MDK

MDK is a third-person shooter game developed by Shiny Entertainment and released in 1997 by Playmates Interactive Entertainment in North America and Interplay Entertainment in Europe for the PC, Macintosh, and subsequently PlayStation. It was one of the first PC games to require a Pentium or equivalent processor, and did not initially have a GPU requirement. The game soundtrack, composed by Tommy Tallarico, was also separately released.

The game tells the story of its human protagonist, Kurt Hectic, and his attempts to rescue Earth from an alien invasion of gigantic strip mining city-vehicles named 'Minecrawlers', that are not only removing all of earth's natural resources but are also flattening any people and cities that get in their way. The game combined action with a sense of humour. It featured a "sniper mode" that allowed the player to zoom in on enemy targets.

A sequel, MDK2 was developed by BioWare and released by Interplay for the PC and Dreamcast in 2000, and later for the PlayStation 2 (titled MDK 2: Armageddon) in 2001.


 * Aliens in Cardiff: The targets of the city minecrawlers are Laguna Beach, Lindfield, Livingston, Kirkaldy and Sparrow Pit.
 * All There in the Manual: Most of the plot of this game, as well as the characterizations, for it doesn't show a proper beginning movie. MDK2 also begins with a recap of the story, with some key details from the manual being put in.
 * Almighty Janitor - Kurt Hectic, who is literally a janitor who prefers to shirk the eyes of the public.
 * Bottomless Magazines - Kurt's Chaingun.
 * The Cameo: In some places (including at least one secret area), there are some Earthworm Jim heads laying around. Futhermore, if you touch one, a cow will appear and fall on an enemy (or you, if there is none).
 * Excuse Plot: Aliens are attacking, and only Kurt Hectic can save the day!
 * The Faceless: Subverted with Kurt, which you can see his face during his Idle Animation, but most people tend not to wait around for long enough to see. Completely Averted in the sequel.
 * Fat Bastard: Gunter Glut AKA Gunta.
 * Fun with Acronyms: Applies to the sequel as well, for neither Shiny or BioWare have explicitly said what the MDK in the title stands for, but popular theories/jokes include Murder, Death, Kill and, in the spirit of the original game's release date, Mother's Day Kisses.
 * Do note that the names of the main characters are Max, Dr. Hawkins, and Kurt.
 * In addition, the title of Kurts original mission in MDK is "Mission: Deliver Kindness".
 * Mad Scientist: Dr. Hawkins is a benign example - after being ridiculed for his "Flange Orbits" theory, he avoids the whole They Called Me Mad routine and instead decides to leave Earth and reside in the Jim Dandy until he comes up with definite proof to back up his theories.
 * Mook Maker: Some enemies come out of these in most levels. In most cases, they do not have to be destroyed, but doing so makes going through the level easier.
 * Timed Mission: There is a certain amount of time you have to complete the level before everyone dies (as represented on a green line gradually turning red around the health counter). You can still complete the leve after time runs out, but it results in Dr. Fluke Hawkins saying you failed. Don't worry, you still go to the next level anyhow.