All the screenshots in this post were taken directly from the game by me
Recently I have been spending a lot of time on the mobile version of Mortal Kombat, a video game that had always caught my attention but that I regularly ignored considering the disappointments that fighting games for Smartphones have always represented for me.
It was a conflictive situation, but finally I considered it fair to try it, the question is was it worth it? The long-running Midway franchise has proven to be quite flexible on multiple occasions, adapting to various gameplay formats that range from the most strategic to the simplest, however, Mortal Kombat mobile has a series of structural problems that make us regret all the resources invested in the experience.
It could be said that my biggest fears were confirmed, despite the great technical finish and its ability to replicate the aesthetic energy of the most recent game in the saga on consoles (MKXI), we find ourselves facing a title with a rude hunger to capture the most income for as little work as possible, something that comes in the form of forced micro-transactions and a progress curve that could only be classified as absurd.
Although I understand that they are not totally comparable experiences, it is quite painful that games with a relatively amateur background like Asphalt, PUBG Mobile or Marvel Contest of Champions appear to be much more unfair and end up delivering a greater amount of entertainment for the time spent.
The game modes are scarce, the online system does not allow us to have combats to our liking and the missions collide with the rest of the sections, the monetary system is broken and obtaining extra players is an unnecessarily daunting task.
And what about the fights themselves? As expected, the mechanical complexity that characterizes other games in the franchise is totally absent, favoring a style of gameplay where the only option at our disposal is reduced to a button to hit almost at random, with combos that require a silly extra action to get done and a special attack system that just adds a bit of strategy to each fight.
Regularly, video games of this type find their salvation in some of their aspects, when the gameplay fails, the rewards counterbalance, and if the rewards are insufficient, an attractive gameplay allows us to stay hooked, Mortal Kombat Mobile does not bother to hook on neither of these senses, it's stingy with the options it unlocks in front of our eyes and barely resembles more traditional versions of the same experience.
Not everything is negative, Mortal Kombat has a great graphic finish and most of the levels and characters included are quite attractive, the attempts to connect it with the MKXI console version are appreciated and, if you have the necessary patience, it could help us kill the moments of boredom.
Todas las capturas de pantalla en este post fueron tomadas directamente desde el juego por mi
Recientemente he estado dedicándole un buen tiempo a la versión móvil de Mortal Kombat, un videojuego que desde siempre había llamado mi atención pero que ignoraba regularmente considerando los chascos que para mí siempre han representado los juegos de lucha para Smartphones.
Era una situación conflictiva, pero finalmente consideré justo probarlo, la pregunta es ¿Valió la pena? La longeva franquicia de Midway ha demostrado ser bastante flexible en múltiples ocasiones, adaptándose a diversos formatos de gameplay que van desde lo más estratégico hasta lo más simple, no obstante, Mortal Kombat mobile cuenta con una serie de problemas estructurales que nos hacen lamentar todos los recursos invertidos en la experiencia.
Se podría decir que mis temores más grandes fueron confirmados, a pesar del estupendo acabado técnico y su capacidad de replicar la energía estética del juego más reciente de la saga en consolas (MKXI), nos encontramos frente a un título con un hambre grosero por capturar la mayor cantidad de ingresos a cambio del menor trabajo posible, algo que se presenta en forma de micro-transacciones forzadas y una curva de progreso que solo podría catalogarse como absurda.
Aunque entiendo que no son experiencias totalmente comparables, es bastante doloroso que juegos con un trasfondo relativamente amateur como Asphalt, PUBG Mobile o Marvel Contest of Champions aparenten ser mucho más injustos y terminen entregando una mayor cantidad de entretenimiento por tiempo dedicado.
Los modos de juegos son escasos, el sistema online no nos permite tener combates a nuestro gusto y las misiones coliden con el resto de apartados, el sistema monetario esta roto y obtener jugadores extra es una tarea innecesariamente titánica.
¿Y que hay de los combates en si? Cómo es de esperar, la complejidad mecánica que caracteriza a otros juegos de la franquicia se encuentra totalmente ausente, favoreciendo un estilo de gameplay en dónde la única opción a nuestra disposición se reduce a un botón para golpear casi al azar, con combos que requieren una tonta acción extra para concretarse y un sistema de ataques especiales que apenas añade un poco de estrategia a cada combate.
Regularmente, los videojuegos de este tipo encuentran su salvación en alguno de sus aspectos, cuando el gameplay fracasa las recompensas hacen contrapeso, y si las recompensas son insuficientes un gameplay atractivo nos permite mantenernos enganchados, Mortal Kombat Mobile no se toma la molestia de enganchar en ninguno de estos sentidos, es tacaño con las opciones que desbloquea frente a nuestros ojos y apenas se asemeja a las versión más tradicionales de la misma experiencia.
No todo es negativo, Mortal Kombat cuenta con un acabado gráfico estupendo y la mayoría de niveles y personajes incluidos son bastante atractivos, se aprecian los intentos por conectarlo con la versión de consolas de MKXI y, teniendo la paciencia necesaria, podría ayudarnos a matar los momentos de aburrimiento.
Twitter/Instagram/Letterbox: Alxxssss
Oh man, they actually made a MK game for mobile? Dunno how they thought this would work out.
I mean, it's not a bad idea, but the Execution is awful 😁
Mortal kombat has always been present in my life, even those of ps2 as the newest, I got to try the mortal kombat X mobile since I could not play the X of pc, but it did not hook me for the various reasons you mention, its gameplay was very similar to that of injustice phone, but that if, has very good graphics despite being on mobile. My favorite character of all my life is Sub-zero <3
Sub-Zero is great but I'm more of a scorpion guy 😁
Yes, from a graphical point of view this game looks great, it's sad that in terms of gameplay and overall options wasn't that good