| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 4 | 9.00 |
| Overall | 9.00 |
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A few years back Neatherrealm studios successfully rebooted the Mortal Kombat franchise, a franchise that was well passed its prime. The reboot introduced a whole new 2D combat system and brought back every character from the first three beloved games. With its amazing story mode and addicting combat, the new Mortal Kombat became the best game in the series. Mortal Kombat X is the first sequel in this new line of MK games, the MK2 of this new reboot so to speak. Just like the MK2 of before it enhances what came before with a better combat system and some great new characters. MKX could have been called Mortal Kombat Generations as it involves the children of many of the MK mainstays. These new cast members fit in perfectly, Cassie in particular is as funny as she is sexy and dangerous, a fantastic female character. The female characters in general are handled better than in any fighting game I have ever seen. Gone are the ridiculous “big boobs on display” costumes from MK9; now they dress normally and are strong empowered women. Joining the kids are a whole new cast of outworld freaks including the creepy D'vorah who is part insect and Ferra/Torra a giant with a small evil girl riding it. The new characters fit right into the MK lore and go nicely with the rest of the returning cast which stars most all of the favorites. The combat system got an injection of speed when compared to MK9. Characters move faster, running is back, and combos flow much more freely. Levels are now slightly interactive with some really devastating background attacks. The combo system is a bit heavy on the dial a combo side but those who just want to know the basic specials and moves can still have a blast. This game is perfect for an intermediate level fighter like myself, it’s not super technical so I can still pull of some impressive combos. But for those who do want to master the combat there is plenty of depth. One of the most interesting changes is how every character has three move sets, you choose which type before every match. For instance for Kung Lao one style is more offensive allowing for all kinds of hat projectiles; another style allows you to set your hat to either guard you like a shield or to set traps. This opens up all kinds of different strategies and showcases the incredible depth of the fighting system. Story mode was the standout feature in MK9 and it is back in MKX but it seems to have been cut down a bit. For one it is much shorter than the last game, only lasting like 4-5 hours. It is also missing any real boss battles or team battles like in the first. Part of MK's charm to me are the super cheap boss battles and I felt that was missing from this story mode. That said the cutscenes are vastly improved, they play out like a CG movie with a few offering some QTEs to keep you engaged. The story is full of crowd pleasing moments, I find it hard not to love the story mode. One big new addition is the faction war which plays out as a worldwide online leaderboard battle. Everyone chooses a faction, one of five, wins online and through the faction specific challenges increase the score for that faction. At the end of the week the faction that leads is awarded bonus coins and points. The first two weeks this mode was a mess, it hardly worked, the specific faction towers would be down for the majority of the day. When it did work it was a nice diversion, basically it gives the player something new to focus on every day. There are certain challenges to be met like perform a certain amount of fatalities, win as a certain character, or win at specific online modes. Depending on your faction and your rank within them you gain access to faction fatalities. It is a neat idea, it could have used some more fleshing out and a more stable server. The online mode in general is still a blast. King of the hill mode is back, recreating that at the arcade feeling as you watch opponents fight waiting for your turn on the virtual sticks. My biggest issue with the online mode is finding an opponent at your level is a mission. Way too many times it takes way too long to find an opponent and when I did I would find we arent at the same level so one of us would quit after a match or two. Playing with friends you know is the best way to go here, or be awesome at the game so everyone is fair game. For high level players I am sure the online mode provides tons of hours of entertainment. One of my favorite aspects of MK9 was the challenge tower which served as a massive mission mode. This gave the single players something to work toward after the story mode and arcade modes. Well that is missing, now there are random towers put up daily. These towers have all sorts of modifiers and goals to accomplish. There are some inventive ones like a see saw level where the player on the top side gains health. Some have fireballs fall from the sky. Some have whirlwinds hit random parts of the level. There are tons of combinations and it is quite fun to play them. Every few matches there is a dragon challenge you can attempt for more points, like say don’t use punches in a match. While it is great to have new randomized content every day it does not give the player a sense of progression or accomplishment like a set challenge tower did. Graphically MKX is one of the best looking fighters I have ever seen. It moves so smoothly, blistering fast without one hiccup in the framerate, this feels like something at an arcade. The level of detail on the models and backgrounds astounds me, I dont think I have ever played a fighter where I let the pre fight cinematic play every time because it is so well done. Before each battle there is some pre-fight banter going on between them, for every single fighter combination there is unique dialogue, its amazing. Oh and the gore, the delicious gore! This game has the best fatalities of the series hands down, they are the perfect mix of disgusting and hilarious. One fatality will have you cringe and scream out woah while another will make you crack up at the absurdity of it. The presentation alone makes this game a joy to play. Mortal Kombat X is a worthy sequel that improved on the great revamped fighting engine introduced in the last installment. It may not be Street Fighter tier but MK can now say it is a legitimate fighter, this is the best it has ever played. Personally I enjoyed the features and the nostalgic trip of the previous game a bit more but there is no denying that this is the best MK from a gameplay perspective. A piece of me really misses the fighting genre, it was such a huge part of growing up and it feels nice to have one game that captures everything that we loved about fighting games growing up for the new consoles. |
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Posted by Dvader Sun, 31 May 2015 15:03:22
Recently Spotted:
robio (9m)
Leo just ask me if I am online to play.