I remembered pre-ordering and thank the Elder Gods that the PS3/XBox 360 versions were cancelled for this reason -- if they can't produce that game then you must as well return me money! Then I started taking a backseat and heard of Mortal Kombat XL which is the Komplete Edition of MKX. I remembered touching it for the first time -- I had a tear in my eye seeing the compensation package! I even think Mortal Kombat XL has more to offer for the single player than Tekken 7 ever does -- such as a Single Fight mode (for those who want custom one match opponents), the Endless Tower (a tower where you fight many opponents until you are knocked out), Survival Tower, Test Your Might Tower together with the Challenge Tower and Living Towers. Though the downside was MKXL was what you'd call relying too much on Wifi and it suddenly feels less than half of what the game is!
So what made MKXL more fun than MK (2011) in some ways? I could talk about the inclusion of the renewed Brutality finishing moves. Nope, I'm not talking about the infamous long string of button presses that frustrated players. Rather, these are moves that allow you to kill your opponent without having to pull off a Fatality or Faction Kill. However, the downside was that you had to UNLOCK these Brutalities -- unless they were downloadable characters which for me is BS in several levels down the Netherrealm. Unless you have a guide -- you're probably just going to run around the Krypt in circles looking for all them Brutalities. The Krypt was improvised with some random scares you could kill though some things were more random than what MK (2011) had. So MKXL is really well content-rich but I thought making you unlock all the Brutalities is more torture than fun. Heck, I even thought that I had to play so long before I could use Liu Kang's Hot Mess? WTF! Plus, getting costumes have become more demanding you play online too -- such as Liu Kang's "Evil Ryu" costume which not every adult gamer has that much time either! Plus, need I mention that MKX initially had NO Stage Fatalities until later updates? Stage Brutalities can be fun to perform but I think Stage Fatalities themselves are still better!
Then I think about how "better" MK (2011) is in some ways. There are times I wish MK (2011) had that Single Fight mode so I could repeatedly beat up Shang Tsung at The Pit with a Stage Fatality as Liu Kang -- sort of replaying that scene from the 1995 Mortal Kombat film! I also wished MK (2011) included an endless battle similar to that of later Tekken games starting with Tekken 5. Heck, MK (2011) was the very game that made me forget all the previous titles! I don't even find myself playing Mortal Kombat Trilogy (which was one super imbalanced game) after MK (2011) and somehow I don't miss Motaro either. MK (2011) also had a better, richer story mode than MKXL or should I even dare say it now -- even a richer story mode than Tekken 7! Also, I thought the whole approach of MK (2011) is that it's more beginner friendly too. MK (2011) doesn't have you try to use the variation system and almost every character I grew up with are there -- but I'm fine not having Motaro as another non-playable boss here though! Plus, Shao Kahn is a better, far more intimidating challenge than Corrupted Shinnok.
So which game is better? I was thinking that IMHO maybe my wishes for MK (2011) are more trivial and I could live without them such as the Single Player challenge or Endless Tower. I admit, MKXL could actually take down your life with the Faction Wars and the Living Towers due to how you can get wimped out when you're busy with your schoolwork or daily job to get your jobs paid. MK (2011) somehow meets the balance of modernization and old school better by actually NOT punishing or wimping down its players for their prolonged absence from the game. I thought about how you can beat 5/300 challenges today then you take a two-week break from the game (because of work) and then you finally go back to playing it and no wimp down. Unfortunately, MKXL's Living Towers do punish you for leaving it. A good example is like how if you're so busy during Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas to get reports done -- you are missing some big time rewards because of that! On the other hand, MK (2011) which is now nearly a decade old managed to help maintain the balance of old school and new school during its time.
So I was thinking if I want to be less distracted while I'm gaming -- MK (2011) happens to be the more short break. I could then plug in the system, play through the Arcade Mode (preferably Tag Ladder which would have been a better alternative than the variation systems) and then turn off the system after I'm done beating Shao Kahn and avoid getting too much addiction. MKXL is a great game yet it can get too addictive -- which for me is a real minus factor in the long run. Games are meant to be something to chill out -- not something to occupy one's work. With that, MK (2011) actually wins!
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