Pre-E3: Multi-platform console action!
Jedi Knight II, Mortal Kombat
: Multi-platform, PS2, Cube, Xbox Yesterday may not have been the first day of E3, but it was the first downpour of solid E3 information we've had since the last expo. Being inundated with boring announcements is one thing, but the quality of the games on display belies the industry's yearly eleven-and-three-quarter-month spell of recycling tired buzzwords and marketing jargon. This is a time to rejoice, for each of the consoles has its own slew of announcements, and the bloody trade show hasn't even started yet. Can you beat that? Although I have split this up into sections by console, you might want to breeze through each one because there are some seriously compelling arguments for the acquisition of virtually all of them. Rest assured, if we've missed stuff out it's because the quality and quantity of products on display is quite staggering. One of the things that seems to drive our industry contacts mad is the now ubiquitous "which platform is it best on?" question. If you ask the average PR bloke this question, he will try and manoeuvre his way out of giving you a straight answer, fully aware of the tightrope his money-chasing superiors have placed him upon. Fortunately for them, we aren't there in person to quiz them about the latest multi-platform announcements, but we shall be doing so by proxy, and in the meantime we might as well tell you what they are. If we were to say "Jedi Knight II is due out on Cube and Xbox this year," you would probably slap us silly, but you would in fact be mis-slapping. Raven Software's story of a born again mercenary and his path back to the Jedi order is one of the most popular PC games of this year, set beyond the time settings of both film trilogies and in the hands of Kyle Katarn. The game features plenty of saber combat and whatnot, and hopefully it will benefit from some of the features console developers like to employ. Autosaving would be a start (bloody snipers). The port will be completed by Vicarious Visions. Secondly, Mortal Kombat Dark Alliance has made its long overdue appearance, with a nice E3 trailer to back it up. The film depicts a number of characters going head to head in the usual MK locations, but at this stage it looks and feels slightly more cartoony than the developer might have intended. It's certainly no DOA3. To say that MK is popular because of its graphics would only be half-true, however, and the youngsters eager to splatter crimson across the room in the truest sense of a childhood rebellion will be pleased to learn that there's also something of a game under here. Excessively violent moves, combos and the execution-style finishing attacks return, along with characters like Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Scorpion, Jax, Sonya and Reptile. Scorpion's inimitable lasso attack is used in one of the movies. Related Feature - Jedi Outcast review (PC)