Oh, this is going to be fun.
1. The roster continues the trend of favoring characters from MK1 & 2 and neglecting most others.
- Kung Lao, Jax, Sonya, Liu Kang, Reptile and Kitana all had no real purpose in this game, but why are they here? Because Boon loves those nostalgic characters. I mean, Rain and Fujin had far stronger roles, and neither of them were added. I usually don't care about purposeless characters in fighting games (like Tekken) because the story usually doesn't matter, but in Mortal Kombat it does. A lot. And the roster should always reflect the story. With that being said:
2. The charatcers' primary costumes do not at all reflect their actual appearance.
- Kung Lao, Liu Kang, and Kitana all have primary costumes of living humans who have aged, but not only have they not aged, they're still dead! I literally spent the entire story waiting for Kung Lao to turn human, and it never happened. It left me wondering, "Then why the hell does his primary costume look that way?" Given that and the fact Boon also mentioned during E3 that the Sub-Zero in the game was a "new Sub-Zero," only for it to be Kuai Lang as usual, it's pretty clear the story was drastically altered between E3 and the game's release. With that being said:
3. The story is a gigantic mess.
- Who was the major villain? Mileena? She died halfway through. Kotal Kahn? He had no real quarrel with anyone other than Mileena, who died halfway through. Shinnok? He was barely in it! Can anyone genuinely tell me what MKX is about? 'Cause I still do not know. Even worse, all the flashback scenes were utterly pointless, trying to tie up loose ends that weren't even there, because MK9 reset everything. They literally could have written whatever they wanted! Why did they jump 25 years into the future? They didn't have to repeat MK4, even though they inadvertently did anyway. With that being said:
4. Scorpion has yet ANOTHER revenge story.
- I'll be honest, though. MKX has perhaps the best story for Scorpion in the entire series. His inclusion hasn't been necessary since MK2, and now he actually has a purpose... which was taken after he actually exacted revenge. For once. So what's next? Going back to the UMK3 days where he had... no plot point whatsoever because the developers knew his inclusion was pointless? Which is why he wasn't in MK3 to begin with? Which is why they repeated his MK2 story for MK4? And again in MKDA, only with Quan Chi? Then made him a puppet in a non-canon plot in Deception? Then repeated his MK2 story AGAIN in Armageddon, only with the Elder Gods? I mean, seriously. How obvious do you have to make it? Scorpion has no purpose in Mortal Kombat. He exists only as a face. With that being said:
5. Once again, Scorpion is cheap as hell.
- What do Scorpion and Pikachu have in common? They're yellow, insanely popular, and incredibly cheap in their respective fighting games. I really wish Boon would get off of Scorpion's junk and stop making it so glaringly obvious he's giving the guy special treatment in every way possible because he's his favorite character. I tried it with Scorpion once in MKX; I pressed a couple of buttons, and I did a combo that should never happen that easily. It's a crime! I'll never understand how Boon could sink that low. With that being said:
5. The DLC marks Netherrealm's all-time low.
- This is what showed me NRS had truly forsaken merit and integrity for money. Jason? Xenomorph? Freakin' Leatherface? The only thing that topped that was TMNT in Injustice, and by then I wasn't even surprised. MKX had already soured me, but the DLC of the game pushed me to where I am not even looking forward to the next Mortal Kombat game. It pains me, too, because the series has been so formative in my life up to that point. MKII was the first video game I ever played. Dan Forden's music is what made me want to become a composer, which I now am. It remained my favorite video game series of all time... up until MKX.
I think given Boon has confirmed he has no intention on revealing anything about a new MK game, it's clear he himself is aware of the hole he's dug with MKX. The story goes nowhere. The character roster is terrible, and the DLC did nothing but prove how eager they are to capitalize on their own name. I mean, at least when Smash Bros. did it they used franchises that actually have a history with Nintendo. I'd pray NRS fixes this, but I have lost faith. I don't even expect most of the new characters in MKX to return, another trait NRS is guilty of.
We can all agree MKX was probably one of the better MK games in terms of execution and gameplay
In terms of gameplay, yes. Execution? Absolutely not.
Fantastic post.
I understand they're revenants but i was never fond of the glowing veins, at all. They can still be revenants and look like when they were good and normal, just change their attires to black. Also, change the tone of the iris' and make them a bit anaemic, to give a more realistic edge, if they're going to be in future games. They shouldn't over do it like in MK 2011 and MKX by remodeling the skin.
As a game, it might be my favorite MK to date, visually, gameplay, everything, I love it. But the fact that some of the unlockable costumes are hidden behind online play requirements really rubs me the wrong way. I mean, even when I did have a PS+ account, I've never been inclined to go play it online, let alone win ranked matches or things like that. I find it really aggravating that I've put probably a hundred hours into the game, unlocked everything, and yet am unable to obtain the Hot Shots Johnny Cage outfit, or the Revenant Kung Lao, or several others. They really should be purchasable from the Krypt, but since they're not, considering that the game has been out for 4 years now, they really should just unlock them with an update, the way they did with all the skins unlocked by playing the mobile version.
Mine was more conceptual. I had an easy time getting people into MK9. However, and I am not sure why, my friends had the hardest time pulling off even the most basic things in MKX. I think overall MKX required a higher level of execution. While I am sure that is great for pro players, it leaves the casuals behind. Witch is a shame because I feel like they make up a good section of the people who would like MK.
Overall I loved the game. However my wife played the MK11 beta, and she was really into it. She allso played a lot of MK9 and MK2 and loves those games. In contrast she hardly touched MKX because she was frustrated at how difficult it was for her.
I think having a lot of room for growth is important for a fighting game. However I think its also important to have a low level of entry inorder to further expand the player base
