Mortal Kombat 2011 *GAME OUT NOW*

[Alpha Six]

So, if you own a PS3 and you DON'T have PlayStation Plus, you can finally download the Mortal Kombat 9 demo. There are 4 characters-- Johnny Cage, Scorpion, Sub Zero, and Mileena, and you play through 4 stages.

From my experience with the demo, this is the most fine-tuned Mortal Kombat game to date— exceeding even the earlier games in gameplay depth. The combo system is simple, but will take some getting used to. It doesn’t play like normal Capcom fighters, where you move in from light punch to heavy punch to special move, and in some cases, will feel incredibly unorthodox in execution.
However, if you've played Plasma Sword (another Capcom fighter) or even Tekken, you'll notice the game is similar, in the sense that there are predetermined button combinations that move into combos, such as "Square, Square, Square," "X, Triangle, Circle," etc. During these combos, you can follow-up with a character's special move to rack up extra damage, or just to look really cool. Some special moves also have their own specific hit stuns or bouncing effects that allow you to juggle the enemy for further damage.

One thing that you'll notice that sets this game apart from other fighters is that everybody plays completely different. This introduces a really strong learning curve and requires that you memorize the ins and outs of a character themselves, rather than other fighting games where you just memorize the mechanics and learn how to properly use them for a character. Mortal Kombat also uses "unorthodox" button inputs, such as "Back, Down, Square" that also require some good memorization and muscle memory-- but this is another thing that sets it apart from other 2D fighters. This can be a major turn-off for some players, but if you wish to dedicate the time to learning a character's in and outs, you'll be rewarded with a really fun experience.

This game's controls are set up differently as well-- rather than punches and kicks having varying intensity, there is "front punch", "back punch," "front kick," and "back kick." All four of these moves are completely different, and for each character have different effects. This also adds a little more depth to the move lists, as you can't interchange moves to give them varying intensity. (Example: "Down, Back, Back Punch" is one of Johnny Cage's fireball moves-- but "Down, Back, Front Punch" doesn't do the fireball.) This is another thing that takes getting used to, considering that most 2D fighters have interchangable button moves.

One thing that I really like about MK9 is that the way it's set up almost entirely prevents button mashers from becoming an issue. Since not every move has combo potential (I consider simply pressing Front Kick as a single "move"), and this game requires precision with your combos, it's almost impossible to mash your way into a combo or a victory. It actually requires dedication to learn.

One of the more notable additions to MK9 that has people excited is the X-Ray Combo, which, after pressing L2+R2, unleashes a special move that, when landing the move, unleashes a powerful, very brutal special move. X-Rays can be comboed, so you can really bring the pain by following up a simple combo into an X-Ray Combo. Although I, personally, thought X-Rays were more of an after thought-- if only because I was personally more interested in the actual combo system when I played the demo.


Overall, the MK9 demo is very impressive and, although it doesn't show off the game's full potential and fun factor, it does give you a small taste, which should be enough to wet the whistles of people looking forward to this game until April hits. Personally, after actually experiencing the overhauled gameplay of MK9, I'm even more hyped for the April release, and am deeply considering pre-ordering.

If you own a PS3, pick up the demo and give it a chance-- but remember, Mortal Kombat is not Street Fighter. It is an entirely different entity and an entirely different experience from other traditional 2D fighters.