After purchasing it earlier today and playing it for hours. I have developed mixed feelings about this game. There are things I really like about it and things that I don't. Mortal Kombat has always had a place in my heart from the very beggining. Being an "old school" gamer. I have always prefered the 2d games but appreciated the graphics and level interaction of the newer 3d ones. But even to this day after playing all of the Mortal Kombats, MK2 still seems to be my more prefered Mk game to play to date. I guess i have never been a fan of the dial-a-combo system right off the bat. I feel after playing this game that canned combo's were a thing of the past and should remain that way. Manuel Combo's aka String Combo's (like tekken has got) are ok. If you were amongst the people that could play MK2 against somebody in the arcade. You'd realise that the game had very balanced gameplay and your *** wouldn't get combo'ed to death in seconds due to the lack of button configs you were suppose to remember. That's what was so great about the older 2d games is the basic moves were all the same button presses and only special moves/fatalities required some specific button configuration. With alot of the 3d fighters one button could be a punch for one guy/girl and a kick or sword swing for another guy/girl. The Tekken, Soul Calibur & the Virtua Fighter Series seem to flow great for 3d fighting games. Probably because they were amongst the 1st and few to start in the 3d fighting realm. But there are things I don't like about those games that keep me from purchasing and playing them coughs *wimpy sound effects* and no projectiles to use on button mashers etc. At least mk succeeds where these games have not. I still believe it's side stepping that has plagued lovers of oldschool fighters but that's another story. Ok, I got a little off track there but it's back to MK:A. Now... I will make a list of the things that I liked and things that I didn't like for the game.
Likes...
[Graphics] - They look fantastic, ever since MK:DA they have hit the nail in the head repeatedly for graphics. Oh and I can't wait to see how it looks in 720p (widescreen)!
[Online Play] - Haven't used this feature yet. But I know as far as replay value goes, online is where it's at!
[All Characters] -
[Kreate A Kharacter] - Very kool!, looking forward to seeing what krazy characters people can come up with. It's about time you can really bring upon your own likeness into the MK world.
[Aerial Combat] - I love how they implemented it. Jumping was a big (fun!) factor in old fighters. So I'm glad they are paying homage and looking back to their roots.
Dislikes...
[Animation] - Stiffness, canned combo's etc... are the biggest turnoffs. Yes I know these things were to be expected. Which is why they are wiping the slate clean for future consoles. Thank God!
[Diversions] - These mini games can be amusing but are you buying a fighting game, solely for the fighting game? or for what other games they can mimic? Makes me wonder why they can't be taken as a serious fighter.
[Lack Of Gameplay Modes] - No endurance, team, or tournament modes to enhance replay value. While MK4/Gold had featured all of them. Boy do I feel cheated.
[No 2 Player Konquest] - Shaolin monks was obvisously the better of the two. They were onto something there, it's only a shame they had to take it in the wrong direction.
At least the good things clearly outweigh the bad in this game. If your a fan of MK:DA & MK:D you'll no doubt be one of this latest installment. If your not a fan of the series or really sure, I would recommend renting this game before you buy it. Just to be safe. Well, that's all I really had to say about that.
So now I will make a list of what I hope they would consider implementing for their next installment of MK.
- A new 3d engine.
- Maybe reconsider the button layout, look back to basic movesets for all fighters, so anyone can pick up and play, loose the dial-a-combo's aka canned animations. Bring in manuel string combo's to vary it up some.
- More options, teamplay, endurance, co-op, tournaments, camera angles etc... Be creative.
- Shaolin monks seems it could be a step in the right direction, simple gameplay mechanics, just needs more depth to become a fighter.
- Game physics, implement rag doll physics, add even more environmental interaction, no more canned animations outside of moves performed and landed.
Well... to sum everything up. If you liked the previous MK's you'll like this one too. Just don't expect any big surprises. You'll just have to wait till the next installment. Once I get online cracking I will put my name on here. So you can try to kick my ass for being so harsh with this review (lol).