Review of Mortal Kombat 9: The Game-Part 1.
Posted by
Natasha Bennett
Blogger's note: Minor Spoilers for the game.
So, last week I did a review of Mortal Kombat 9: the Demo.For those that missed it, here's a recap-I typed something up:
This was more or less the general reaction:
And then I ran back home and planned a crappy tour show.
Oh wait no that wasn't me.
So here’s my opinion on the entire game. While some of my previous arguments are invalid, some of them are not. This is a pretty long review, so it shall be two parts. I am also going to be breaking the game down by it’s features, since there is a lot going on this game.
Story Mode: One thing I really liked (and didn’t expect) was the fact they carried over the plot from Armageddon, with evil Raiden fighting Shao Kahn. He eventually gets defeated and sends a simple message to his past self, ‘He must win’. Raiden, being the ultimate cliché time-traveler, promptly tries to change the future, screws it up more, and even has the classic ‘Noooo it wasn’t supposed to be this way!’ line.
That being said, the story actually shows us quite a few things which expand the characters, which is something I’ve been asking for since the beginning. We see the human versions of Cyrax and Sektor, and Kabal before he became…um, ‘shish-Kabaled’ (bad joke).
With Raiden altering the timeline, there are also some genuine WTF moments, particularly from Liu Kang. For me that’s actually the best part. Lui Kang wasn’t really that much developed as a character besides wanting to bed Princess Kitana and being Raiden’s devoted follower, so it’s a little interesting to see him take a stand when things get a little crazy.
My only gripe with the story is pretty small-there were some scenes where the main characters should have logically lost and the story should have progressed that way. Not to spoil much, but there was one fight with Nightwolf where he beat Sindel, and in the very next cutscene he is getting his ass handed to him by her. I think there was some room to show us what would happen if a player lost a match (maybe have a cutscene with the world being destroyed or whatever) but it’s a very small gripe.
Overall, the story is pretty awesome 5/5.
Controls: Eh, I know I haven’t commented much on it before, but I do find the controls kind of average. People have said that they are responsive-which is true, they are way more responsive than the early Mortal Kombat games, but I've played other games with far more interesting combat systems, which is why I'm not giving extra points for this.
However, for those that are interested, I’ve mastered the combat moves, the combos, and the fatalities very easily, but I really had the same strategy for winning every single fight (which includes Shao Kahn)-jump up in the air, kick them in the face, then uppercut when I land. Add a little variation if the enemy AI starts to block, then repeat. (Come to think of it, I’ve won every single Mortal Kombat game that way). The fighting became somewhat intense during the more difficult matches, but most of the time it just got repetitive. Although I can easily blame the enemy AI for that and not the combat system. Finally, there were moments in the game where I was trying to throw ordinary punches, and somehow ended up doing special moves (usually ones that didn't help me at all). 4/5.
On-line Mode: Thanks a million, Sony. 0/0
Stay tuned for the challenge tower, all the extra features, merchandising, and yes, the x-ray system I love so much.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
