I'm not even sure where to start, let's start with MORTAL KOMBAT!
With WB's recent acquisition of the rights to Mortal Kombat, I was unsure of the future of my most beloved fighting game. What we first saw from their output was the game Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe which was... well, lets just say I wish they had made it AFTER Mortal Kombat but I am happy they made it before because it made them realize something...
They needed to get back to basics. So that's exactly what they did with the new MK game.
The best thing about the new MK game is the story mode, it's something that should hook new gamers and something that old-school fans of the franchise should be drawn to. Without being too spoilerific. The game starts with everybody dead... it looks like the aftermath of a desperate battle. There's one part in the opening cinematic where vultures are munching on Sonya Blade's dead corpse. The scene eventually leads to Raiden fighting Shao Kahn who has recently won Mortal Kombat, before Kahn can deliver the killing blow to Raiden, Raiden sends himself a message from the future to prevent this from happening. REDUX!
Ah don't you love video games?
Well, I won't go any further into the story from there but I like how it hooks you. Anyone familiar with Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe will not be surprised by the chapter progression of the story mode. I'm currently on Chapter 6, Liu Kang's chaper. I am stuck on a fight where I must fight Scorpion and Quan Chi at the same fucking time! Liu Kang's move set isn't my favorite but he's got an awesome fatality so I'll take what I can get. I have gotten distracted by other games, but if you haven't I highly recommend you check out Mortal Kombat.
As I mentioned I've been distracted, by games like L.A. NOIRE...
As I mentioned I've been distracted, by games like L.A. NOIRE...
This is a great game. Period. End of story. If you disagree, that's your opinion. I won't tell you fuck you but I will be disappointed in you... and maybe I'll tell you fuck you.
L.A. Noire is by far, the most progressive game that Rockstar has ever made and I am hoping this motivates other game developers to take some chances and think outside the box with a video game.
L.A. Noire puts you behind the point of view of Cole Phelps, world war two veteran and newb to the LAPD. Cole rises up the ranks and you're eventually promoted from a street cop to a detective. The game's still got the flavor that Rockstar games are known for but it's a more focused and deliberate venture than Red Dead Redemption was, for example.
You can still free-roam, and Rockstar has gone to great lengths, re-creating 1940's Los Angeles and even re-creating the downtown section of LA building for building. There isn't that essence of complete freedom like with the GTA games or with RDR. In this, you can go from mission to mission, each 'case' leads you from major clues to persons of interest. You can free roam between major objectives but the only thing you can really do is take peoples cars (there are 95 cars re-created from the 40's and you get an achievement after finding 40 of them. I have found ... 40-something).
The game is rather linear as a whole, you arrive at the crime scene, you scope it for clues. Question any scene witnesses, and move from there. Investigating the case up to the point where you interrogate the prime suspect and toss him in the slammer.
I really like this game because of the atmosphere it creates. I like searching for clues. I love interrogating people and I like the dynamic. The game is focused and the tone of the game is pretty much perfect, it's hard not to load it up and get sucked into the game for an hour or two and then realize, what the hell did I just spend my day doing?
If you're on the fence with L.A. Noire, and you are interested in playing it. Just do yourself a favor and buy it. You won't regret it. It's a game with replay value and once they get some DLC it'll be interesting to see what kind of bonus cases they throw into the game. Big props to Rockstar for making such a progressive and intriguing game. This is the kind of video game that we will look back at in a decade or more and realize how ahead of its time that it was.
I was also going to blog about the new Protest The Hero album, Scurrilous but I don't have time. I'll save that for another entry but what I WILL say is that it's a spectacular album that grows on you with subsequent listens. It kind of comes across like Fortress but overall, I think it's got its own distinction to it and the band continues to show growth with the new record. Anyone who enjoyed their first two albums should check this one out. Test drive tracks like Full-Throttle and Dunsel. The first track, C'est la Vie also is a superior opening track to Fortress' Bloodmeat, IMO.
PEACE!
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