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Sneak Preview: MDK: Robot-blasting fun

© Dan Finkelstein

Borrowing it's title from the hit movie "Demolition Man", Shiny Entertainment aims to have created "the most anticipated game of 1997". Well, with the action of Quake, and the gameplay of Tomb Raider, MDK may be this years sleeper hit.

MDK, if you'll remember from "Demolition Man" is an acronym for "Murder, Death, Kill", and you'll be doing a lot of that in this game. While the demo version I played didn't have much along the lines of a plot, it did give a good idea what this game will be like.

You control a buff, metal, super-hero like guy from an over-the-shoulder perspective a la "Tomb Raider". The arrow keys control the basic directions, and control fires a very mean machine gun. What's most interesting about MDK, however, is the special "sniper mode" that is accessible by hitting the spacebar. While in sniper mode, you can rotate your sight like a tank turret, then zoom wayyyyyyy in on a target. In early levels, the enemies wave bulls-eyes in front of them, just daring you to try and hit them. It's most satisfying to watch a bad guy go down that seems like it's miles away.

While much can't be said about the gameplay right now, it looks like the game will also have an adventure aspect to it in addition to the shoot-em-up action. Special weapons must be used in such a way as to destroy targets, or open doors. (For example, a weapon may be fired into a ventilation duct, travel through it, and blast open a door from the inside).

The graphics, sound, and animation are top-notch (which should be expected from the same production company that brought us "Earthworm Jim"), and ran amazingly fast in high resolution on my Pentium 90. The graphics and lighting have a sort of dark, futuristic look, similar to Bladerunner....One memorable scene has the character running through a dark tunnel, only to burst out into a large open area, with tall buildings and moving spot-lights pointing up at the sky.

The music, which is digitally composed (no midi), has a orchestral feel to it, and seems suitable for any "Superman" film.

I really could not find any problems with the game, even know it was a demo. The only small bug I came across was that a power-up necessary to complete the level landed on a high pillar that was impossible to get to.

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