Mortal Kombat 4 (MK4) is the fourth main installment in the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games developed by Midway Games. Released toarcades in 1997, Mortal Kombat 4 is the first title from the series and one of the first made by Midway overall to use 3D computer graphics.Eurocom later ported it to the PlayStation,Nintendo 64, PC, and Game Boy Color during 1998. An updated version titled Mortal Kombat Gold was released exclusively for the Dreamcast the following year.
The gameplay system of Mortal Kombat 4 is similar to that of the previous games; one of the most notable additions is the use of weapons and objects during fights. The storyline chronicles the attack from the corrupted Elder God Shinnok against his former comrades who trapped him in the Netherealm many years prior to the beginning of the series. The other 17 playable characters take part in the battle between good and evil, with the forces of light trying to stop Shinnok and the forces of darkness from conquering all the realms.
Gameplay
Mortal Kombat 4 is played in a similar way to the previous titles from the series with some changes. MK4 introduces a limited weapon system, allowing each character to take out a special weapon using a set button combination. Once equipped, the weapons are primarily used through the punch buttons. This includes swinging, clubbing or even tossing the weapons. The weapons can also be purposely dropped, in similar fashion to the arena objects such as severed heads and rocks; if an opponent's weapon is dropped, the other character is able to pick it up and use it. By sidestepping, the player is able to move in a 3D manner, shifting the camera angle, preventing both characters from holding up the weapons or objects they had on the ground.MK4 added a "Maximum Damage" cap to the game's combo system, automatically breaking combos if they deal over a set amount of damage to a player and, thus, preventing infinite combos (although this cap can be removed with a code). Unlike Mortal Kombat Trilogy which contained multiple finishing moves of various kinds, Mortal Kombat 4 only has two Fatalities per character and two Stage Fatalities that can only be done in certain arenas and involve the character throwing the opponent to part of the arena where he or she dies. Unlike the first three games, this game does not include unplayable boss characters except Goro from the home versions.