Well, now that the game is out, I think it's time give out the real critiques. The fans perspective, if you will. There are some positives and negatives of MK:D, and I will list my opinion here:
First, the negatives:
The repition. The MK team made the new old again by giving many of the new characters at least one recycled fighting style from MK:DA. Some, like Shujinko, have two. He has both of Kung Lao's. I'm sure it's tough to come up with new styles, but giving Hotaru the Pi Gua stance etc just takes away from the characters.
The move lists. Where are the 6 specials per character we were promised?? Sure some have that many, while others, like Hotaru have only 2 moves. That's just lame.
The voice acting. I know its MK, and the voice acting has that old martial arts dubbed over acting, but after an hour or two in konquest, you'll hang your head more than a few times. It's bad to the point where it's not even funny.
The graphics. Konquest looks like a late PS1 game. There, I said it. Who knew that grass could be so flat? Honestly, if they were going to add this gameplay mode, they should've bothered to take the time to make it the best it could be.
Konquest. In general, this mode entertains. But after a while, you'll realize that the fetch quests pile up, and you've got nothing but your own memory to keep them straight. I beat konquest last night, and I still have at least 20 unfinished quests. What are they? Well, I think Sektor's still damaged... Oh, and Rain needs some Shokan dagger... Other than that, your guess is as good as mine.
Now for the good:
This game is fun, period. It's addictive.
Collecting. Anyone that likes collecting things in games like coins, secrets etc will be in heaven. There are so many sidequests in konquest that you'll be fiddling with it for a long time.
Nostalgia. If you like the old games, you'll love playing as Ermac, Nightwolf, Sindel, Baraka etc.
Characters: The new and returning characters are all fun to use. Well, except Dairou. I don't know why, but he's just boring to me. Sure, I find some characters easier to use than others (Darrius is very easy, Jade not so much) but the balace is better and so are the stories.
Overall, I'd give MK:D an 8.7 out of 10. It's really good, but until they make the fighting engine better, and stop focusing on minigames and what not, it'll never be elite. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing MK or MK:D. I like the game. it's fun. But the characters and controls are still too stiff and they all play way too similarly. That said, it's still a great game!
What do you think?