Dom Robinson reviews

for

Distributed by
Interplay

Price: £39.99

Players: 1

MDK2 is the sequel to the popular PC and Playstation game MDK and once again the aliens are attacking Earth. Starting with the boffin whose fault it was, Dr. Fluke Hawkins (left) was quite a famous scientist and inventor back in the atomic age of earth but his usefulness seemed to fade as atomic energy lost much if its luster. He decided to retreat to the solitary existence of space and vowed not to return until he came up with "something really big!" The discovery of the energy streams criss crossing through space and allowing for travel and matter transference seemed to be the ticket. Of course, there was the slight problem of an alien race using the streams to invade earth that seemed to suck some of the excitement out of Dr. Hawkin's discovery of the streams.

Max (right), a six-legged dog with an attitude, is one of Dr. Hawkin's unusual creations. While pining for some type of companionship Dr. Hawkins came up with the idea to build a robotic, 6 legged dog. Originally Max was somewhat of a shy and demure fellow but when he saw the threat that the Streamriding aliens represented he took it upon himself to download a new action hero personality. Max's powers include the ability to simultaneously hold up to four weapons (even really big weapons) and smoke a cigar (Cuban of course). Kurt Hectic (left) is of course the hero of the original MDK. Kurt just happened to be aboard Dr. Hawkin's ship, the Jim Dandy, when the nasty Streamriding aliens decided to invade earth, so he ended up wearing the famous Coil Suit and battling Earth's enemies in the original game. (In reality there was really no other choice since Max has 6 legs and Doctor Hawkins is allergic to Neoprene). Kurt's powers include a dual purpose chain gun/sniper rifle and the famous Ribbon Chute.

In MDK2, you can play as all 3 quirky characters: the hero Kurt, the robotic dog Max and the ecentric Dr. Hawkins, each offering a different gameplay experience.

With a sequel, everything's bigger and harder (oo-er, missus!) with 8 levels of 3D action tell the story of the Streamriders' return to take over the Earth and new gadgets and weapons, plus an enhanced Sniper Mode and new ammunition like Bouncing Sniper shots to catch enemies around corners.

Kurt also has a new Cloaking Device and Chameleon Power in his suit this time and again you can jump around and glide with his ribbon chute.

Graphics, Sound and Playability

There's no doubting that the graphics are first-rate. Plenty of colour, fast movement and detail, the latter crucial when it comes to using the sniper feature.

The sound is big and loud. Most it comes in the form of gunfire, from your chain gun and sniper rifle to the big f-off weaponry carried by those who aim to knock you into next week, but all of it worth listening to with the volume turned way up.

I do have a problem with the gameplay though - all the controls seem wrong. I'd prefer to move with the analogue pad, use the D-pad to look around and the four main buttons to do most of the actions, but you actually use the latter to move yourself around, which goes against every other game like this I've played and hinders your progress immensely. Well that and the fact that it's too hard too soon.

Overall

Overall, it looks and sounds great, but I still can't quite get into it and the same went for the first game a few years ago. Hence, if you were a fan of the original, this is certainly for you.

MDK2 won't change your opinion on the format if you have encountered the original and that should be the basis on whether to invest in this sequel.

GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY ENJOYMENT
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.