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...continued
You
see, Dr. Hawkins can combine items he finds and
form them into weapons and tools. For instance,
find some liquor and dirty towels and you've got a
Molotov cocktail. Items such as duct tape, pipes
and dirty towels don't sound like much, but in the
hands of a mad scientist, they're deadly. However,
Dr. Hawkins isn't the easiest character to play
with mainly because MDK 2 isn't as forthcoming as
it needs to be regarding how to use these
concoctions. In retrospect, while the option to
play three different characters seemed cool at
first, in the end I found myself wishing I could
have played the entire game as Kurt. It's also
important to note that you're not given stewardship
over which character you play, which is something
that's determined for you at the beginning of each
level.
From
a gameplay perspective, MDK 2 remains mostly
consistent with its predecessor. The levels are all
very straightforward with little complexity; it's
hard to get lost and there's usually only one
direction to travel. There's a lot of running and
shooting, as everything is wildly fast-paced with
little regard to tactics or strategies. However,
there are a fair number of puzzles in MDK 2, and if
there is any one area where the sequel doesn't
measure up to the original, this is it. Most of the
puzzles are reflex-oriented and not of the mental
variety. Solving the puzzles in MDK 2 can be quite
challenging, but for all the wrong reasons. I never
ran into a puzzle that I didn't know what I needed
to do, but found myself stuck for eons in one place
simply because I couldn't complete the layered
jumping-sequence puzzle. Some of these include
obstacles that prevent you from moving onward, and
having to attempt the same action-oriented task
over and over again caused me a lot of
frustration.
Still,
I was able endure and in the process became quite
thrilled with the gameplay overall. MDK 2 offers a
form of fast-paced action quite different from most
PC titles. I'm not sure how else to describe it
other than to say it's very console-like. Every
encounter in MDK 2 is staged, which will elate some
and annoy others. For the most part, enemies aren't
like the AI subjects that can be found in other
first person games. The enemy is usually contained
within a specified region and only specific bosses
will wander from their given locations. This
creates a staged feel for each battle, and given
the scripted events that have been included for
them, the outcome is quite effective. Over time I
became fond of MDK 2, although, just at the point I
was starting to have a lot of fun with it, the game
was over. With only 10 levels, it took me less than
a weekend to finish the entire thing, and given the
fact that I was stuck for long periods of times on
certain jumping puzzles, the brevity of the entire
adventure is alarming. Couple the shortness of the
game with the fact that it offers no other form of
play, and questions regarding the product's overall
value begin to arise.
As
it stands, MDK 2 is a proud testament that, while
console offerings can be ported to the PC, they are
nonetheless better suited for the console. However,
MDK 2 is perhaps the best platform action game on
the PC today. It's got great non-stop action with
pretty visuals and its three new playable
characters offer a unique gameplay experience,
despite its general brevity. I was impressed with
the camera system and how well the interface
adapted to the keyboard and mouse. However, I found
that the game's blatant attempts to be funny were
not, and overall there just wasn't enough substance
to make me fall in love with the sequel any more
than I did the original.
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