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''MDK'' is a Third-person Shooter Game developed by Shiny Entertainment and released in 1997 by Interplay for the PC , Macintosh , and PlayStation . It was one of the first games to run only in Pentium or superior range of processors (for the PC version) and was one of last without a GPU requirement. Critically, it was one of the best games of 1997 , and sold accordingly. The game soundtrack, composed by Tommy Tallarico , was also released, with moderate success. The game tells the story of its protagonist, Kurt Hectic and his attempts to rescue Earth from an Alien Invasion . The game combined fast action with great graphics (for the time), as well as weird and Grotesque sense of humour. A sequel, ') in 2001 . TECHNOLOGY The game uses a powerful software-based engine, unlike most other games that relied on "brute force" hardware acceleration, low resolution graphics or tricks such as Fogging and Clipping to maintain good FPS in large maps. Although a fast CPU was recommended, the game ran smoothly with (relatively) low RAM and a slow CD-ROM drive, as the game did not use FMV (which by 1997 was the video game component that required more drive speed). The game also surprised the industry with the fluidity of Kurt's movement, which was done using Motion Capture and Sprite -based animation. One of the most innovative features was the Sniper mode, where player could zoom in all the way from one side of the map to the other without having objects popping up. GAMEPLAY Gameplay-wise, the game is a standard third-person shooter, slightly similar to Tomb Raider , although with less emphasis on puzzles and jumping sequences and a more linear style of play. As expected, Kurt has a wide range of weapons to choose from, but in the third person view only the unlimited ammo chaingun (and the upgrade, super chaingun, which carries twice the power but has limited ammo) and the hand grenades are available. The true focus of the game is in the sniper mode, where more weapons are available. As with the chaingun, the regular bullet is unlimited, but there are other limited munitions such as the sniper grenade, mortars and even a (rather comical) airstrike. Up to three shots can be fired simultaneously, and each of them is tracked in one of three windows above the zoomed view. Most of the puzzles in the game are solved with the sniper mode. While the chaingun is the best option to clear nearby enemies, it's completely ineffective at medium and long ranges. The enemies, when out of range or protected by glass, tease, wave and Moon at Kurt, who had to either aim between a gap or employ the use of a mortar to proceed. There are other items that can be picked up, including the ''World's Smallest Nuclear Bomb'', a dummy decoy, health powerups (one that boosted Kurt's hitpoints by over 100 was called ''the most cowardly powerup'') (which, true to it's name, ran away when the player approached it), and ''The Worlds Most Interesting Bomb''. In addition to the third person shooter and first person shooter sniper portions of the game, there are also several minigames including a snowboarding type sequence as well as an overhead bombing sequence. These short sequences blend seamlessly into the action and often aid Kurt through supplying powerups or clearing enemies. MEANING OF ''MDK'' While the actual meaning of the title's TLA is not revealed within the game, the gaming press and fans adopted Murder , '''D'''eath , '''K'''ill (used to designate Homicide s) as the official title, going with the game's tagline ''In a good day, only 2.5 billion people will die''. In interviews, Shiny employees gave each one their own version - ''My Dog Ken''; ''Max, Dr. Hawkins, and Kurt''; ''Million Dollar KO''; ''Massive Dollops of Ketchup''; ''Mother's Day Kisses''; and ''My Diary something beginning with K''. Yet another possibility is documented inside the game manual, where Kurt's mission is named ''Mission: Deliver Kindness''. In the European version of the game, the background images of the installation program present many possible meanings for the letters M, D and K; some silly, some believable, and one of them "Murder, Death, Kill." It is revealed in the "Making of MDK" booklet that came with the "Limited Edition" of the game that the term was actually the game's Codename , when Shiny came around to coming up with a name for the game, they chose to stick with the codename. However, there is no information available as to why "MDK" was chosen in the first place. The British computer magazine, PC Format, in a prelude to an interview they published with the shiny director, said that the game was indeed called "Murder, Death, Kill" but was changed to "MDK" to give it a lower rating as the rating authorities in Britain felt it was too violent a name. This was then turned into a marketing campaign with various silly meanings for "MDK" given followed by a question mark, such as "Madonna Dates Kylie?". One final possibility is from the French band Magma (band) , which had an album called Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh . Even though the premise isn't the same, the idea of Kurt in his suit being a "Mechanic Destructive Commando" does make a certain amount of sense. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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