Zero Punctuation: Mortal Kombat

[SageRuffin]

And I'm having a lot more fun with MK 2011 than with SSF4, BBCS (I still say CT is the better game, especially after the v1.03 patch), and MvC3. Netherrealm Studios put a lot of care into this game, and I definitely commend them for it.

Waiting till BBCS2 gets fixed (no wallbounce? wtf?!), but its looking like that series is dieing horribly. Mahvel 3 is the craziest game I have ever played, still love it. In SSF4 ae hit Abel hard with the nerf bad, but yun looks fun.

Some of the changes in CS are stupid (sweeps have damn near no hitstun), my man Ragna is almost useless while Jin is borderline broken since he plays closer to his CT incarnation, and I never understood how making a bad character worse (Haku-men) was good balance. But now it sounds like I'm complaining that my best character has been toned down tremendously, but whatever. I'm considering going back to CT, when the game was still fun. :/

I want to like "Mahvel" 3 (baby!), but there are more than a few things about the fighting engine that bother me: the way OTGs work, the combo mechanics at large, Wesker, how scrubby some of the characters are... the list goes on.

Same with the SF4 games: 1-frame link combos, projectile users having an definite advantage over most other characters, the fact that the game favors overwhelming offense, cross-ups being ridiculously easy to pull off, the soundtrack, the character models...

But I'll stop here since I'm starting to get on a soapbox.

Mk9 has a lot of polish compared to what they where doing before, too bad the online is fucking trash (same for every fighting game out right now).

I wouldn't quite say all that, but MK 2011 is definitely one of the "more complete" fighters out there right now. I hear a costume pack is supposed to drop soon, so long as they don't follow the Capcom route (only select outfits at a time, then releasing them all later at significantly cheaper) I'll be snatching that up with relish. I love the new character designs (though Kitana has a rather... "manly" face), coupled with the fact that Cyrax and Sektor have human forms with alternate character animations to accommodate, but I'll greatly welcome the klassic looks with open arms.

 

[OroCrimson]

On the subject of every character ever having a fight, ever heard of Mugen?

-_- Really?

Read the end of the video, like during the comments section.

And no one ask if he's heard of MUGEN before.

I better not find the word MUGEN in this thread anymore. Unless you read the end.

 

[rickicker]

I'm going to quote one of my friends from another nerd forum: "If you're more interested in what happens after the fight instead of the fight itself, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!" And that is exactly what my main gripe about the entirety of the Mortal Kombat series (and its clones; good LORD, the clones!!). It thrive on nothing but the gory fatality that, while might seem fitting in the 90's ultra-violent counter culture scene, just seems like a fish out of water this day and age when we can get all our violence and raeg in more varieties elsewhere.

To copy-paste Yahtzee's words on the Sonic review: Mortal Kombat is DONE! It's past it! It doesn't need more games, it needs help. Specifically the kind of help that involves taking it behind the shed and tearfully putting both barrel through its confused, oblivious little face. Stuff it, mount it, repurpose it as a litter picking device.

 

[wraith428]

Wow Yahtzee hates a new game, big surprize there. Even better that he hates it based on nostalia.

 

[Dansrage]

Funniest review for a while.

Marty, odviously.

 

[Eveonline100]

how did he get it?

good review none the less

most likly he imported

 

[Kurt Horsting]

*snip*

I don't know what version of BBCS you where playing but Hakumen was a beast in that game. Bigger combos, tk tsubaki off a dash, 4c, j. 5c, j. 5d, stabbing projectiles = void of doom, etc. And Ragna is fucking stupid broken in that game. 40% Berial edge combos that end in oki while building 50 heat, fatal counter on 2c which is +6 on block, 80% blood kain combos and etc. It was Rachel that got hit so hard wit the nerf bat it was renamed the "Rachel stick".

With marvels otgs, you need specific moves that can hit otg to work. Some characters do not have otgs. And if you have bounce moves, they can be used only once in a combo for either ground or wall bounce. There are really dumb mechanics (dhc glitch, xfactor, air throw hitboxes, etc)
but its still fun.

And last, SSF4 is defiantly a defensive game. The laxed reversal windows, low damage combos, emphasis on option selects make it hard to get in and stay in. SSF4 becomes more about footies and baiting reversals and jumps then smothering someone in attacks. And just a bit of advice, crossups where even easier back in the day and there was no auto correct. Learn to block.

 

[Jyggalag]

I completely agree that the fighters should be limping or at least act staggered if their skull has been crushed into a thousand pieces. I actually prefer the 2D fighting compared to annoying strafing and the gore is a great stress reliever.

 

[pieguy259]

Well, Marty has a car, so he could run Sam down. But on the other hand, Sam has Al, and Al can be anywhere, and he could see that Marty was coming to run Sam down, so he could warn him.

Sam is an expert fighter, too, as he's demonstrated. So I think Sam Beckett would beat Marty McFly.

 

[Drunkbot]

I really had no idea this was a thing. I was with Yahtzee all the way through the beginning, astounded anyone cared about the original Mortal Kombat. I knew about the DC crossover, because hey that is Batman, but you take that away and the game never registers on me.

Maybe they should take the Mortal Kombat title in a different direction.

 

[MAUSZX]

I think it's the best fighting game of this new gen.
But I am not a fan of fighting games so I really not going to buy it anyway

 

[CaptainLudicrous]

Sam Beckett would win if McFly had his hoverboard. Due to distraction and erratic air currents.

 

[NPC]

Sam Beckett is trained in Martial Arts, McFly has no chance in hell.

 

[faeshadow]

Another great review.

Huh, I see you've perfected the time machine. I mean, that's the only way you could possibly watch a roughly 5-minute video in time to comment on it only one minute after it was posted...right?

OT:...What's wrong with the new Dr. Who?

Don't ask, we'll take care of it, we are Doctor Who fans, we are armed with crowbars and nachos, and we will run the rivers red with Yahtzee's blood.

I'll bring the torches and pitchforks.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Loved the review. Partly because I know not to take Yahtzee's opinions on fighting games in general too seriously, and partly because he immediately predicted my "wait, that sounds like Mugen" thought.

 

[DoomBlackDragon]

You know yahtzee I been watching your videos for many years now but this has to be in my top 5 worse videos ever. You did not make me chuckle once.

In stead you made me feel like I was lission to my girlfriend ***** about her pms.

Really that was a terrible video. Yes I get it you bot a illeage fighting game. We know you hate fighting game. If you did not want to review the game then just plan tell the world. I can not cause it against the law.

Do not waste my time bitching about something you do not care about.

 

[Thomas Ella]

Tea-bagging's pretty irrelevant too. It's only as relevant as the guy on the other end cares about it. Maybe what he's saying is that violence for the sake of violence is no longer relevant because there have been many games which are equally violent but with a greater amount of meat behind that. Gears of War is over the top violence but there's a whole story behind it, there's more to it than just two guys fighting.

I think his main point is that, MK was relevant back in the day because it was so violent. But since that's no longer unique, having the same game today is kinda weak.

Personally, I would never call teabagging relevant. I was simply saying that Fatalities aren't just about violence for violence's sake. It's about humiliating your opponent. And Yahtzee and a lot of people in this thread have acted like all this new Mortal Kombat brings to the table is the violence. It's absolutely not "the same game" as it was. It's a really deep fighting game with lots of interesting mechanics and plenty of room for casual and tournament play. There is a story behind Mortal Kombat, so it's not "just two guys fighting." The story in MK is as deep as Gears of Wars' story is; they're both just excuses for gameplay.

Yahtzee demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge about the game. It seemed like he played the demo a couple times, read the Wikipedia summary on the story, asked a friend about whether or not it's actually a good fighter, then wrote the review.

He's said in the past that he doesn't like fighting games. Neither do I for that matter. I don't know why they're still making Mortal Kombat anyway, they said Mortal Kombat Armageddon or whatever was going to be the last game. Now since then there have been two more! What a joke. They tried a cross-over with DC to revitalize it, and they tried to reboot the original to revitalize it, they're obviously trying to breath new life into a dying series and everything they're doing is copying Capcom's foot steps.

So yes, saying they're struggling to be relevant in today's market is very much an accurate statement.

Have you played it? It sounds like no. Because if you had, you'd know that they're definitely not following in Capcom's footsteps. [EDIT: Not saying any of that in an elitist, derogatory way; sorry about the weird snobby tone.] Capcom needs to take a hard look at this new Mortal Kombat because it really does break new ground for fighting games. The story, while not on the level of BioShock or Grand Theft Auto, is told in such a natural way that it's a wonder we've given fighting games a free pass for so long. There's just no better way to tell a fighting game's story than the format used here. Then there's just a ton of other content. I loved Street Fighter IV, and the core fighting mechanics are arguably deeper and more polished than Mortal Kombat's, but that game is a joke content and innovation-wise by comparison. And as for Armageddon being the last one, they only said that Armageddon was going to be the last one of that style before a major reboot was coming. Which was true.

I feel like the only people who could possibly be saying that Mortal Kombat is "struggling to be relevant in today's market" are the people who took a sideways glance at it, said "yep, looks like Mortal Kombat," and then never played it.

 

[Chiyo-Chan]

I don't think I've ever gotten angry with a critic before, but here I go.

Yahtzee! How can you not like the new Doctor Who!?

 

[xFullmetalx]

Not one of his best. A lot more bitchy than the others if thats possible.

 

[DrPoopenstein]

I don't think I've ever gotten angry with a critic before, but here I go.

Yahtzee! How can you not like the new Doctor Who!?

Because he's clearly a man who enjoys things that are WELL WRITTEN. You know, like Doctor Who was decades ago before he fought burping trash cans.