Mortal Kombat: A Retrospective Evaluation/Suggestion Roundtable

[Kalyx triaD]

MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!

That Jamaican dude in the empty streets yelled it at the top of his lungs, ushering in "Mortal Monday" in '93. His gravely roar would later be sampled in techno music dedicated to the kraze that was Mortal Kombat. MK was the shit, but it wasn't really playable until MK2-3. It was tourny viable with those games, and practice made perfect. But something terrible happened in the late 90's...

Around MK4 I started to notice a certain staleness in the gameplay, but it was still fun. It was a decent alternative to Street Fighter afterall. Then came the rise of Tekken and Soul Calibur, which MK made the grave mistake of being compared to the moment they made the jump to 3D. They didn't stand a chance.

They took a breather for a few years, and came back with Deadly Alliance. There was a buzz about the return of MK, and the game came with some daring and welcome gameplay elements. Jumps were reduced to hops, making your ground game important. Combos were canned, but with the instant use of weapons they looked awesome. Deadly Alliance sparked hope in the beloved series.

Then came Deception. Deception was technically a retread of DA. Yet the gameplay was wearing out quick. I started to get frustrated at the stiff animation in particular. Also the story was getting even sillier, although the MK'ness of all still held up. One thing MK knew how to do was present their game. Midway could make trash look pretty epic at times, but they were running out of steam.

The shit hit the fan by the time MK Armageddon came around. A treasure trove of everything MK for the fan, but the gameplay was a mockery of the older games. It played like a joke, and every other 3D fighter at the time was making serious strides. Stiff animation, stupid moves, dated ideas made MKA little more than a novelty.

Now the final insult; MK vs DC. Midway, fuck you.

Let me atleast say that the gameplay is the best in years, but since the gameplay was immature shit for ages - that says nothing. Under no circumstance should MKvDC play the way it does in today's environment. What? Are you 3D or 2D? Pick one and be done with it. Why am I holding a button to sidestep? Do you know you're the last fighting game to do that?! Why would you have a system that rewards losers with an over-powered mode called "Rage"? And why is the animation STILL shit!? Why?!? Are you trying to make a fighting game, or are you trying to make a fucking fighting game?!? If you're making a fighting game and you're not interested in making it a competitive tourny worthy game, you're wasting your time.

I love Mortal Kombat... I am also a serious fighting game fan. My issues with this are similar to my issues with WWE; I've simply outgrown the product and get insulted at their attempts. MK doesn't have to be like Tekken or Virtua Fighter(ugh), but that's no excuse to suck as a fighting game. Perhaps they wanna be little more than a casual 'party' fighter, but that's what Smash Bros. and DOA are; and even those have deep systems for competitive play. Now I have alot of issues with Midway, chief among them their deconstruction of a great franchise.

Well here I am with a reconstruction. I will drop in ideas that I believe will rebound the gameplay into relevance. Add some if you have some ideas, or maybe counter-ideas. Let's save Mortal Kombat, atleast in fantasy.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

SUGGESTION: Finish it when Midways dead

[Kalyx triaD]

Frame-Based Gameplay:

MK vs DC probably moves at 60fps, but it certainly doesn't play at 60fps. Some of you may wonder what that means so let me give you a quick run-thru: just about any 3D fighter worth its salt uses a frame based system of gameplay that governs how moves interact with each other. Character movement can be counted in frames that can give hardcore players an idea of which moves work vs certain situations. This is why 60fps is the target for fighters, Hell even most action games. MK does not, and never did, apply this model to their 3D games. There needs to be a system to make Kick A different from Kick B, so that a player has viable options for given circumstances. Moves in MK games have roughly identical properties and frames - there's not much reason to vary your moves at all. To fix this, MK needs to apply frame-based gameplay, and that has everything to do with the animation.

Relevant Animation:

Look at any other 3D fighter and you'll see what sets them apart from MKvDC: smooth showy animation. But the characters don't move fluidly for the Hell of it. Moves should have start-up animations, the 'hit-box' frames, and recovery animations. Lets call this 'Relevant Animations'. MK has none, but if they wanna make their moves matter they should. By using this (really old) model for movement and attacks players can start applying timing to their actions. You may think all fighters require a sense of timing, but this is folly. Imagine dodging Scorpion's spear attack; do you ever wonder, "Should I get him with a jump kick, or toss a projectile back?" No, because Scorpion's recovery animation is non-existent, and chances are you ducked anyway. So what we have is 'fireball tag' until someone gets bored wants to do something different. This is simply not what a fighting game should be about.

3D vs 2D:

One of the biggest issues with Midway is their 'straddling the fence' when it comes to what they want MK to be. I think they have problems upgrading the engine while not wanting to let go of classic MK konventions. For instance, right now you could duck a fireball (classic MK), sidestep it (recent MK), or block it. In 2D, blocking or ducking was your options (and jumping!). But with 3D in the mix, you were able to sidestep. This ruined one of MK's stables: the projectile. What's MK if you can't toss something, right? In this manner you can see how Midway threatens their own engine when they try adding elements without subtracting elements that don't make sense together.

My answer to this is to add a uniform multi-directional option for all projectiles for all characters. Now Scorpion's start-up animation for his spear will insight a response from his opponent, but will they know if the spears going upper-right or lower-left! What we have now is an interesting event where both players have viable options that also makes use of 3D movement. And how about this; ducking a projectile is etched in MK gameplay, and you may want move upward while still wanting to defend against Scorpion's spear... To this I give the Kombat Roll, a way of moving in 8 directions while, essentially, ducking! The actual 'ducking frames' would last an instant so timing would be stressed, and the recovery animation would leave you in base ducking position before you can rise. This adds a risk-reward factor that I personally believe makes a good game.

And just like that I made MK's older konventions relevant to MK and 3D.

Updated Attacks:

Scorpion and some other character having the same kick or punch is fucking illegal. Stop it Midway, I'm serious. Every character needs their own standards, with new properties to go with them. This includes Counter Hit properties. Every fighting game and their mothers have CH properties. A CH status usually changes move properties, commonly increased damage. So how about Sub-Zero's freeze-ball catches you while you're just standing there and you could break out after an instant. All Subby did was buy him some tactical movement time at best, right. But when his freeze-ball catches you on CH, you stay frozen longer and he has some deadly options for ya.

And do you really wanna just pull people with Scorp's spear? MK vs DC introduced the welcome element of Pro-Moves, where savy players can unleash EX-like versions of special moves. Maybe I should have the option of just throwing the spear at you and being done with it, or maybe yank you halfway? This could be used to set up spacing and tactical movement, especially is Midway wants to keep the (admittingly fun) element of interactive stages.

That's it for now, more to come!

[Kalyx triaD]

Originally Posted by Hasney SUGGESTION: Finish it when Midways dead

There financial situation is troubling, perhaps a new team will finally get to tinker with MK. I just want Ed Boon OFF the franchise, or atleast made to accept fresh ideas.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

SUGGESTION 2: MK Vs. Teletubbies

[G]

You realize I had Akuma first.

[Kalyx triaD]

LOL - No more Vs. anything.

Jump, Jump, Criss Cross Will Make You...:

Aw yes, jumping. Jumping in fighting games are approached two ways; the 2D leap kinda jump that clears 16ft easily, and the more conservative 3D hop. MK is caught in a cross roads about what to do with jumping. MKDA and Deception had the hop, while MKA and vsDC returned with the leap. Personally, since I want MK to embrace 3D movement, I think the 8ft hop should return... with some updated properties ofcourse.

Now this idea may incite some rage, but I think jumping should be assigned to a button, preferably the R-Trigger (while the Ducking and Kombat Rolling should be on the L-Trigger). Why? Well it goes back to the importance of 3D movement and gets into intuitive control design. You see... I fucking... hate... having to use a button to sidestep. That shit is archaic, lame, and overall counter-intuitive. If I wanna move up or down, dammit I should simply move the stick in said directions. So moving down on the stick would have your character walk into the foreground. But I have ducking on the L-Trigger, so am I a hypocrite?! Here me out before you answer.

The new properties I want for jumping is for it to be an inverse of ducking; you can jump clear over [some] projectiles and low attacks while you can duck [most] projectiles and high attacks. To further make the point of the actions being conceptual opposites of each other, I placed them on either triggers. Also you can jump in place or in 8 directions just as you can duck in place or Kombat Roll in 8 directions. This adds options, and the fight will just plain look cooler with all the vying for position taking place on screen.

Still more to come!

[Kalyx triaD]

Originally Posted by sgand You realize I had Akuma first.

Well excuuuuuuuuuse me, princess.

[G]

Sorry, but the Princess is in another castle.

[Kalyx triaD]

Originally Posted by sgand Sorry, but the Princess is in another castle.

Touche.

Finish Him!:

Big changes here. MK's biggest feature is the ability to finish your opponent at the end of a match. Over the years this element has become bogged with childish moves and archaic methods for input. You deliver the final hit and your enemy stands there all dizzy. You input some command and there you go. *YAWN* My ideas to update Fatalities actually stem from past MK's of all things. I present a more interactive mode for finishing your opponents, and they're not so helpless either.

When you deplete the, well... let's call it 'Active Life', of your opponent - the screen will darken and you be in Fatality mode. In this mode you must input commands for what will be an atleast 'two-step' Fatality. This means a command for removing Scorpion's mask, and another for blowing fire! This technically changes little on the giver's side of things, save for a more interactive visceral feel to finishing your opponent (you prefer it to 'Up, Up, Block' right?). You may remember Sub-Zero having a two step fatality in MK2. We'll talk more about giver options in a few.

What about the receiver? Well you will no longer be a dizzy sap just standing there. You see once your Active Life is gone you will become a sluggish defeated warrior barely holding your feet. Your movements will be slow in all directions and you can no longer jump or duck obviously. You're hanging on a thread of life, pathetically moving about. This is similar to crawling around in Gears of War; you know you're gonna die but you try to crawl to safety anyway! However, you do have one attack, a sluggish punch with a slow start-up and punishing recovery. Its next to useless. But if you connect... Connecting with this last ditch effort of an attack will knock your careless opponent silly, give you some Active Life back, and leave your opponent dizzy enough for you to follow up big time. Due to the nature of the desperation punch, this will be about as rare an event as it can get, but you still have a chance. In my Mortal Kombat, the fight never ends!

Now back to the guy in the advantage. Aside from interactive Fatalities, you could just wail on the your defeated opponent. One hit will end the fight since the guy has nothing left, but if you continue a combo on the fallen kombatant you will be awarded more opportunity to continue the beating. This will go on until you've committed a Brutality, which will be announced after you completed enough hits! Its not unlike MK3's Brutality mechanic, except its much more interactive and not a canned combo.

Another returning feature is offering Mercy. In a game where death is dealt normally, I think a bigger deal should be made when you offer Mercy to an opponent. Once activated, your opponent will receive have of your Active Life to continue the battle. In the past you simply allowed the other guy to receive some energy (for free), but it meant very little. Now offering Mercy is basically sacrificing some of your life to your opponent, and the fight continues in a fair yet limited contest. This will keep things exciting. After the extended battle, there will be no more Fatality Mode, as the fight may go on forever!

[Boomer]

Not that I don't love you Kal, but doesn't this roundtable discussion sound more like you as Cartman talking to Clyde Frog and Polly Prissy Pants?

[Kalyx triaD]

[Nowhere Man]

While not as in-depth as Kal's suggestions, I'd also like to see Shang Tsung get his shape-shifting powers back (at least as a boss). The last few boss fights were infuriatingly cheap and repetitive, simply loading up a big monster with tons of life and three or four overpowered attacks. If everyone's got unique movesets and fights differently, then a shape-shifting Shang would basically force you to be good against everybody.

[Kalyx triaD]

Originally Posted by Nowhere Man While not as in-depth as Kal's suggestions, I'd also like to see Shang Tsung get his shape-shifting powers back (at least as a boss). The last few boss fights were infuriatingly cheap and repetitive, simply loading up a big monster with tons of life and three or four overpowered attacks. If everyone's got unique movesets and fights differently, then a shape-shifting Shang would basically force you to be good against everybody.

The Shang Tsung player would need to be good with all the characters. How about one morph command, but the character he changes into is random? Old school Shang was a selection of showing off to begin with so maybe we could bring back that vibe.

[Reavant]

ummm you dont need to use another button to move thre demensionally in MKvsDC, you can use the stick to do that.

[Reavant]

They cant have a shape shifting character because they would have to load every character in the game for that fight so that it could be quickly accessed to be used at any given time that the player inputs the code. Sorry but your xbox, ps3 or whatever would not be able to handle it, maybe in future generations of console tho.

[Kalyx triaD]

Originally Posted by Reavant ummm you dont need to use another button to move three dimensionally in MKvsDC, you can use the stick to do that.

Two methods for moving on the stick and pad is annoying.

Originally Posted by Reavant They cant have a shape shifting character because they would have to load every character in the game for that fight so that it could be quickly accessed to be used at any given time that the player inputs the code. Sorry but your xbox, ps3 or whatever would not be able to handle it, maybe in future generations of console tho.

Perhaps MK4 style with the move-set coming on only?

[.44 Magdalene]

Most of these ideas wouldn't actually help the series not suck

[.44 Magdalene]

In fact, nobody would give a fuck about at least half these things

[Kalyx triaD]

Originally Posted by .44 Magdalene Most of these ideas wouldn't actually help the series not suck

You've convinced me you know nothing of a decent fighting game engine.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

SUGGESTION 3: Make it a Wii exclusive franchise with waggle control

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Also, find where all those E.T.s are buried and make the unsold MK games join them, source code and all

[.44 Magdalene]

Kalyx, I can barely read like, two lines of your fixes without nearly vomiting in my mouth.


You realize any game that heavily relies on projectiles should be avoiding 3D like the plague, right? 3D works in melee based fighters. Throwing diagonal fireballs = Shit. It's part of why Soul Calibur is starting to get weak. If anything, they need to ditch the third dimension of combat (because it adds fuck all anyway) and do what Street Fighter's doing.

You realize Scorpion's spear throw has recovery / vulnerability frames, right? Fuck, man.

About the only thing up there that's not halfway towards the retarded end of things is being able to tweak moves on a smaller scale, like canceling out of the spear and whatnot.

For the most part, alot of those are ideas that the majority of MK fans wouldn't notice. MK attracts an audience of casual players and old fans--competitive players wouldn't notice if the frame rate increased because competitive players don't give a fuck, and causal fans... well, they're playing it regardless. Most of your suggestions are like that--it's shit that wouldn't dramatically improve the game like, say, speeding up the gameplay a little, improving the single player game or rejuvenating the old air of mystique would.

God forbid, I must not know anything at all about fighting games if I don't agree with you. You're a fucking prick.

[.44 Magdalene]

Basically, your only solid, legitimate improvements would be MAKE THE MOVES MORE FLUID

[.44 Magdalene]

You know what noticeable, actual improvements would be? Improvements that would actually be picked up on by the sort of people Midway is catering to in the first place?

Stop bullshitting around with Taven/Shujinko/whoever and make Scorpion the main fucking character already. They've pushed him toward being a gritty anti-hero already and he's the most recognizable character in the series. Stop making up bland, shitty characters that are going to clog the roster down further when you've got your main character sitting right the fuck in front of you.

Go to 2D, speed the gameplay up. Better animation and tighter hitboxes lolololol

Realistic models. MK started off as having the most realistic graphics of any fighting game for the time, and now it looks like everyone's goddamn inflatable. Go back to looking vaguely realistic, for fuck's sake. MK looks like a fucking cartoon.

More battle damage. Hardly anybody else is capitalizing on this and Midway is a pervayer of violence. More blood, more bruises, more clothing tearing. In fact, where'd your balls go Midway? Push the envelope for violence and gore again. Do something shocking and apalling. Get people talking, get people to buy the game out of morbid curiousity. Get kids to buy the game just because everyone's so offended by it.

Stop making Fatalities gay. Create-a-Fatality? Put that shit back where you got it.

[.44 Magdalene]

Can't stop loling at this. Multi directional options for every projectile? Did you consider the control scheme for that, or did you just plan on turning Mortal Kombat into fucking Powerstone?

Jesus cock blowing Christ.

You know what, forget I said anything. Mortal Kombat's going down with Midway, and I'm sure I'll wake up tomorrow with no desire to further indulge your dreams of making Mortal Kombat tournament worthy.

Lol, I don't know how Midway "deconstructed" the series when it was already shit from the gate.

[Reavant]

Originally Posted by Kalyx triaD Two methods for moving on the stick and pad is annoying. Perhaps MK4 style with the move-set coming on only?

I think it gives the player the option as to whether they want to blay a more 2D battle or a 3D battle.


And if that was the case where they went the mk4 route, you would bitch about him not shape shifting, but thats not the problem... when I said they would have to load every character for the fight, I meant their movesets! Thats what takes up memory in the game. Skins are nothing. They could do that easily without having to load shit, but them people like you would be all pissed because he doesnt have the moves to go with the skin.

[Kalyx triaD]

- .44, you clearly have a love for MK; but your ideas are bland. Pretty much what somebody in Midway would believe can make MK better. Faster gameplay? Pfft, MK's speed wasn't an issue. Moronic gameplay mechanics is what I'm targeting. Lord forbid I want MK to be a viable fighting game. I like Scorpion being a main character, though.

- Projectiles in a 3D fighter never worked because they operated in the archaic 2D plane. Shang Tsung had fireballs that attacked on a 3D plane, and to my knowledge that didn't break his character or the game. It gave him options against sidestepping opponents that any other character with fireballs could use.

- Why would I bitch about shape shifting? I agree that the loading would plague the gameplay. I didn;t even bring up shape-shifting to begin with. And I'm 'bitching' now...

Hey guys, fuck you. Love the ideas and contributions, but I'm not to sure when this turned into "Kalyx is a Bitch" hour. Under no circumstance was I just parading my fighting game know-how or complaining while offering no solutions (a TPWW stable), but I was using my fighting know-how as well as gameplay philosophy and applied conventions from other games while trying to keep the 'MK' of it all intact. And I'm just speaking as someone who strives for balance in whatever I play, and will proudly cry foul when a POS like MKvsDC comes around. Will my ideas save MK? We may never know, it has just as much chances as your ideas - neither of which will be play-tested any time soon.

So yeah, this is a roundtable, let's shoot the shit and riff a bit. But me 'bitching' about a series I love? Hey, so what if I am. Better that than "MK sucks, I'm through with it."

[Kalyx triaD]

Originally Posted by .44 Magdalene Can't stop loling at this. Multi directional options for every projectile? Did you consider the control scheme for that, or did you just plan on turning Mortal Kombat into fucking Powerstone? Jesus cock blowing Christ. You know what, forget I said anything. Mortal Kombat's going down with Midway, and I'm sure I'll wake up tomorrow with no desire to further indulge your dreams of making Mortal Kombat tournament worthy. Lol, I don't know how Midway "deconstructed" the series when it was already shit from the gate.

Forward, Forward-Up, Forward-Down. I'm sure your mind can wrap around the idea. But whatever.

And yeah, I did consider the control scheme actually.

[Heyman]

Great point about Mortal Komabat vs. DC Comics Kaylx.

What a fucking joke of a concept. While the game play in itself might be ok (I've never played the game so I don't know), just the "storyline" in itself pisses me off to no end.

A large part of what makes Mortal Kombat so great, in my opinion, is that the 'storylines' and 'atmosphere' allow one to get caught up in the "willing suspension of disbelief." Yes - the storyline is fake and made up, but it does NOT insult our intelligence....up until now.

This whole MK vs. DC comics is absolute bullshit in my opinion. The storyline makes absolutely no sense, and it's just flat out absurd. What a massive way of saying "fuck you" to hardcore exclusive MK fans (or exclusive DC comics fans).

How would a Harry Potter fan feel if in the next Harry Potter, they somehow merged with Lord of the Rings? Absolute fucking joke.

It makes no sense either. Are we really supposed to believe that Superman and Batman are of equal prowess? Or that Superman and Sonya Blade are of equal prowess? C'mon! "Realistically" (I hate using that word here) - Superman would annihalate the entire competition.

What makes the DC characters so special, is that they represent different things. Spider man represents the average kid with the oversized heart. Batman represents the tortured soul that sought justice and vengeance over his parents' murder. Different strengths, different worlds.

$#%$%$%$

MK vs. DC comics represents all that is wrong with video games.

As far as the other MK games go however, I don't have a problem with them. I enjoyed Deadly Alliance and Deception. Although Armageddon was a slight letdown, I still enjoyed the game quite thoroughly.

[Reavant]

if you havnt played the game, then how do you know what the storyline is? They explain how all the characters are able to fight eachother.

[Kalyx triaD]

Originally Posted by Reavant if you havnt played the game, then how do you know what the storyline is? They explain how all the characters are able to fight eachother.

The story runs into some hiccups that ruin it for me. The Rage thing is a piss poor device that I suppose they whipped up to explain how any good-guy could look at Wonder Woman and imagine her a villain ("I know, let's give everyone Rage! Now the heroes will fight each other!") There were credible reasons for certain characters to fight each other that I guess the writer didn't feel like fleshing out.

On a whole, the DC characters were represented better than the MK ones. Batman's payoff line after the Flash fight is gold, and Joker was kinda entertaining.

[Heyman]

Originally Posted by Reavant if you havnt played the game, then how do you know what the storyline is? They explain how all the characters are able to fight eachother.

Few things:

1) If I cared enough, I could always 'You Tube' the intro for the game...or just google shit.

2) You seemed to have missed my point: In my opinion atleast, it's just retarded to create this "world's collide" mentality and try and put logic into it. It just completely kills the 'willing suspension of disbelief.'

For example - if Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings somehow "logically" intertwined with each other, it would still..

a) Probably suck ass.
b) Be a massive 'fuck you' to the hardcore Harry Potter fans and/or Lord of the Rings fan.

[.44 Magdalene]

It was alot less bothersome in say, Marvel vs Capcom, because they didn't try as hard to make it a serious tie in between the universe. It was mostly just YES DO IT, and it's not like Capcom characters are implausible in the Marvel universe or visa versa.

And Marvel vs Capcom didn't suck floppy donkey dicks, which definitely helps.

[Kalyx triaD]

Really, if you have a kick-ass fighting engine it could be Flintstones vs Jetsons for all I care. That's another point of mine; why would Midway do any cross-overs before getting their own shit together first? DC's PR man needs a lecture.

[.44 Magdalene]

As far as Ed Boon's concerned, their shit never stopped being together. They don't need to fix anything, it's exactly like he wants it.



Because he's fucking insane.

[.44 Magdalene]

And it's not like DC does much better on their own. Hello, Superman 64? The Aquaman game? They don't really have a history of making sound business decisions in regard to gaming. Fuck, MKvsDC is a god damn magical pony from heaven as far as DC's concerned.

[Reavant]

I think you guys are getting waaaaay to worked up over this. Its a video game. A fighting game for that matter.

If you guys arent bitching about gameplay it story lines, if its not that its the way the moves work. All the big fighting games go through periods of transition. So your a fan of the old 2D mortal kombats like many other people. OK well now gaming consoles have moved past that and they are trying too keep up with the times. For those people anyway, this latest game should be just for you because it fights like a 2D game. Now Kaylyx is saying well theyre straddling the fence they should make a choice! Why? The game is bassed off of projectiles and jungle combos! Even in the DA and deception people were barely moving three demensionally because they were too busy throwing fireballs.

MK is a 2D fight game whether you have 3D models or not deal with it.

Im not going to lie, I would like to see some updated moves like scorpion swinging his spear 3demensionally arownd him not just using it to snag people, but Id like to see just newer moves in general. I like the loyalty to characters' signature moves, but seeing characters do new things is always entertaining.

Kalyx, your fatality idea is retarded. Do you like mortal kombat or not? cuz thats the only thing that has been the same in every game other than armageddon, and armageddon's fatality system was the worst thing ever. And thats basically what your proposing.


As far as the models go, theyre 3D animated models! You mean to tell me still framed animated pictures of people from the original MK was more realistic than 3 demensional moving bodies?

As far as blood and battle damage and violence go... they were trying to make a T-rated game and it was also mashed up with DC superheros. Now for the hardcore MK fan I can see and understand your displeasure and anger for this.


As the storyline goes, how else did you want them to explain how superman can get his ass kicked by sonya or the joker? How can you explain that in MK a god (raiden) can lose fights ever? Or a demon hell-spawn (scorpion) cant easily kill another human being right away without having to enter a tournament? You guys are bitching about a mash up and how DC characters can fight with MK characters, but when it comes to just MK or just DC you guys treat them each as theyre own entity, but when you put them together you start treating them as if they are real life and in the real world a man couldnt upricut superman without breaking his hand! For example Heyman bringing harry potter and lord of the rings into this... like seriously WTF? You sound like the kid from Clerks 2 that loved transformers.

Now if you dont even want a storyline like marvel vs capcom, then dont play the story mode. I dont get you beef there, but oh well.

[.44 Magdalene]

Originally Posted by Reavant I think you guys are getting waaaaay to worked up over this. Its a video game. A fighting game for that matter.

Lol, this is the worst possible way to try and tell us anything. How worked up are we, exactly? Go ahead and tell me, I'm curious.

If you guys arent bitching about gameplay it story lines, if its not that its the way the moves work. All the big fighting games go through periods of transition. So your a fan of the old 2D mortal kombats like many other people. OK well now gaming consoles have moved past that and they are trying too keep up with the times. For those people anyway, this latest game should be just for you because it fights like a 2D game. Now Kaylyx is saying well theyre straddling the fence they should make a choice! Why? The game is bassed off of projectiles and jungle combos! Even in the DA and deception people were barely moving three demensionally because they were too busy throwing fireballs. MK is a 2D fight game whether you have 3D models or not deal with it.

Err, declining Mortal Kombat sales? Tournament popularity of games like Guilty Gear and King of Fighters? Street Fighter IV uses 2D gaming mechanics? You're talking out your ass? Midway's on the verge of bankruptcy and their biggest title isn't even putting a dent in it--and you're telling us that it's just a transition period? For like, five games straight (plus numerous spinoffs)? ...And that it doesn't need to change? I wonder why the games don't sell, huh.

As far as the models go, theyre 3D animated models! You mean to tell me still framed animated pictures of people from the original MK was more realistic than 3 demensional moving bodies?

Err, original MK was rotoscoped and basically photorealistic. New MK is three dimensional models that are barely anatomically correct. Are you telling me that imitation models are more realistic than photographs and actual human basis, just because it's in 3D? Because that sounds like more ass talk.

As far as blood and battle damage and violence go... they were trying to make a T-rated game and it was also mashed up with DC superheros. Now for the hardcore MK fan I can see and understand your displeasure and anger for this.

So why did you even throw this part in...? Just padding your post?

As the storyline goes, how else did you want them to explain how superman can get his ass kicked by sonya or the joker? How can you explain that in MK a god (raiden) can lose fights ever? Or a demon hell-spawn (scorpion) cant easily kill another human being right away without having to enter a tournament? You guys are bitching about a mash up and how DC characters can fight with MK characters, but when it comes to just MK or just DC you guys treat them each as theyre own entity, but when you put them together you start treating them as if they are real life and in the real world a man couldnt upricut superman without breaking his hand! For example Heyman bringing harry potter and lord of the rings into this... like seriously WTF? You sound like the kid from Clerks 2 that loved transformers. Now if you dont even want a storyline like marvel vs capcom, then dont play the story mode. I dont get you beef there, but oh well.

I think what we're wanting is for them to improve their game system instead of doing this cross-over in the first place, but go ahead and chastize us for making comparisons. That's some smart aguin' right there, ahyuck! But we just sound like a bunch o' nerds, right? That's some damn good convincin' yer doin' thar!

The fact is the games aren't selling well enough to do shit for Midway, and Midway's in the hole. There's pretty obviously a problem, and it's not a transition period. The story is fucked up and the gameplay is fucked up and their ways of dealing with are fucked up, and trying to deny that just makes you sound like you're stirring the fire on purpose.

[Kalyx triaD]

I think my Fatality system is boss. lol

Its because I love MK I wanna see it evolve, dude. Canned fatalities are boring, might as well make it interactive. And my idea had nothing to do with MKA's joke of a system save for the fact that you're more in control... of unique finishers.