Mortal Kombat X (or “MK X” as all the cool kids are calling it) has been out for a month or so now and has come in for some relatively heavy criticism from certain folk.
The main cross the game has had to bare has been it’s questionable micro-transactions such as “easy fatalities” and “unlock everything”. This disregards of course that quite a few games prior to MK X have done stuff like this before much with less furore surrounding them.
Every WWE game since about 2010 has let you not only unlock everything with a season pass but it’s also let you go in and edit the existing characters stats any which way you want. Rather than people kicking off over that and doing a multitude of angry blogs and videos, people just got on with their lives. Because, despite everyone being so offended, you don’t actually have to purchase these things. They are optional extras that have no effect on the actual game.
Don’t want to buy easy fatalities? No worries, the fatalities are relatively easy to perform with a bit of practice anyway. Don’t want to unlock everything in The Krypt? Well just do it the old fashioned way and slog through it yourself. No one is forcing you to give in to the instant gratification. If you want to graft, you can do. I haven’t bought any easy fatalities, because what’s the point? Anyone who would shell out some money on something so facile deserves to be fleeced.
Screw having Goro behind a paywall though! That’s very poor form Midway. Yes, if you weren’t aware, four armed fan favourite Goro was available free with pre-orders but everyone else has to pay for him, even though he’s clearly on the disc and not downloadable content. He stares at you, cracking his knuckles tauntingly, while a prompt declares “press X to buy Goro”. No thanks Midway, you can do one. Make him free in a year’s time and we’ll talk.
And yet, I knock MK X for such an unforgiveable act of buffoonery, but will now praise them for some of the DLC offered. Jason Vorhees and The Predator as downloadable characters you say? Inspired!
But from that peak, we drop to a trough with the games story mode. Though not terrible, it lasts all of 4 hours and doesn’t even give us a chance to play with many of the characters (Ooo err). Super awesome Outworld Cowboy Erron Black? He’s probably in the story mode for all of 5 minutes and we barely get any grasp of who he is. Master Blaster inspired Ferra/Torr? Again, they pop in briefly before pooing off just as quickly.
And therein lies the biggest issue with MK X, it’s a collection of contradictions fighting to be the supreme overriding memory.
The gameplay is smooth and the graphics are fabulously detailed. The characters generally feel different from one another due to different fighting styles, so there’s always plenty of choice as to who you play as.
But then, the more realistic graphics only lead to making the fatalities feel less…jovial than they used to. It doesn’t help that after a gory finisher, the camera decides to focus on the losers already decaying remains as opposed to the victor celebrating their vicious victory. Hey, if you like looking at HD graphics of a body cleaved in two, then you probably found this to be a selling point. I on the other hand, found it somewhat uncomfortable.
One prominent characters fatality involves him literally ripping out another characters throat and then sticking it in their mouth, before pushing the victim to the ground with calm disdain. The camera then focuses on the still retching corpse until you exit to the main menu.
Sorry, but that’s too much. It’s a far cry from having an arcade cabinet crush someone in comical fashion or Smoke releasing a load of bombs until the Earth explodes like something from an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon.
The brutal fatality in question was doubly alarming to witness as it was performed on female character Mileena. The blood bubbled in her throat as my mate Adam declared “that looks just like an Aero”. Well I’ll never eat one of those again now, cheers mate.
Again, it wasn’t so much the fatality itself that bothered me, but the way it was presented. The camera could have cut from Mileena tumbling to the floor to showing the fight winner celebrating and taunting. We didn’t need a prolonged camera shot of a throatless woman’s corpse. Just no, it’s not required.
Stage fatalities may be gone in MK X, but the stages themselves all have interactive features that you can use during the course of a fight. You can still throw people into water fountains, swing on jungle vines and even use an old woman as an impromptu javelin as the battle rages on.
I used the word “smooth” to describe the gameplay earlier, and that it certainly is. It’s smoother than a pint of Caffreys. It is by the far the best element of the game and something that ultimately saves it from further scorn. When you get down to just the fighting, MK X really is superb. The fights feel free flowing and exciting. It’s actually enjoyable to watch your mates fight each other as the gameplay is so fun to watch.
There are, of course, obligatory online modes. These are fine if you like that sort of thing. I have played them and I’ve had no issues with lagging or anything like that. It’s a solid accoutrement and adds some life to the game.
Overall, MK X is a game I found quite difficult to rate. There’s aspects to it that are disappointing (the story mode), unnerving (Mate, get the camera away from the corpse FFS) and downright offensive (Seriously, Goro behind a paywall? Are you high?!?!)
However, there are things about the game which are excellent such as the graphics and the actual fighting itself.
I’ve ended up going for a 7 out of 10 for Mortal Kombat X. Worth a purchase if you like getting together with your pals and dishing out a beat down.
Peace Out
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