I know that this is kind of old news by now but I saw the thread and felt the need to weigh in.
I'm still kind of wondering, how did the original concept for MK8 not make it past the "conceptual phase?" Were they worried that by giving MK fans what they've been clamoring for since MK:D came out (a coherant story, new characters that were actually good, a fighting system that wasn't based in the early 90's and darker, more grown up overall experience) that this would appeal less to the overall gaming market, thus hurting sales?
Here's my take on that, if that was indeed their line of thinking: Good games sell. Bad games don't. Sure, you've got exceptions. Beyond Good & Evil was a good game that didn't sell well. 50 Cent Bulletproof however was a bad game that did sell a good number of copies. But overall, a game that has the name recognition of Mortal Kombat could sell well and probably even more if the hardcore fighting fan found it it to be a great and rewarding experience.
However, a majority of hardcore gamers will tell you that the last several games have been noticably thin. Not in terms of expansive adventure modes, minigames or overall content (from characters to hidden goodies), but in the exceedingly limited fighting system itself.
Until the creators of MK realize that fighting game fans don't want to play as the same character with different special moves swapped in, this series will continue to have to rely on gimmicks, non-fighting modes, minigames, and dare I say crossovers (ugh, I really hope that won't turn into the trend with this series) to sell titles.
I've heard Boon talk in the past about wanting to give gamers a "complete" experience when playing MK, as if making a complete FIGHTING game isn't good enough. There needs to be a cross-genre hodge podge of junk. Nevermind the fact that MK:A only had story mode, vs, online vs and practice mode in terms of ACTUAL FIGHTING GAME MODES. If you're not hooked up to the magical interweb, your options were even less. No tag mode, no survival mode, no team battle mode, no tournament mode or anything that most fighting games have standard. No new fighting modes either for that matter.
But fighting game mode options and real character move list variety aren't important because I can play a kart racing minigame? Yeah no thanks.
I just wonder if the MK team saw nothing but dollar signs when they came up with this idea for a crossover. Let's see, comic book to movie adaptations are still hot, let's cash in?
Or maybe the MK team simply can't make a modern fighting game as well as they used to make 2D games?
I don't know, but whatever the case, the original ideas that Boon talked about for MK8 at least had me excited. A darker, grittier MK with more of a return to the series roots. Wiping the slate clean and starting over with alot of new characters and a new story. I thought that this could be cool, but if it couldn't even make it past the conceptual stage, than that kinda leaves me with little confidence that the MK team can actually be successful in pulling off such a series makeover.
They haven't really made any compelling characters since MK:DA, and even those weren't spectacular and overly memorable. The move lists were swap in/swap out and the special moves didn't necessarily knock my socks off either (ooh, Drahmin has a SF-style uppercut and a move where he...um, winds his arm a few times?).
So here's my hope, my dream, my one wish for this series:
Guys... Get help. If you have to pull a writer or writers from a different series (whether it be Legacy of Kain, Metal Gear Solid, whatever) then do so. Because the previous MK storyline was effectively driven into the ground with Deception. Some would argue before MK:D.
Bring in some more talented character designers. If you choose to revamp the series, you need to do it with characters that will be memorable to gamers. Characters that will at least come close to making MK fans forget about Sub Zero and Scorpion.
Lastly, bring in some people that know how to make a modern fighting game. If you have to steal them from Namco, Tecmo (I hear that Itigaki guy could use some work, I'll bet half his team would probably follow him too) or Sega, then so be it.
No, I'm not asking for MK:Dead or Alive. I'm not saying that MK should be like all of the other fighting games out there. I'm only saying that there are many modern advances in technology that allow for much more than what the MK team is doing graphically and with the fighting engine itself (really, you don't have to swap fighting styles and special moves between characters to conserve memory).
There are also modern advances in the genre that make the fighting experience smoother, that allow characters to move around in a more, well, human way.
I don't mean to sound so critical. Obviously I love the MK series. I'm disappointed with the abandonment of MK8 as the "new" MK game, but I'm hopeful that the MK team can cook up that original idea and make something big and impressive that not only has the quantity that MK has been touting over the years, but the quality in terms of characters, gameplay, story etc that has been somewhat lessened over the years.
If MK9 is real, and in any point in it's development cycle, I really hope that they focus on the gameplay/fighting engine first and try to make the most important part of the game (ie the fighting) fun and engaging before moving on to the superflous stuff.
Oh yeah, and give me a freakin survival mode before you go adding chess games and kart racers will ya!
