Mortal Kombat: Special Forces

Overview

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces is a 3D top-down action game developed and published by Midway on July 30, 2000 for the Sony PlayStation. Part of the Mortal Kombat franchise, Mortal Kombat: Special Forces is a spin-off title to the fighting game series and, like Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (released three years prior), serves as a prologue to the original Mortal Kombat while focusing on a narrow group of primary characters. While primary a 3D beat-em-up, the game used many mechanics made commonplace in other game genres at the time, such as the experience point and item system of RPGs and a restrictive first-person shooter mechanic.

The game puts players as the role of steel-armed Jackson "Jax" Briggs, a Major of the United States Special Forces, as he hunts down Kano, leader of the infamous Black Dragon gang, with the help of his base operative, Gemini. Along the way, he encounters other Black Dragon members freed by Kano from a maximum security prison, such as the pyromaniac No Face, expert swordswoman Tasia, brutish second-in-command Jarek, and hulkish brown ninja Tremor. He soon learns, however, that Kano has an otherworldly goal in mind.  Sonya Blade was originally slated to appear as a second playable character alongside Jax, but was cut out.