Mortal Kombat: Special Forces
Mortal Kombat: Special Forces | ||
---|---|---|
Composer(s) Dan Forden | | |
Series | Mortal Kombat | |
Platform(s) | PlayStation | |
Release | ||
Genre(s) | Action-adventure, beat 'em up | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mortal Kombat: Special Forces is a 2000
Special Forces endured a difficult development due to series co-creator John Tobias and other staff members leaving Midway before the game was completed. The departure of Tobias led to a significant trimming of content, including the removal of Sonya Blade as a playable character. Upon release, the game was panned by critics for its poor level design and tedious gameplay, and is considered one of the worst video games of all time.
Gameplay
Mortal Kombat: Special Forces is a third-person view
The player can restore Jax's health meter using first-aid kits. The player also has a limited energy reserve: whenever Jax performs one of his special techniques, he spends energy that can be replenished by performing certain
Plot
Mortal Kombat: Special Forces is chronologically the first game in the Mortal Kombat storyline, as its events take place 4 weeks before
Characters
Besides Jax, Kano, and Kano's Black Dragon subordinates
- Gemini: Jax's base operative, relaying information and messages to him from headquarters. The two share a friendship, and Gemini worries excessively about Jax. Operating over radio only, she is never seen in-game.
- No Face: A member of the Black Dragon organization led by Kano, who freed him from a high-security prison. He is described as only having knowledge of explosive devices, he wears sticks of dynamites strapped to his chest and uses a flamethrower as a weapon. He has no nose, ears, hair, and a pale complexion, based on his name.
- Tasia: An expert swordswoman and deadly ninja master who is a member of Kano's Black Dragon organization.[2] Like Tremor, No Face, and Jarek, Kano freed her from a high-security prison. She wields two ninjatō swords and has an ability to teleport. She appears along with Jarek to capture Cassie and Jacqui by the orders of Black Dragon in the Mortal Kombat X comic book.
Development
This was the second
Although Special Forces was only released on the PlayStation, it was also supposed to be released both on the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast.[3] Many of the Midway Games staff, including Tobias, left the company in 1999 for various reasons while the game was still in production. The plot of Special Forces (which originally included Sonya Blade[4]) was greatly revised following Tobias's departure and the game was rushed to completion.[5]
Tobias said about the final version: "You know I really never played it, I saw it at
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
CNET Gamecenter | 4/10[10] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 1.5/10[11] |
EP Daily | 7/10[12] |
Game Informer | 1.75/10[13] |
GamePro | [14] |
GameSpot | 2.1/10[15] |
IGN | 3/10[16] |
Next Generation | [17] |
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | [18] |
The game received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[8] Blake Fischer of NextGen said of the game, "Don't let the cheap price fool you. This isn't even worth a trip to the store."[17]
Of all the Mortal Kombat games, Special Forces is considered by some to be the worst.[19] Its sales were so low that Midway placed the series on hold in preparation for Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002). Ed Boon himself stated: "The game had a pretty bumpy development ride and the game didn't turn out very good at all."[20] In 2011, GamesRadar+ ranked it as the second most absurd Mortal Kombat offshoot (behind only Mortal Kombat: Live Tour).[21] In 2013, the website also ranked it as the 41st worst game ever made.[22]
Conversely, some of the reviews have been more positive. Video Games: The Ultimate Guide gave the game 7 out of 10,[23] GameVortex gave it 79%,[24] and The Electric Playground gave it 7 out of 10.[12]
See also
References
- ^ "Midway Press Release: PR 2000-06-29 A". 2006-11-09. Archived from the original on 2006-11-09. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ^ Mortal Kombat: Special Forces instruction booklet. Midway Games, 2000.
- ^ Casamassina, Matt; Devidas, Arun (February 4, 1999). "Interview: MK Special Forces". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
- ^ Mortal Kombat Secrets - MKSecrets.Net (February 5, 2017). "Mortal Kombat 4 - E3 1998 Developer Interview (John Tobias, Ed Boon, David Michicich)". YouTube. Google. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat: Special Forces is Released Exclusively for Playstation". World History Project. July 30, 2000. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ McCarron, Patrick (March 19, 2003). "TRMK Features - Interview Taofeng John Tobias". TRMK. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
- ^ Ed Boon [@noobde] (November 4, 2010). "@djSergi I didnt work on Special Forces. The game & project were riddled with all kinds of problems. I could write a book on that. :(" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "Mortal Kombat: Special Forces for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
- All Media Network. Archived from the originalon November 16, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ Steinberg, Scott (July 24, 2000). "Mortal Kombat: Special Forces". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ MacDonald, Mark (October 2000). "Mortal Kombat: Special Forces" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 135. Ziff Davis. p. 186. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ a b Conlin, Shaun (August 28, 2000). "Mortal Kombat Special Forces". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions, Inc. Archived from the original on November 14, 2003. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat: Special Forces". Game Informer. No. 89. FuncoLand. September 2000.
- ^ The D-Pad Destroyer (August 16, 2000). "Mortal Kombat: Special Forces Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 13, 2004. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (August 4, 2000). "Mortal Kombat Special Forces Review [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ Nix, Marc (July 11, 2000). "Mortal Kombat Special Forces". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ a b Fischer, Blake (October 2000). "Mortal Kombat: Special Forces". NextGen. No. 70. Imagine Media. p. 117. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ "Mortal Kombat: Special Forces". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 37. Ziff Davis. October 2000.
- ^ Miozzi, CJ (April 15, 2011). "The Convoluted, Blood-Spattered History of Mortal Kombat (Infographic)". GameFront. GameFront Ltd. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ Walk, Gary Eng (November 17, 2008). "Interview: Ed Boon on the Ups and Downs of the Mortal Kombat Franchise (Page 2)". GameDaily. AOL. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ Antista, Chris (April 12, 2011). "The Top 7… Most absurd Mortal Kombat offshoots (Page 3)". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ GamesRadar staff (April 15, 2013). "The 50 worst games of all time". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Archived from the original on April 26, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ "Video Games: The Ultimate Guide" – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Paddock, Matt (2000). "Mortal Kombat Special Forces". PSIllustrated. Archived from the original on 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2018-09-20.