Mortal Kombat to Please Noob Fans

Marvel vs. Capcom is all the rage in fighting games and for good reason but I think there really is something monstrously appealing about the upcoming rebirth of Mortal Kombat. Notice my word choice there because I will come back to it in a minute. In the latest trailer, the newest addition to the character roster is revealed to be Noob Saibot, the black hooded character first introduced in Mortal Kombat 2. Check it out.

I know fighting game fans often refer to Mortal Kombat as the red-headed step-child of the fighting genre because it usually appeals to the lowest common denominator. Skill and mastery are often pushed to the sidelines in favor of gore and shock value to sell copies. But what about the casual fighting game fan? I would never commit enough time to a fighting game to master a character in hopes of dominating in real world competitions. What if I simply yearn to pop in a game and fight some buddies sitting on my couch next to me? Mortal Kombat has always satisfied that desire for me and there is honestly nothing wrong with that. The problem with the series in recent years is that it strayed too far from what made it great in the first place for the sake of adding complexity to combat and the introduction of new, lack-luster characters. Mortal Kombat is and always will be good for two things: Classic characters and stylized violence. I may enjoy Marvel vs. Capcom 3 from afar but I just might shell out the money to experience some classic Mortal Kombat with a clean coat of paint.

On a side note: The thought of classic 2D Mortal Kombat combined with the painfully addicting treasure room from Deadly Alliance is about as close to bliss as any fighting game has ever brought me.

Reboot or Rebirth?

I recently read through a wonderfully written article in the latest Game Informer in which the exact definition of "reboot" was brought into question. What makes a game a reboot? The new Tomb Raider and Devil May Cry games were compared to the upcoming Mortal Kombat at several points and I found myself pondering that question myself. Think about Bionic Commando (Xbox 360) vs. Bionic Commando Rearmed, which one of these games is a reboot vs. a sequel?  Is a reboot defined by simply bringing a series back from the dead after years of dormancy? Is it defined by dropping the numbers and sub-titles and just returning to the original title?  Or is it a complete re-imagining of classic characters and concepts from a different perspective?  I have my opinions of course but i'll save that for another day.  The one thing I will say now is that Mortal Kombat doesn't strike me as a reboot, but more of a rebirth.  This game strikes me as more of a do-over, another chance to remind fans why they loved the original but without the drastic changes being made to the formula.  Whatever it is, I think it is exactly what the series needed.