Mortal Kombat

The Mortal Kombat franchise is getting a reboot and is going back to its roots. That means fatalities and 2D gameplay. Is this new formula what Mortal Kombat needed or is it a big mistake?

With competition from Soulcalibur IV, Tekken 6, BlazBlue, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and Street Fighter IV there really isn’t much room for weak fighting games anymore. Especially if you look to the future with Arcade Edition and Street Fighter X Tekken coming out as well, and probably even more unannounced games.  The bar has been set skyhigh and I must admit that Mortal Kombat does not reach that very high level of standard that I have come to expect, but that doesn’t mean the game is horrible.

Reviewing fighting games is hard. Because the experience is what you make it along with friends and in the online world. Naturally the gameplay mechanics matter, but their flaws can be overlooked depending on how much fun you are able to have with friends and opponents online. Mortal Kombat has all basic ingredients: story mode, versus mode, online matches, training, trials, bonuses, etc etc. It’s all there. One horrible aspect for users that like to buy their games used to save a few bucks will be hugely disappointed to know that Mortal Kombat requires an online pass to play online. It will cost you no less than 800 microsoft points or $10. Shitsux? Yup.

All right, let’s get into the gaming mechanics, that are after all, the most important thing. Mortal Kombat goes back to the 2D dimension and yet fails to adapt completely to it. Instead of blocking by holding back like in every other 2D fighting game in history, Mortal Kombat requires you to press RT (default setting) to block. For a 2D fighter this makes no sense whatsoever and is a real pain. For a 3D fighter like Soulcalibur IV it works, but certainly not here. The combo system in Mortal Kombat isn’t very fluent either and it feels off constantly and is based on a few special attacks that each character has combined with a few basic X,X, and Y attacks etc. Nothing impressive and this makes Mortal Kombat a more ideal social party game rather than hardcore deep fighter.

Graphically speaking, Mortal Kombat looks fairly good. It runs smooth and the blood effects and gore effects have improved significantly since I last saw them. You can see tear on the clothes and scars and bruises on characters faces and that’s something other fighting games should copy immediately because it’s a nice feature.  Another new addition to Mortal Kombat is the X-Ray attacks, which is the same thing as a Super Combo in Street Fighter IV. It allows you do to a combo for massive damage and see the internal damage through an X-ray while doing it. The funny thing with these is that after a combo like this, all characters should be dead or severely handicapped, but hey, who said Mortal Kombat is realistic?

Closing comments

In terms of quality, depth, and polish Mortal Kombat falls short. It’s a 2D fighting game with a blocking button and illogical movement combos and it feels somewhat primitive compared to any other high caliber fighter this generation. The unique fatalities and violence are very nice additions that makes Mortal Kombat standout from the crowd, but overall it will only be a game that you play occasionally for fun with your friends to see some blood and it will never replace the kings on the top as the ultimate fighting test.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Mixed Mortal Kombat

I am currently playing Mortal Kombat 9. Yes, I know, I am also in the middle of Shift 2, Portal 2, and still Dragon Age 2. However, it’s unlikely that I’ll ever finish Dragon Age 2. Shift 2 is also more of a fun social game that I just play to ease stress. Either way, let’s get back to Mortal Kombat.

Right now I am not impressed with Mortal Kombat. Compared to Street Fighter it feels a bit slow and stale. And also a bit awkward actually. The control scheme isn’t ideal in my opinion either. Example? Sure. You block with RT. You actually need to press a button to block in this 2D Mortal Kombat. Are you kidding me?

Well, I am getting into the game more and more as time passes by and I am estimating that I’ll need roughly 20 hours to truly get into it and feel it. I’ll keep playing and I’ll also invite friends over to see how well it plays in social situations. At least there’s shit loads of blood and gore in the game as expected, which is always pleasant. I’ll keep performing fatalities and a review will be up later.

Kratos is an exclusive character in Mortal Kombat only on PS3.

Fighting Games Stand Strong

I have always been a huge supporter of competitive gaming. And let’s face it, few other games offer better level of competition than fighting games. Those one on one fighting games with no excuses when losing. It wasn’t a shitty map, it wasn’t your shitty teammates, it was you. This generation is godlike for fighting fans and I decided to list a few of the upcoming fighting games that I desire the most:

Street Fighter X Tekken is coming out late this year or early 2012. It looks great and adding the two biggest franchises into one game is a brilliant move. I can’t wait to tag team with Ryu and King against my opponents online and locally.

Mortal Kombat is only one week away, and I will definitely give it a fair shot. It is the first Mortal Kombat game in many years that I actually look forward to as it promises to go back to its roots and also back to 2D. Expect to find me online performing fatalities several times.

Soulcalibur V isn’t even announced yet although a developer from the team has said Soulcalibur isn’t dead and we can expect something from it this year. Hopefully it’ll be the announcement of the games existence and since Soulcalibur IV has brought me some of the very best memories in fighting gaming history my hype for the fifth installment is record high.

Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition is coming in June and will add three more fighters, improved Replays and balancing to all characters. I haven’t touched SSFIV in quite some time but that will quickly change when the Arcade Edition DLC is released. I have over 500 hours in Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV combined and I expect those 500 to surpass 600 easily now with this new DLC.

Also coming out is the next installment of UFC: Undisputed which might be good as they have been demanded by the UFC to introduce significant upgrades and new features and not just milk the franchise. Maybe EA Sports MMA 2 will come out as well? Who knows? Either way, it’ll be a good fighting season with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 also slated to come out.

Can Mortal Kombat be as fun as it once was? We’ll find out next week.

Godlike Spring For Gamers

It would seem that spring has arrived – even in Sweden. And that means that there will be some hot games coming out to keep us company for the summer. I myself will be getting quite a lot of games between April and June and below you can find exactly which ones and why:

Mortal Kombat

I have been a huge fan of the Mortal Kombat franchise since MK1 all the way through to Deadly Alliance. After that it somewhat died for me and now it seems the series is revitalized and going back to its roots. Previews confirm this and it feels authentic and old school. I cannot wait to perform fatalities.

Portal 2

Portal was hilarious and yet it was only a tech demo. Portal 2 is a full game adding co-operative play and I am certain it will rape my mind in terms of clever and difficult puzzles. This time I will tackle it with friends and I am absolutely confident that Valve will deliver – like always.

Brink

Mirror’s Edge on steroids. More guns and online play with a lot of explosions and running around and jumping through offices and various environments. It sounds awesome and I am sure it will be just that.

L.A. Noire

Rockstar always delivers and L.A. Noire seems insanely promising already showing off the best lip syncing I have ever seen in a video game. A 30-hour adventure in past Los Angeles sounds amazing. Take me there.

Dirt 3

Shift 2 renewed my love for racing games and though Shift 2 is amazing I want to take my cars out in the desert and do some racing outside the city. The game looks amazing and I will race it hard.

Virtua Tennis 4

As a tennis fan I have waited for a new tennis game this generation that has amazing graphics and gameplay combined and it looks like my wait finally is over with Virtua Tennis 4. Also, it will make a nice social game with friends and loved ones.

Duke Nukem: Forever

Based on the trailers, it’s safe to say that Duke Nukem’s latest adventure is the most sexist game out there and all the material I have seen makes me want to play this game immediately. We have waited over 12 years for this game and many thought it would never see the day of light. Let’s hope for that June release.

Killing Aliens and loving hot females is what Duke does best.

Summering av E3

E3 är nu slut (eller, det har varit slut ett par dagar bara jag som inte haft tid att titta på det först nu) och det utannonserades massor av godsaker och det visades mycket som tilltalade mig gällande spelvärlden inklusive några överraskningar som jag inte trodde på. Förra året “vann” Microsoft E3 i mina ögon, och i år så var Microsoft helt av ointresse med deras urlöjliga uppvisning och fokus på Kinect.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising visade för första gången gameplay-video och hur spelet kommer att fungera. Det blir ett ursnyggt hack-n-slash-spel med överlägsen kontroll och precision samt fontäner av blod. Ja, fontäner av blod, jag skämtar inte. En riktig blodfest i högupplösning och sinnessjuk grafik. MGS: Rising imponerade mig helt otroligt mycket och jag hade egentligen inte ens planerat på att spela det spelet, men efter den där videon så måste jag tänka på saken lite mer, för detta spel är speciellt. Det ser man på långa vägar.

Ghost Recon: Future Solider från Ubisoft var en överraskning som  fick min mun att hänga öppen ett tag när jag såg gameplay-videon. Så imponerande var det. Nu återstår det bara att se om Ubisoft drar en klassiker med att leverera superba gameplay-videos medan resten av spelet är fyllt med buggar och världens dummaste AI. För om det inte är det, så kan Future Soldier bli det grymmaste third-person shooter-spelet jag sett på flera år.

The Old Republic World of Warcraft i Star Wars ungefär. Så kan man summera det spelet. Factions, aggro, tanks, healers, PvP och en enorm värld. Lägg sedan till att varenda NPC har voice over och pratar istället för att poppa ut en ruta med text för dig. Galet imponerande och nu kan vi få reda på vilken sida som är starkast. Dark side eller Light side? Det är en fråga som man kan besvara själv i The Old Republic. Spännande!

Rage ser ut som det snyggaste spelet jag sett. Det ser också ut att ge en ny definition till first-person shooters i och med hur mycket djup och variation det har men ändå samtidigt håller sig sann till FPS-genren och levererar stenhård action och mycket blod i otroligt högupplöst och snygg grafik. Precis som de flesta spelen som utannonserades ser det ut att bli en “spring 2011” release och jag börjar undrar om någon spelutvecklare har tänkt på att alla planerar att släppa sina spel just då?

Bulletstorm ser också ut att ta shooters till en ny nivå med deras lockande skillshots där beroende på hur man dödar en fiende så får man olika mängder poäng med roliga namn och grymma föremål att använda sig av som miljön, lasso och sin superhårda sko. Snygg grafik, blodigt, intressanta monster som man aldrig sett förut i en shooter, ja detta spel låter minst sagt fräscht precis som Rage. Shooters är tillbaka verkar det som sagt efter att ha varit väldigt svaga senaste två åren.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Dead Space 2,  Medal of Honor, Mortal Kombat, Twisted Metal, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Fallout: New Vegas, Rock Band 3, och många fler spel visades också givetvis men jag kan inte gå in i djup med alla. Det blir för mycket. Tog bara de hetaste enligt mina ögon men resten av ovannämda är relativt värda att spana in också. Grym E3 tycker jag trots att Sony, Microsoft och Nintendo hade sämst och ointressantast saker att dela med sig så var det bra att EA, Ubisoft, Konami och Bethesda kom med imponerande material. Annars var det mycket rörelsegadgets från Microsoft och Sony i och med deras debuter på den marknaden med Kinect och Playstation Move som just nu är helt av ointresse för mig.

Blir prinsens äventyr bra?

Prince of Persia har premiär denna vecka och jag har faktiskt rätt blandade känslor, och med all rätt tycker jag. Tittar vi på hur dåliga filmer baserade på spel blivit så är det väl ändå ingen konstighet? Tag Max Payne, till exempel. Den filmen var ju värdelös. En film jag skulle ge en mycket svag 2/5 i betyg. Mycket dålig med andra ord, nästan helt värdelös faktiskt. Sedan har vi Resident Evil-filmerna där den första var dålig medan de andra filmen var bra och tredje var helt random.

Filmer baserade på spel är alltså en riskfylld investering rent tidsmässigt och känslomässigt också om man gillar spelserien. Den första Street Fighter-filmen var urgrym, medan den andra var den sämsta filmen jag sett på flera år. Trailern till Prince of Persia är häftig om jag skall vara ärlig. Riktigt häftig. Disney kan sina grejer, helt klart när det gäller effekter. Dessutom, med i princip obegränsad budget så är det inte så svårt heller. Prinsens nya äventyr lockar mig väldigt mycket. Men, jag är som sagt skeptisk ändå. För man vet ju aldrig. Det kan bli hur värdelöst som helst och då går jag därifrån gråtandes som jag gjorde från Max Payne. Två timmar man aldrig får tillbaka, liksom.

Det blir alltså inte Prince of Persia på premiären. Jag avvaktar med den filmen ett tag. Dessutom har jag så många serier att se klart så jag hinner helt enkelt inte med att trycka in prinsen där. Kanske är det bra ändå? Det återstår att se. Oavsett betyg och kritik så kommer jag förr eller senare att äventyra med den persiska prinsen igen.