With the upcoming release of Mortal Kombat X I have found myself pondering just how “Mortal” is Mortal Kombat. I saw the game up close during the presentation at E3 last June and even talked about it on our radio show as I was interested in how the Next-Generation graphics which allowed for even more gruesome fatalities would be received.
I figured gamers would love them as the true brutality of the series is what has helped set it apart from the Street Fighter series which is the biggest rival in the fighting games department in my opinion.
Of course this new round of brutality will come with a price. The game is no doubt destined to catch the eye of political conservatives who will use it and the youth who play it as a sign of the impending fall of Western Civilization and will no doubt use it an example the next time a young person is involved in a violent situation.
All that being said, what I wonder is what can be done to ensure the future of the series as let’s be honest, at the core it is two people fighting one another using variations of moves which have been standard for fighting games for years.
What I have seen of the game shows that the developers are trying hard to make this new and fresh and not just another game in the series. There are new characters, three subclasses with different features and play styles for each character, better graphics, and of course a new degree of brutality in the finishing moves. I know that seeing a severed face slide off and a severed tongue flapping about and spurting blood may seem too much for some, but there is a large segment of the gaming population that will go crazy for this level of detail.
The game will have a campaign and the speed of the characters as well as the number of movements they can do will of course take this to a new level.
In the end, this is the leap forward for the series by combining old and new and should be exactly what fans of the series have been hoping for.
The ability to livestream will be a huge plus as I can see gamers eager to share their skill and newly discovered moves and fatalities on Twitch being a huge plus.
Fighting games have been able to withstand many changes and challenges over the years and Mortal Kombat has remained a fan favorite, and we will no doubt see a flurry of action when this game is released in April.
You can see my E3 report at the link below, if you would like to hear the radio show segment, leave a comment and we will get that included as well.
