Initial Thoughts On The New Mortal Kombat

Going to pass on this one. The game is still really ugly, especially the animation. The fighting doesn't look particularly interesting, and knowing the Mortal Kombat team's reputation when it comes to gameplay, it probably isn't very well designed either.

Too many ninjas. No love for Johnny Cage? Him and Scorpion were always my favorites. Oh, Kano and Jax were awesome as well.

Really, fighting games are the only reason why I would consider buying a console, there are some awesome games out there that will never see the light of day on the PC.

I look forward to your review, True. I read the write-up on Giant Bomb and it sounds like this is the best Mortal Kombat and one of the best fighting games in general in a very long time. It's on my "I'd like to buy this one" list.

This one is definitely on my list. I downloaded the demo ages ago and thought the characters looked pretty sexy.

Please tell me you think Sheeva is hot. I feel like I'm the only one.

Also, Goro is a mother fucker.

She looks kinda like Grace Jones to me, with washboard abs. I'm more of a Mileena fan. =)

Oh God...you're right. She looks like Grace Jones...and I find her attractive. Does that mean...?

No! I don't even want to think about it.

Does that mean...?

I know exactly what you're thinking about!

... r... right? >__>

I'll wait for the inevitable price drop. It looks cool, though.

It's games like this that make me want to rob banks.

I will let you borrow it, Joe. In like a year when I'm bored with it...

I'm honestly excited. Us MK fans have had to endure absolute slews of horrible, horrible games after MK2 and MK3, and it's nice that the franchise is getting some decent treatment. I liked MK vs DC alright but honestly Midway disbanding and WB soaking up the franchise was the best thing that could've happened to it. That's not even mentioning the webseries.

Yeah, it's exciting enough that I went ahead and acted on my interest and picked up a copy for the PS3. I hope I get some time to play it soon.

Mortal Kombat so far...

Twenty years ago, arcades all around the U.S. saw an unprecedented surge, the event spear-headed by two extraordinary titles on opposite sides of the spectrum. Prior to that, the genre was practically unheard of but their success would ignite a wave of copy-cats and mock-ups. Yet those two games—for years—would remain on top, relentlessly contending for ultimate supremacy. Technical players flocked to Street Fighter II for its flawless mechanics and incredible design, casual players poured quarters into Mortal Kombat for its simple structure and shock value. Regardless of which side you chose, there’s no arguing that these two titles shoved the fighting genre into the spotlight for many years to come.

Then, they simply faded away into obscurity…

Both marred by sequels and spin-offs that strayed too far from the original magic, a lack of effort and a drought of new ideas. When hope seemed all but lost, Capcom reemerged almost two decades later with the straight-forward, redesigned Street Fighter IV. And as it had in the 90’s, the franchise blazed a trail, bringing fighting games brand new life and giving players something to be excited about. It was almost inevitable that Mortal Kombat would soon follow. Yet many—I included—had lost faith in the long-running series. Years of watching it drift aimlessly away from its starting point will do that and I worried that this so-called reboot would fade even further, that Netherrealm would drive the series even further into the abyss by going bigger and bolder in order to contend.

Not surprisingly, they did. It was, though, something I never saw coming and an idea that works flawlessly in nearly every aspect: simplicity.

Perhaps following the example set by Street Fighter IV, Mortal Kombat chisels away the past fifteen years, focusing solely on the original aspects that made the first title so phenomenal and bringing it back to what it used to be. Violence and carnage the driving force. Fatalities are no longer watered-down, almost peaceful antics in an effort to appeal to the masses; rather, I believe they were designed to make said masses puke. Each was more gruesome than the next. I thought I had seen the worst of them when Kratos shoved his opponent down to their knees, plunged the Blade of Olympus through their back, out their stomach and yanked up, splitting his victim in half from stomach to head. That of course was before Kung Lao. He slammed Scorpion onto his back, hurled his hat into the ground and sent it spinning like a razor-sharp table saw, then proceeded to grab Scorpion by the ankles and drag him crotch first into the rotating blade. When it was all over, Scorpion was ripped in half like a sheet of paper, his two sides tossed carelessly away.

It was the most violent thing I’d ever seen in a video game and it was only the beginning. Netherrealm has made Mortal Kombat utterly relentless when it comes to shock. Prior sequels had only fleeting moments of gore to be found at the end of matches. By introducing the X-Ray attacks, each battle is saturated with sickening CGI. Baraka’s blades are shoved into throats and eyeballs, Sub-Zero’s frozen grip used to ice over and crush a stomach, Jade’s staff slamming into spines. All of this, mind you, is entirely visible, skin becomes transparent so that you can see skulls turn to powder, rib cages crumble and muscles seize up and strain. All of these are universal and done simply with one combination.

I want to play around more, finish story mode and see a few more character's endings, maybe try some online battles but I don't see why this can't be up tomorrow or even the next day. A shame I can't enter it into a contest.

We can make a contest for you to enter. I'll set it up tomorrow: "Best Mortal Kombat review written by True this week" and I'll judge.

Why all the bold? Are those your words, or a quote from somewhere?

Just to differentiate from my words and the review.

I have a couple other MK reviews on here, so I'll sign up for that contest.