(well, not "currently" currently, since I'm at work right now...but you get the point)
And it's kinda sad how bad Mortal Kombat's current reputation is.
And it's even unjustified!
Why do people hate MK these days? Because they all adore Street Fighter?
Don't get me wrong, I love SF too. I was one of the few who bought and played the SF alpha or SF3 series WHEN they were actually originally released (unlike most modern SF fans who jumped in with SF4). But that's the point, "too".
Can't you love more than one thing? More than one fighting game or series, more than one platformer, more than one comic book publishing house, more than one music band?
You like ice creams? Do you only ate one flavour of ice cream and never taste others?
If people wouldn't let any chance to some other fighting non-SF series, we wouldn't had Last Blade, or KOF, or Samurai Spirits...nor Capcom's own Darkstalkers series!!
I know some people, specially in the US, are pretty attached to their brands. (MacDonalds/Wendy/Burger/King/etc.. or Coca Cola/Pepsi/etc..).
But I don't :P
It's all marketing wars.
Anyway, past MK4 people started hating the MK series when they went 3D instead of motion captured photos.
I'm pretty sure Midway would went bankrupt a lot sooner and with a lot more people dissing them if they didn't, but whatever...
So, the series continued to be over-the-top/horror/gore-ysh. But in 3D.
An despite Midway being one of those few companies that kept listening to the fans to keep the brand alive ("we want X, Y and Z in the game", "we want more Fatalities", "we want a campaign story mode", "we want XYZ back", "we want weapons", "we want tons of unlockables", "mingames", "customisable characters", "more characters", "all previous characters", "a crossover") (ps: I just described all post MK3 episodes)
People. Keep. Dissing the series!
Even when the gameplay is pretty solid and the graphics good enough.
Sure it isn't as mainstream as a Soul Calibur, nor as the same publicity image as a Capcom game...but why should all games be the same or control the same?
Why does this series' popularity as the time pass along?... Because of the so-called "professionals" who started giving the games bad rep' in the first place.
Giant online references like IGN or Gamespot have an influence on players despite what some might say. Even on other review publications or internet sites.
Then, people start to follow threads and so on...
(internet talks, reputation, common knowledge, etc.. snowball effect!)
I originally started compiling reviews, quotes and such but this post was starting to get huuuuge.
So simply resumed.
After a good classic trilogy (MK1, 2, 3), the series passed through a rough spot (MK4) and while the series tried to change and evolve in 3D, the bad rep' continued to grow for no reason.
IGN and Gamespot called the 5th, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance a great game and beautiful evolution for the series:
"Anyone looking for a wilder ride than the one offered by Tekken 4 or Virtua Fighter 4 should definitely check out Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance."
"Better than the previous installments" (what "previous"? there only was MK4 since the good ones?)
Then came MK6, Mortal Kombat: Deception, which was described as "Better than the previous modern installments"...huh...what about Deadly Alliance??
Then the 7th, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, "the best the series has offered in a while", "unlike modern episodes of the series"...but....another one (and many others) of your reviewers just said the previous one was good??
Finally came the latest episode, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
"[E]ven as the game moves the series back toward the fundamental strengths of Mortal Kombat", the "best the Mortal Kombat series has been able to offer these last couple of years".
Why does MK keep getting this bad rep after everything they tried to do to please fans?
Just because it isn't by Capcom nor play like SF doesn't mean it's bad?
It's the blood and gore? Then why complain about it when it lacks in MK Vs DC?? (why didn't you get the unprotected Pal release, like me, which is normal since I live in Europe!)
At least with the upcoming MK9 I hope people will go easier on it since it's a return to the classic controls with HD graphics... No more weapons or 3D controls(once more to please the fans).
Yet, I know people will diss it and praise the future Super Street Fighter 4 Turbo Remix Championship Edition Capcom will improvise for the next winter or something...
//End Rant.
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