Wednesday
Mar092011
Mortal Kombat Demo: Review Of System Mechanics
BY 
Aris ON Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 5:49PM
Aris ON Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 5:49PM 
A more informed explanation of the Mortal Kombat system based on what I've learned from the demo so far.
Reader Comments (100)
I totally agree with Methos75 on thin one, guys!
Being a Tekken player I know how much it demands from you. Over 40 characters with 150 + moves each and a intricate fighting system makes a fuckin' chore before you can enjoy it at the most basic level.
If you have a life, a job, friends, family, other hobbies and don't want to plat a videogame 20+ hours a week, it is impossible to be really good in Tekken.
MK is much better and much more fun. And yes, the characters in MK are much more iconic and cooler. The game is bloodier, the brutal fatalities just makes it funny. It is easy to play because all the characters (I think there are 30 something in the final version) have only 20 or so moves which I can actually learn and perform.
You still need to put in alot of work and dedication to be good, it has deep enough system. MK seems to be successful in that manner.
Look at what that idiot loldong wrote to me:
"I think fighting games should be made for fighting game players only. I think your kind of "random pick up and play and have fun" players should go fuck themselves, and the companies that make those kind of games quit making fighters. Casual players shouldn't matter. A game should not condone to shitty players at all. A fighting game should be relentless toward noobies so that they either man up and learn the game, or get destroyed until they give up and go cry to some online forum how the gameplay is "boring"."
I'll repeat: "Casual players don't matter..!!??"
This must be the recipe to destroy the fighting genre once and for all... do you think a compay would use several millions to develope a game for 100 000 "hardcore" players like you or do you think it is bigger chance of a game coming out if it is meant for 3 000 000 players, casuals or hardcore??
What I don't like is that you think your opinion matters more becuase you are a tournament player or whatever. A game's success is based on it's sales, and the casual players are like 99% of those who buy it. It is therefor more important that those aspects of a game are covered BEFORE they make it a competitive fighter because tourney players are so small fraction.
You think tournament success determines the game's success, which is not the case, at least when it comes to MK. This game will succeed regardless if it's successful at tournaments. That's pretty much guranteed by the success of previous games alone.
I will not disagree that the tournament scene can boosts the game's popularity and reputation, but the game's success and sales will not depend on it. That's what bugs me most about competitive players. With their egos the way they are, a lot of times with games, they treat their approval as much more important than anyone elses. We all know the casual player makes up the majority, so it shouldn't be perceived any different. The game needs to appeal to casuals just as much as the tournament scene if not more. If you can manage both, and do it effectively, then that's what leads to the best possible game.
OMFG!!!!!!!
i wanted to say this a while but did not but i say this now. i think aris is trolling and sowing the seeds of discourse between SF and mK fans and causing butt hurt on purpose. as we can see on the youtube comments peeps think aris plays sf and even a sf tourney player. lol
in video aris more or less said
-"its peculiar you can duck throws and break throws"
-"odd how to tech. press one button when you hit the ground"
-"very weird that the character does not turn around unless you push a button"
lol peculiar, odd and weird but yet they all apply to tekken 6 no? hurhrurhurhrur
Has anyone mentioned yet that getting hit even while blocking does a little damage to the person getting hit? So you know, if a person plays a heavy block style, they are still taking damage even though their meter fills. The person attacking has a meter nearly identical possibly slightly more full, with higher health than the person who blocks all the time. So aggressive play style is encouraged in this game. I used to play a heavy block style back in MK2-3 days, but I am still psyched about this game. The same basic game mechanics with some new bells and whistles sound pretty cool to me. Worst case scenario we get this game that is nearly perfect as we always dreamed except a few minor flaws, but imagine the next MK game when they make the improvements (maybe they were/are having trouble hitting the release date trying to work the technicalities and kinks out?)..
But this does still kind of allow a block style to be played, because when you pick and choose your moves (especially by encouraging the use of special moves which if you successfully block you can get some major damage out of this style. You don't have to hit 1-2 50% combos, you can hit 10 15% combos. Full-on aggressive or full-on block, these two basic fighting styles has been a staple of MK in yonder years. The ability to switch between the two on the fly also adds depth. I am very excited about this game.
all i gots to say is this...the new mortal kombat to me after trying it is a joke...i miss the days of ultimate mortal kombat 3 and its lifelike characters with its broken yet amazing combos that people used to perform which still is considered difficult...unfortunately i gave up on mortal kombat and when tekken 5 or 6 came out there fighting game just kept getting better in better in depth and technical than any other fighting game so far. Street fighter tried it even before the days on snes or in the arcades in the early 90s and still i said to myself shooting fireballs and jumping around to me wasnt realistic at all and doing ultras was even more stupid but yet they have the nerve to insult juggles on tekken when it does take skill to press the right inputs on doing a juggle correctly...unlike street fighter they have no low parries or sidestepping movement further proves the difference in this game....tekken now has been worldwide as the number 1 fighting game and street fighter of course u have ur fans but the depth isnt there....but wait till TTT 2 comes out.....that right there will be game over for all fighting games....and this is comin from someone who loved mk and street fighter back in the days...favorite fighters, human smoke, and ryu but sadly thats the past....the facts is now tekken owns jin is the character of fighting icons and tekken is the complete fighting game NUFF SAID
Too Infamousminded fuck what ever your name is. To answer your question, look at VF.....
VF is cool. And your point is........
Even tho VF fell off here in the US with the decline of Final Showdown which still no word on a US arcade release, like Tekken, VF still has its dedicated players. You are an idiot. VF smashes MK in every way possible. Vf has a much deeper fighting mechanic than MK. You gotta respect VF man. you'd be surprised what you can do with just a 3 button layout. Punch,guard,and kick. Now unless you have anything relevent tyo say, you started with me. I was talking to menthos75. so......pipe down newbie.
What is vastly funny is that you claim to be talking to me, which is pretty funny simply because I never once stated that MK was deeper than Tekken, in fact I have stated quite the opposite. Now if you want to ask me which one I believe a better game, while I think the MK series better in all the ways that truly count and I am willing to bet that quite a many especially here in the US will agree with me. Better Characters, better storylines, better entry into the genre, more rewarding to play, etc.
I didn't read everything but i had to clarify something to people complaining about the big combos and the damage. The demo is built on an older version of the game, the code is older and as Ed Boon stated in his Twitter account the damage scaling has changed.
How would you like it if i went to your beloved MKonline forums and started trolling there. Posting VALID FACTS that Tekken is leaps and bounds better than MK? You would be pretty upset wouldnt you? As a matter of fact I would probably get flaamed for even doing such a thing. Thats disrespectful. I wouldn't even waste my time on that site bc of no interest. This whole thing was brought out of proportion simply because of one man telling it like it is and stating facts about this early build of the MK demo. We'll see when the final game comes out,but if you feel MK is better then thats your rediculous opinion and your entitled to it. hopefully it will acually be balanced. A balanced game is a successful game. There is too much bullshit in that game right now. Its too broken. Ecept it Menthos.
Actually I wouldn't care if you listed actual reasons why Tekken is better that isn't just game mechanics related, cause when you do that your missing the whole point of MK and why so many love it. As too my redicoulous so called opinion, I am willing to bet right now that MK will have an over-all higher rating than Tekken 6 when all is said and done. You have to remember, deeper game mechanics or not, Tekken 6 was found to be a pretty mediocre Tekken game and a step back as far as the franchise goes. That really isn't even debatable, hell its only got a 79% rating on gamerankings.com. Just looking at what all the gaming sites are already stating about MK and how much they love it, its not hard to predict that at least as far as ratings go, MK will be considered a better game.
I just acually downloaded the demo and its ok. The movement seems a little to restrictive to me. I hate the dial-a-combos. You see Tekken's control scheme is so smooth and moves flow better. but you would never except that. Maybe bc I dont play this series but im open to seeing what kind of combos ppl come up with at evo's showing. So I wont make my final judgement till then. However I do like the 2 stages so far.Pretty cool. Still this game is no where close to competing with Tekken or SSF in any way. But deep down inside you know that Menthos. Would I be right in saying that Scorpion will definetely be considered top tier in this game. He seems really strong?
As I stated elsewhere, it depends on what your definition of competing with Tekken and SSF, depth wise of course not, but sales wise it clearly does. Even shitty ones such as MK vs. DC sold millions. As to Scorpion, yeah probably but I do know the game is better balanced now and he has new moves in the final build such as his hell flip kick, so this could of made him weaker or possibly stronger.
Whats up with the fact that when you jump over you opponent they dont automatically turn around unless they hit a button?.........very odd.
I agree, it is weird, but I think that has been fixed in the final build
"Tekken's control scheme is so smooth and moves flow better."
Oh man, infamous, that's hilarious.
"Moves flow better"
Oh man. Hilarious....
Oh, do you even play in tournaments? Doubt it.
Yes I particapate in tournamaents. Do you? Absolutely not!
So I'm a Tekken player looking forward to the new MK and I have to agree that the demo is very promising. I'm not even going to get involved with the MK vs. other fighting game vet argument except to say that the latest SF and Tekken are definitely not balanced games and anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves. The developers for these titles made better decisions than the MK crew in the early years and have since been fortunate to maintain a faithful fan base of fighting game enthusiasts that have inevitably decided what the standard of a "tourney" caliber fighting game is.
It's a lamented genre that needs a reboot and though I'm glad to see MK has finally stepped on board as a title worth looking into, the best it could possibly hope for is to fall into the shadow of a Tekken or SF and hopefully gain enough support from those players so that it can make major improvements to the fighting game genre in future installments. And if any MK player says otherwise they are kidding themselves.