The Game Boy Advance and Mortal Kombat haven't exactly got on too well in the past. Mortal Kombat was slow-paced and virtually unplayable, MK3 was too fast and impossibly unplayable, MK4 was more of the same and MK Advance was a joke, as per usual made at the gamer's expense. I can assure you now that Deadly Alliance more than makes up for the past. Forget what has gone before - MK has finally come good on the GBA!

As with all Mortal Kombat games there is a loosely fitted storyline to get you in the mood for fighting. This time around, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have teamed up to take over the world (forming the Deadly Alliance of the title). To do so, they need the Dragon King's dead army. The only catch is that they need a certain amulet to resurrect the army and, as luck would have it, they don't possess it. Now it is up to a handful of fighters to stop the Deadly Alliance in its tracks, for the sake of puppies and Christmas. [Hmm, is this a Buffy quote? Name the episode! Vampire Slaying Ed].

First impressions of the game are good to say the least. Fans of secrets and extra kontent (sorry!) will be pleased upon first inspection to see The Krypt listed in the main menu, which I'll come to later. Along with the Krypt you'll find that there are five unfilled spaces on the character select screen, obviously allowing for five extra characters to be unlocked somehow.

The characters available from start up include a decent mix of old and new faces. As expected, Scorpion is here, along with newcomers Li Mei and Frost. What makes this game stand out in relation to previous efforts is the sheer variety between characters. Past Mortal Kombat games have had up to 32 characters to choose from, but they all relied on near enough the same list of attacks. Deadly Alliance however introduces us to fighting styles. No longer does each character have a few chosen special attacks to accompany the standard roundhouse, uppercut and sweep moves. This time you have a whole range of attacks at your disposal, which can be altered by a simple button press to switch style. For example, Scorpion's Hapkido stance is a good mix of punches and kicks, but switch to his second stance, Pi Gua, and his attacks become more fist-based. The variation of fighting styles allows you to mix and match attacks to make room for combo experimentation. Some may feel the combo system to be a little too pre-determined, but after a little trial and error you'll find it easy enough to link pretty much any attack you like, resulting in a lethal combination with which to stun your opponent. The fighting engine works amazingly well and renders each character as an individual as opposed to a palette-swapped clone.

The controls make the fighting all the more enjoyable. Unlike MK Advance, where a noticeable delay took place between the pressing of a button and its effect upon the game, Deadly Alliance responds as well you'd expect from any game. Midway has done away with the 'high kick, low kick' button commands and opted this time for a simple '1,2,3,4' style. Buttons 1 and 2 are your attacks, with 3 being your stance change and 4 assigned to blocking.

New to the MK series is the step into proper 3D. Unlike MK4, where the only freedom you were allowed was the ability to quickly side step in the arena, Deadly Alliance lets you pretty much walk about as you please. Thankfully, the 3D arenas have made it into the GBA version. Holding Up allows you to circle your opponent in a clockwise direction and Down works the same, but vice-versa. This means you no longer have to rely on the block button to guard against attacks. Should you find yourself on the receiving end of a fireball, simply dodge the attack by circling up and launch a counter-strike of your own. Whilst being nothing new or revolutionary, it's simple enough and works well, especially for a GBA fighter. The 3D approach works well with the fighting engine and earns a thumbs up in the gameplay department.

The graphical style of Deadly Alliance is almost a carbon copy of Tekken Advance. The fighters are pre-rendered sprites taken from their console cousins and the backgrounds are a mixture of scrolling backdrops and mode-7 style arenas. As previously mentioned, you can move around the arenas as you please - the freedom is yours. This is something you couldn't do in Tekken Advance and the difference it makes is amazing. Even the smallest details have been taken care of; the characters cast shadows on the floor surface and actually show reflections, depending on the arena. Watch the blood spill as you pound your opponent and notice how it stains the floor beneath you - bloody fantastic! The characters show more detail than those seen in Tekken, although they are slightly smaller in size. Still, they work well and each character has a huge number of frames animating each attack. Put simply, the game looks amazing and it's clear a great amount of effort has been put into making it look as sexy as possible - not to mention the work that has been done in the sound department. Although the fighters' grunts and shouts can get a tad annoying at times, you can't fault the smooth announcer voice or the music played during each fight. Deadly Alliance sounds great.

Finally, what would Mortal Kombat be without its fair share of secrets and fatalities? Fans may be disappointed to learn of only one fatality per character this time around, but the same applies to the console versions. Although it's a little repetitive to see the same body organs fly out no matter who is performing the fatality, each finisher is unique enough to warrant using at the end of each fight. Similar to the secrets in Soul Calibur, the Krypt is where you'll unlock everything. It's home to a staggering 676 coffins containing a mixture of secrets, including new stages, hidden characters and alternate costumes. Be warned though - it'll take you a great deal of time to open every one of them. By winning matches you earn a set amount of koins that you can then spend in the Krypt. Kool!

Thankfully, the extra game modes allow a variety of ways in which you can earn said koins. Accompanying the regular Arcade mode is the Survival mode. As the name suggests, this pits you (armed with only one life bar) against as many fighters as it takes in order to knock you out. This is a nice easy way to earn koins, but the challenge soon becomes tough. Back from the original Mortal Kombat as another way to earn koins is the infamous 'Test Your Might'. Last but certainly not least is 'Test Your Sight' - an interesting way to earn more koins, involving cups. However, these are only the single player modes. As with any good beat-'em-up, Deadly Alliance features a link-up option in which you can gamble with your koins. It's your choice as to how much you bet, but finish the fight as the loser and say goodbye to your hard earned cash.

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is not only a decent MK title, but also a decent fighting game full stop. Mastering each character, unlocking the hidden fighters and seeing everything the game has to offer makes Deadly Alliance a game that will last you a long, long time. Throw in the multiplayer and you've got yourself a GBA classic! I have to admit that I'm a huge Mortal Kombat fan, but even so, Deadly Alliance has earned its place as being one of the best fighters available for the GBA. Forget the rush job that was MK Advance; if you've been put off by the series before, it's at least worth a rental to see for yourself that Midway has learned the error of their ways. Kombat fans and fighting fans alike should pick this up as soon as possible.

Reviewed by Alistair Bloomer for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).