If he doesn't have an alternate costume where he's young and clean shaven with long black hair and a black trench coat, I will be sorely disappointed.

No, the leaker guessed based on the pictures of the character select screen that got leaked later. Those pictures of the character select screen were known since January. They got passed along to the leaker, who probably wanted their five minutes of fame,and released them to the public. The leaker should be disregarded as everything he wrote was based on those leaked character select screens. The only reason why people think Shang Tsung, Mileena and Shinnok are unlockables is because the leaker mixed them in with the legitimate info ie the leaked character select screen.

Disregard the leaker and only believe the leaked character select screen. Like I said previously, any character without a portrait had the first three initials of their name instead. Shang Tsung, Mileena and Shinnok were guesses by the leaker.

As much as I appreciate your backing me up on this, I'd still say that if you are the kind of fan who is deeply invested in which characters are in or out of the game, to the point where the roster can ruin your enjoyment of the game (and thus sink its entertainment value) then buying the cheaper option or abstaining completely are also legitimate decisions.

If you are feeling a visceral negative reaction to the figures you're seeing on screen (or if you can't stand the gameplay changes, or whatever) then it really isn't worth so much of your investment and taking a step back is probably not a bad idea.

Man, look.

At the end of the day, we each decide the value of the game. Whether or not it's worth 60 bucks is entirely up to you. I felt MKX wasn't worth my money so I didn't buy it. I feel MK11 might be worth my money, so I'm probably gonna buy it. That's all there is to it in the end. Let your wallet do the talking.

I will say this, though. Tagawa Shang Tsung is one DLC I definitely think is worth the money.

The leaker actually took a guess because they have supposedly multiple sources who were saying different things. Supposedly Shang was going to be a secret character but got relegated to DLC late in the process. My own opinion is if that's true maybe either because 1) Cary Tagawa = $$$ or 2) Because of the leak to keep some surprises but again, my own speculation. So if that is credible, I don't know if that means they switched one of the DLC's with Shang or what. But yes, Mileena and Shinnok are still in according to these folk. Time will ultimately tell for sure, but apparently they think NRS may have just made a switch late in the game.

That is all I've read on the topic though, I've been busy at work this week and haven't had much time to catch up on the rumors and stuff.

I like how the Krypt continues to develop, going from a tomb where you purchased things from coffins with Koins in MK:DA to a location on Shang Tsung's Island where the man himself is your guide. It'd have been easy to just more or less stick with a simple option in the menu to click around and unlock stuff, so it's interesting seeing them put effort into how to present it as an actual place with characters we know.

And a Tagawa portrayal of Tsung is fantastic to see again. The actor's portrayal in the movie is still what many people think of when they remember both the movie and Shang Tsung as a character, so it's a smart move to bring him back.

This. Some people never go to the movies or don’t care to play each character entirely through the arcade mode so I’m missing the comparison. If everyone took this false “objective" approach in determining if a video game is worth purchasing sans DLC, then what games would anyone buy? All I’m hearing is, "captialism so shut up." Just b/c you’re okay w/ a money grab and spend whatever time rationalizing it in whatever manner you do, doesn’t mean everyone else has to. There’s an opposite end to everything that was said above... if people aren’t satisfied w/ the product and decide NOT to purchase the product, then that product has little or NO value not matter how you compare it.

I agree. That would be amazing.

It sounds like we're on the same page then. If you don't think it's worth the price to you, don't buy it. It's right there in both of my posts.

Dude. How many times did I say that if you don't think you're going to like the product, then not buying it is a perfectly fine thing to do? I was only describing why, if you do like the game and believe it's worth the price compared to other forms of entertainment, the DLC is actually not the kind of ripoff that some make it out to be. All it means is that the full price of the game is $100 instead of $60, but you can still pay $60 for a "downgraded" version if that's all you want. Or you can skip it altogether if you don't expect to like it. It all depends on what it's worth to you, and my post was all about what it was worth to me.

There is no disagreement between what you said and what I said. Why are so many people so eager to argue with me without actually reading and comprehending the things that I say.

Agree with the above.

There isn't anything that's forcing you to pay any extra money or even to buy the game all together. There is no trickery in it at all. They announced having DLCs and they announced Shang Tsung as a DLC... Want it ? Get it otherwise leave it.

To me the game has tons of content and it's worth it's price and the DLC intrigues me so I am planning to get it.

Those devs are real people.... They got to get money to continue working and feed whoever families they have.

Got goosebumps watching Shang's trailer. I'm not kidding.

For MKX, I waited for the XL edition and even waited to get it cheap. Not because I thought the game wasn't worth it, because a lot of game-developers work hard to make a game. But just because I'm in a situation where I just can't spend that amount of money for a game (and that I like to have everything on disc). So my options are: don't buy the game or have patience to get the game at a later date and hopefully at a cheaper price. I've spend a long time just watching gameplay of MKX.

To me, what a game is worth and what I'm willing to spend are too different things. The former being the effort that developers did and how the game speaks to me, and the latter being depended on my situation at that time.

This time I'm more fortunate and I don't have to make that decision. A friend of mine pre-ordered MK11 for me (don't know which version), just because he knows how much I like it and can't afford it at the moment. And around 2 weeks after release is my birthday, but he didn't want me to miss the Shao Kahn pre-order just for those 2 weeks.
I told him I'm fine with just the base game... but now that Shang Tsung is anounced as dlc, I'm hoping for the... euhm... premium edition(?).

Speaking of waiting for MK games... I never bought MK vs DC... I was at Gamestop yesterday, and I picked up a used copy off the shelf. It was $7.... I then realized (and confirmed) it wasn't backwards compatible. I put it back down and left.

So that's not buying a game you don't like the look of still working in long term action! *High Five*

(I feel I should play it someday for posterity, I just... never had any interest in it... being all non-canon, and keeping me from getting a real MK8 and all...)

Yeah, I missed the train on that one too, since I didn't have a PS3 yet at the time of its release. I finally bought one just to play MK9 though, but at that point I didn't see much of a reason to go back for MKvDC. I watched the story mode on YouTube a while back and that was enough to satisfy my curiosity.

You'd think I'd be more excited for it, considering they actually used my idea for a Klose Kombat feature. But I'm more interested in the main MK canon so the crossover thing didn't hook me enough to make the investment. I also didn't care enough about the DC characters, although I got on board with them later when Injustice came out.

Smart by Boon.. normally you don't reveal DLC before the full roster, but given the actor, the link to the Krypt.. it made sense.

Hope we don't see too many comments "why DLC when he's already in the game".. cinematic characters are not built the same as fighter characters. Even the non playables last game were not complete models.. they'd have required significant engine shifting to flesh out as a full character/

I made the mistake of buying MKvsDC because of the recommendation of a friend. With the 3D era I was already starting to drift away from Mortal Kombat. I found the 3D movement not to be working for MK. When MKvsDC was in sale, I asked my friend if it was a good game, because I wasn't liking the 3D ones. He told me it was a good game, so I bought. I regretted that very quickly. It had some interesting bits, but didn't like it overal. It just wasn't MK at all.
When MK9 was announced I was all ears and happy they went back to their roots and they're still riding that train :).

If NRS was smart, they should throw in all of Cary’s MK movie references in this game. Id lose my shit if scorpion and sub zero appears in the krypt and Shang Tsung introduces them like he did on his boat in the movie!!

That part of the movie always bugged me.
Scorp and SZ fighting for Outworld always bugged me. They're Earthrealmers. Bo'Rai Cho wasn't allowed to represent Earthrealm.

Shang Tsung recruiting Earthrealms warriors (Johnny and Sonya) was also stupid. Why would he do that? Wouldn't that be a major conflict of interest? Sure he wants strong warriors so he can absorb their souls... but he could just recruit weaklings to guarantee Outworld wins.

The MK1 story would work so much better if Raiden was the one to recruit them - and the main roster of MK1 were all representing Earthrealm (with exception to Shang Tsung, Goro, and Reptile). It would give Raiden more agency (he's way too passive), and show his desperation due to it being his last chance to win. Desperate enough to hire Lin Kuei to assassinate Shang Tsung and travel to the Netherrealm to recruit someone like Scorpion (making a deal saying he can have his revenge after the tournament).

It would also explain why Shao Kahn didn't send better fighters like Kitana, Rain, Ermac, etc. They're Edenian and weren't able to compete. They work for MK2 because that tournament has different rules. So he could use Outoworld inhabitants that might not necessarily be native to Outworld.

The MK(2011) reboot kinda fucked all that up and forgot (or ignored) previous history / lore.

Shang Tsung being announced was fortunately very passable.

He's a special character, not linked to the actual game or the story, but simply a mode in the game. Making him DLC is sort of a treat. However, I strongly feel this would not be as successful if Cary Tagawa wasn't playing him. That's really the selling point for this. It sure is for me, I'll say.

Hummm you underrate Shang very much....

He is way more popular than half the roster in this game and I am.sure when would have sold whether he is played by Tagawa or not.

I wouldn't say he doesn't play anything in the story until I see it with my own eyes and if he doesn't and he only plays the krypt then the Krypt would be more enjoyable and more traditional to the MK exp than the story mode. His very few lines in the trailer already sounds better than the story mode.

It's still suckish that D'vorah made it to the main roster and Shang is DLC for sure.

Did not the leaker also say something along the lines of Shinnok being Kronika's son or descendent, with Cetrion being the daughter? Could be true.

The leaker also said the Kollector was a cyborg? Looks wrong in my opinion. The Kollector does not look a cyborg in any way.

The only thing that is certain is the leaked character select screen.

The Kollectors more looks like a blue-ish D'Vorah to me. Similar limbs and body structure. Even has a hood too.

With the numerous timelines we've been experiencing in these games- I don't know if we could just dismiss MKVSDC as non-canon or as never happened. Perhaps it really did happen- just in another timeline.

Not to mention, I believe Raiden and Sub-Zero have mentioned alternate timelines as well in Injustice 2.

I guess what I'm trying to say is- in a dark fantasy franchise with an infinite amount of realities- it's getting more and more complicated to say what has and hasn't happened definitively.

With multiple realities existing in this franchise- it's safe to say EVERYTHING is canon in some form or fashion.

I'm conflicted with the Shang Tsung DLC news.

On one hand- he looks awesome and I definitely can't wait to see what glorious moves, fatalities, and special moves he has. So glad to have our original sorcerer back.

However, I'm a little disappointed he's DLC. I was really hoping he would be in the base roster and those secret character rumors had me excited. Now that he will be DLC, chances are Mileena won't be a secret character either and will be DLC as well- which means there's even less spots for truly surprising DLC than there would be if these two were already in. Then we don't even know how many guests they'll cram in so that Kombat Pack is looking less and less exciting.

Blah.

Can I just be excited for once? Every MK11 reveal has been nothing but predictable, GOOD, but predictable. Except Skarlet.

Just came to my mind that they could have made Shang the ultimate prize for buying the entire krypt (or whatever it is that players must do, maybe they changed the whole concept)