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Nintendo 64
Mortal Kombat: Special Forces
Platform: N64
Publisher/Developer: Midway
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The Basics
Filling out in the back story of the Mortal Kombat fighting series, this second MK spin-off focused on Special Forces (an American pie version of the CIA) members Sonya and Jax, their first encounter with Black Dragon clan assassin Kano, and the events that led up to Sonya being involved in the first Mortal Kombat tournament. You would have been introduced to new characters on both the Special Forces team and in the Black Dragon clan, while two previously seen BD members would have made appearances as well: a pre-disfigurement Kabal from Mortal Kombat 3 and Jarek from Mortal Kombat 4.
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The title was said to inhabit a Mario/Tomb Raider-type 3D environment, where you'd fight enemies a la Final Fight/Streets of Rage, albeit using Mortal Kombat fighting moves. Series cocreator John Tobias said he expected the gameplay to play out at about 50 percent fighting and 50 percent exploration/puzzle solving. The game would have been seen from a third-person perspective with a camera described as being closer to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time than Tomb Raider. Specifically, it's one that would have eventually moved into place behind the character, while a controller button would have been dedicated to knocking it into place. Additionally, a look function would have allowed you to see out of the character's eyes so you could scan your environment for objects and clues. Currently, the fighting system is set so that three enemies can surround you at once, but the actual fighting was to remain one-on-one until you knocked a Kombatant away. Enemy targeting was being handled in such a way that if an opponent was in the general vicinity, you could have initiated a spin attack that would've turned you to face your foe, even if the enemy was approaching from behind.
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As for other noteworthy facts, the story cinemas were to be displayed using the in-game engine (a la Metal Gear Solid and the N64 version of Mortal Kombat 4) instead of through FMV; Kerri (Sonya) Hoskins and Rich (Kano) Divizio were to provide audio and motion capture for the title; and fluid character animations had been promised.
GameSpot editors tried an early version of the game at E3 the year it was first officially unveiled. Here's what Jeff Greeson thought at that time:
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Combining elements of role playing and puzzle solving, MK: Special Forces offers a new platform for the Mortal Kombat series while retaining the intense fighting action that fans have to come expect. The game offers a Tomb Raider style of play along with the fighting style of Mortal Kombat 4. Midway wants to keep both the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation versions of the game similar to each other, opting to go with real-time animated sequences, as opposed to full motion video. The textures on the Nintendo 64 seem smoother, while the PlayStation offers superior audio.
The first level in the game places your character in realistic environments to familiarize new players with the surrounding environments. The level requires your character to run around and find keys to open doors and elevators in order to complete your mission objective. While running around the level, you receive messages from other Special Forces members informing you about clues and new objectives. As you get further into the game, the missions become more elaborate, and the environments become more surreal. Depending on which player you choose and how events unfold during that level, the story's path can change dramatically, providing the game with extensive replay value.
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You can make your character perform special fighting moves, like Sonya's patented handstand leg grab, by holding down one of the shoulder buttons while pressing one of the standard punch or kick buttons. In addition to standard hand-to-hand fighting, you can equip your character with 9mm pistols, machine guns, and other weapons from an inventory system. Also, the controls offer a targeting button that switches your character's focus toward another opponent if multiple enemies approach you. Finally, there is a camera button that changes the camera view to right behind your character, in case the camera gets placed at an awkward angle.
GameSpot editor Jeff Gerstmann tried out the game back then, and here's what he thought: While not my favorite Mortal Kombat characters, Jax and Sonya definitely make a great team. Special Forces puts them into a game that, at this point, could be described as Tomb Raider meets Fighting Force. The gameplay and fighting system mostly consist of pounding on the punch and kick buttons, though there's some jumping around and gunplay thrown in for good measure. The camera is a little iffy at this point, but it's nothing that can't be fixed. The game looks really nice and runs at a pretty good frame rate.
WHAT HAPPENED?
In January of 2000, GameSpot News reported that ever since Mortal Kombat cocreator John Tobias and other key Midway employees decided to abandon their action-adventure fighting-game project, Mortal Kombat Special Forces, in favor of starting their own company the previous summer, a big question mark has appeared over the title. Midway insisted that Mortal Kombat Special Forces would continue, with or without its main storyteller. Tobias' strength was always in storytelling; after all, he created the intricacies that surround the Mortal Kombat storyline. With the master gone, the storyline was in the hands of a new development crew.
At this point, the PlayStation game underwent a major overhaul, and the N64 version was canceled entirely. Since the main developers from both the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64 teams had left, the remaining members combined to focus on only the PlayStation version. Tobias' plan was to develop a storyline with many twists and turns that would keep you on your toes. Apparently, the new development team was not able to deal with the complexities of the original storyline without the storyteller himself, so everything has been simplified for the remaining PlayStation version.
In addition to storyline changes, the entire system of gameplay has also been changed. Characters previously had the ability to jump, climb, and swim through the worlds, but the game has been redesigned around these actions to speed up the pace. Furthermore, the camera system has been scrapped and replaced with a basic system resembling that in Metal Gear Solid.
The PlayStation version was released in July 2000; however, the N64 Special Forces is permanently MIA.
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