It's Mortal Kombat X a great fighting game? It sure is
Is it the BEST Mortal Kombat to date?... not by a long shot, but it could have been.
Let's go back in history a little bit shall we...
Mortal Kombat's franchise has had it's ups and downs. MKI changed videogames, literally. MKII was basically an improvement over a great formula. It kept the basics but was better overall, more characters (granted Kano and Sonya where missing, but they double the number of playable fighters), more moves, more finishers, more everything. Then came MK3, with new mechanics and combos but it somehow took away part of the spirit of the franchise by changing so much the roster. Less than half of the characters where comebacks and it was missing MAYOR players like Raiden, Cage and Scorpion. The game was great gameplay wise but it changed so much it felt weird for an MK title. After that we got Ultimate and Trilogy that rounded up the Golden Age.
The Silver Age started with MK4 in 3D with new mechanics, "new" characters (cough*Kano clone*cough) but fortunately most where known to us from previews games, and it essentially felt like Mortal Kombat overall. Then came MK V and changed everything again, with so many new characters some didn't felt like MK (Nitara, Drahmin and Molock i'm looking at you) while classic ones where missing, new mechanics, new moves, so much more stuff that corrupted the old style of MK, still it was time to move on, this was the new MK... or was it? After a couple of good/bad games we got Armaggedon which basically was the end of this era... and thus we arrive to the Modern Age of MK...
MK9 was the BEST of the series. It maintain everything they learn through the years and improve upon it. It was by far the best roster so far too bringing back almost every classic character (except for Freddy and Cyber SubZero that for me where a waste of space, but oh well). It felt like the new era of MK games where finally starting like they where suppose to, the word is "classic" and a true classic never dies.
MKX brings some changes and with it a lot of potencial, but it ends up short. The variations are a great idea, it gives so much depth to the characters they all feel fresh. The fatalities even though some way over the top (I likeMK9 ones better) still offer the MK feel to them. Brutalities are back, they are really HARD to pull off, but still maybe that's better, since it really adds when you pull one off. The Krypt is better too, and the gameplay itself It feels fluid and the controls work incredibly well, everything feels responsive. But what are the problems then...
It feels too easy. I don't know what's up with the difficulty in this one, Shinnok's battle is boring and anticlimactic. The challenge tower is not what it was in MK9, and honestly i don't know why it just doesn't feel right. Factions? Faction fatalities? It feels so lame and un interesting, it would have been nice to see some Friendship's this time like Babalities in the last MK lighten the tone of it. But my main gripe is the roster and the feel and design of the new characters that somehow change the essenge of MK... almost a third of them are special forces and all like similar WTF with that... what a waste of potencial.
Some of the new characters look good and fit perfectly in MK like Kotal Khan Erron Black, D'vorah, Ferra & Torr. The problem here is that there are so many family ties in the roster one actually think what kind of family issues this people have to be ALL in MK. One thing is to add a new character to replace an old one but another thing is to have new charaters that look and feel similar to the ones already in game and even worse when they feel similar to ones already in the franchise but left behind. Why add new characters when redesigning old ones make MK9 the best so far. And why show so many classic characters in the story mode to fight against and not being selectable, that's just wrong. Some small rants for example would be...
Takashi - would have made a great Mavado comeback, or even a great new Cyborg. Gameplaywise could even be a Cyrax variation.
Jacqueline - if it feels like Jax, why have Jax at all (granted the don't fight exactly the same but Jackie feels unoriginal), again would be a great Cyborg, or same as above a Sektor variation.
Kung Jin - worst character design in the franchise... yes i am counting Drahmin... that Bow/Staff is horrible... it would have been a great Fujin, specially since in MK4 he did use a ranged weapon.
Cassie - she's great, so good that could have replace Sonya completely... but why have Sonya then.
Overall the gameplay is great... but it just doesn't feel as classic and MK9. And i can't play it without thinking i miss so many characters, I just hope that either MKXI/MK11 brings back most classic fighter... unless they are planning for a very mischievous DLC campaing if you know what i mean. GREAT GAME, but fall short though.