Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Talk is Cheap (and annoying)

Is February almost over already? And I haven't posted anything for over a week? Sheesh!
Freezerburn.
(image from Wikipedia)
Okay, let's try this. I recently purchased the Playstation 4 version of Mortal Kombat XL during last week's PSN sale, and while I'm not the biggest fan of the gore or the ridiculously hard to perform brutalities, I certainly appreciate the effort that went into the game. Most of the characters were given talented voice actors and loads of personality, with the two Cages and newcomer Takeda being highlights. The graphics are even more gorgeous than in the last Mortal Kombat, with beautifully illustrated backgrounds and startlingly human kombatants. If that weren't enough, there's plenty of content, with dozens of fighters and three different play styles for each. It's a standout fighting game on a system with no shortage of competitors. Better than Street Fighter V? Yup. Better than King of Fighters XIV? Well... it certainly looks better, at least. If you're new to the Playstation 4 and are in the market for a versus fighter, Mortal Kombat XL should be on the top of your shopping list.

 All of my PS4 fighting games have been getting a lot of love lately, while the system pack-in, Uncharted 4, remains sealed in shrinkwrap. Frankly, I'm not looking forward to the mountains of exposition that I'll have to sit through just to get to the action. It's a big problem with today's video games... there's too much story and not nearly enough, you know, video game. One of the reasons I enjoy versus fighters so much is that they remind me of the arcade scene from the 1990s, where you were playing as soon as you dropped in a coin. The game industry of the 21st century could use a lot more of that instant gratification, and a lot less of the chatter.
Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. MetManMasFebruary 28, 2017 at 11:19 PM

    I don't mind story stuff if it's good or flows at a good pace, but the deluge of dialogue is definitely a big reason why I don't like jRPGs as much as I used to. I just want a neat world to get immersed in, but damn near every other modern jRPG assumes I'm only there to watch twats talk at each other about nothing for several minutes. =/

    Do love me some story in walking sims, though. But a big part of that has to do with the player almost always being in control, you know? Like you can keep on moving while talking's happening and stuff. That and I'm a sucker for exploration and they have it in spades.

    Mortal Kombat XL, I still don't know if I'll be getting that, at least at full price. I know it's a good fighter, but the brutality's gotten a little too real for me in the newer ones. The visual abstraction of mocap sprites with cartoon gore and prehistoric 3D was easier for me to stomach than loving HD detail put into a sliced off face. =/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ArugulaZMarch 3, 2017 at 2:11 PM

      You're right, of course. The new Mortal Kombat is entirely too bloody, and the lifelike graphics afforded by the Playstation 4 (and the addition of horror movie staples like Leatherface) only makes it more disturbing. Luckily, the underlying game is good enough that it's worth ignoring the sadistic window dressing.

      Despite all my complaints about overly chatty games, I went ahead and bought The Last of Us (PS3) from a pawn shop anyway. It was two dollars! I'm not made of STONE!

      Delete
    2. MetManMasMarch 3, 2017 at 6:56 PM

      PS4's got a remaster of that one, if you didn't know.

      Naughty Dog's cinematic shooting galleries ain't exactly my cup of tea, but I'm fairly likely to pick up The Last of Us or the Uncharted Collection at $5-$7 during a digital sale. As a secondary purchase, anyway.

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)