User blog comment:ShadowsTwilight/Mortal Kombat 10 Roster/@comment-2195697-20110917044131

I read all of it, and I'm sorry, but I didn't like it. Not a terribly big fan of the idea of just knocking Shinnok aside when they've built him up already. If Lucifer's just going to do what Shinnok did, and thus essentially be the same thing, the same character, with the same motivation, why even bring him up in the first place? It seems completely pointless to me. There’s nothing original about Lucifer in this story: He is the exact same as Shinnok. Maybe not in looks, maybe not in powers, but in the end, both are the same kind of big bad guy. Also, seriously, why kill off Shinnok? He’s cool enough, and you’re not even going to give him a chance to be reinvented into something possibly more badass than ever?

Alright, kind of a big issue here: The inconsistency of characters who entered the original story at this point compared to the number of characters who are returning from the previous game. So... where's Tanya? Kai? Fujin? Jarek? Why have Hydro and Sareena instead of characters who were in MK4? How does Sareena know the truth behind Scorpion's family's death? Did she read it out of Quan Chi's diary? She wasn’t there when it happened and Quan isn’t one to talk about his deep secrets, especially to someone who once tried to kill him. If the heroes break out, where's Nightwolf? Kabal? Stryker? Sweet dear mercy, WHERE IS JAX? Where is Kano? He never died. Is he on break, hunting down wild animals in the Outback?

Where's Sektor and Cyrax? What happened to Kintaro and Sheeva? Why is Motaro alive? How are Shang Tsung and Noob Saibot alive? (I'm a little iffy on the Noob part---I don't think he really died, or maybe he did, but were it up to me, I'd write it that he absorbs the souls of the soulnado and becomes powerful enough after he is reborn to be either a boss or a subboss). Since Shao is dead, Shang should be dead, considering Shang died first and his resurrections are always at the hands of Kahn.

Why is the roster so small? Not counting the boss and sub-boss (typically unplayable) the roster numbers 25 compared to MK9’s 27 playable characters (Sub-Zero and Cyber Sub-Zero being separate, of course). Considering MK9’s roster reaches 32 with DLC and Kratos’ inclusion, with the total being 35 characters once you factor in Kintaro, Goro and Shao Kahn, the small roster in this game pitch is a disappointment. Rosters in Mortal Kombat only got bigger as time went on, for good or for ill. Technology and the money MK9 made will only allow us to have more characters, not fewer.

Why would Skarlet be on the Forces of Darkness? In her MK9 ending, she awaits the return of Shao Kahn and that's it. I highly doubt she'd join the bad guy bandwagon just because. I feel like any subtlety her character had is gone.

Now, a BIG PROBLEM FOR ME IS: Liu Kang joins Lucifer? Alright, seriously, I'd be more than a little pissed if I were him too, but he fought until the very bitter end to defend Earthrealm against Shao Kahn. Why the heck would he join a force to invade Earthrealm? Just because Raiden killed him? His last words were not, "I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!" they were "You have killed us all..." because he seriously believed that Raiden was wrong in his actions and that only he could stop Shao Kahn. I would never be able to take Liu's character seriously if he joined the darkest darkly forces of dark dark evil-bad. Liu was completely and totally dedicated to fighting the forces that would take Earth, so much so to the point where he was willing to fight his own master. His is a conflicted character, not a heartless evil one, which this story implies he turns into. We already have Scorpion, we don't need another character hell-bent on revenge. Were it up to me, I'd have him join the Red Dragon. Makes more sense than the one-noble Shaolin Monk joining the Satan-figure. Seriously, even if I were in his position, I wouldn't sign on with the damn devil. Just saying.

How come your story doesn't mention anything about Outworld? Is everything fine out there? There's no huge power struggle in the vaccum the death of their Emperor left behind? This story mentions almost nothing about your Forces of Darkness roster, even though they make up half of it. Do all of the evil chacters now serve Shi---I’m sorry, Lucifer? Do none of them resist? Is there no truce between Earthrealm and Outworld to team up and fight the evil menace that is Lucifer?

I'll admit I like Ermac as a good guy and hope that does happen, since his MK9 ending had it happen after Shao's death, and I liked him best (character-wise) during Deception, when he became a force for good. What I don't like is that practically all of the Good Guy roster is ninjas. 8 out of the 13 were, at one point, ninja pallettes (I include Hydro despite his never actually appearing in a game).

Why is Frost a villain? She was a good person in her first appearance and didn’t turn evil until the end of the Deadly Alliance’s reign when she tried to take Sub-Zero’s amulet. He entire character revolved around the idea of Sub-Zero taking on an apprentice, something your story doesn’t seem to give him nearly enough time to do. On THAT specific note, I return to Sektor and Cyrax. Did their endings happen like Ermac’s? Did Sektor take said amulet and become ruler of the Lin Kuei and transform it into the Tekunin? Did Cyrax become a warrior for peace, finally regaining his humanity? Or did they both just die, wasting two awesome characters from the previous game?

Where was Hydro during the Cyber Initiative? Is he a cyborg like in Legacy? Since Sub-Zero is still automated (and remember, Cyrax never became a full human again, the process is permanent) so why would we have two blue robots on the roster? Also, doesn’t the mere existence of both Rain and Sub-Zero on the roster completely invalidate Hydro? He’d be nothing more than a compilation of half of their respective moves.

And now I return once more to Motaro. I’m not a fan. I’m glad they killed him. I don’t want to fight him again, not because of how annoying he was in MK3, but because of how completely random and pointless he is as a subboss to Lucifer. Why would Lucifer make Motaro his subboss or primary underling, as is so common? If he’s got Quan Chi on his side, why not have the sorcerer bring out Moloch for the subboss? Considering Moloch (or even Drahmin) is an oni demon of the Netherrealm, he immediately makes more sense than a centaur.

I will grant you this: Reiko, Sareena and Frost are all seen fighting in the background in MK9. As are Daegon, Kenshi and Meat, and Meat was actually in MK4, technically, anyway. I’m fans of all of these characters, but I firmly believe they have a time and a place to fit into a MK story, and this one doesn’t do it for me.

Having said all of that, I can only hope you don’t take offense to any of my words. I’m not being sarcastic or anything here, I’m raising what I feel to be legitimate claims and holes in this idea that, quite frankly, I feel other posters have neglected to notice or mention. As it stands, I don’t like this story, nor the roster. I wouldn’t enjoy this game very much, as my love for Mortal Kombat has always stemmed from the solidity of its story.

Unlike Tremor, who gave this a staggeringly high and quite silly 9.8 out of 10, I have to give this a 2/10. There are ideas here, but not nearly enough good ones, too many strange ones and way too many holes are found once someone like me looks beyond the cover and the first page of the metaphorical book.

I’m sorry, but I call them like I see them.