E3 2014 Impressions: Mortal Kombat X

Mortal Kombat X

While At E3 I Got To See Mortal Kombat X In A More Intimate Setting Than Just The Trailer. Here’s My Take On It

Mortal Kombat X was teased and rumored long enough before E3 that it was no real big surprise to see it play out on the big screens during the press conferences. By no means am I saying it wasn’t a treat to see but there was no real shock and awe moment as the game was fully announced. But that is really all that happened on the big screen leaving much to be desired beyond the long lines of fans waiting to see what Ed Boon had in store for us; not to mention the two new characters promised to be shown off during the event. But beyond that long line was much more than was to be expected…

First and foremost was the fact that we got to see not only two new characters to the Mortal Kombat universe but we got to see four. This brings the roster to a total of six at the time of this writing. I’m not going to list them here right now, you can look further down as I move into gameplay, but each of them looked like the team at NetherRealm took their time to give an amazing feel for each. Something that they have been able to hone their craft on since the 2011 Mortal Kombat title came out and smattering in between.

After an introduction for each new character, and classic, for Mortal Kombat X we moved into the new mechanic to the franchise; the fighting styles. Each character has three different styles of fighting that you can select from the beginning of the match. This changes the special moves and some combos that are available for each. This looked like it really changed up the strategy you would need for each character. As an example, Scorpion’s Inferno fighting style looked to slow down his general attacks but dealt more damage and looked a bit trickier while his Ninjitsu style looked to make him even deadlier than ever.

Along with each of these styles comes an onscreen identifier so players won’t be ass out knowing what version they are fighting against. If looking in the corner for the faint watermark of the style isn’t easy enough, each style also changes the character model to fit the motif of the new style as well as give a better indicator to opponents who are familiar. Cassie Cage was probably the best example as her Hollywood style was very reminiscent of Johnny Cage’s look as well as his combat style. While the Spec-Ops version was more along the lines of Sonya’s in both look and action and the Brawler a mix of the two with green glowing everywhere.

This in affect really brought 18 different characters as each was truly different when all was said and one. For a quick listing, here is that list I mentioned with a list of each of the fighting styles in Mortal Kombat X to date. Oh… I almost forgot to mention before that list. Each character has unique dialog for each other now. No longer the generic saying that works for all. I am not sure if this changes for each fighting style, but it does change for each opponent you are fighting. Ferra/Torr doesn’t use the “Bug Lady” comment for everyone.

• Scorpion — Tried and true with the ability to use two spiked chains now
  • Hellfire
  • Inferno
  • Ninjitsu
• Sub Zero — Also a staple for the Mortal Kombat franchise with some added detail
  • Cryomancer
  • Grand Master
  • Unbreakable
• Cassie Cage ¯ The love child of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade from 25 years in the future
  • Brawler
  • Hollywood
  • Spec-Ops
• D’Vorah — A weird half insect half human queen of vermin
  • Brood Mother
  • Swarm Queen
  • Venomous
• Kotal Kahn — An Aztec god that has entered into the combat
  • Blood God
  • Sun God
  • War God
• Ferra/Torr — A tag team between a small girl and a hulking mass of a man straight from Mad Max or Resident Evil (In the looks department)
  • Lackey
  • Ruthless
  • Vicious

Also, as I speculated based on the CGI announcement trailer, the environments are also very interactive and designed for players to be able to “get out of the corner.” This is where the player can use tree branches, back walls, hanging objects, or even dead bodies to get a break from being forced against a wall. There was no indicator on what triggered these animations or attacks but it looks like a much desired addition because nothing sucks more than being forced into a corner and having to take a beating. If I had to guess it will be one of the bumpers or triggers that the player can use to do this but I cannot confirm yet.

Lastly, the team has taken great care to provide us with all the crazy animations for X-ray attacks and Fatalities. A basic search on YouTube for “Mortal Kombat X Fatalities” should bring up the small montage that wasn’t shown behind the massive lines of fans at E3. Be them the public or the private ones, like what they didn’t show for Scorpion’s fatality during the Sony conference, all look new and original with slight nods back to the game’s roots. I even remember hearing gagging in the theater I was in for this at a particularly gross and over the top finishing move for the match. You know you are on the right track with Mortal Kombat X when that happens.

There is still so much for Mortal Kombat X that we don’t know but we are still most likely a year away from release. There was no mention on the story but it sounds to be taking place after the events of Mortal Kombat 9 as well as 25 years in the future. Sounds like there is going to be some time travel involved so they can keep their original characters in the mix as well as add the new ones like Cassie Cage who looks to be about 25 here. We’ll see I guess.

For now we play the waiting game. I am sure that there will be loads of new details as well as new footage for the upwards of 40 characters and modes in the game. This was just a taste of things to come and I am ready to sample it all. By far this was one of the best titles I saw during the entire week of E3 and I expect it to continue that streak as we move forward toward the release date.