Tekken 3 Review - A Year Later... A Few Months After

Release(s):

March 26, 1998 (Japan)
April 29, 1998 (North America)
September 12, 1996 (Europe)

Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation 
Genre(s): Fighting
Developer(s): Namco
Publisher(s): 

Namco (Worldwide)
Sony Computer Entertainment (Europe)

Player(s): 1-2

Overview

As I've said in my review of Tekken 2, that game turned out to be an even bigger critical and commercial success than it's predecessor. Not only did the Playstation port sell over twice the amount that the first game did, Tekken 2 was given several accolades from major video game journalists as among the best video game ever and was the #1 most-played arcade game for several months straight (considering how big arcades were at the time, this was saying a lot). This officially established Tekken as a household name among other big-name fighters such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. The most logical step for Namco to take would be another sequel leaving players waiting as they shit their pants in anticipation for how far Namco can take their new hit series.

Gameplay

Once again Tekken 3 returns with the award-winning 3D combat system from the first games and just when people thought Namco couldn't take things even further, they did. One thing is that the sidestepping mechanic has been fully implemented for every character and they also have several moves that are tied to it including a powerful, inescapable throw from either the opponent's left or right just you can do from their backs. Characters now jump at realistic heights rather than 30 feet like they do in the first two games making aerial more easily controllable. Recovery time when down is now instantaneous keeping the flow of combat constant. The controls are even more tight and fluid, there's more ways counter, and there's even more diverse fighting styles.

Speaking of styles.... most characters from the first two games have been removed so defamiliarization of those games is a must for this game especially since while several characters may share likeness to the one they've replaced notably Jin Kazama (the bastard son of Kazuya Mishima and Jun Kazama), who is like mixed pot between the Advanced Mishima Style Karate and Kazama Style Traditional Martial Arts, they have enough of their own moves to set them apart.

The AI has been toned down considerably from the first two games now providing a reasonable challenge for newcomers and there is no instances of cheap difficulty 
spikes... well, it actually does get harder as you go along but it never feels overwhelming. One could argue Namco may have made it too easy but in any case, it's at least much more adjustable.

Content

All of the game modes from Tekken 2 have returned but the Arcade Mode has a different method for unlocking characters. Instead of playing through it with a specific starting character to unlock a specific hidden character, it's now determined by how many characters you've completed Arcade Mode with and the last character you will unlock is the of course, the final boss... Ogre and then it's transformed state True Ogre. The options for Practice Mode was been extending massively from the last game.

Everything you can do in Practice Mode from Tekken 2 is here but you can make the computer dummy perform various actions such as crouch, guard in standing and/or crouching positions, perform a quick roll while laying on the floor, or even have another player take control. You can also have the computer act as a fighting opponent of varying difficulty (deja vu) and all these are sectioned to three modes called "1P Freestyle" where you can basically do whatever (evident from the title), "VS CPU" where you fight the dummy as if it were an opponent, and "Combo Training" where the game helps you perform more complicated combos. There's a few options encompass the whole Practice Mode such as the "Hit Analysis" which makes the characters green but blinks red whenever they are completely vulnerable and the "Attack Data" like in Tekken 2 only in 3 you can see the total amount of damage both characters have dealt to each other throughout the whole session. Unfortunately, the replay feature is just as unreliable as in Tekken 2 but at least now the game doesn't boot you back to the main menu for keeping it idle.

Tekken 3 introduces a mini-game called Tekken Force Mode of which you select a character and fight your way through a bunch of generic mooks beat 'em up style but with Tekken controls. There's a total of four stages each one ending with a boss depending on the character till the last stage where you fight Heihachi Mishima (except Mokujin). This mode is hella fun and if you manage to beat it three times you will get a chance to fight Doctor Bosconovitch then unlocking him if you win but be careful, because if you lose then it's gameover. You can also gain points based on well you do but they're completely inconsequential.

There's also another a mini-game called Tekken Ball Mode only this is unlocked through completing Arcade Mode with all the starting characters. In this mode you select a character then play against another player or the computer in a game of volleyball but with Tekken controls as well and your goal is to dwindle down your opponent's health by either sending the ball to their side of the court or hitting them with the ball directly. You have the choice of three beach balls (two of which are unlockable)... a beginner ball which can do up to 40% damage, an expert ball which can do up to 60% damage, and a grand master ball which can do maximum damage... the amount of damage that the ball can do is represent through a parameter that builds up from landing successive hits. This only works for certain attacks, however... surprisingly this mode works as well.

For the first time in non-Japanese versions, a mode called Theater Mode will also appear after you've completed Arcade Mode with all the starting characters. Here you watch opening sequences for the game and the endings for the characters you've completed Arcade mode with. If you get all of them, you gain the option to listen to the game's soundtrack (both arcade and remixed) in the music section or load the endings/music of the first two games in the disc section.

Graphics

The graphics just keep getting better and better. The character models and animation are significantly detailed than they were in the first two games plus the backgrounds don't clash so much with them along with the environments like they used to. Unfortunately, there isn't nearly as many unique stages for each character as there are in Tekken 2. With the exception of Heihachi, Ogre, Bosconovitch, and Gon (who is unlocked through Tekken Ball Mode after beating him) all the hidden characters have stages shared with the starting characters.

Sound

The voice work has been given a major overhaul from the first two games with several familiar voices thrown into the mix notably the late Daisuke Gōri as Heihachi Mishima (who voices him from the anime adaptation to Tekken 6 before his passing, rest in peace... champ). They still only make battle grunts (with a few exceptions) but at least now they doesn't awkward as they did previously. The soundtrack however doesn't hold a candle to the one in Tekken 2 but it's still got the great classic arcade synthesized feel to it.... though personally I prefer the arcade tracks over the rearranged tracks here for the most parts.

Aesthetics

The lore behind Tekken 3 isn't as strong as the one in Tekken 2 either but there's still plenty of interest within it. 19 years have past since the 2nd Iron Fist Tournament and Heihachi had reclaimed his throne from his (literally) demonic son Kazuya, who he threw into an erupting volcano (no way that sucker's making it out ali... shit), but something strange has happened. Many of the world's greatest fighters are gone with most of the absences being linked to the ancient being from Mexico named Ogre, who robs fighters of their abilities by attacking them, and Heihachi announces the 3rd Iron Fist Iron Fist Tournament to lore him out (best expect there'd be an ulterior motive behind it). Some of the fighters from the previous tournament have returned (like Nina Willaims who was cryogenically frozen for 19 years and is in search for her lost memories) but a bunch of new faces like the young and innocent Ling Xiaoyu who wants to build the perfect amusement park in China, the loner Jin Kazama who takes over as the main protagonist and wants to get revenge against Ogre for presumably killing his mother, the street punk Hwoarang who wants to settle the score with Jin, and the Brazillian button-mashing capoeira fighter Eddy Gordo who wants to piece together the murder of his father and seek retribution.

Just like the first two games the fighting styles for each character in Tekken 3 is based off real-life fighting styles so real-life martial artists would certainly appreciate the attention to detail. For authenticity sake, Eddy Gordo's animation is notably done using motion capture from a real-life capoeira fighter.

Overall 

While Tekken 3 may not be as aesthetically pleasing as Tekken 2 it's still a substantial improvement where it comes over an already amazing game. Many say this is the pinnacle of the series (it even did the best both commercial and critically) and I can definitely why. The combat is done to near-perfection but even if you're not a huge fighting game nut there's still plenty of other shit to do and it gets just about every single aspect.

Overall, I gave this game a 9.8/10.

Tekken 2 Review - More than a sequel... one in a million

Release(s):

March 26, 1996 (Japan)
August 27, 1996 (North America)
October, 1996 (North America)

Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation 
Genre(s): Fighting
Developer(s): Namco
Publisher(s): 

Namco (Worldwide)
Sony Computer Entertainment (Europe)

Player(s): 1-2




Overview

Even though the first Tekken game is dated by quite a bit, it was still a great and revolutionary game when it first came out with it's console version being the first Playstation game to ever sell over a million units. The next logical step would be a sequel to refine what worked with the game and fix what didn't.... that sequel came just months after the first game took arcades by a storm. How much can Namco accomplish in that time span? Let's find out.

Gameplay

Tekken 2 returns with the innovative 3D combat system from the first one so just about every mechanic you can think of is here... but don't think Namco just adds in new moves and characters then calls it a day. This game does a lot to improve the solid foundation that the first game had created whatnot with every character having a powerful and inescapable back throw, a counter system that allows you to escape grabs or tackles (a feature that was experimented with in the first game but never fully implemented) by pressing the left or right punch button at the right time, the ability to roll to the side while laying on the ground, and more diverse fighting styles meaning hidden characters are no longer derivative of the starting characters. The controls are much tighter here than the somewhat stiff controls in the first game and running actually has a purpose in battle as you can either bum rush them, stomp on them when they're laying on the ground, do a jump kick, or with the right timing... tackle them to the ground to lay on the beatdown. 

The gameplay still has some issues though... the jumping mechanics are still awkward and the AI's been beefed up significantly. While the first game's AI difficult curve is mostly adjustable (unless you fought Heihachi), Tekken 2's is downright unforgiving to newcomers. 

I ain't playing, this game.. WILL.. OWN.. YOUR.. BUTTHOLE!!! It would input complex button combinations at a rate and consistency that's seemingly impossible for a human player, they guard just about any attack you throw at them, will punish you for any mistake (if possible), and grabs or tackles... don't even consider them as a strategy. They'll counter them all the time and it just gets worse as you progress... but even with that Tekken 2's combat is still a lot more enjoyable than the first game's for the reasons I gave earlier so you'll naturally have the incentive to improve.

Content

All the game modes from the first game have returned but Tekken 2 adds more meat to the bones. Arcade mode still has you select a character then fight 7 of the starting characters then a sub-boss that will depending on the character you play as (which will be unlocked after completing Arcade mode) and the final boss... this time it isn't Heihachi Mishima it's Kazuya Mishima then Devil. After completing Arcade mode you won't be given a record on fast you completed it but you still get treated with an ending for the character you've completed it with even the hidden characters have endings of their own. Kazuya and Roger/Alex do require a special condition to unlock them... the latter you have to beat stage 3 by getting a great (winning a round with 5% health or less) at the last round and the former you will have to unlock all the hidden characters besides him then complete Arcade mode with one of the hidden characters without getting a continue. That's a little better than the first game's method with Heihachi and Devil Kazuya but still more work than necessary.

Tekken 2 also introduces a bunch of game modes that will become staples of the series such as Team Battle mode where you can select up to 8 different characters and either fight against another player or the computer. You still fight one-on-one as always but if you defeat your opponent the current character you're playing as will recover health and if you lose you will play as the next character you have selected.

There is a Time Attack mode which functions just like the Arcade mode except the only thing you have to worry is completing it at the fastest time possible to set a new record and the difficulty setting you have in the options menu doesn't effect it so it's medium by default. One problem I have with this mode is you can't pause it during gameplay so you have to play through it constantly.

There's also a Survival mode where you select a character with only one health gauge which recover after each match and you take down as many opponents as possible without losing for the possibly of setting a new record. It's difficulty is also fixed like the Time Attack mode and unfortunately it carries the same problem of not being able to pause during gameplay.

Last and not least, Tekken 2 adds in a Practice mode which would be rather archaic by today's standards where fighting games practically teach you how they design the game but I'd imagine it being somewhat impressive at the time when practice modes were uncommon. You set the attack data to display total amount of hits you did in a recent combo and a damage ratio to maximize damage. You can also set your initial attacks to count as counter attacks all the time and you can practice combo moves/strings either through reading them from the command list found in the Pause mode (which is in all game modes... thank god) or key displays including the infamous 10-hit combos. You can even replay combo though it's ruined by the fact you can't manually set the recorder to start or replay the record at any time... the game sets the recorder automatically. This mode also demands constant attention as it will send you back to the main menu if you remain idle for too long (damn, what a selfish game!).

Graphics

The character models have been smoothed out and refined considerably from the blocky ones at the first game had plus the animation is even more realistic. The static 2D backgrounds on stages still clash with the rest of the game's graphics though not nearly as much as the first game. Speaking of stages... each character now has a stage unique to themselves right from the ambient Japanese bamboo forest for the mysterious samurai-ninja Yoshimitsu, the desert for the Native American Michelle Change, or the room filled with dark for the final bosses Kazuya and Devil.

Sound

The voice clips for Tekken 2 are recycled from the first game but this time none of the characters other than Armor King, P. Jack, and Kuma share the same voices with other characters and the badass announcer is even more badass. Musically, Tekken 2 is a major step-up from the first game. All the tracks are memorial and are completely atmospheric to every stage (and characters they represent). It's even remixed for the Playstation version... of course, the same can be said for the first game but here they really went the extra mile and... the music for the port is just amazing. It makes you wanna go back to the older times and the sub-boss characters even have their theme even though they're just the tracks reused from the first game, but it's still better than them sharing the same song.

Aesthetics

The story of Tekken 2 takes place 2 years after the story of the first game and the plot thickens. Kazuya had gotten his revenge on his father but as a surprising twist instead of righting the wrongs of Heihachi, he not only continues the corrupt ways of the Mishima Zaibatsu but he takes the evil acts to even greater extremes as he let his hate consume him and the Devil is feeding off from it. Because of his various illegal actions (drug-dealing, smuggling endangered animals, assassination, etc.) several fighters have entered the 2nd King of Iron Fist Tournament to beat him for one reason or another with some new faces to boot, including Heihachi who shockingy survived and wants to reclaim his throne. The best part about all this is the FMV cutscenes aren't nearly as uncanny as in the first game... for the most parts.

Also, just like the first game many of the moves are based on real-life fighting moves giving it a more grounded feel to it than other fighting games, even though it's still clearly exaggerated since most of the fighters are superhuman.

Overall 

Tekken 2 does things in less a year that other game sequels don't in few years or more.... it's a significant improvement from the game that proceeded in almost every way resulting in even greater commercial and critical success. It's also a prime example of an arcade port done right so with that... this game may actually be worthwhile to have in your collection even if you play or own the later Tekken games.

Overall, I give Tekken 2 an 8.9 out of 10

Tekken Review - Enter the Tekken!!

Release(s):

March 31, 1995 (Japan)
November 7, 1995 (Europe)
November 8, 1995 (North America)

Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation 
Genre(s): Fighting
Developer(s): Namco
Publisher(s): 

Namco (Worldwide)
Sony Computer Entertainment (Europe)

Player(s): 1-2

Overview

For those who don't know I love Tekken... in fact, it's my favorite fighting game franchise of all-time and in anticipation of Tekken 7: Fated Retribution coming on home consoles/PC, I've decided to look back on the whole series beginning with the very game that started it all.

In the 90's, arcades were sweeping the nation with fighting games being one of the most predominant genres. 3D graphics were also starting to emerge at that point so naturally fighting games followed suite and while Virtua Fighter was the one that pioneered 3D fighting games, Tekken was certain the one that put it on the map. The one thing that really matters here is does the first game still hold up in spite of it's legacy.



Gameplay

Tekken plays similar to any other traditional fighting game. You have your crouches and jumps (which are done at ridiculous heights in the game for some reason), high/low blocking zones, and intricate button inputs for special moves but there quite a few diversions as well. One is instead of having your basic attacks determined by strength of the attack your attack buttons in Tekken are assigned to each limb allowing for greater combo intuition. Another is there's no special gauge meter of any sort so any super powerful attack can be pulled off at any time but there is no projectiles in Tekken which limits your ability of keeping opponents at bay. Lastly, there's a lot of combo moves and strings to memorize for each character which you would need to know in order to make the most of the game's combat... in fact, the series as a whole is very well known for it's huge library of complex button combinations notably the chain throws and 10-hit combos making it an extremely hard (yet satisfying) fighter to truly master (which is made even harder with no command list to look at) but there aren't as many to master with the first game as later on (naturally). Special moves are also done differently from tradition. In Street Fighter, the inputs for special moves reward accuracy and speed but in Tekken, it slows down the action for greater strategic play.

However, there are a few notable problems with the combat. For one the controls feel somewhat heavy especially when you're trying to run towards the opponent (run is useless btw) and another is the hidden characters play too similar to the starting characters. Granted the starting characters themselves are completely diverse and the Playstation version does remedy this issue by giving them some individual moves from Tekken 2 but this point still stands. You can say I'm spoiled by the later games which refined the formula but age certainly revealed a few flaws with this one in the gameplay department.

Content

This is a mid 90's fighting game so don't expect much in terms of game modes. You have an arcade mode where you select a character and fight 7 of the starting characters plus a sub-boss (who is one of the hidden characters) and the final boss who is the root of all evil, Heihachi Mishima. Another player can intercept at any point to take over and you can earn a new record based on how fast you complete it along with being treated with a character's ideal ending (starting characters only). Arcade mode is also where you unlock the hidden characters although the one you unlock depends on which character you complete it with except for the big bad Heihachi Mishima who is unlocked by playing through Arcade mode without any continues and Devil Kazuya who is unlocked by beating all 4 levels of the Galaga game which happens before the actual game boots up... but is it worth it?

There's also a 2 player mode which is the standard versus mode where you play against another player. You both select a character and set each other's handicaps before fighting on a random stage.

Graphics

Tekken is one of the first 3D fighting games and it really shows. The character models are very blocky and pixelated with the floor being done on 3D while the rest of the environments are clearly done with static 2D images giving it a rather ugly look even for it's time. However, it's not all bad... the characters are animated realistically in a way that makes you feel the attacks being landed and they all have animation that's actually representative to their unique fighting styles. The environments are also familiar as they're based on real-life locations... but you don't really get to choose any of them.

Sound

Aside from the (kickass) announcer, there isn't much voice acting in Tekken aside from the battle grunts characters make and I can't really knock that either (except a few voice clips are just plain bizarre notably with Marshall Law) but one thing that to complain about is that aside from Wang Jineri, all of the hidden characters' voice clips are blatantly recycled from the starting characters. The sound effects is great stuff though as it helps make you feel the pain of the attacks and the soundtrack is great stuff which can be said for the whole series... even though the music for this game is rather subdue in comparison, there's a lot of memorial tracks especially for those who enjoy 90's synthesized arcade music and they're quite fitting to the environments they represent.

Aesthetics

Even though there's technically no story mode in Tekken, the story it has is surprisingly involved for a fighting game. You have the basic international fighting tournament plot but Tekken has characters all with their own reasons for participating that you would actually care about. Kazuya MIshima wants revenge against his father Heihachi, Yoshimitsu wants to provide for the poor, Nina Williams sent to assassinate Heihachi Mishima, and Paul Phoenix wants to prove he's the strongest. Of course, you won't get all the details in-game but you'll get a gist of it from the endings... that is if the uncanny FMV facial animations don't haunt your dreams first.

Just like I said earlier the environments in Tekken are based on real-life ones and the same be applied to each character's fighting styles. Unlike something like Street Fighter which does base each character's fighting style on real-life martial arts but makes it super flashy and sorta does it's own, you'd notice the parallelism to real-life martial arts with Tekken almost instantly even if it's still exaggerated due to almost all of the characters actually being superhuman.

Overall

With all this does Tekken hold up by today's standards? No really... don't get me wrong, I won't deny Tekken is a very revolutionary and innovative game... in fact, it was noted as the "First Fighting Game to Feature Simulated 3D" but there's practically no reason to go back to this game after playing the others unless it's for nostalgia.

Overall, I give this game a 7 out of 10.

MDK Review - This is top!

Release(s):

April 30, 1997 (Worldwde)

Platform(s): Windows, Mac OS, PlayStation 
Genre(s): Third-person shooter
Developer(s): Shiny Entertainment
Publisher(s):

PIE (North America)
Interplay Entertainment (Europe)

Player(s): 1

Overview

Ah, yes... MDK, the abbreviated title of Max Doctor Kurt... or Murder Death Kill... or.. whatever, no one knows but one thing is known is the developers behind the game- the now defunct Shiny Entertainment has a history of making unique and difficult games that are beloved by pretty much everyone who's played them (aside from a few lackluster movie tie-ins), like Earthworm Jim. The revolutionary third-person shooter one of those such games. But does it hold up today? Let's find out...

Gameplay

MDK is a third-person shooter like no other. The movement controls is similar to that of Doom.... the arrow keys/directional buttons allow you to move up/down and turn left/right while pressing the shoulder buttons/left and right arrow keys in junction with X allows you to strafe. One thing that really sets MDK apart from the average third-person shooter is Kurt Hectic, the character that you play as, uses an unlimited ammo chain gun that is attached to his coil suit as his main weapon and this gun can be used even when you're moving Kurt around. You can also find other weapons scattered throughout levels such as the grenade (which come 3 a piece) which deals great damage (a lot more than the chain gun) and breaks glass walls instantly, a super chain gun which evidently is a more powerful version of the built-in chain gun but it equipped automatically and only lasts for 200 rounds (why this is a weakness I'll explain later), and the Dummy Decoy to keep the dim enemies away from attacking you by attacking you for a considerable amount time... along with less common weapons such as The World's Smallest Nuclear Bomb which destroys anything within it's radius but it only appears to be using them to bust through otherwise indestructible doors (kinda a waste if you ask me), a Tornado which bit-by-bit attacks all enemies across the field, and The Very Large Hamester Hammer which springs left and right shaking the ground while destroying anything that the hammer bashes on. The game also combines third-person shooting action with platforming and with that Kurt also has the movement of a shooter along with the mobility of a platformer like Crash Bandicoot, the controls are tight and fluid on top of this. Kurt also comes equipped with a reusable ribbon parachute (usable from holding the jump button while in the air) that either slow down your landing which is convenient when landing from dangerous heights or reach to greater heights while under an air vent. 

And finally, the most stand out feature of all in MDK is Kurt's Sniper Mode. In this mode, your fixed into position with a dead-center aim and you can zoom in or out from your aim. It also comes with an unlimited ammo shooter although not as easily flexible as the chain gun it does more damage and if you aim at a non-boss enemy's vitals it's an instant kill... you can also find different types of sniper bullets such as Homing Bullets and Sniper Grenades (you can even have Max assist you) but those have a limit so it's best to use them only against stronger enemies. Your movement during Sniper Mode is limited so use it with caution... with that said this Sniper Mode adds a nice stealth element to the game.

Now with these vast amount of weaponry and flexibility you would figure the game would be easy... it is not. In fact, the game can be quite brutal in it's difficulty. Enemies come at large numbers and they take quite a bit of brute force to bring down even with the Super Chaingun. The most common you face in the whole game are generically called Grunts, who spend just as much time messing around and cowering as they would attack you but there are others enemies who are stronger, more aggressive, and use more tactics against you. The bosses are evidently the hardest as they require completely different approaches to be defeated and this is where the game really takes advantage of the whole Sniper Mode feature. Fortunately, you can often find food for health scattered throughout each level though they kinda scarce... there's even a I Feel Top supplements which brings your health all the way up to 150 pts (in contrast to your base of 100pts) and can last throughout the whole level but you can't maintain it. Puzzle-solving in this game also prove to be rather tricky... while in other games, the puzzles given to you are fairly straightforward but MDK forces you to think outside the box and solve things completely on your own. 

Once you get past the steep difficulty curve you'll find MDK is a game that in encourages player inituition and creativity as well as knowing when/how to attack or when/how to move.

Content 

You either have the option to start a new save data or load up an already saved data... not only had you can save at any point of the game by pressing F2 or holding the select button while the game is paused. There is a total of 6 levels of which you will be graded by your performance after each level and while the levels themselves are vast in size and are fairly diverse, the game only clocks in at 6 hours tops. There is no extra unlockables, no backtracking, and you don't even get much of a conclusion after beating the game. Sure, you would get an amusing Music video by French singer BZK (Billy Ze Kick) doing a cover for the French 1973 anti-war pop song Non Non Rien N'a Changé (No No Nothing Has Changed) but certain rereleases of the game doesn't have it like the Playstation version.... otherwise you just get Kurt climbing on top of the MDK logo like in the Title Menu and the credits roll. 

Graphics 

Although this is a tricky section to review since this game is almost 2 decades old I still think this is a fine-looking game regardless. The level are all very nicely detailed and all very diverse... same goes for the character models. The rich design of the game is also accompanied by a consistently smooth framerate of no lower than 30 fps across all computer system as the game's graphics uses software rendering rather than relying on a special graphics processing unit. The game's graphical accomplishments and visual appeal helps masks it datedness whatnot with the low polygon count (especially the Playstation version) and Kurt's animation is rather choppy (there are actually a few times I messed up a jump due to Kurt's awkward jump animation). One thing I do have to complain about in the game is that in order to maintain it's frame rate performance, many parts of the environments are simply left untextured leaving a bunch of black in certain areas without reason. 

Sound 

There isn't much voice acting within MDK but when there is, it's usually the enemies making weird and sometimes funny noises. The game also has some really nice sound effects as there's always a sound when you pick up an item that represents said item including some really amusing ones such as the Gunta food making walrus sounds or those weird cow things making moo noises... the gun fires and explosions are also really lethargic. The whole strong point here is with the soundtrack as it's done by a composer who's a fairly big name in the industry, Tommy Tallarcio. All the tracks for MDK are combination of rock, orchestras, and synthesizers which is fitting as the game's story is pretty much about war and it's very sequence-based, keeping silent while running through corridors but comes blazing when something's about to go down. All the tracks work so well it's really hard to point to a specific example of how well it works but regardless, it's good stuff. 

Aesthetics 

I'll say this once and many who's played the game would agree, MDK is one of the most aesthetically-pleasing games I've ever played. The whole game carries a post-apocalyptic and cyberpunk atmosphere right from the menus to the gameplay while the same time very comical. On top of the silly sound effects, there's several other oddities such as the I Feel Top supplement suddenly sprouting legs trying to run away from you making screeching monkey sounds. The enemies are also odd-looking and grotesque while the same time showing such odd-ball behavior (like the Grunts acting like jackasses and Gunta jigging around) that you can't help but laugh at times. My only complain however is the story almost isn't there... all the story that you're given is aliens invade *insert city, state/province, country here* and it's up to Kurt Hectic to bring down the aliens' minecrawlers. You never even really get to know any of the main characters.... almost all of the story details are within the game's instruction manual as told from Doctor Fluke Hawkins' Journal. 

Overall 

Despite being nearly 20 years old this game still holds up very strong as being one of the greatest and most significant third-part shooters of all time. Once you get past the short length and the dated visuals (or even immerse them into the experience), MDK is a fun yet challenging and unique game that is worth the time/money for any hardcore gamer. 

I give this game a 8.5 out of 10.