Mortal Kombat 9 Demo Review - From a different point of view

@Gamer_Of_The_Year

If there is one thing MK destroys SF it's lore. SFIV and MVC3 are so weak on story it's pathetic.

As for the demo difficulty. I fully expert the full game ladder to keep my attention for quite a while. I was just that the demo it's self got old quick which is fine seeing it's only a demo.
 
Gamer_of_the_Year said:
Then we agree completely then. Because MK's story mode is probably what I'm most hyped for. Like as equally hype for Story as I am kicking ass online. Now that's saying something.
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That was what I am excited about too.

Do you guys think this game will be perfect? Nice gameplay and story?
 
IsItTheShoes said:
@Gamer_Of_The_Year

If there is one thing MK destroys SF it's lore. SFIV and MVC3 are so weak on story it's pathetic.

As for the demo difficulty. I fully expert the full game ladder to keep my attention for quite a while. I was just that the demo it's self got old quick which is fine seeing it's only a demo.
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Completely agree on the lore part, to be honest, the part that to me will make MK9 the best Mortal Kombat game, and perhaps the best FIGHTING game overall, is that NRS is acknowledging the plot of all past MK games (except MKvsDC of course), and this is not really a reboot or remake, but a sequel to Armaggedon, made in a very original way. Compare that to SF4, a game i consider extremely good, a masterpiece really (i'm referring especifically to the graphics, sound and gameplay), but with a weak storyline, stuck between SF2 and SF3 without going forward, or making a new story altoghether.
 
If the fighting is balanced. And the story mode is well written and professionally executed. I can see this being just about perfect. Plus it sounds like it's going to have extra content that's on par or better than Soul Caliber. If anyone isn't excited about this game yet they aren't paying attention.
 
Aldo Moreno said:
That was what I am excited about too.

Do you guys think this game will be perfect? Nice gameplay and story?
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I honestly think MK has a chance to truly revolutionize the fighting genre.

Because the SINGLE PLAYER experience is about to outweigh even the great head to head combat. The "kitchen sink" mentality can become the greatest thing in the world when the company decides to only make everything thrown in PURE GOLD. And the Story Mode, Challenge Tower, Tag Mode, Fatality Trainer, The Krypt, Secret Characters, and host of other unlockables is the very definition of PURE GOLD.

Like I've said before, if MK's fighting engine holds up and at least even gives a worthwhile amount of depth worthy of serious tournament play and "chess game" matches. Then MK will be the GREATEST FIGHTING GAME EVER MADE.

You heard it here first.
 
This was a flawless review.

Couple of things I disagree on.

He doesn't really understand the super meter and to be honest, it doesn't behave like a super meter, but a REVENGE meter like in SSF4.

Also, he didn't say anything negative at all. He said it was just interesting. Interesting doesn't mean it's bad. Of course this game is going to play differently to SF. It's its own damned game.

However, it's irritating as all f*ck to see people try to use the excuse that this game is geared more towards casual players as a defense for bad/simple gameplay. You guys need to stop that.

I'm a casual gamer and what I want is a good fighting game that' easily accessible where the mechanics make sense and the fighting is fluid. It looks like that's how it's going to go. I don't think anyone is asking for super complex button configurations for moves, but the fighting needs to be intuitive.
 
I wish he had been more subjective in the review (less "STOP *****ING!" and "GO **** YOURSELF") and left that in the description text, but other than that, not bad.
 
The video was good for me to watch because I learned about landing overhead punches on someone who is crouched/blocking vs trying to kick them while crouching/blocking. That part was interesting, there were things that I liked (like the Xray system etc) that he didn't but over all glad I watched it. I haven't played the demo yet, but at least a couple things in that video would have taken me some time to figure out so ya glad I watched it.

Edit: Also if one xray combo has the potential to take off 60% of your HP and your playing against someone who is good then using the combo breaker is worth it pending on where your xray meter is & your HP during the combo. My two cents
 
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Gamer_of_the_Year said:
Please...I'm calling this guy a douche because of 1) His condescending tone. "That's pretty cool, I GUESS" ... "What the **** am I supposed to do is this game? How am I suppose to play it? What's the point of this game?" ...it's a fighting game prick. What do you mean what's the point? Beat the other guy's ass. Sure, he'll counter that and go into I was meaning "strategy wise" but my next point to him would be: Well, you just said you were NEW to Mortal Kombat. You're not supposed to know the POINT yet. So why is your tone like, "I'm supposed to be able to pop this game in and jump right in if it's a deep fighter like Street Fighter". BULL-SHIT. It's an entirely different game. I LOVED that team at Netherrealm Studios has blended MK2 with TEKKEN (which is CLEARLY the biggest influence in terms of fighting mechanics), and what SFIV did in terms of going back to 2D and old school gameplay with a new gen twist. It's actually brilliant.
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Condescending tone is something I admitted to being an issue I cannot argue against with regards to this guy but that is something we will have to get over (and accept that it makes him a douche).

What I was trying to express was his underlying intentions with regards to liking the game or bashing the game. I clearly stated with several quoted examples his overall positive impressions of the game. You have to be blatantly disregarding those cited sources to argue that he was completely anti-MK or unfair in the purposes of his video.

With the quote "What the f*** am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to play it? What's the point of this game?" he is not actually literally asking those questions OR using it as a sarcastic way to show how bad the game is etc. He is prefacing what he is about to explain. People do it all the time in classes or books. It's more of a rhetorical question IMO.

Obviously a professional/tournament (whatever level he is) fighting game player knows the answer to those 3 questions.

He clearly says he is not sure exactly all of the details regarding MK fighting engine and its heritage. He actually is quoted as requesting assistance from an MK player to help him understand. Again this is cited in my previous post so refer to that.

The entire video he was clearly experimenting and sharing his thoughts to what he saw. I don't think he is doing anything but learning the system with us (as viewers). I don't think he expected to know how the game was supposed to run (the "point of it") and he clearly stated it was different than Street Fighter and was original. All the while never saying it was bad. Again see previous post for cites.



2) He said the game feels CLUNKY. That's absolute rubbish as well. Any fighting game you HAVENT played before should feel DIFFERENT (aka CLUNKY) because the mechanics and gamespeed should NOT feel like the fighting game you DO play. Because they are NOT the same. There should be differences, there should be a learning curve. There should be some getting used to. And this DOUCHEBAG knows this. He talks bad about the METER but ANY STREET FIGHTER PLAYER KNOWS (the Ultra meter in Street Fighter works EXACTLY the same as it does in MK). Capcom didn't add two separate meters for Ultras and Supers UNTIL Super Street Fighter IV (Vanilla had 1 and it worked almost identical to MK's which he calls stupid). The fact that they give you meter for the opponent blocking isn't because they wanna punish you for hitting and reward you for NOT hitting. It's to PENALIZE people for blocking too much....AKA TURTLING. You don't wanna be a turtler when you give your opponent full meter from blocking do you? Nooooo, so get your punk ass up and fight.
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With the clunky reference I believe he was saying that it is rough to him. This is his opinion. It is a very subjective topic. He is comparing it to his experiences whether biased or not. Everyone must be able to have reference. This guy's opinion on the engine feeling initially clunky, is rather insightful considering his experience and expertise.

Whether YOU believe it is clunky or not is your OPINION and may differ from his.

However, if all of his peers (high level tourney players) had a consistent opinion of clunkyness then that would be enough to alarm us. In other words, if he and four other people each did a video like this independently verify clunkyness then it would be enough to warrant a judgment of clunkyness.

Now whether this game is clunky or not is not the point I am trying to make. I have no idea. I don't have much to reference it against (experience). I am just seeing what he is saying and trying to point out that his opinion has weight.

Also I don't think he relates the word clunkyness in the context of not know what to do (e.g. not knowing combos, how to move properly etc.) I think he is using the descriptive term clunky in the sense that it as an engine is not smooth or that it is rigid in some way. These terms and "judgements" are beyond my understanding and ability to describe myself but I feel that I understand what he is trying to illustrate.

He later even says that the game is becoming more fluid. I have the cite on the other post.

3) I frequent the Shoryuken.net boards ALOT so I KNOW the type of people this guy represent. Fighting game elitists that thinks EVERYTHING in a game should be curved to his/her liking. AND, if it's not made by Capcom, then it gets put through this biased ass grading scale where everything is compared to Street Fighter and touted as inferior. They are weaboo, Japanese fanatics who think only the Japanese can make a REAL fighting game. The fact that this is MORTAL KOMBAT (Street Fighter's BIGGEST 2D rival) and AMERICAN MADE frightens this crowd. Because everything they believe can be shattered if Mortal Kombat is better received than Capcom's latest two fighters (SFIV and MVC3). Btw, it has MVC3 in the bag. MK will be better than that. Hell, even this demo is better than MvC3.

I know exactly who this guy is. And he IS a douche. Sure he makes a couple valid points. But the vast majority of his 20 minute tirade was Weaboo Capcom junkie *****fest. This version of MK we're playing is a demo build that isn't tweeked in terms of combo damage. And his complaints about everyone's jump kicks comes from his MK ignorance. Cause he'd know that was put in the game PURPOSEFULLY to pay homage to the fans' favorite normal attack from the MK2 days.
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Obviously you have more perspective than I regarding the history of the debate and biases regarding the two franchises. I purely took my interpretations from the video alone and (what I felt) the unjust bashing. I feel he did a positive review and actually put up guarded words directed towards "your faction" (MK group). He is obviously aware of this divide and shares the same feelings you have as with him. Seeing your descriptions it is apparently a mutual dislike.

But if you look past the snide remarks and look at how he views the game, it seems fair and positive. You'd have to just rip apart my first lengthy post to convince me otherwise.

Again, he is obviously a douche in the sense that he does not possess tact and clearly lacks a certain type of respect for the MK faction that might view this video and complain. I do not disagree with you being against that. But from what I saw he likes the game and wants it to succeed.

But I digress.


Note: Not sure how to break apart his post and quote within. New to that sort of the thing so I emboldened my words.
 
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I think it's pointless to review a demo with such depth. It's a way early build of the game and it will not be exactly like the actual game.
 
MS3 said:
Note: Not sure how to break apart his post and quote within. New to that sort of the thing so I emboldened my words.
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I fixed it for you =)

If you want to see how I did it, just quote your post and you will see how I added the quote tags.
 
RoboSmoke said:
I think it's pointless to review a demo with such depth. It's a way early build of the game and it will not be exactly like the actual game.
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Hopefully he'll do another one if he bothers to pick the game up, sorry but I've only come across one other user on this forum who decided to make a lay down of the game...Story, lore, characters, graphics can make a game sell...Yet Competition promotes longevity in a title, anyone who doesn't care about the later should go hide behind a book...
 
I've been playing SF4 from around halfway through Vanilla's lifecycle and since MvC3 was far from my cup of tea I decided to scope out MK9, you know, see if the game looks worthwhile. By worthwhile I mean that the game is going to reward me for the time I put into it, like SF. The more I train and master combo's or read up on frame traps, resets or option selects; the better I get, the more I win. So at this stage no average-joe mashing on Ken's DP is going to beat me, short of epic lag or my hands falling off.

For example! I've got this friend who likes to talk the talk but who can't play for shit, it's a miracle if he follows up his confirmed hit with a combo and not just a random throw. The last thing I want is this guy to beat me through sheer luck or randomness. Infact, since this is MK I want to revel in the fact that I can crush him and then follow it up with a little humiliation by dragging his face along a moving train, again, and again!

But I'm getting off topic, I'm not a Tekken player (Might pick it up if Tag2 is well received) so I don't really know Aris but this video gave me pretty good insight into how the game works, block button, throws get beaten by quick normals, specials are rarely/never safe, no crossups (?) combo breakers, X-Ray moves, plenty of target combo's etc.

And for the most part it sounds solid, I still haven't played the demo, so I'd need to get my hands on it before I could give an opinion on fluidity, or see how safe target combo's are on block, or just how slow the throws are, but it's really an informative start and it lets me know that the game isn't total trash from the get go.

I really want MK9 to be a hit, and for the right reasons, it's got the style and cool features like a 2v2 tag mode I want it to have substance too. Some of these posts are retarded and I hope not representative of the games community, there are plenty of scrubs on SRK moaning about this and that, but I think Araknyd03 takes the cake..

Tldr:
I want MK to be tournament worthy.
This review highlights some obvious issues with gameplay (Damage, aerial kicks aren't overheads, meter building is bizarre).
Some people should grow a pair and not get upset when somebody gives critique on a game that isn't even out yet.
 
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