<s>
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
is	O
a	O
1997	O
arcade	O
fighting	O
game	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
fourth	O
main	O
installment	O
in	O
the	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
franchise	O
and	O
a	O
sequel	O
to	O
1995	O
's	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
3	I-Application
.	O
developed	O
by	O
Midway	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
to	O
arcades	O
in	O
1997	O
,	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
is	O
the	O
first	O
title	O
from	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
and	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
made	O
by	O
Midway	O
overall	O
,	O
to	O
use	O
3D	O
computer	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
later	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
,	O
PC	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
the	O
following	O
year	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
an	O
updated	O
version	O
titled	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Gold	I-Application
released	O
exclusively	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Dreamcast	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gameplay	O
system	O
in	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
is	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
previous	O
games	O
;	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
notable	O
additions	O
is	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
weapons	O
and	O
objects	O
during	O
fights	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Co-creator	O
Ed	O
Boon	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
staff	O
wanted	O
to	O
make	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
more	O
violent	O
than	O
its	O
predecessors	O
,	O
removing	O
the	O
comical	O
finishing	O
moves	O
featured	O
in	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
received	O
generally	O
positive	O
response	O
from	O
critics	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
the	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
is	O
played	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
way	O
to	O
the	O
previous	O
titles	O
from	O
the	O
series	O
;	O
the	O
run	O
button	O
and	O
combos	O
are	O
still	O
used	O
,	O
and	O
despite	O
the	O
3D	O
graphics	O
,	O
characters	O
are	O
restricted	O
to	O
a	O
2D	O
path	O
except	O
of	O
sidestepping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Trilogy	I-Application
which	O
contained	O
multiple	O
finishing	O
moves	O
of	O
various	O
kinds	O
,	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
has	O
the	O
standard	O
two	O
Fatalities	O
per	O
character	O
,	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
two	O
Stage	O
Fatalities	O
that	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
done	O
in	O
certain	O
arenas	O
and	O
involve	O
the	O
winning	O
character	O
throwing	O
their	O
opponent	O
into	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
arena	O
where	O
they	O
are	O
killed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thousands	O
of	O
years	O
before	O
the	O
setting	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
,	O
Shinnok	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
Elder	O
Gods	O
who	O
control	O
the	O
six	O
realms	O
in	O
the	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
universe	O
,	O
attempted	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
conqueror	O
of	O
them	O
all	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
is	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
the	O
characters	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
character	O
selection	O
roster	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fujin	O
-	O
Raiden	O
's	O
ally	O
,	O
the	O
Wind	O
God	O
who	O
first	O
appeared	O
in	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Mythologies	I-Application
:	I-Application
Sub-Zero	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Quan	O
Chi	O
had	O
previously	O
appeared	O
in	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Mythologies	I-Application
:	I-Application
Sub-Zero	I-Application
and	O
in	O
the	O
TV	O
show	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
:	O
Defenders	O
of	O
the	O
Realm	O
,	O
however	O
this	O
is	O
his	O
first	O
appearance	O
in	O
a	O
fighting	O
game	O
and	O
in	O
which	O
he	O
is	O
playable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shinnok	O
appears	O
both	O
as	O
a	O
playable	O
character	O
and	O
the	O
final	O
boss	O
of	O
this	O
game	O
,	O
after	O
originally	O
appearing	O
in	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Mythologies	I-Application
:	I-Application
Sub-Zero	I-Application
,	O
also	O
as	O
the	O
final	O
boss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Liu	O
Kang	O
-	O
A	O
Shaolin	O
monk	O
and	O
a	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Champion	O
who	O
seeks	O
to	O
defeat	O
Shinnok	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Gold	I-Application
features	O
five	O
additional	O
characters	O
and	O
one	O
more	O
secret	O
character	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ed	O
Boon	O
,	O
co-creator	O
of	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
found	O
it	O
difficult	O
to	O
lead	O
the	O
development	O
team	O
for	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
due	O
to	O
the	O
considerable	O
increase	O
in	O
staff	O
since	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
first	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
title	O
,	O
with	O
him	O
as	O
the	O
only	O
programmer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Midway	O
staff	O
wanted	O
to	O
remove	O
the	O
comical	O
elements	O
from	O
the	O
previous	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
titles	O
,	O
so	O
they	O
focused	O
on	O
making	O
Fatalities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
the	O
Animality	O
finishing	O
moves	O
from	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
3	I-Application
were	O
removed	O
since	O
the	O
transformation	O
of	O
a	O
character	O
into	O
an	O
animal	O
was	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
difficult	O
to	O
make	O
in	O
3D	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
development	O
team	O
had	O
previously	O
worked	O
on	O
War	B-Application
Gods	I-Application
,	O
Midway	O
's	O
first	O
3D	O
fighting	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Ed	O
Boon	O
was	O
skeptical	O
about	O
the	O
quality	O
of	O
the	O
result	O
noting	O
that	O
the	O
gameplay	O
would	O
be	O
slower	O
than	O
previous	O
titles	O
,	O
he	O
decided	O
to	O
hand-animate	O
frames	O
with	O
timings	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
fashion	O
to	O
Street	B-Application
Fighter	I-Application
EX	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
was	O
placed	O
on	O
Ed	O
Boon	O
's	O
website	O
promoting	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4s	I-Application
third	O
arcade	O
revision	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
opted	O
to	O
use	O
an	O
EPROM	B-General_Concept
instead	O
of	O
a	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
for	O
the	O
arcade	O
hardware	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
lower	O
cost	O
,	O
and	O
because	O
it	O
would	O
allow	O
the	O
fast	O
access	O
time	O
needed	O
for	O
familiar	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
features	O
such	O
as	O
changing	O
backgrounds	O
in	O
mid-fight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
arcade	O
version	O
of	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
September	O
1997	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
later	O
that	O
same	O
year	O
in	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
upgraded	O
version	O
titled	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Gold	I-Application
was	O
also	O
released	O
exclusively	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Dreamcast	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
game	O
based	O
on	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
was	O
released	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eurocom	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
previously	O
developed	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
version	O
of	O
Ultimate	B-Application
Mortal	I-Application
Kombat	I-Application
3	I-Application
,	O
was	O
in	O
charge	O
of	O
making	O
the	O
console	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
worked	O
for	O
roughly	O
eight	O
months	O
to	O
finish	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
all	O
the	O
traits	O
from	O
the	O
arcade	O
mode	O
were	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
home	O
version	O
,	O
Eurocom	O
had	O
to	O
reduce	O
the	O
polygon	O
count	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
more	O
limited	O
resources	O
of	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PC	B-Device
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
versions	O
run	O
FMV	B-Application
intro	O
,	O
bios	O
and	O
endings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
,	O
being	O
a	O
cartridge	O
game	O
,	O
uses	O
the	O
in-game	O
character	O
animations	O
to	O
run	O
them	O
just	O
like	O
its	O
arcade	O
counterpart	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
two	O
platforms	O
that	O
offer	O
FMV	B-Application
endings	O
have	O
a	O
different	O
ending	O
for	O
Reiko	O
in	O
which	O
he	O
goes	O
into	O
a	O
portal	O
leading	O
to	O
Shao	O
Kahn	O
's	O
throne	O
room	O
,	O
sits	O
on	O
the	O
throne	O
and	O
has	O
Shao	O
Kahn	O
's	O
helmet	O
come	O
down	O
onto	O
him	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
expanded	O
version	O
titled	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
Gold	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Eurocom	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
1999	O
as	O
a	O
launch	O
title	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Dreamcast	I-Operating_System
in	O
both	O
regions	O
,	O
on	O
September	O
9	O
on	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
on	O
October	O
14	O
in	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
contains	O
several	O
additional	O
characters	O
(	O
Baraka	O
,	O
Cyrax	B-Application
,	O
Kitana	O
,	O
Mileena	O
,	O
Kung	O
Lao	O
and	O
hidden	O
Sektor	O
)	O
and	O
stages	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
new	O
weapon	O
select	O
mechanism	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
version	O
of	O
MK4	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Digital	O
Eclipse	O
and	O
released	O
by	O
Midway	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
a	O
few	O
speech	O
clips	O
,	O
and	O
instead	O
of	O
using	O
the	O
in-game	O
graphics	O
for	O
the	O
Fatalities	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
uses	O
short	O
FMV	B-Application
clips	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
port	O
's	O
2D	O
engine	O
reuses	O
the	O
game	O
engine	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Game	O
Boy	O
port	O
of	O
MK3	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
same	O
character	O
select	O
screen	O
,	O
"	O
Choose	O
Your	O
Destiny	O
"	O
screen	O
,	O
and	O
how	O
the	O
characters	O
move	O
and	O
interact	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
arcade	O
's	O
road	O
tour	O
,	O
news	O
programs	O
commented	O
on	O
the	O
violence	O
from	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
expressed	O
concern	O
on	O
how	O
it	O
would	O
affect	O
the	O
players	O
 '	O
personalities	O
;	O
Ed	O
Boon	O
replied	O
that	O
there	O
were	O
already	O
games	O
more	O
violent	O
than	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
only	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
of	O
the	O
violent	O
games	O
and	O
therefore	O
the	O
most	O
prominent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameRankings	O
had	O
an	O
average	O
of	O
76.07	O
%	O
from	O
20	O
reviews	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
75.75	O
%	O
with	O
16	O
reviews	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
,	O
and	O
72.14	O
%	O
with	O
14	O
reviews	O
for	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
the	O
gameplay	O
was	O
said	O
to	O
be	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
previous	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PlayStation	B-Device
and	O
PC	B-Device
ports	O
have	O
been	O
said	O
to	O
have	O
improvements	O
over	O
the	O
arcade	O
game	O
such	O
as	O
having	O
more	O
responsive	O
controls	O
and	O
the	O
exclusive	O
FMV	B-Application
scenes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
IGN	O
mentioned	O
that	O
playing	O
the	O
PC	B-Device
port	O
would	O
become	O
"	O
stale	O
"	O
unless	O
the	O
player	O
"	O
had	O
an	O
extra	O
pad	O
and	O
a	O
friend	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
Official	O
UK	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Magazine	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
"	O
the	O
same	O
old	O
stuff	O
trotted	O
out	O
with	O
a	O
fresh	O
coat	O
of	O
pixels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
port	O
received	O
positive	O
response	O
for	O
being	O
faithful	O
to	O
the	O
arcade	O
version	O
,	O
with	O
GameSpot	O
giving	O
it	O
a	O
"	O
Great	O
"	O
8.9	O
and	O
IGN	O
a	O
"	O
Great	O
"	O
8.8	O
,	O
though	O
they	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
graphics	O
were	O
not	O
as	O
good	O
as	O
those	O
of	O
the	O
arcade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
reviewed	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
rating	O
it	O
three	O
stars	O
out	O
of	O
five	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
is	O
a	O
guilty	O
pleasure	O
;	O
although	O
it	O
's	O
unoriginal	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
fast	O
and	O
rewarding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Next	O
Generation	O
reviewed	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
rating	O
it	O
two	O
stars	O
out	O
of	O
five	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
Overall	O
,	O
MK4	O
is	O
by	O
no	O
means	O
incompetent	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
's	O
a	O
fine	O
port	O
of	O
the	O
arcade	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Had	O
it	O
not	O
been	O
released	O
on	O
a	O
system	O
teeming	O
with	O
great	O
fighting	O
games	O
,	O
it	O
might	O
stand	O
a	O
chance	O
,	O
but	O
on	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
there	O
's	O
little	O
to	O
distinguish	O
it.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Color	I-Device
version	O
received	O
poor	O
reviews	O
from	O
publications	O
such	O
as	O
GameSpot	O
,	O
whose	O
editor	O
Jeff	O
Gerstmann	O
gave	O
it	O
a	O
3.5	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
due	O
to	O
how	O
different	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
from	O
the	O
other	O
ports	O
and	O
how	O
unresponsive	O
the	O
controls	O
are	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
retrospective	O
,	O
GamesRadar	O
criticized	O
the	O
endings	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
using	O
a	O
compilation	O
from	O
them	O
for	O
an	O
April	O
Fool	O
joke	O
,	O
labelling	O
them	O
as	O
hilarious	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
poor	O
quality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
was	O
ranked	O
as	O
having	O
the	O
third	O
best	O
Game	B-Application
Over	I-Application
screen	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
by	O
GamePro	O
in	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
summary	O
in	O
to	O
the	O
series	O
 '	O
retrospective	O
by	O
IGN	O
,	O
"	O
With	O
interest	O
in	O
ultraviolence	O
waning	O
,	O
3D	O
becoming	O
commonplace	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
photorealism	O
now	O
gone	O
,	O
Mortal	B-Application
Kombat	I-Application
4	I-Application
was	O
unable	O
to	O
replicate	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
its	O
predecessors.	O
"	O
</s>
