Reports of Mortal Kombat's demise seem to be pre-mature. Ed Boon has confirmed that even though Armageddon will be the end as we know it, MK shall return...sort of.
"On the next game, we're going to start new, with a bunch of brand new characters, a whole new fighting system, a new presentation with the new graphics for the new consoles, as well as a new control scheme to take advantage of some of the new technology available. We thought it was a good time to close this chapter and open a new one with every single aspect of Mortal Kombat -- It's going to be brand new."
If Street Fighter III has taught us anything, it's that new can be awesome and yet be an acquired taste. But it's looking like Boon's talking about a complete overhaul of the series. Good?
(edited by It's False on 12.9.06 1925) TEN YEARS AGO IN WRESTLING HISTORY: SEPTEMBER 1996 WWF: Shawn Michaels d. Mankind at Mind Games, one of the 90's best matches. Also, some guy named Steve Austin made it his personal mission to bring Bret Hart back to the ring.
WCW: The nWo prevailed in War Games with the help of a Fake Sting. The real Sting walked out on WCW, kicking off one of the biggest angles in the company's history.
It's good because by starting over they have a chance to completely revitalize an already decent series, and a chance to fix the fighting mechanics which really haven't significantly changed since Mortal Kombat 3.
That said, with the fighting engine being as mediocre as it is, the only *real* draw the series has left is the mythos that Ed Boon and his creative team have put together. I mean, the game has a storyline that's twice as deep as some RPGs I've played in the past couple years, and it's an arcade fighter, for Pete's sake! That mythology is what's currently carrying the series, and by nuking it all and starting completely over, they're going to run the risk of either alienating the current fanbase, or ending up with a crapier version of what they already have.
That said, I wonder what happened to make Boon change his mind about keeping Scorpion, Sub Zero and Liu Kang around. He seemed confident that those three characters would make the jump a couple months ago, but that blurb makes it sound like he wants to blow them off too.
Tonight I wanna ruin my life, I wanna throw it all away, In a spectacular way
wow... if Boon wants to work on another title, thats fine- but he's gonna kill MK with his "new ideas"... in my opinion... the only reason I like MK is cause of the story (mentioned by Excalibur) and the familiar characters, none of which MK is really MK without.
Originally posted by Excalibur05It's good because by starting over they have a chance to completely revitalize an already decent series, and a chance to fix the fighting mechanics which really haven't significantly changed since Mortal Kombat 3.
I'd say that it changed a whole lot since Mortal Kombat 3. The entire control scheme changed radically when the series became console only. I mean, they introduced weapons, two styles of martial arts for each character...and removed the RUN button, too. SO yeah, tonnes of change.
Here, look at the monkey! Look at the silly monkey!
i dont get how they could change MK for the better? Are they gonna make only Shaolin Monks style games... or is it gonna become more button-mashing? I dont get it.
They never really said MK: Armageddon would be the end of MK games. They said it would be the last MK game for this generation, and they would be starting over with their storylines and stuff when the next game comes out.
I have MK:A preordered, one of the few times I've ever preordered a game. I know some people don't like the control mechanics, but since I'm not one to sit down and memorize dozens of combinations, the whole "dial-a-combo sucks" argument doesn't hold any validity for me. Throw in Mortal Kartbat (or Kart Kombat, or whatever they call it), online play, and a Conquest mode similar to the very underrated Shaolin Monks, and it's hard to go wrong at 40 bucks.
I agree with the SFIII analogy - not that the next MK will be that "deep," but that it will piss off some long-time fans, while thrilling others. I imagine a whole new engine will be in place.
I can't fathom them wiping out EVERY SINGLE THING from the previous games...I could see maybe Scorpion or Raiden making the jump so there is at least one recognizable aspect to it. I don't know how confident I am in their ability to create a compelling new storyline and roster. The last few games have introduced exactly zero compelling characters besides Onaga in Deception. As some people have already said, MK's storyline is the best aspect of the series...major characters die, characters undergo face/heel/tweener turns, you don't always get a happy ending...if Street Fighter had a mythos like this, it would be amazing.
As pathetic as it my seem, a while back I read through the plotline guide at Gamefaqs that tries to sort out the whole thing. It was actually quite entertaining...even with the loose ends and continuity errors that pop up from time to time. What's cool is they do seem to be making an effort to tie up at least some of these. For example, in MK Deception, Shao Khan being pissed at Reiko for putting on Khan's costumes while he wasn't around...finally answering the "Reiko is actually Shao Khan" rumor/debate that started back in MK4.
I hope they can follow it up with the reboot in the next game.
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