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Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection - August 31st Release |OT| (almost) Sega Saturn'd

E

evilromero

Member
Khezu said:
Despite it being not the best game I have a lot of nostalgia for it, however I like MK4 more for what it could have been, then what it was.

At its base it was a natural evolution to the series, a 3D MK3, but for what ever reason they added a bunch of gimmicks(side stepping, weapons) and some poor design decisions(maximum damage). If they would have learned from there mistakes they could have easily turned it around for MK5 and made something kinda like MK9, but with a run button. Instead they caved under the negative reviews and decided to forget everything that was MK and make that weird ass game deadly alliance.

I'm just glad they got on the right path again, even if it took them 10 years.
Click to expand...
I love MK4. It'd definitely a dark and brutal game that fits well with MK9 in that sense. I've rediscovered how much fun it is to play (playing the N64 version) and it's slowly working its way up as my favorite MK.
 
F

Fantasmo

Member
corrosivefrost said:
Yeah, I retract my earlier statement... MK2 and UMK3 are like playing while swimming under water.

Isn't the block requirement for those "don't block an attack" not "don't press block at all" like it is in MK9?
Click to expand...

What are you talking about? You can do Enhanced moves and X-Rays in MK9 and pull off Babalities. You just can't actually block an attack in the winning round. I've done it countless times.
 
S

Seraphinianus

Banned
tried each game in the demo...not even nostalgia will get me to buy these. officially outdated in my opinion. I have the original XBLA UMK3 release, so 800 allards for MK1 and 2 is steep.

Maybe I shouldn't have played 3rd Strike for an hour beforehand.
 
S

sleepykyo

Member
shuri said:
People hated mk4 when it came out, it didnt help that midway was dumb enough to send out pretty much an unfinished game that lacked tons of features and was super buggy in the arcades.

Heck, the hate on MK actually started during MK3 shorty after its release.. people were claiming that mk3 was unoriginal and that it was going to kill the franchise.. I remember an article from nextgen about it..
Click to expand...

That's what I remembered. None of the arcades in SF that carried the previous MKs carried MK4 outside of brief, poorly received showing at Pier39.
 
F

frogg609

Member
Barkley's Justice said:
really? an instant regret?

i just find it hard to believe you guys thought this game would part the seas.
Click to expand...

Part the seas? No. Accurate arcade ports? Yes. Non-shitty netcode? Yes. No delay in inputs when I come out of the menu? Yes.

It's fucking garbage what they have done. It's a cheapass cash grab. Especially with Third Strike Online doing so many things right (and that's not perfect either).
 
I

infinityBCRT

Member
arit said:
At least the UMK3 Spear voice cut is not a bug. Tested it in Mame and it was apparent, could be emulation bug... . Deboxed UMK3 v1.2 pcb, tested it and surprise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BNFOD1pqdc
Click to expand...
Damn. Just checked and emulated version is the same. Guess they fixed it in the UMK3 XBLA release?

edit: yeah, just checked for a vid of it and it was fixed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTItKurKN8Y

Despite it not being a regression from the arcade version, still dumb that the XBLA version is better in some regards (custom screen stretch, fixed spear audio, no input issues when unpausing the game, quarter match mode online)

edit 2: got thrown off by your mention of the umk3 1.2 pcb, thought you were running the actual board. But I did check another vid which was running UMK3 off the actual board and it did have the same audio bug.
 
M

Magnus

Member
I can't seem to actually play UMK3 (the 2006 XBLA release) properly outside of trial mode, even though I bought it.

I assume this is a glitch given its disappearance from the store.

+1 to DD-age hate.
 
P

Phonomezer

Banned
Just bought on XBLA.

Remembered how shitty the dpad is.

Kicking myself I didn't get it on PSN.

Will have to go buy new controller :p
 
Fermbiz

Fermbiz

Gold Member
Phonomezer said:
Will have to go buy new controller :p
Click to expand...

I'm personally waiting for MadCatz MLG controllers. The d-pad looks to be leaps and bounds better than the 360 controller
 
F

Fortinbras

Member
This game is a buggy mess. At least on 360. The netcode is terrible and some of the achievements are broken (got one for beating MK but not those for beating MK2 and UMK3).

And wtf is up with the tearing?


Phat Michael said:
this game is shocking. im a huge MK fan and i havent even tried online yet, but the rendition of MK1 is terrible. im playing with an arcade stick and half my moves arent being recognised. Also, in the 0.5s you get to do a fatality i havent managed to pull off ONE fatality in MK1. this is just ridiculous - i dont know if its faithful to the arcade but i dont remember it like this. i havent tried with a pad yet but with both my madcatz TE and Hori Real Arcade Pro VLX this game plays like dog shit.
Click to expand...

I noticed that too.
 
I

infinityBCRT

Member
Frankfurt said:
Man, the arcade CRT option is even off-center. This game is so sloppy.
Click to expand...
Seriously. I sometimes wonder if the people at NRS care about the franchise as much as the fans do. They need to do what Capcom did and hire an MK tournament player to overlook their remakes. Worked well for both STHDR and SF3 IMO. A lot of love went into those releases.
 
DryvBy

DryvBy

Member
I hype bought this last night. After reading this, I wish I could get my money back. That's the problem with the digital age (and why I'm against it). If I buy crap, I can sell a retail copy. Man, I'm freakin' ticked now. It's like buying a car with half the engine missing.
 
F

fernoca

Member
Seems "(almost) Sega Genesis'd" wouldve been a better fit. :p

But yeah, overall is not a bad package, but it definetly didn't recieved enough attention or care in many aspects.

As far as ports go, I'd say just as far as quality of the ports goes; wel it still a better collection than the one in Extended Play on PSP; and the problems on this put it in a tie with the one found on Arcade Treasures 2. But it's kinda disappointing how even Ultimate Mortal Kombat on DS who was also done by Other Ocean, not only was a more accurate port but also had a better online experience.
 
T

tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
Why on earth does this have a "Powered by Unreal" splash screen (in addition to the 300 other ones)...just because the newer MK games use it?
 
Agent X

Agent X

Member
AnEternalEnigma said:
I was so disappointed, I made a THIS GAME SUCKS about it. I even tweeted it directly to Ed Boon. Suck it, Ed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT9JxIRgrUg
Click to expand...

I wish you had showed the game in action. You mentioned things like screen tearing and the poor quality of the sound mix, and this would have been the perfect opportunity for you to illustrate it (especially if you tweeted it to Ed Boon).

Also, you said that they use Select/Back to pause instead of the Start button. I haven't played this yet, but my guess is that this decision was made because they need to emulate the Start button of the arcade game, which is necessary in order to activate some of the secrets. That was an issue with some of the other ports/emulations of the Mortal Kombat games in the past.
 
GrayFoxPL

GrayFoxPL

Member
Screen tear in 2d mk is such ridiculous shit I can't comprehend it.

You know who did awesome mk console ports? Avalanche Software.

Now they've been banished to do some shitty Disney movie tie ins.

I bet they could port these games in an hour with an amazing result.

Anyway is the Kollektion even coming even to Euroland?

Boon must hate me he ignores all my tweets even the simplest ones like on euro version of kollection.
 
I

infinityBCRT

Member
GrayFoxPL said:
Screen tear in 2d mk is such ridiculous shit I can't comprehend it.

You know who did awesome mk console ports? Avalanche Software.

Now they've been banished to do some shitty Disney movie tie ins.

I bet they could port these games in an hour with an amazing result.

Anyway is the Kollektion even coming even to Euroland?

Boon must hate me he ignores all my tweets even the simplest ones like on euro version of kollection.
Click to expand...
Boon usually doesn't respond to real questions. He responds to ones that are obvious or ridiculous.
 
G

GringoJB

Member
Sooooo just checking on something: Trying play right now on XBL and it basically feels like (1) I'm playing underwater slowness-wise and (2) it's pretty much next to impossible to get matched up with people. This is what the rest of you are seeing right now, right? I'm not too picky about the other bad things that folks in the thread are talking about, I'm just trying to make sure that it's the game's fault and that my 'net connection isn't hosed or something :p
 
M

Mr. Enigma

Member
Agent X said:
I wish you had showed the game in action. You mentioned things like screen tearing and the poor quality of the sound mix, and this would have been the perfect opportunity for you to illustrate it (especially if you tweeted it to Ed Boon).

Also, you said that they use Select/Back to pause instead of the Start button. I haven't played this yet, but my guess is that this decision was made because they need to emulate the Start button of the arcade game, which is necessary in order to activate some of the secrets. That was an issue with some of the other ports/emulations of the Mortal Kombat games in the past.
Click to expand...

Which is hilarious, because some people are saying random select doesn't work.

I almost bought the game for the sake of capturing all the shit, but I just couldn't bring myself to waste $10.
 
I

infinityBCRT

Member
Cmagus said:
yikes this sounds like a wreck hardly any sites have reviews up maybe because of PAX
Click to expand...
I'm thinking about writing a review tonight. If I do it, it'll be soo damn scathing.

I think a lot of people are busy with Madden and/or Deus Ex.

You know what? I think its true that MK1 works the best online, MK2 second best and UMK3 is the worst. I just played a match in MK1 where it wasn't even frameskipping for some of it.
 
P

Phonomezer

Banned
Tried some online; slow motion, as if MK takes place under the sea.

387142_1267256731030_full.jpg
 
S

shuri

Banned
just got this, I started my actual Mk1 cab to compare MK1.. The attract mode is faster than on the real hardware

Also the Goro Screen music just stops as soon as the text about him starts appearing.
 
S

shuri

Banned
jesus its all sorts of wrong


MK1 compared to the real cab running right behind me:
  • the fmv vids for the intros are played super fast
  • Raiden's 'electric' sounds when he's standing up is completely wrong and high pitched
  • The music is suposed to be playing non stop for each level while the cpu fights itself during the attract mode. It doesnt do this in this port
  • There isnt enough waiting time between screens in the attract mode. Like I said, its too fast. It switches too fast and abruptly to another screen
  • The music is strangely pitched higher than normal and is lacking bass
  • The cpu fights are also too fast
  • The creepy Midway Presents sound is corrupted - you can hear a summersault voice clip and then it cuts to the doom sound effects. Strangely enough the flawless victory sound (which is the same) works perfectly
  • Johnny Cage's "YEAH!!!" sound effect seems to be timed differently..
  • Pressing buttons to skip the fight ladder causes the music to be absent on the first round.. This has happened on the pit level
  • This is madness -- the monks clapping sound effect is completely different. I'm starting to think that this is not emulated, but rather a port... The clapping sound effect is at a super high hz which clash with the low quality sound of the other real sound effects.
 
Rhazer Fusion

Rhazer Fusion

Member
So, let me get this straight. We have consoles that can basically render realistic, virtual worlds, with atmospheric effects and millions of polygons at a steady frame rate with hundreds of characters on screen, yet we get a lackluster port of antiquated Mortal Kombat games?? Really? Seriously? Even if it is a lazy port, how can they screw it up so bad? Can't they just copy and paste the arcade code over to the consoles or something??? Also, if the online is really worst than MK9's, then I really don't know about this game now. Generally, I do not care much for online play, but with MK's terrible and frustrating, physic AI, online is a must. Please don't tell me the online is worst than MK9.
 
S

shuri

Banned
I just tried an online game, and it didnt feel laggy.. The game just ran at half the fps it should. This is so weird.
 
I

infinityBCRT

Member
shuri said:
jesus its all sorts of wrong


MK1 compared to the real cab running right behind me:
  • the fmv vids for the intros are played super fast
  • Raiden's 'electric' sounds when he's standing up is completely wrong and high pitched
  • The music is suposed to be playing non stop for each level while the cpu fights itself during the attract mode. It doesnt do this in this port
  • There isnt enough waiting time between screens in the attract mode. Like I said, its too fast. It switches too fast and abruptly to another screen
  • The music is strangely pitched higher than normal and is lacking bass
  • The cpu fights are also too fast
  • The creepy Midway Presents sound is corrupted - you can hear a summersault voice clip and then it cuts to the doom sound effects. Strangely enough the flawless victory sound (which is the same) works perfectly
  • Johnny Cage's "YEAH!!!" sound effect seems to be timed differently..
  • Pressing buttons to skip the fight ladder causes the music to be absent on the first round.. This has happened on the pit level
  • This is madness -- the monks clapping sound effect is completely different. I'm starting to think that this is not emulated, but rather a port... The clapping sound effect is at a super high hz which clash with the low quality sound of the other real sound effects.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing they are emulating the main game logic but using a lot of hacks to hook into stuff like the audio system and to be able to do online play, detect the character you picked for movelists in the menu, etc.

I'm pretty sure they've been doing something like that since Midway Arcade treasures. Its the only way to ensure the gameplay stays 100% perfect. Theres always tons of mistakes that can be made when porting over machine language to C both in terms of coding and in terms of precision which can change the way the game plays. From MK4 and onwards they started programming directly in C though, so its really only the first 3 games that they have to do this with. Not emulating the audio system is probably because it takes too many resources, and because they can do stuff like change and fix audio effects.
 
Douche McBaggins The 3rd

Douche McBaggins The 3rd

Junior Member
shuri said:
MK2 seems spot on so far...
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. I couldn't even get my Mileena jump kick, sais bread and butters out. The game lagged on every match I've played. Or rendered it at half the frame rate. It's toebaggin. It's terrible it's Terribad. That's what it is. Unless you mean spot on in offline emulation or reproduction then you are correct.

Oh well, at least I can still play this crap locally for some fun times. World Heroes works better.
 
I

infinityBCRT

Member
Rhazer Fusion said:
So, let me get this straight. We have consoles that can basically render realistic, virtual worlds, with atmospheric effects and millions of polygons at a steady frame rate with hundreds of characters on screen, yet we get a lackluster port of antiquated Mortal Kombat games?? Really? Seriously? Even if it is a lazy port, how can they screw it up so bad? Can't they just copy and paste the arcade code over to the consoles or something??? Also, if the online is really worst than MK9's, then I really don't know about this game now. Generally, I do not care much for online play, but with MK's terrible and frustrating, physic AI, online is a must. Please don't tell me the online is worst than MK9.
Click to expand...
Despite Backbone dropping the ball by not allowing a custom controller config in UMK3 they had tons of experience with similar projects (and they also were the ones who did ST HDR if I'm not mistaken) so they were pretty good in making the game feel arcade perfect and even fixed the Scorpion/Smoke Get over here audio glitch thats in the original arcade version. Other Ocean seems like they aren't nearly as experienced at this.

Honestly NRS needs to stop outsourcing stuff. Just stop. Do it in house. That way when they get something fucking right, they won't get it wrong again.
 
I

infinityBCRT

Member
Douche McBaggins The 3rd said:
No it doesn't. I couldn't even get my Mileena jump kick, sais bread and butters out. The game lagged on every match I've played. Or rendered it at half the frame rate. It's toebaggin. It's terrible it's Terribad. That's what it is. Unless you mean spot on in offline emulation or reproduction then you are correct.

Oh well, at least I can still play this crap locally for some fun times. World Heroes works better.
Click to expand...
I think shuri was talking about offline and comparing it to the real MK2 cab.
 
F

fernoca

Member
infinityBCRT said:
Despite Backbone dropping the ball by not allowing a custom controller config in UMK3 they had tons of experience with similar projects (and they also were the ones who did ST HDR if I'm not mistaken) so they were pretty good in making the game feel arcade perfect and even fixed the Scorpion/Smoke Get over here audio glitch thats in the original arcade version. Other Ocean seems like they aren't nearly as experienced at this.

Honestly NRS needs to stop outsourcing stuff. Just stop. Do it in house. That way when they get something fucking right, they won't get it wrong again.
Click to expand...
To be fair, Other Ocean's Ultimate MK3 on NDS was well done, so maybe WB thought they would do nicely (and on some basic aspects they did).

Then again, seeing the history of how this game came to be; it wouldn't surprise if it was more about "let's get something out now!" rather than "let's make an MK Kollection". WB was making money with the "2011 game"; so the less they wanted was to start losing money rigth away with the cancelled HD remake.

If anything, reminds me of the development of MK Advance and how Midway rushed that port to get the game out in the holiday season (to get sales/money..and they did); instead of wanting something good in the first place.
 
O

Ocaso

Member
I tried out the trial version, and I'm surprised the screwed up gamma isn't being mentioned more. Though it's more noticeable in some areas than in others, it makes both characters and backgrounds appear either weird or disgustingly washed out. It's a shame this has so many issues because I do like some of the features they added (very nice borders, painted filters look surprisingly decent, rumble support), but until it receives a major patch I'm staying away.
 
I

infinityBCRT

Member
Ocaso said:
I tried out the trial version, and I'm surprised the screwed up gamma isn't being mentioned more. Though it's more noticeable in some areas than in others, it makes both characters and backgrounds appear either weird or disgustingly washed out. It's a shame this has so many issues because I do like some of the features they added (very nice borders, painted filters look surprisingly decent, rumble support), but until it receives a major patch I'm staying away.
Click to expand...
Its just how the original game is. I'm sure if you hooked your Xbox/PS3 up to a CRT it would look fine. And if you hooked up the original arcade game to an LCD it would probably look like the Kollection. LCDs are just good and making those types of details stand out in a bad way. I remember when I first switched from a CRT to an LCD many years ago for my PC I started to notice how crappily compressed certain videos and images were for example.
 
O

Ocaso

Member
infinityBCRT said:
Its just how the original game is. I'm sure if you hooked your Xbox/PS3 up to a CRT it would look fine. And if you hooked up the original arcade game to an LCD it would probably look like the Kollection. LCDs are just good and making those types of details stand out in a bad way. I remember when I first switched from a CRT to an LCD many years ago for my PC I started to notice how crappily compressed certain videos and images were for example.
Click to expand...

Even so, it's not unreasonable for them to have added a gamma adjust option to the emulator to compensate.
 
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