal Kombat Gold

Midway's plans for the Mortal Kombat debut on Sega's Dreamcast were revealed last weekend, when it announced that Mortal Kombat Gold will be an exclusive launch game for the Dreamcast console system. Mortal Kombat Gold will have all the features (plus a few extras) that were cut out from the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions of Mortal Kombat 4 to compensate for the lack of 3D processing power of those systems. Contrary to the previous MK4 home versions, Mortal Kombat Gold will feature the same 3D models and interactive backgrounds with no polygonal reduction from its arcade counterpart. Each character will feature 3,000 polygons, while the game retains its blistering speed of 60 frames per second. From the preliminary specifications given, it looks as though five nostalgic characters from past Mortal Kombat games will return in full 3D glory, in addition to the 15 characters from Mortal Kombat 4. Five new full motion prerendered endings will accompany these new characters, using the increased capacity of Sega's GD-ROM discs.

Last month, Sega's president and COO, Bernie Stolar, announced at the Game Developer's Conference that Mortal Kombat 5 was supposed be a launch game for the Sega Dreamcast. Mortal Kombat series co-creator, Ed Boon, was quick to point out shortly thereafter that the Dreamcast version of Mortal Kombat was based on Mortal Kombat 4 and not Mortal Kombat 5. This confusion led to Babbage's marking Mortal Kombat 5 as a launch game in their inventory. Later, a press release concerning Midway's earnings contained a reference to the Dreamcast Mortal Kombat game, calling it Mortal Kombat 4-DC. Earlier this month, when Sega announced their official US launch date for the Dreamcast hardware, it neglected to mention any reference to any Mortal Kombat game among the expected launch games. Now that Midway has announced that the game will be titled Mortal Kombat Gold and available at launch time, fans no longer have to worry about Mortal Kombat 5 debuting on the Dreamcast.

Mortal Kombat Gold will make its public debut at next month's E3 Expo held in Los Angeles, Calif.


By Jeff Greeson, videogames.com

The following is from EB World's MK Gold description:

Mortal Kombat Gold features 15 favorite MK characters plus the surprise reintroduction of several favorites. There are more than 10 interactive fighting arenas, multiple fighting modes, and several fatality moves for each character.

3000 Poly's per character

60 FPS
Dreamcast exclusive
Detailed animated backgrounds
Five new FMV's (hi res) endings.

Friday Febuary 19th, 1999

Another MK: Special Forces Interview
Videogames.com had an interview with John Tobias on MK: Special Forces. It had a ton of info on the games as well as a little on MK5 and MK: Dreamcast. Check it out by clicking here.

Site Updates
I have updated the MK FanFic Section, MK FanArt Section, and MK Awards Section.

Thursday Febuary 4th, 1999

MK: Special Forces Interview w/John Tobias
At IGN64 they had an interview with John Tobias of the MK Team. He had a bunch of stuff to say so why don't you go here and check it out for yourselfs.

Wednesday January 20th, 1999

Interactive MK5 Guide News
I have recieved a letter from my friend and the maker of the Interactive MK Guide. He sant me a message about the 5th Guide so please read it then visit there site.
Nitro Interactive has moved! New Url: https://www.angelfire.com/biz2/NitroInteractive
Starting today we are taking comments and suggestions on how to improve our guide program. We're starting really early this time to get it perfect. Please make suggestions and comments and post on page because I would like as much input as possible.

Thanks
Nitro Interactive Team

MK Dreamcast?
An installment of MK for the Dreamcast has been talked about all over.  As of yet no title has been announced and it probably won't be called MK Dreamcast or even have a 4 in the title.  It will be based on the MK4 Engine and the character will be roughly around 3,000 polygons(the homeversions were cut to around 750) so it will be almost arcade perfect.  Tons of new moves are being implemented as are more characters such as Kitana, Mileena, Baraka, and the Cyber Ninjas.  It has been refered to as "Trilogy sized and at www.noob.com, Co-MK Creator Ed Boon's site, they have a picture of the Dreamcast with the Trilogy logo and it says coming soon.  More info as it becomes available.  Here is the picture:

dreamcast4.jpg (31162 bytes)

The Reason for the lack of updates is because I have been busy and I have had no help from fellow staff members.  So Staff please e-mail me. There also hasn't been much news on MK going around right now.  Thanks.

Past News: May 98 - June 98 - July 98 - August 98 - September 98 - October/November 98


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