MK11 Is Starting To Suck (In Part)... At Least For Me!

I was thinking about how MK11: Aftermath was shown and it's really HIGHWAY ROBBERY. Overpriced, incomplete, and not to mention it already shows why I actually regret buying the game. At least, MKX gave us a complete edition in MKXL which served as a beautiful compensation package since the last gen consoles were impossible to make. Something worth thinking about that MKX wasn't exactly as grindy though some requirements were actually grindy. I mean, I hate the whole idea that I need to win 30 online matches with Liu Kang to get his Revenant costume. Meanwhile, the complete package gave all the paid DLC characters together with Goro. Yes, Goro was a pre-order bonus. Then I thought about MK11 in itself is starting to TICK ME OFF.

So, I guess games today have become highway robbery because of MICROTRANSACTIONS for hidden characters. Sure, Aftermath does give us free Friendships and free Stage Fatalities. What ticks me off is that we have to BUY AFTERMATH to play as the new set of hidden characters. Heck, I even hated having to buy the first set of paid DLC. Sure, it was nice fanservice to have Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa reprise his role as Shang Tsung after MK Legacy, unfortunately, got canceled. Tagawa did have his cool accent in the Aftermath story mode. The whole Aftermath saga was really paying the price for another game. I really wonder just how cruel can the new gaming industry be? 

I thought about the grindy Towers of Time. Sure, the game started to make adjustments such as going down from 50 times fatality per character to 25 fatalities per character to get the character heads. At first, it was entertaining UNTIL I realized that this is getting ridiculous. Sure, it was satisfying but as a casual gamer - I wonder if it's even worth it. What was even more annoying is going through the Towers of Time to get a lot of stuff. Worse, you can't even get certain brutalities unless you played at a certain time. The worst feature? The game is overly Internet-reliant - even more so than its predecessor MKX. At least for MKX - there was some offline content to keep me busy. At least, most of MKX's hidden content was in the Krypt. At least, all I needed to do was get a game guide, grind in Arcade or Endless Tower, and then start hunting down for those other brutalities. MK11 really gets you to grind too much!I did finally finish Liu Kang's Towers of Time. However, I realized it was getting more arduous when I started to try and get Scorpion's. I mean, every tower has some ridiculous requirement such as X Fatal Blows, Y Fatalities, and Z Brutalities for one. There's even NO WAY to keep track except to return there. I was really thinking such was oppressive, mobile gameplay that the Corporate Commander would love. Sure, MK11 has more content than Tekken 7 but it doesn't mean I'd actually let it slide because most of the content is won by grinding.

Need I mention how things go from bad to worse? Ronda Roussey as Sonya is already BAD ENOUGH. I even felt that Sindel's Tower ending was just the start of decay. For years, Netherrealm did establish that Sindel was a victim of Shao Kahn's conquest. However, this new twist that Sindel killed Jerrod for Shao Kahn is a real irritation for her fans. I too was irritated since I actually considered interesting dialogues of Sindel hating Shao Kahn. Instead, the dialogue went like, "I married you for your power." which really was something. I always enjoyed the bewitched Sindel which MK9 gave us and the non-canon ending of Sindel stuck with the story fans love. Also, I think that Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa's appearance here starts to be wasted. I felt that sure, it's cool to have the actor appear but he should've been in MK9 instead. I felt Shang Tsung got TOO OVERPOWERED in Aftermath that it's worse than the whole inconsistent power levels in MKX. Sure, I'm still thinking Raiden and not Cassie should've beaten Shinnok. I still feel Shinnok is once again bullied by Netherrealm. Now Shang Tsung returns overpowered to the point he actually defeats Shao Kahn, Sindel, and EVEN Kronika who is a Titan. I'd understand if Fire God Liu Kang won but Shang Tsung? Well, I felt Shang Tsung absorbing Kronika into himself was really taking things too far. I feel Shang Tsung defeating Kronika is just as weird as Johnny Cage and Cassie Cage beating Shinnok.

Do I think it totally sucks? Not really. Like Tekken 7 both are still fun to play but also are plagued with heavy microtransactions. Though MK11 does give its paid DLC characters endings so you had a reason to buy them. Still, microtransactions can really suck even if you've got a lot of money. I still think that MK11 can be found to grind but only if you're grinding for your favorite character or if you're no diehard completionist. I did have a sense of satisfaction unlocking Liu Kang's content via Towers of Time. The grinding though was just so annoying in the long run. Then again, anybody who's no die-hard completionist can still enjoy it. The deep mechanics can still keep anybody engaged to a certain extent. I still think learning how to do flawless block, timing the Krushing Blows, replacing X-Ray moves with the near-death Fatal Blows were a nice improvement. But only if gaming these days don't rely too much on microtransactions.