🚀 go-pugleaf

Hey,

Okay, I admit I've been under a *rock* for the past few months.
I've been having to deal with some obsessions, some things that
aren't quite *healthy*, let's just put it that way.  ;)  I mean,
anything that a) keeps me from playing video games and b) makes
me forget about Midway's (chickenshit) withdrawal from the arcade
scene isn't a good thing.

Nonetheless, thanks for the kind words so far, I'm impressed that
alt.games.mk *can* be merciful to the clueless on occasion.

Anyway, I admit I *do* have my biases.  I've been an old-school,
arcade rat since *pong*.  I can't help it, there is just something
about the *social* element of *going out* to play games that you
*can't* get at home.  Yeah, I understand the *online* games are
supposed to make up for that somewhat, but only if you're willing
to shell out the *bucks* for it (extra hardware for PS2, broadband
costs for XBox, etc, etc....).  And as for arcades being dead...

Two simple points: 1) Go to rec.games.video.arcade.  One of their
threads deals with the subject and somebody brought up in that
very thread that arcades, on average in the USA, have had their
*profits* rise by 17%.  So it's not *all* about people going broke
folks.

2) If the scene *is* dead, I blame *everyone*.  Let me explain:

   a) Maybe it would *help* if programmers didn't approach the writing
and making of arcade games as something of a way to *use* people.
Between the dumbing-down of games into button-scrubbing madness, and the
too-frequent use of Nazi Code to force players to *pump* in more tokens/
quarters, it's a wonder folks still play at all.  (by Nazi Code, I simply
mean, the way some games will just *take control away* from you beyond
a certain point....in fighting games, suddenly you can't *attack* anymore
or block anymore or *move* anymore because the computer *always* hits
first)  And Never Mind that some games have *worse* graphics in the
arcade than they do at home (thanks a *lot* Namco).
   b)  It would also help if Arcade Operators weren't so flagrantly lazy
and rude and unprofessional.  Lazy....they're hardly ever around and when
they are they act like it's *such* an imposition to check out a frozen
game or to make sure the change machine works.  Rude....there are no
smiles on the other side of the fence, only lots of "no, that's just
the way it is," or just flat-out walking away grumbling from *customers*.
Unprofessional...aside from being snarly and impolite and full of
attitude with their bread-and-butter gamers, when was the last time
you saw an arcade operator with the techincal skill to either *know*
how a video game *should* play, or more importantly, to *know* how to
fix things *on the spot* when they go wrong?  Last time I checked, it
was *over a decade ago*.
   c)  It would *really* help too if Gamers *cared* enough not to put
up with the bullshit.  I'm as guilty of this as anyone, either just
putting up with problems because I know they'll never be fixed and that
I need my gameplay fix *now*.  Or just trying my best to be cheap and
stay home when I *do* have the time and money to invest in a home system.
Neither one works well when it comes to giving a business *constructive*
feedback that might make it better.

Ahh, sorry about the rant.  I just get so tired of people saying "arcades
are dead" and *not* admitting that they were a party to the act of
*killing* them.  I mean, maybe once Sony and Microsoft *both* ruin online
play for people, the desire for a social element in gaming will return and
arcades will come back.  And note, this isn't the same as a desire for
competition necessarily.  I personally can't stand the uber-cutthroat
mentality that gets into some people when they are near a fighting game.
These days, I don't even bother talking to some folks, if they want to
intrude on my current game I'll just pick up my quarters and *leave*.
Why?  Because some folks just *don't* understand how frustrating it is
to *lose* over and over again, not because of any skill difference,
but because a game is *that* imbalanced, or a bit of collision detection
is *that* messed up.  ;)  But I digress.  Point is, there's your Nazi
Code at work again.

Back to Mortal Freakin' Kombat (finally!).

Some of the comments are interesting....

Okay, so it's coming out on all systems.  That's cool enough, I mean
the EGM article I saw was for the PS2 version but if there are others
I can sort of deal with it.  I mean, I don't particularly *like* any
of the current batch of systems out there, but the standard digital 
pad for Sony systems (both PS1 and PS2) drives me crazy.  And I don't
want to pay *double* the software price for Mortal Kombat just to
get a controller that doesn't drive me nuts.  :)

As for the apparent *lack* of projectiles.....don't bet on it.
I mean, what would Sub-Zero be without being able to *freeze*
folks?  And one of the pics *clearly* shows Cyrax being back.
Mister Net-and-Bombs.  It's a puzzle for sure.  On the one hand,
not too many folks *have* made a full-3-D game where there were
projectiles and they were done *right*.  And it really *is* about
damned time Midway focused on the hand-to-hand and took a bit
away from the Freaky Fireball contest.  But....

Distance attacks are a *part* of the game and an *integral* part of
some *characters*.  I don't see how it could be Mortal Kombat without
them.  My educated guess on this is....either they will be added at 
the last minute (on the presumption that the programmers know what
they are doing with the distance game and so it gets less time/priority),
or when they are added, they will be super-rare and super-damaging
attacks (that is, when Sub-Zero finally *does* freeze/uppercut you,
it *kills* you).

As for getting rid of the Block button.....not likely.  If the game
is to be full-3-D in the manner of Soul Calibur, then assigning blocking
to the directional controls would *seriously* hinder movement.  In a
game where the x-z *plane* is in active play mobility *matters*, it
matters more than *guarding* does in Soul Calibur because some of the
moves *are* unblockable and *must* be avoided.  And that might also
be a possibility with MK:DA too, not just from the projectiles angle
but also from the *throw* angle too.  I'm just wondering how Midway
is going to fit in their jump and juggle physics into the game (if 
they're going to do it at *all*).

What I'd like to see (though it's not going to happen, it would make
the game too hard), is something along the lines of a twitch defense.

Where say, you have a *parry* that is good for a single *hit* of defense
against most moves....then you have a reversal/counter button where
the Block button would be, and you could counter or reverse most moves
in the manner of Dead or Alive....in other words, make defense depend
more on *zoning* and timing, that's classic, old-school Mortal Kombat
right there.

And....if you wanted to make it easier, the method folds right into
Midway's plan to give characters multiple fighting styles...since
all you have to do is give each character *one* (at least) Defensive
Style where some degree of *autoguard* is present, say against most
high or mid hitting attacks.....With multiple stances and styles at
Midway's disposal, they could create the first ever fighting game to
go *totally* into *dynamic defense*, where instead of just *holding*
a static block all day, one would have to *always* pay attention to
the spacing and timing of attacks.  It could work.  Hell, if what I'm
hearing is correct, it *does* work already, to some degree, in VF4.

Point is, MK:DA has the potential to do something Mortal Kombat hasn't
done since the *first* one:  it has the potential to kick ass and take
some *names*.

It's just a pity it will only do so on home consoles.

Brad Poe

Quote from Baby Bonnie Hood (aka Bulleta), Big Bad Wolf
Attack Victim and enthusiastic Supporter of the Right to Bear
Arms:  "I'll be nice and happy after I kill everything in
this world."