Group 1: Remnant
Group 2: Dai Kahn
Group 3: Mizrath
Group 4: Persephone
Riyakou Wrote:
Man did I just get slammed. lol
Looking back on it, my Conclusion didn't have the constructive tone that the other characters got. Sorry about that. Hopefully the good points I mentioned in the Story section make up for it somewhat.
Neuros Wrote:
Me next! Me next! Rip my heart out, Umbra! But only if I get you eat your eyes!
Umm...
Full-Kontact Character Beatdown! NEUROS Name: "Neuros" has a bit of a futuristic sound, like a highly evolved future overlord with hyper brain powers. Either that, or he's a demented chaotician. The name rolls off the announcer's tounge perfectly.
Appearance: Ah, so it is the Chaos. His look fits squarely into the MK male archetype, with the bold armor plating and the extra accessories, and this is the first Chaosrealmer we've seen who wears a truly chaotic, non-symmetrical clothing stySWEET MOTHER F▒▒▒ WHAT'S A PLATE NAILED ON HIS FACE. That plate raises some questions about how exactly he eats, sees, breathes, talks, and kisses his mother goodnight, but it's a very unique and totally MK design. Between that and his scarification tattoo of a Chaos symbol, this Chaos guy really loves him some chaos. (We wonder about that "symbol" of chaos, though -- isn't the idea of symbolism in general a recognition of order in the universe?)
His alternate costume has a unique and strong MK feel as well, though his bold clashing colors make him seem slightly cartoonish for a human character, like a Street Fighter or something. MK costumes in general have simple color schemes, with contrasts laced in as highlights rather that big patchy blocks. However, since this pattern does reflect his primary form, it helps to keep him recognizable between wildly different outfits.
(Side note: Green eyes are an exceptionally rare occurrence among natural Orientals.)
Story: Tal Ming's rivalry with the Great Kung Lao is a mirror image of Kung Lao and Liu Kang, right down to sneaking into the tournament in disguise. This at first appears to be a fault, until we realize that this is the twisted fate of one who succumbs to his jealousy and lacks the honor and somewhat good sense of present-day Kung Lao. Comparing the two tales side by side, we no longer see Kung Lao as such a pompous douche-canoe and he becomes a likable hero again.
Next, we get to see exactly how he loses his mind and gains his reality-warping powers. And with these powers we now know how he survives with a manhole cover bolted to his skull. All the pieces are falling into place. So far so good.
Neuros becomes one with Chaos (it must have been his true destiny, since he picked out the perfect codename well ahead of time) and wanders in and out other characters' lives in ways that are both meaningful to the story and personally important to Neuros. He quietly leaves his comrades behind in true chaotic fashion, and enters the tournament with the clear purpose of killing Kung Lao, in history's most bizarre case of mistaken identity.
His ending finds him getting distracted and accidentally defeating Shao Kahn (Whoopsie!) thereby gaining even more-godlike abilities. Now infused with ultimate power and nigh unstoppable, he raises his hands to the heavens and declares to the Gods:
"Ultimate power is sooo BORING!" (Paraphrasing here.) It kind of makes sense for a Chaos guy, because if he knows he's always going to win the fight, there's not so much tension and unpredictability. So instead he wanders off to his own little world to fight an endless army of his own clones, which we imagine will also quickly become boring -- at which point they will probably scatter across reality and become a scourge upon the realms. Or not. It's Chaos!
Gameplay: Neuros's fighting style combines blinking in and out of existence with martial arts Tourette's syndrome, making him potentially even tricksier than Noob Saibot. In his secondary costume as Tal Ming, his abilities are made to look "normal" the way Cyrax and Sektor's human forms have humanized attacks. It sounds like a pretty cool character point, as it is with the cyborgs -- but based on the description, it seems like the two styles would have a hard time matching up. The cyborgs only need to change their animations when their special weapons get involved, and in general it's a minor change. Neuros's rifting has to be replaced with "lunges and high flips", which requires a whole new set of motion captures, and would probably result in the two costumes feeling like completely different characters. Indeed, a high flip is vulnerable to attack in a way that a cosmic rift isn't, so the gameplay would be noticeably different on a technical level.
Neuros in his Chaos form has some pretty cool moves that capitalize on his powers and his weapon; Madness Blast is particularly innovative. The X-ray choreography is unique and memorable, and the "Brain Frenzy" Fatality is both clever and sinister. "Puppet Show of Pain" is an equally awesome finisher for Neuros, but it's hard to imagine the ordinary human Tal Ming having these powers. Take away the Nexus-energy bit and "Brain Frenzy" works well enough with a little suspension of disbelief -- not so much for "Puppet Show."
Personality: Neuros comes across as a very scary man. Meet him in a dark alley, or any alley, or any
where at all, and you'll quickly learn that shitting your pants makes a handy lubricant to make your legs run faster. Neuros is scary because, unlike other Chaos people like Havik, his madness has a very personal touch. Plus, he also seems to have a hint of the Joker in him. And he has a freaking chunk of metal for a face.
Conclusion: After some tinkering in the gameplay department for his alternate costume, Neuros could totally win Mortal Kombat. Or, since Neuros hasn't been Tal Ming for 500 years anyway, maybe just ditch that costume and save NRS all the extra development work.
Beatdown Lineup: Ameerah, Phantom, Dead Soul, Blizzard
And then, as a true test of my objectivity, I will attempt to Beatdown my own character Eastwind.
art by fear-sAs
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big thanks to flameshang for the sig. 
