What a surprise then that the PC version of Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition runs so incredibly well. Ported over by High Voltage (who you may know as the guys behind Wii exclusive FPS The Conduit), MK Komplete is one of the better optimised PC ports I’ve come across in a long time. I’ll cover the port job in the earlier paragraphs of this review, but those who want a more general reminder of how Mortal Kombat plays should skip ahead to page two.

The first thing players will notice is the settings screen, as MK Komplete dials into your optimum settings, altering each option one by one. It takes a little while, but it demonstrates a care in visual optimisation that few games adopt. Many graphical options have been added over the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game, with FXAA processing, many levels of anti-aliasing and the usual anisotropic filtering options rounding out the package.

"I don't exactly have the most intense of gaming rigs, but even I was able to push the game to its maximum graphical settings, and the results are spectacular. "

I don’t exactly have the most intense of gaming rigs, but even I was able to push the game to its maximum graphical settings, and the results are spectacular. The visuals are detailed and rich, with a frame rate that eclipses the console versions of MK.

The optimisation too is immaculate, with nary a frame skip or graphical bug in sight. That I could run it on max settings also bodes well for users with less expensive hardware. The settings go quite low, and I’m sure this will allow a variety of players to get involved in the Kombat. The stock keyboard controls somewhat spoil the fun as, keyboard setups are never going to be especially intuitive for a fast-paced fighting game.

That said, the ability to rebind all keys (including system functions like the pause button) adds to an impressive versatility that is already made by simple controller integration. It was all very faff-free to get my controllers set up, which sadly can’t be said for all modern PC ports.

There are a few glaring faults to be noted though, primarily in the story mode film sequences. Something about them is very grainy, almost as if they’ve been remastered in a lower resolution. It’s not as bad as the cut-scenes in the HD remakes of older games you see, but there’s a noticeable degradation in graphics quality when the in-game renders come to an end.

"Combat is fairly accessible, regardless of your choice of character, but many special moves, combo breakers, enhanced specials and the awesome X-ray attacks add up to give the game a great depth."

I couldn’t tell if the cut-scenes were also responsible, but there were some annoying audio issues where the voice acting would cut out every now and then. Not exactly game breaking issues, but frustrating if you’re playing story mode without subtitles enabled.

For a properly in depth critique of Mortal Kombat, you’d do well to read our original MK review published back in 2011. For those just looking for a quick reminder of whether the game is worth it, the answer is fairly simple. After years of mediocre Mortal Kombat sequels, the 2011 release marked a return to the fast-paced action and brutal combos that defined the original MK trilogy we know and love.

Combat is fairly accessible, regardless of your choice of character, but many special moves, combo breakers, enhanced specials and the awesome X-ray attacks add up to give the game a great depth. Add in tag team fights full of two man combos and special attack entrances and you have a fighting formula that newcomers and series fanatics alike will find appealing. Some combos are a little difficult to formulate, especially when using analogue sticks on a controller, but mastering such timings is just another part of the genre.

All of the characters are fun to play, and their signature moves offer enough variety to usher in some tactical battles if you pick the right players. I’d argue that the characters themselves aren’t especially interesting, especially compared to some of the crazier designs seen in the likes of recent Tekken and Street Fighter titles.

"A series of decent achievements lace the game's lifespan well, but the online portion of the title many will look to for sustained gameplay isn't ideal. "

I’m sure die hard Mortal Kombat fans will hate me for saying that, but the many characters that are just paletter swapped duplicates don’t exactly counter my argument. On the plus side, some of the great DLC characters added on later to the console game come with the Komplete Edition, meaning you get the likes of Freddy Krueger and Kenshi to add to the roster. You also get all the alternate costumes which is great for the aesthetes out there.

You actually get a huge amount of content with MK Komplete, especially when you consider that it is currently retailing on Steam below the usual game RRP at $30. Alongside an already impressive roster of characters you get a challenge mode, standard arcade mode and a well fleshed out story that sees you taking control of a variety of combatants. You certainly get decent bang for your buck.

A series of decent achievements lace the game’s lifespan well, but the online portion of the title many will look to for sustained gameplay isn’t ideal. The net code is fairly solid, offering a reasonably lag-free experience. The lobbies aren’t especially well populated, even at the best of times.

Still, fighting games are for local multiplayer, and your going to get a real kick out of gathering friends round for a Mortal Kombat session on PC. Even without this, the single player content is plentiful enough to more than compensate the price of admission. It may have been a long time coming, but the ninth Mortal Kombat title makes its PC debut with serious style. If you like 2D fighters, you’re going to love this.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Everybody like Country Dancing!!! Well me either but here is the new trailer for Game Mills Country Dance 2 revealing six new country artists for ya!  It’s 4 player versus and it will be out for the Nintendo Wii on October 25th.  Check out the trailer above and official press release below.

Minneapolis, MN – September 22, 2011 – The most anticipated country dance music video game of the holiday season will feature hits from mega super stars Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley and Joanna Smith.  GameMill Entertainment, an independent publisher of entertaining mass-market video games, confirmed the news today through the release of the official preview trailer for Country Dance™2.

The six chart-topping country music songs revealed in the Country Dance 2 preview trailer today join the sensational in-game soundtrack that features more than 30 hits from today’s biggest country artists.  Tracks confirmed thus far include:

• Brad Paisley – “Old Alabama” (newly revealed)
• Dierks Bentley – “Sideways” (newly revealed)
• Jason Aldean – “My Kinda Party” (newly revealed)
• Joanna Smith – “Getting Married” (newly revealed)
• Keith Urban – “Better Life” (newly revealed)
• Luke Bryan – “Country Girl” (newly revealed)
• Ashton Shepard – “Look It Up”
• Billy Currington – “People Are Crazy”
• Blake Shelton – “Honey Bee”
• Carrie Underwood – “All American Girl”
• Easton Corbin – “Roll With It”
• Eric Church – “Hell On The Heart”
• George Strait – “Here for a Good Time”
• Gwyneth Paltrow – “Shake That Thing”
• Hayley McLean – “Good Time Bone”
• Josh Thompson – “Won’t Be Lonely Long”
• Kellie Pickler – “Tough”
• Little Big Town – “Little White Church”
• Miranda Lambert – “Gun Powder and Lead”
• Montgomery Gentry – “What Do Ya Think About That”
• Rodney Atkins – “Take a Back Road”

Country Dance 2, which is slated to launch on Nintendo Wii™ this holiday season, lets you dance and sing along to your favorite songs from country’s biggest artists.  Building upon the simple gameplay loved by fans of Country Dance, Country Dance 2 amplifies the fun with an all new sing-a-long feature, duet dancing, a new calorie-counting exercise mode and more! It’s easy to jump in and play; just pick up the Wii Remote™ and replicate the onscreen dance moves to start earning points with hot country routines.  Plus, Country Dance 2 now supports up to four players at once for a whole new level of multiplayer fun including the all new duet dancing option that features unique choreography for each player during the same song.

For more information about Country Dance 2 or the Country Dance franchise, please visit: www.game-mill.com. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/CountryDanceGame.

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About GameMill Entertainment

GameMill Entertainment, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota is a third-party publisher of various Children’s and Casual games for the PC, Nintendo DS, and Wii from Nintendo, as well as other platforms. With development across the globe, GameMill is a source of entertaining and fun games for all ages. For more information, please visit: www.game-mill.com.

About High Voltage Software, Inc.

High Voltage Software, Inc. is an award-winning independent development studio that has been creating quality games and simulations for more than 18 years. Located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, High Voltage Software employs a staff of over 100 and has successfully produced a wide variety of license-based video game titles that include competitive racing, professional sports, horror, motion picture adaptations, firefighter training and military simulations. It has also developed many successful original intellectual properties. More information about High Voltage Software and their products can be found at www.high-voltage.com.

The game very loosely follows the story of the upcoming Captain America movie, with Cap attempting to defeat the evil Hydra forces amongst the ensuing chaos of the Second World War. It doesn’t really get any more advanced than the standard battle between the forces of good and evil but, in all honestly, it could have been told with a bit more flair and panache. The narrative, as with the rest of Captain America: Super Soldier, is rather flat.

The combat is functional, but sometimes functional just isn’t good enough

When you’re not listening to uninspired dialogue you’re doing what the Captain does best: Slaying foes with his iconic shield. Combat in the game is fairly functional with Cap being able to stun and block with his shield. You also get a generic attack button that automatically makes combos for you, and you can counter your opponents blows with a well timed press of the block button. Imagine a very watered down version of the combat in Batman: Arkham Asylum with some of the excitement bled out of it. Though it serves as a very functional part of the game, there is very little to make it at all varied or interesting for the player.

The bits in between combat are made up of Cap traversing his environments in traditional platformer style. It isn’t quite as smooth as you’d like though. All of Cap’s jumping and climbing is done as contextual taps of the A button but, though many contemporary titles opt for a similarly “sticky” style of platforming, it feels a bit broken in Captain America. Many texture related issues saw me just completely missing the jump, and aerial transitions between ledges often sent me in seemingly random directions each time I attempted them. It’s nothing game destroying in the strictest sense, but it winds up zapping what little fun is left from this generally dull title.

Endless corridors make up the game’s levels

So you’ve already set your heart on Captain America: Super Soldier and want to know how many hours of “pleasure” you’re in for? Sadly, I think the answer to your question will only lead to further disappointment. The main story mode doesn’t take that long to finish at all and, whilst there are some decent enough collectibles and side missions to keep you on your toes, the concept art you can unlock isn’t interesting enough to really offer proper incentive. All in all Captain America is just as underwhelming in length as it is in quality (no penis jokes, please.)

Though the gift itself may be shoddy, it’s at least packaged well right? Dream on. Pleasant comic book license aside, Captain America: Super Soldier is unlikely to turn any heads. Chris Evans gives his voice to Cap to tie the game and film together, (albeit barely) but the other aural elements of Super Soldier seem to just blend into the background out of a sheer lack of interest. The visuals fair even worse, seeming rushed and ill planned. Though some of the combat animations have a bit more clarity too them, the endlessly repetitive level design and textures made me think I’d jumped back in time a decade or two.

You’d think saving the world would look a bit more glamorous

The Wii is a system that is poorly represented by a library full of uninspired titles. Sadly, Captain America: Super Soldier does little to change this image of half-baked ideas and ill-conceived games. Without any major successes or big flaws of any kind, Captain America sits in a veritable limbo of design, with the only way out being a premature move to the bargain bin. It’s certainly not the worst game I’ve played, but there are plenty of better ways to invest your time and money.

This game was reviewed on the Wii.

The story sees you reprise your role as Michael Ford as you chase the evil John Adams across the world through a series of conduits. Some aliens wind up crashing the party, but it never does truly escape the tired old paradigm of good versus evil. The plot in general also feels quite confused, with some odd bits of humour off-setting some more serious overtones. At any other time I’d call this narrative diversity, but in Conduit 2 it just seems like the two elements don’t really fit together all that well. The story takes you through a pleasant variety of different locations that each have a unique and satisfying art direction. Aside from this and a few impressive boss battles though, the campaign is generally quite drab. Despite a reasonable length, you’ll find Conduit 2’s single player filling this time with many repetitive and tired shooter mechanics. Expect to clear out a lot of narrow hallways and corridors, and flick numerous switches.

Some cool boss fights are the highlight of Conduit 2’s single player

The engine used throughout does feel rather generic but, for a Wii shooter, is actually quite well accomplished. There are just one or two controls elements that feel off though. The fact that your sprint and crouch actions are mapped to the same button is a bit eccentric, and having to thrust your remote to melee will never work, as it mercilessly throws your aiming reticule off-target. Thankfully, High Voltage have had the foresight to allow you to alter most of these unusual control elements through the game’s extensive control options. Wii Motion Plus support for extra control, Classic Controller support for those who hate the waggle and a variety of other sensitivity related alterations you can make based on your preferences. Should you take offence at the game’s default control scheme there’s a lot you can do to make it more suitable for your preferences, but it can take some time to nail that sweet spot. I was also annoyed by some particularly glaring omissions. Why, if there’s classic controller support, can’t I use a Gamecube controller? I may be in the minority, but I still don’t like to feel left out in my love of reusing old peripherals.

More impressively on the customization front is the amount of perks you can unlock. This can be done through credits that you earn in, both solo and, multiplayer matches. As a result you can customize your loadouts in all game modes in Conduit 2, certainly a feature worth noting. There are some distinctly disappointing choices by comparison though. The weapons for instance are all distinctly similar and, aside from a few vaguely unique alien weapons, there is nothing to separate Conduit 2’s weaponry from the legions of other FPS arsenals available on other systems. The enemies too also become tiresome and repetitive. A clever re-skin is not enough to disguise the fact that it’s the same basic enemy repeated.

The story is let down by awkward characters and dialogue

There is quite clearly a lot of content in Conduit 2 however, even if it does become tiresome. One area where it does particularly excel is in the multiplayer modes. As far as Wii shooters go, Conduit 2 offers the most fully fleshed out online experience seen in a game yet. A suite of twelve modes offers impressive variety, along with a tasty and numerous selection of maps. It is a lot of fun, and the twelve player matches often become hectic and exhilarating. I do find myself making excuses for it on account of its native platform however. Though Conduit 2 has a solid online mode, it isn’t particularly impressive or unique when compared to other contemporary titles on other systems. It definitely does a good job of creating a competitive online environment on the Wii’s unimpressive online system, but it certainly could’ve been better implemented with a more robust online infrastructure backing it.

Conduit 2’s presentation is a mixed affair. Graphically speaking the game looks nice, with some impressive motion blur and reflection effects. The problem is that it seems that High Voltage have pushed the envelope a bit too far for the Wii’s usually uninspiring graphical capabilities, resulting in several noticeable visuals glitches. Disappearing textures and flickering walls are among a series of immersion breaking problems. The sound too is problematic with some hammy voice acting and generic music poorly framing the game’s story.

Split-screen horde-style mode and multiplayer are well thought out and implemented

You’ll notice that throughout my praise of Conduit 2, I’ve normally accompanied my compliments with the phrase “for a Wii game.” Unfortunately for Conduit 2, it is a rather unsatisfying and generic shooter that is only remarkable for successfully translating the mainstays of the FPS genre to the Wii. Though there are worse games out there, there are many superior titles within the genre on other consoles. Unless you’re desperate for a shooter on the Wii, Conduit 2 is worth a miss.

This game was reviewed on the Wii.

High Voltage’s Chief Creative Officer Eric Nofsinge told the Official Nintendo Magazine that Conduit 2’s multiplayer mode is far better than those in GoldenEye 007 and Black Ops Wii. The MP mode in Conduit 2, according to him, is what sets the game apart from its competition and gives it an upper hand.

“What sets us apart from Black Ops is that we’re exclusive to the Wii and take advantage of the hardware,” Nofsinger told ONM. “GoldenEye, I think our multiplayer is definitely far more robust and that’s what we set out to accomplish. We offer a lot of modes. I think they did a good job with the split-screen stuff but then we offer split-screen as well.”

“We also offer a horde mode like a Gears Of War kind of thing,” he carried on. “We have an experience which allows you to collect credits and then apply them to your character, you can customise your character, there’s a perks system… It’s a very robust multiplayer system with a lot of modes and a lot of different ways you can play.”

Nofsinge even thinks the multiplayer mode in Crysis 2 is good enough to compete with many HD console titles. “I think it’s competitive with what a lot of players are used to on PC, PS3 and 360,” he said. “I think GoldenEye and Black Ops did a fair job but in those areas I think we’re best.”

Does that mean the single player campaign will be less good? Will it be given less attention? Well, we’ll have to wait and watch. Leave behind your comments on what you think of this.

[ONM]

The Conduit 2 is a first-person shooter that has upgradable perks and tons of online as well as offline modes.  The trailer below highlights the modes you can play in the game, but lists them in the blink of an eye so here are some aspects of the game you will be able to take part in. Of course there is the single-player, online multi-player battles, and off and online co-op modes. Online you can play 12 player versus and 4 player co-op. Locally you can play 4 player versus and 4 player co-op.  The Conduit 2 will be out exclusively for Nintendo Wii on April 19th, 2011.  There has also been talk about a version of The Conduit for the Nintendo 3DS.

SEGA and High Voltage Software had announced that the Limited Edition of the game is apparently only available at Gamestop.  Follow the link for more info.

High Voltage Software, the guys behind the Conduit, have announced they’re making a Kinect game that will be published by 2K

HVS boss Eric Nofsinger didn’t have a lot to say apart from the announcement was for a “licensed game” and that an announcement would come “around GDC.”

“It’s not announced yet,” said Nofsinger. “We’re doing that with 2K. It’s a licensed game. That’s our bread and butter as a developer. That’s how we’ve stayed in business for almost 18 years. We don’t develop for just one hardware. We don’t develop for just one genre of game. We don’t develop with just one publisher. We’ve diversified all the way through.”

“This game works well with or without the Kinect,” he added. “It’s supported as a device, so if you have the device it works very well, but I don’t think it’s this brilliant, genius idea. It works really well because it’s a 360 game. I don’t think it necessarily works really well because it’s a Kinect game.”

Thanks to VG247 for the info.

Speaking to IGN, the developer confirmed that a total of twenty five people had been affected.

“I can confirm that High Voltage Software has reduced some of our staffing based on our current production requirements and predictions of what is needed for the remainder of 2010,” a studio representative confirmed.

“We are sad to have to say goodbye to these employees and friends, but these changes are necessary to bring our organization to a healthy operational size.”

Well, they better at least have a good game released after this. Both, The Conduit and Tournament of Legends, have been extreme disappointments, and Conduit 2 better be good. If only so that you can justify firing twenty five people out of the blue.

The shooter, which will be releasing on Wii this autumn, has low expectations from many fans after Conduit 1 failed at retail.

“It really was a lot for the team to handle at one time,” Nofsinger said of establishing a new IP and creating an engine from scratch. The result was a game that is fun to play and is solid overall, but never quite manages to excite its audience with inspired visions of a darkly futuristic world that’s being torn apart by aliens.”

“We’re doing whatever it takes to make Conduit 2 the very best that it can,” promised Nofsinger, “because we love the game and our audience.”

High Voltage promises a much more solid game this time, “We’re designing spaces that players will want to fight in.” They aren’t doing anything they aren’t “completely excited about making”.

“There’s a lot more that we still want to accomplish with this game before it ships, and fortunately we still have time to execute on our initial goal to build a game that fully realises our vision of the Conduit world.”

“We truly hope when you finally get the chance to play the game that you like what you play, hear, and see,” he added.

We look forward to it! Conduit 2 releases for the Wii this autumn.

“The expansion of Grinder to 360 and PS3 and its subsequent change in gameplay and perspective has been somewhat misinterpreted as a universal change across all platforms, We still genuinely love the Wii and would ideally like to see a publishing partner pick up both a FPS Wii version and a third-person action version specific to the 360 and PS3.”

“We have invested more than year into the Wii; the game is extremely fun, and frankly, we wouldn’t want to see that work ‘thrown away, But when we decided to add the 360 and PS3 platforms it didn’t seem to make much sense to jump on the rainbow chasing treadmill of trying to do the same game for such dissimilar consoles and end up short changing one or the other.”