That "Green Halo" seems like MK's version of a Super Saiyan. Not a huge fan of it but it definitely explains how Johnny and Cassie beat Shinnok. And another thing, is Cassie has been training her whole life. So why is it so unbelievable that she beat Shinnok? You act like she just learned to fight or something.

I look at it this way, if you're not killed off in the comic there's still a chance for that character. So Kai and Jarek are still in the mix.

Cassie still feels rushed into the hero role. 12 chapters doesn't do service to 25 years of training.

Be mad at the Scorpion parts all you want but Quan Chi is dead and now his story can move forward finally.

I get Quan Chi was weakened and a big source of his powers were because of Shinnok but cmon. He's not suppose to be that loyal.

My biggest complaint is how Kittelsons blood code story doesn't tie into the game. It's not even mentioned. Havik is a no show. Noob is a no show. Nightwolf who fucking destroyed himself to save earthrealm is seen but not heard. This is what truly pisses me off about the story.

It's painfully obvious the game and comic writers had all but NO correlation whatsoever during production. So much for the comic tying into the game.

This was most evident in Kotal Kahn's complete lack of character development in the story mode after being the biggest revelation in the comic. It bothered the hell out of me. Instead, he's just another random schmuck wanting to take over Outworld. The inexcusably sloppy storytelling for the second straight installment goes to prove that MK is not fit to have a story mode and ought to just stick to Konquest.

I was surprised Havik was completely blanked in the game, but I'm certainly not shedding any tears over that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNkRvcUn6VM

... I mean.... It's got some humour right?.... Just think of it as..... Okay there's no saving it

Regardless if she had been. Shinnok was taking on sonya and cage 2 to 1 no problem. Not only that. But Shinnok has had battles with raiden that has gone to stalemates. And look how hard it was for quan chi and shang tsung to defeat him in mkds intro. But I suppose since kahn fell to kang they had to follow suite I just think it's ridiculous. But that's just personal beliefs. I still think the story could of been way better shinnok aside.

My problems:

-Takeda & Jacqui romance felt contrived and cliched.

-As did Johnny and Sonya`s breakup and reconciliation.

-Goro appearing absolutely nowhere in Story mode. SMH.

-Ferra and Torr being thug muscle status. They`re too interesting for that.

-There`s something hilarious about Quan Chi being arrested. I don`t hate it, but it`s funny.

- I`ll agree that Kotal was a disappointment. Very thuggish and foolish; but the fact that he`s nothing like his comic incarnation is more of a reflection of the disconnect between comic and game writing teams. Kittlesen definitely made him more interesting than he was.

-D`Vorah being Tanya Mark II is a letdown, but I think it`s an understandable one. We know Tanya well enough that to place her in Kotal`s entourage instead would have us predicting her treachery before it started. If I had the choice though, I`d have given her role to Ferra & Torr, she seemed more interesting when she was loyal.

Point form counterpoint stuff to other objections:

- Sub-Zero explains in one of his intro dialogues that Quan Chi repaired his body in the Netherrealm; this isn`t addressed in Story because it`s beside the point.

-I`m not concerned with any of the deaths. There weren`t as many as in 9, and here they actually felt like they served a purpose rather than being, say, a mass killing for shock value (Sektor deserved an NPC sendoff though, damn).

-Hanzo had bad form attacking the refugee camp, but at the very least he ordered no killings. Him killing Quan Chi was nearly 20 years coming, and for that I can forgive.

So glad you brought that up, Shadaloo.

Seriously, Quan Chi being ARRESTED?! He's an all-powerful sorcerer and necromancer from the freakin' Netherealm and yet they just handcuff him and that's it? And he just sits there and does nothing!

That was one of the biggest "WTF?" moments of the story mode, no question.

I think that the story mode was too short for the timeframe. That is why there are so many plot lines unanswered. If the story was basically just an expansive NetherRealm War with the OutWorld Civil War going off at the same time, I think we would have got a deeper story experience with less question left unanswered. NRS wanted to introduce the next generation and it felt too much too soon. So many of the characters play no major part in the story at all and just there to get beaten up at various points for example, Ermac, Ferra/Torr, Erron Black, Reptile, Liu Kang, Kitana and Kung Lao. For me there is no real difference then from Baraka, Sindel, Tanya and Rain who were not playable. None of these fodder characters get any serious character development. I just think the story mode was to short and unfocused. It got diluted because of the timeframe of 25 years. I still throughly enjoyed it though.



Surely not?! Again?



Meagre defenses to be honest. It is not like bad guys can just teleport at will in the middle of the camp completely bypassing said defenses. Lol.



A duel which he wins with Quan Chi doing nothing to stop him. In fact Quan Chi was trying to bargain with him so I suspect Quan Chi knew that fighting Scorpion was pointless. Quan Chi was outmatched.



Why would Scorpion care about the other revenants?!

He has never interacted with any of them meaningfully at all. Some of them he has not interacted with at all.

Even given the benefit of the doubt that he cared about the revenants, why would he choose them over finally avenging his family's murder? I would think most would do the same thing. If you want revenge for the loss of the people you cared about the most and have the chance, you would hold off just on the chance to save others you do not care about? No, if I was put in the same position I would say still kill Quan Chi.

Would "wily" Quan Chi just revive the other revenants with no strings attached?! Would Quan Chi comply just because Raiden asks nicely?!

Quan Chi is a threat to the entire realms. Anyone that is sane would kill him as soon as they get the chance.





Or getting drowned in pools of acid/lava, ripped apart by soulnadoes, Elder Gods or blown to smithereens!

Whether or not you agree that Scorpion is an asshole, the fact of the matter stands that he still does shit without thinking things over, and it always leads to something terrible happening, and he doesn't have the excuse of Quan Chi manipulating him this time around.

Also, you'd think with regaining his humanity for over a decade, regaining a family (in a sense,) and realizing his follies, he'd be more level-headed as well as sympathetic to the plight of other revenants, whether or not Quan Chi is required for their resurrection.

All in all, the comic characterization of Scorpion (as well as other characters) just shows how weak his in-game portrayal is again.

At least now, with Quan dead, he can get over his goddamn revenge fix. There's a highlight.

It's kinda funny...if you replace all the character names mentioned here with the names of professional wrestlers, it literally sounds like a bad WWE promo.

-Where the hell is Jade?

-Cassie being the one to defeat Shinnok, lol.

-However, i love that i'm 95% sure Ermac will not be coming back the next game. He really was completely useless this time around, i mean, always been but now really. Shocked he even made it over more popular characters like Smoke and Noob.

Scorpion is hot headed and not gifted with foresight like Raiden with his amulet. Not everyone is perfect. That is why he is relatable and is liked/hated.

Why would Scorpion care about the other revenants or their plight? He was never involved with them when they were alive. There is no camaraderie between them. I do not think Scorpion is even like them. His skin is not discoloured and he does not have bright veins in his skin like the other revanants. Even if he did care why would he put their plight over his own? That is stupid. Maybe he would care if he did not have to choose between them and getting revenge? Probably.

Well, the comic is not limited by hardware and other restraints from making a video game. You are dissapointed that his comic self does not match his MKX guise? I think so.

Maybe he can get revenge on Frost for attacking him and take 30 years getting there. No, I am going to stop.

A need for revenge is not a plight. It's a desire.
Being enslaved and undead for over two decades is, however, a plight.

When you decide to take up a contract for a malevolent-looking sorcerer, I'd think you'd expect that something terrible might happen whether you succeed or fail.
He failed, he died, his family and clan was butchered as a result, and his resurrection as a revenant came easy due to being a hired murderer.
---
Yes, the comics did spoil me in thinking he had changed, but regardless, this is still bad characterization/direction. They could've had him kill Quan Chi in a million different manners without having the stupidly conceived siege on the refugee camp, out in the open where D'Vorah could casually stroll up to give Quan the amulet.

How about not having Quan Chi captured, and having the scene in a different location without the Shirai Ryu immobilizing Earthrealm defensive forces?
Y'know, maybe Subz and Scorpion are seen working together (as it seemed they would be,) they catch up with Quan (again while he's initializing Shinnok's summoning,) maybe in the Jinsei chamber, and murder him just as the spell finishes.

Scorpion wouldn't look like a complete idiot attacking allies, he wouldn't look like a jerk responding to a comment about the revenants potentially being trapped (whether or not he would care,) and he would justly kill Quan Chi for revenge and to (unsuccessfully) stop Shinnok's arrival.
He might actually look like a *gasp* competent (anti-)hero.

And do you know why? Because the writers gave her something to do. They could have given her plotline and lines to Tanya and you would all be talking about what a great job they did with her. Her inherent character isn't anything interesting.



Why? It would still be Ermac, Jerrod would just be the dominant soul. It's not like he would be a different character, it's just that one soul out of the millions in there would have more pull. I personally think it's a great arc for a character who's just been punching bag #3 for two games.

It's not like Ermac by "himself" (should i say themselves?) is very interesting to begin with.

Apparently, Jade`s whereabouts are alluded to in an Arcade ladder ending, for those curious. Haven`t seen it myself though.

She is seen, but not really.

I was so hyped for the story in this more than anything and man it was just a big letdown. Cassie being the one to beat Shinnok was just bad. If they had built her up to clearly be the best fighter in the group along with the green bullshit it would have worked a little better. Still just seems wrong that a regular human is the one who beats a fucking fallen elder god in demon form.

Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kitana, Kenshi, and really everyone did nothing at all in the story besides being someone to fight. Why was Rain not in the game but all of these characters you fight a few times but don't have a chapter or anything made it in? Then the fact that like people have said that this doesn't actually tie in with the comic at all when they said it would.

Quan Chi actually just being loyal to Shinnok was just weird.I honestly feel like almost anyone could write a better more coherent story in like two hours than what they had 3 years with. It's so disappointing I'm just going to email Boon every day to fire the writers they have. I'm glad to see that most of the reviews I've seen said the story was meh. Luckily the gameplay is the best it's ever been.

If you had a choice of fighter to beat Shinnok, who would you choose?

Really? What's not interesting about "a million souls in one body" If the concept itself isn't interesting, his storyline pre-reboot sure was. Pretty sure he had one of the more interesting arcs pre-reboot, at least everyone seemed to think so. His connection with the universe and One Being was worth exploring, as well as his turn from evil to good, and could be really interesting if explored in the new cinematic style of storytelling.



Reptile. Just out of nowhere, here comes Reptile!

But realistically? It might have been cool to see Kotal Kahn do it, and then set up a three way powerhouse match up between Outworld, Kang's netherrealm, and Dark Raiden.

I know this question wasn't directed at me, but I'd like to give an answer. The who in defeating Shinnok is not an easy question becuase defeating an Elder should not come easy. More like a how should the who should defeat Shinnok.

In chapter 1, Shinnok is not exactly at full power without absorbing the aumulet, so it was acceptable for him to be caught off guard and banged up a little and distracted by SSJ Johnny Cage. But given the circumstances at the end, a little Elder God interference wouldn't hurt. OR since the Kamidogu is a big part of the comic and a big part of Mk in general have someone use those combined with some other factors.

And you know I find it strange that you mention it cause Shinnok did seem a little weak when battling Cage in Chapter 1, I was like is he tired or something?

I asked Brian Chard about Kai on twitter and he said that he was in early drafts of the story mode. He believes that Kai originally had Bo' Rai Cho's role.

He also confirmed that in a deleted scene, Fujin went to the Netherrealm with Jax to await D'Vorah.

So, it's okay that Liu can beat all the villains out there.

but it's not okay that cassie can beat shinnok ? Why ? They're both human.

Liu is instantly presented as the champion. Cassie is just the leader of a 4 person Special Forces group until the end. Nothing is done to build up on her being the best fighter or anything like that. Liu also has fire powers and can turn into a fucking dragon. A regular human beating a fallen elder god who just took earths life power is stupid. Johnny had the stupid green glow and they just beat non demon form Shinnok with 3 people and it was because Raiden trapped him. Cassie beats DEMON FORM EARTH LIFE SOURCE FUELED SHINNOK ALONE.