To say that MDK is "quirky" would be an understatement. Accurate, but
understated. It looks simple enough on the surface -- a typical
third-person shooter of the '90s -- but underneath that veneer is an
assortment of oddities and an off-kilter sense of humor. If you're
familiar with Shiny Entertainment's work, they're involvement will come
as no surprise to you, their penchant for whimsy being clear. If you
aren't familiar, what you get is an eccentric, underwhelming, though
cheap and entertaining shooter perfect for an afternoon's worth of fun.
MDK follows janitor turned reluctant hero Kurt Hectic on a mission to
save Earth from an invading alien force that's mining the planet for all
the minerals its worth. Many large cities have already been destroyed
as a result of the mining, the Earth's military forces being in
disarray. A scientist named Dr. Fluke Hawkins, having flown up to space
on a research project so many years before, foresaw the invasion and
concocted a plan to counteract. The plan? Send his janitor, who's
equipped with state-of-the art gear developed by the doc himself, onto
the alien vessels to assassinate their leaders and thwart the attack,
otherwise known as "Mission: Deliver Kindness."
All of that is explained in the game's manual (the story doesn't
actually rear its head in-game), along with other goofy details and
insights, such as how their six legged dog, Bones (or "Max," as he
prefers), who assists Kurt in the field from time to time, was created.
It's a fun read. It's a wonder why the developers didn't sought to bring
that same personality to the game itself, whose own story efforts
consist only of cursory debriefings before and after each level, naming
only the location that is under attack and whether you succeeded in
saving it or not (you're on a time limit, you see). Nothing from the
manual is alluded to even slightly, instead acting like it doesn't
exist.
MDK's whimsical nature permeates itself elsewhere, then. Its weapon
assortment, for instance, which consists of the typical inclusions such
as an automatic rifle and sniper rifle (which are in the same gun), sees
some... interesting creations such as "The World's Smallest Nuclear
Explosion" crop up. Or health packs that get up and run as soon as you
approach them, screaming like a banshee all the while. One level joins
in the fun also, with a bright, colorful, cartoony aesthetic decorating a
few rooms providing a strong contrast against the otherwise prison-like
setting. Other levels don't go to such lengths, rather focusing on less
eccentric designs like that of a military base or one covered in
reflective surfaces.
Its whimsy inclinations don't seep greatly into the gameplay, however,
content instead with taking a more conservative route. It's very basic.
Linear levels are populated by legions of foes and are all easily
dispatched with your automatic rifle, circle strafing making dispatch
that much easier. Enemies are streamed in via stout spawn points, fallen
adversaries being replaced almost instantaneously. You're goal in MDK
is to get to the end of the level as fast as possible. A time limit --
settled in the lower-right corner of the screen, encircling the small
oval that displays your hit points -- exists to hasten your run through,
for you've only so much time before the alien invaders destroy the city
you're charged with saving. No severe consequences surface if you fail,
nor do any bonuses. It's effective at getting you into gear, though,
regardless.
Auto-aim is much to thank for the simplicity of the action. Unable to be
disabled, the auto-aim function removes almost any measure of skillful
combat in favor of the "one-man army" approach. The sniper function of
Kurt's rifle is kept from the front-lines, taking a specialized role
solely for enemies that are just out of your automatic rifle's extensive
reach. You aren't forced to use any one weapon, granted (except in rare
cases where you are), but with the speed at which MDK moves when
engaged by the estrange robot infantry of the alien forces, standing
still lining up shots from afar is seldom worthwhile; the rain of
bullets pelting you make it impossible to employ any level of precision.
It's a shame. The sniper function of Kurt's rifle is gratifying to use.
Picking off foes from great distances is satisfying and appropriately
brutal, particularly so when head shots are achieved, pints of green
substance -- oil, maybe? -- gushing out. It's very tame violence, yes
(it's Teen rated game from the late-'90s; of course it'd be tame), but
murderous enough within its limitations to be pleasantly savage.
The power of a sniper rifle is well captured. To wield such strength is
definitely empowering; less so against bosses, who are, frankly, a bunch
of pushovers with easy to recognize and exploitable patterns, but
especially so against grunts. Standard ol' vanilla ammunition is quick
to make impact and slays lesser adversaries effortlessly. Other types of
ammo -- explosive types, specifically -- are far more the ones to see
more use, though only because the game often calls for them. Mortar ammo
is especially popular with the game, supplying you with it constantly
and presenting many an instance where it's heavy payload is needed.
Homing bullets and explosive variants on the default ammo-type round out
the ammo-types, but seldom see use unless you're heavy with the
sniping.
Running-and-gunning, simple as it may be, has its highs. Most every
encounter is met with much opposition. Bullets fly everywhere, enemies
constantly being strung in through spawn points, grenades or far more
destructive weaponry (a tornado, perhaps?) being thrown about -- it
always remains manageable, but the hectic spectacle of it all keeps
every encounter engaging.
Interspersed with all the shooting is some light platforming. One of the
most unique features of Kurt's suit is its stealth parachute. Though
using it seems impossible based on its design -- it's just four evenly
spaced lines with nothing between them -- it's integral to any sort of
areal movement. Kurt isn't the athletic type, nor is he capable of
leaping to great heights, hence the parachute. Platforming is
effortless, with the hardest jumping puzzles being cases of ascension,
as Kurt's lacking jump ability can prove a touch frustrating.
MDK isn't a difficult game, nor is it a long one. Containing only six
levels, each of which can be completed in 15-20 minutes at the very
least, MDK is best described as quick afternoon entertainment -- or
weekend entertainment, depending on your shooter prowess. (For what it's
worth, I didn't notice any significant differences between the three
challenge settings. The quantity of certain side-arms decreased, but
foes still wrought the same margin of damage, their accuracy
consistently straddling the line between marksman and drunken.)
MDK is light on replay value. It lasts a few hours at the most, ending
abruptly almost as soon as it suddenly began, offering no immediate
reason to jump back in. Still, you get what you pay for. The $5 or $10
it retails for on most digital PC storefronts make the game akin to
today's downloadable offerings. MDK's age shines through all over, from
the blurred textures and blocky character models to the fact that Kurt
is just a superimposed image rather than a polygonal model, but the
action is still frantic and the world kooky. As a shooter on the cheap,
MDK satisfies.
