Support NeoGAF

[888]

What if they cut out all MTX from MK11 and the end result was we never got another MK game.

Are all of you happy to die on that hill of losing a video game simply because of the morality of MTX?

Whether you realize it or not, you are advocating against the success and viability of the future of gaming, I'm not sure you're supporting the right causes, just my opinion

Dude seriosuly again with the Die on a hill comment, echooooooooo

So you accept the MTX, fine. Give an inch, they take a mile. Look at EA, they are more interested in shareholders and big payouts to execs. If Netherrealm and WB are that far gone then yes, I would say goodbye to MK to make a stand for gaming. At least with this style of MTX. If they want to provide truly optional stuff fine, but to build the game around it is crap.

These Publishers will take every big launch as a success and will want more every time. Look at the changes from MK9 - 11. Everytime they push a little more. At what point are you going to climb on the "Hill" and see this path will cause a bigger problem down the line.

Remember Online Passes from EA? They are a thing of the past because people took a stand.

 

[mekes]

What if they cut out all MTX from MK11 and the end result was we never got another MK game.

Are all of you happy to die on that hill of losing a video game simply because of the morality of MTX?

Whether you realize it or not, you are advocating against the success and viability of the future of gaming, I'm not sure you're supporting the right causes, just my opinion

I’d rather they budget a game that’s within their allowed ability if that’s the case. The mtx in this game are the worst from games that I have purchased. It deserves push back.

 

[RedVIper]

What if they cut out all MTX from MK11 and the end result was we never got another MK game.

Are all of you happy to die on that hill of losing a video game simply because of the morality of MTX?

Whether you realize it or not, you are advocating against the success and viability of the future of gaming, I'm not sure you're supporting the right causes, just my opinion

Games have survived for a long time without MTX. They just saw how much money F2P games made and decided to try to cash in and charge full price anyway.
MTX leads devolopers to make the worse game to sell those MTXs, see AC:Odyssey.

 

[Jigsaah]

It all comes down to efficiency. Were there some sort of actual protest, it would be largely ignored - not only by big outlets like Reddit and Twitter but also by games media at large. It's one of the only ways gamers have left to have their voices heard, and even these tools are slowly being taken away by corporate interests. There are AAA devs who are reluctantly still releasing their games on Steam (which has a review system) but even Valve is bending to their whims as the recent bombing of Borderlands 2 can attest. Lots of devs are extremely happy with their Epic Games Store exclusivity deals not only for the extra guaranteed revenue, but also because that platform doesn't have a way for users to voice their concerns about the product to others. It's only a matter of time before something like Metacritic bows to corporate interests (aka $$$) or just gets outright purchased by a large media corporation.

I still feel there needs to be a better way. If I'm reading your post right, I would imagine you'd agree. Review bombing does get media traction and I suppose that in and of itself makes it a valuable tool for gamers to have a voice. I guess I just wish there was a more constructive way to achieve the same goal. Shitting on a game for reason that have nothing to do with it actual merits is dishonest, counterproductive and manipulative. I don't participate in it, but won't judge those who do because they aren't given another effective way to resolve their frustrations.

 

[PSlayer]

Shao kahn being a pre-order exclusive was a huge red flag to me.

I may get the GOTY/Komplete edition next year

 

[888]

Shao kahn being a pre-order exclusive was a huge red flag to me.

I may get the GOTY/Komplete edition next year

He isn’t actually. He is a paid character you get free with preorder. They did it in a slimey way to make you think if you didn’t preorder you couldn’t get him. He is 6 bucks to buy separately.

 

[Convicsik]

I spent $100 on the premium edition. I could care less about the SJW stuff, but the single player krypt and towers are worse than any F2P mobile game i’ve ever seen.

Here is the flow of single player. To get gear and skins you need coins. The krypt is random so you spend your coins and end up with little in the way of gear or skins. Instead you get consumables. Take the consumables to the online towers where even with those consumables you get destroyed by the cheapest gameplay imaginable, Enemies have 4 time more health than you, do twice the damage all while missles and rockets and swords are flying at you. You can’t even do combos because the offscreen projectiles knock you out of them.

So to make towers more manageable, you need to put augments in your gear. How do you get augments ? By beating said towers or unlocking from the krypt. If you do beat the tower, you get enough gold to open maybe two chests with no guarantee you will get an augment because there are 25 different characters and augments are not only character specific, but gear specific.

That’s right, not only do you have to find augments randomly among concept art, profile banners, consumable items, gear, skins, brutalities and fatalities ... but you need to have a specific augment for a specific character that matches a specific kind of gear.

For example. Since Tuesday’s launch, I have about 18 hours of game play. So far I have 2 augments for Scorpion, the gear I have that is leveled up enough to even hold augments doesn’t match the augment type I have. So I have to spend 1,000 Koins to re roll my gear in hopes that it will match my augment type. I re rolled multiple times and never got them to match. Beating arcade tower nets you about 3,000 Koins, so you have to play through a whole arcade tower just two attempt to re roll your gear 3 times.

It is the worst of the worst type of mobile game loot box garbage you can think of. WB has officially joined the likes of EA and Activsion.

 

[Gamernyc78]

I was actually pretty set on getting this game. Now not so much. This grinding and "rebalancing" bullshit has to stop! Make the games fun and rewarding to play without making us pay and pay again, or fuck off!

Seriously, if they want to make extra income, it's OK to have option of buying leveling up packs or cosmetics but damn don't make the grind slow and harder just to squeeze money out of consumers. Fuck that!

And also their hypocritical stance on toning back the sexualization of the women but not having an issue with some dudes flying around top less and balls in the air

 

[Three]

People calling this censorship are off their rockers.

 

[Nymphae]

I spent $100 on the premium edition. I could care less about the SJW stuff, but the single player krypt and towers are worse than any F2P mobile game i’ve ever seen.

Here is the flow of single player. To get gear and skins you need coins. The krypt is random so you spend your coins and end up with little in the way of gear or skins. Instead you get consumables. Take the consumables to the online towers where even with those consumables you get destroyed by the cheapest gameplay imaginable, Enemies have 4 time more health than you, do twice the damage all while missles and rockets and swords are flying at you. You can’t even do combos because the offscreen projectiles knock you out of them.

So to make towers more manageable, you need to put augments in your gear. How do you get augments ? By beating said towers or unlocking from the krypt. If you do beat the tower, you get enough gold to open maybe two chests with no guarantee you will get an augment because there are 25 different characters and augments are not only character specific, but gear specific.

That’s right, not only do you have to find augments randomly among concept art, profile banners, consumable items, gear, skins, brutalities and fatalities ... but you need to have a specific augment for a specific character that matches a specific kind of gear.

For example. Since Tuesday’s launch, I have about 18 hours of game play. So far I have 2 augments for Scorpion, the gear I have that is leveled up enough to even hold augments doesn’t match the augment type I have. So I have to spend 1,000 Koins to re roll my gear in hopes that it will match my augment type. I re rolled multiple times and never got them to match. Beating arcade tower nets you about 3,000 Koins, so you have to play through a whole arcade tower just two attempt to re roll your gear 3 times.

It is the worst of the worst type of mobile game loot box garbage you can think of. WB has officially joined the likes of EA and Activsion.

That sounds incredibly bad. You'd think with the non stop slew of information we seemed to be getting the past few months that they could have detailed how the single player modes would work. People gave the "kings of fighting game single player content" the benefit of the doubt because the past games were solid in that respect. What you have described has completely made me lose interest in the title.

 

[Azurro]

You could similarly argue that the Extreme Left is a kickback against the rise of the Extreme Right, though? If you get my point?
It's needless aggro and one upmanship and nobody comes out looking too clever.

Not really, I'd say it's the opposite. The extreme left went into hyper gear after Trump was elected, it's a reaction to any non "progressive" ideology, so they are trying to squash anyone and anything that thinks differently. I'm a bit like you, older and don't really give that much of a damn about most of it, but it does push my buttons in some cases when they make SJW movies and games, since the narrative is usually shit.

 

[deriks]

I'm pretty sure that the Jax ending it's not really the reason, but the microtransactions and the clothes are a thing to worry. But to really sum up, mostly are review trolls

 

[Barakov]

I definitely see why they're doing it. Honestly, the sjw/woke stuff is more annoying than anything else. The microtransactions are out of control though. Also, it seems the krypt seems to insentivise using them. Not totally surprised though given how grindy some stuff was in MKX. Also add in having to be online to play some single player parts of this and you got one hot mess.

 

[Handy Fake]

Not really, I'd say it's the opposite. The extreme left went into hyper gear after Trump was elected, it's a reaction to any non "progressive" ideology, so they are trying to squash anyone and anything that thinks differently. I'm a bit like you, older and don't really give that much of a damn about most of it, but it does push my buttons in some cases when they make SJW movies and games, since the narrative is usually shit.

I'd have said Trump (and Brexit in the UK, along with the rather uncomfortable rise of far Right parties in Europe) had triggered a push from the far Left. Of course you could then go further back and counter, and I could too. Which carried on to the vague point I was making.
Quite frankly it's symptomatic of the political climate - countries have never been so divided. There are barely any shades of grey any more; no middleground.
The cynic in me would cite the term "Divide and conquer" . But I think then we're heading into a discussion far beyond the remit of a Mortal Kombat thread.

 

[Tupinambis_WOT]

I don't understand the concept of review bombing to protest. Why not just do regular protest? I mean, does anybody look at an 83 on metacritic and then look at the 2.9 and say, "Holy chit I need to stay away from this game"? I don't wanna generalize...and I won't, but let's just take GAF as an example.

Please identify yourself if you consider yourself a SJW. It's not to berate you. I just have some questions.

I'll wait.

Because "gamer protests" have basically been reduced to meme/joke status. The "gaming community", I'm afraid to say, has practically no grit or determination to actually follow through on a threat or a boycott or whatever.

Remember the "Boycott Modern Warfare 2" "movement"?

Yeah

Or you know how everyone hates lootboxes and microtransactions? You wanna take a guess how effective efforts have been to boycott those?

 

[888]

I’m sure it’s been brought up but the removal of the Johnny Cage “ok” sign and changing it to the middle finger is kinda ridiculous.

 

[Coolio McAwesome]

I actually read the negative reviews, 99% are complaining about micro transactions, not sjw propaganda. But it's always a nice spin to try to blame those evil Nazis when people complain about your product.

I was wondering when someone was going to point that out. The overwhelming majority of the negative reviews are complaining about micro-transactions and the like.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the woke bullshit was added to the game because the developers wanted to shield themselves from legitimate criticism. If a game has the right identity politics, journalists are happy to look past its glaring problems.

I’d argue that the user score is a response to the anti-consumer bullshit rather than the cringeworthy political bullshit that was shoehorned into the game. (Shao Kahn literally says “Make Outworld great again.”) If anything, the SJW stuff likely contributed to an inflated score from the critics. The game has serious problems that were completely glossed over.

 

[ExpandKong]

Is that really censorship though if they weren't in the game in the first place? I really don't have a problem with skimpy clothes, but think you are a drawing a thin line there if that is supposed to be censorship. Stupid, yes it is. But not censorship.

For a franchise that’s been around as long as MK that never had a problem doing this stuff before? I’d consider it censorship. At the very least, the male costumes vs female costumes present a hilarious double standard at play that would be an absolute shitstorm if it were reversed.

... I see.

*thoughtful pause*

Most people just watch porn.

It’s not about getting off. Nobody’s buying a $60 fighting game to crank it.

 

[DForce]

Sheeva - Terrible design
Kitana, Scarlet, Cassie, Jade, Frost - Good, I have no complaints about them.
Sonya - Alternate costumes make up for it.
D'Vorah, Kronika - Good
Cetrion - Ok.

I don't see the huge deal with the character designs, even though they're toned down since Mortal Kombat 9.

The microtransactions are a huge problem and I'm not going to buy this game until the progression system is fixed. I don't blame Ed Boon, I just blame the people that he's working for.

UPDATE: Appears that there's no MT, it's just takes a lot of time to acquire stuff.

 

[Azurro]

I'd have said Trump (and Brexit in the UK, along with the rather uncomfortable rise of far Right parties in Europe) had triggered a push from the far Left. Of course you could then go further back and counter, and I could too. Which carried on to the vague point I was making.
Quite frankly it's symptomatic of the political climate - countries have never been so divided. There are barely any shades of grey any more; no middleground.
The cynic in me would cite the term "Divide and conquer" . But I think then we're heading into a discussion far beyond the remit of a Mortal Kombat thread.

True, very little to do with Mortal Kombat, but it's interesting. The fear of far right parties in western Europe came to a fever pitch in 2016, with Marine Le Pen and the AfD, but given the results it was a little bit overblown, I feel.

And you are right that we can go further and further in time and blame each side, after all, each action from each side has a reaction on society and what is conservative and liberal change over time. I mean, I remember the "good" old days when it was aging, out of touch church goers trying to ban sexuality, but now it's unattractive girls with pink and blue hair calling for puritanism. What a world.

 

[Romulus]

I'm confused, its okay to brutally murder animated characters in all sorts of gruesome, horrific ways, but showing skin is off limits?

 

[Tupinambis_WOT]

Coming from an empirical standpoint? Absolutely.

Same shit.

Jesus dude, the costumes aren't even bad

Now Jade and Skarlet look like they are actually there to fight alongside with/against the other characters, instead of pole dancing for them.


Like, seriously, this is considered a problem? How are the people on the old NeoGaf complaining about the characters on the bottom any different than you complaining about the ones on the top?

 

[Handy Fake]

It’s not about getting off. Nobody’s buying a $60 fighting game to crank it.

In my case that would count as a microtransaction.

 

[Barakov]

It's a little dishonest, but I can't say I'm against this. It's still a form of protest, one that actually has a chance to influence due to the nature of people looking at review scores as an indicator of quality.

I don't care so much that there are progressive ideas in the game in general, it's more the paradigm shift lately that looks like this:

-Company makes a game
-People like the game, build a community around it
-Company includes more things that the fans like
-Fans eat it up
-Company pivots on current social trends changes things about the game
-Fans react badly to this change
-Company turns on fans and insults/down talks them

I'm sick of this kind of stuff.

You'd think after what happened with BFV other companies would look at that and go "Hmmm, maybe this is a bad idea?" Seems like they will only backpedal when it hurts sales.

 

[Tupinambis_WOT]

It’s not about getting off. Nobody’s buying a $60 fighting game to crank it.

Then who cares? Why is anybody complaining about it?

Granted, the microtransaction complaints seem to VASTLY outnumber the complaints about the costumes, but still...

 

[SweetShark]

Oh, ho, ho, ho, you fools.
Obviously Mileena will be a DLC character and she will be so majestic it will hurt your wallets.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

They already announced before the release that they are fixing the rewards and MTX. Why are people still angry? The game barely came out, play the other modes while the fix is coming. Jeez.

 

[Barakov]

Jesus dude, the costumes aren't even bad

Now Jade and Skarlet look like they are actually there to fight alongside with/against the other characters, instead of pole dancing for them.


Like, seriously, this is considered a problem? How are the people on the old NeoGaf complaining about the characters on the bottom any different than you complaining about the ones on the top?

Counter-Point: Frost looks like a power ranger and Sektor looks like a bionicle. But you're right, they "aren't even bad", they're just boring.

 

[Azurro]

Jesus dude, the costumes aren't even bad

Now Jade and Skarlet look like they are actually there to fight alongside with/against the other characters, instead of pole dancing for them.


Like, seriously, this is considered a problem? How are the people on the old NeoGaf complaining about the characters on the bottom any different than you complaining about the ones on the top?

Maybe the pics below were a little over the top, but I find the top ones hilarious, religious people in Saudi Arabia would definitely give them the thumbs up. They could even add a voice over for the game in their region in the character select screen that says: "Choose your burka!!".

 

[alabtrosMyster]

Beautiful female faces.

"Hi, what is your preferred pronoun? because I can't tell, and I would not want to be disrespectful"

Is that really censorship though if they weren't in the game in the first place? I really don't have a problem with skimpy clothes, but think you are a drawing a thin line there if that is supposed to be censorship. Stupid, yes it is. But not censorship.

This is not how censorship works, when people know the social rules are place they take precautions not to shock the censors (or the mob) - However, being people who want to keep their jobs, the censors will find fault in all kind of places, you know, to keep people in line. In this case, people stay in line because they don't want to lose their job, or hurt their social status (nobody want to be called insensitive), this does not have to be enforced by the government, however, this may very well be the next step.

Now, I think "they" (whoever they are) already won this battle, in the face of it anyway, the SJW crowd is pushing for segregation and extremely conservative dress codes - all this under the guise of anti-racism, and cultural sensitivity. Members of this crowd are either useful idiots (most of them for sure, who wouldn't want to be an ally?), or they're really hungry for power, in a very dark and sociopath way (those running the show are, search Dr. Robin DiAngelo, her videos make her look like a cult leader).

On the other side, most sane people will not vote for any candidate who leans or pander too much in this direction. I know many who used to vote to the left (I'm in Canada) who are now politically homeless , when they did not turn completely conservative (our conservatives are to the left of the American Democrats in many respects). Yet, even with like 12% of the vote, these people talk as if they were supposed to rule, they come to the radio, or tv and claim you can't draw this, or write that (not you shouldn't, you CAN'T)... this is disgusting, thankfully more people are waking up to what is going on.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

Jesus dude, the costumes aren't even bad

Now Jade and Skarlet look like they are actually there to fight alongside with/against the other characters, instead of pole dancing for them.


Like, seriously, this is considered a problem? How are the people on the old NeoGaf complaining about the characters on the bottom any different than you complaining about the ones on the top?

Because it's the intentional altering and censorship of what has always been, now I know that's an appeal to tradition but guess what? Fan service sells, fan service is appealing to fans, you design around what your purchasing base wants and not a screeching vocal minority. This is a product at the end of the day and they've belittled it with puritanism which given the level of violence is double think. Even worse is that the men are still sexualized caricatures which can be made half-naked but that doesn't go the other direction for the women.

How does this differ from old Gaf (ResetEra)? It's pretty simple, the views expressed here and all over the internet are from normal people who actually have interest in this product and are concerned with its integrity being uprooted. The Era crowd don't care about the game, and not even just this game, or games like this in general. They simply want to push a politically motivated and progressive PC ideological narrative to strip away what they don't like or deem offensive from other people.

They want their views to dictate what you can and cannot consume. It's pretty easy to discern us from the psychos, we have no problem with options and both being made available to consumers to change at their will and to their liking. They want no options, they want burkas and veils, they don't want women being sexualized, they don't want you to have options, they want you to have what they deem politically correct and nothing more.

 

[Shin]

Lots of drama going on Twitter ATM regarding NRS.

 

[Ten_Fold]

Ppl crying cus he stopped slavery LOL what? People complain too much l

 

[ExpandKong]

In my case that would count as a microtransaction.

Oof

Then who cares? Why is anybody complaining about it?

Granted, the microtransaction complaints seem to VASTLY outnumber the complaints about the costumes, but still...

It’s not the covered up skin, it’s the idea behind it. Fans of this franchise historically have been okay with certain things, be they skimpy costumes or the over the top violence. Now the developers are saying it’s Current Year, this is how things should actually be. It’s sort of like moving the Overton window ever so slightly, and yes it does seem silly to see toned-down digital sexiness as a sign of censorious doom and gloom and thought policing, but...give it a few more years and see how crazy it sounds then.

They already announced before the release that they are fixing the rewards and MTX. Why are people still angry? The game barely came out, play the other modes while the fix is coming. Jeez.

Oh, you don’t say? On the eve of their game launching, the publisher promised that they’re going to fix their ridiculous MTX system to be more fair to the consumer and that people should still totally go buy the game as soon as possible? Well that’s all I need to hear!

 

[Tiamat2san]

What a shit generation this is

I’m with you on this!
Everybody seems outraged by anything.
On the 2 sides of any subject.
It’s incredible.

I don’t where I stand in all this bullshit.
I find the jax ending cool and I want sexy girls in my game.
I like the game and I won’t do a shit review because I have no bikini and the grinding is extreme.
It’s dumb and childish.

What a dumb world.

 

[brap]

... I see.

*thoughtful pause*

Most people just watch porn.

Tell that to the gays and women. Oh wait we can't oppress those poor little souls. And acting like people jack off to this is some stupid fucking logic.

 

[DR2K]

Are we having stances on slavery now that Gaf has loosened up on membership over the years?

The MTX problems are rightfully deserved. NRS and WB should be railed harder.

 

[The Pleasure]

I don't know. I don't see Jax going full Bender and saying "Hey baby. Wanna kill all crackers?" What I see is Jax trying to advocate for more understanding as I see lots of mixed people of color with ancestry mixed together without being ashamed.

 

[GhostOfTsu]

Oh, you don’t say? On the eve of their game launching, the publisher promised that they’re going to fix their ridiculous MTX system to be more fair to the consumer and that people should still totally go buy the game as soon as possible? Well that’s all I need to hear!

When would be the right time to fix it then if not at release? They really went above and beyond with this game. It's a phenomenal package. I'll play the hard towers later. People already maxed all the modes in 1 day?

 

[TheDuskwalker]

This topic is misleading. I looked at the actual user reviews on metacritic and it looked like 95% of negative reviews is about progression issues and always online requirements. I saw barely any talking about Jax ending and females, I did see a few though but funny enough they also were going in more on progression issues, I did see several posititive reviews saying only sexists were giving it negative reviews though.......

 

[brap]

I’m sure it’s been brought up but the removal of the Johnny Cage “ok” sign and changing it to the middle finger is kinda ridiculous.

jesus fucking christ...

skarlet is fucking hideous btw. ignore the tits im too lazy to crop.

kitana is pretty fucking ugly too. me and friends always thought the female ninjas were latina because they were brown but ok.

 

[Helios]

The game is rightfully getting negatively reviewed by people because of the grind and people having problems with the PC port (Again)

Remember the "Boycott Modern Warfare 2" "movement"?

Show the rest of those 17 pages.
As for "gamer protests" have basically been reduced to meme/joke status." you just need to look at the borderlands 2 reviewbombs. Randy went on a 3-day twitter spree because of those reviews. Tim Sweeney advertises "no user-reviews" as a feature. Clearly, reviewbombing works.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

jesus fucking christ...

skarlet is fucking hideous btw. ignore the tits im too lazy to crop.

kitana is pretty fucking ugly too. me and friends always thought the female ninjas were latina because they were brown but ok.

They've turned the females into exaggerated "super hero" caricatures.

 

[Dr. Claus]

 

[TwiztidElf]

It really does feel like the "political" aspects have been thrown in to totally smokescreen the legit progression and microtransaction issues.

 

[MrRogers]

I don't buy games with progressive agitprop, simple. Review bombing is just going to give these sites a excuse to do away with user reviews completely some day or filter the reviews so only the prog approved ones are counted. Just dont buy it folks.

 

[Barakov]

Lots of drama going on Twitter ATM regarding NRS.

Yeah, this is really messed up.

 

[recma12]

Eh, reminds me of the Amy Shumer “Those evil nazis are downvoting my comedy special on Netflix!” bullshit.

MK fans have a right to voice their displeasure however they want. Even if the reasons aren’t logical.

I swear, every time a game gets rekt in user reviews “alt right conspiracy” explanations are coming.

 

[Petrae]

What if they cut out all MTX from MK11 and the end result was we never got another MK game.

Are all of you happy to die on that hill of losing a video game simply because of the morality of MTX?

Whether you realize it or not, you are advocating against the success and viability of the future of gaming, I'm not sure you're supporting the right causes, just my opinion

Too bad, so sad, I say. If you can’t make “enough money” in this era where most AAA games sell millions of copies for at least $60USD a pop, I have no sympathy for you. Find another career.

Video games aren’t a fucking charity. I don’t give a rat’s ass about “supporting the industry” or “the right causes”. The fact that greed is the “future of gaming” is exactly why I’m compelled to walk away when this gen ends instead of spending another $10,000+ on consoles and games over the course of a new console generation.

I’d love to see another video game crash. It’s the only way that the industry resets itself and shakes out of the this greedy pattern. I also know that’s not going to happen, because video game consumers and fans are far too willing to donate all of their cash and then some because they’ve been conditioned to do so like lemmings for the past 10+ years.

Video game consumers are the real problem here. Showing more backbone (like Battlefront II) instead of rolling over and taking it because “we’re fans and we need to support the devs!” might have changed the future before it happened. “There’s a sucker born every minute” was never more appropriate than when used to describe video game consumers.

 

[NahaNago]

Wow those are some low score but I still don't think it will change the minds of a lot of folks from buying the game.