So, as indicated in the last review I posted, I really like books based on mythology and gods…so when I saw this one on my birthday, I was immediately interested in reading it.
I really like the whole concept of humanity having to fight in battles for its survival. Of course, the idea itself isn’t really all that unique – Mortal Kombat, anyone? But this book gave me a bit more of an insight into the gods who wanted to destroy humanity, so there’s that.
I was a bit surprised that none of the gods spoke up in defence of humanity. I know the vote was meant to be a unanimous one, but it was a surprise that none of the gods cared about humanity.
I really liked being able to see Brunhilde. She was an interesting character, and I would have liked a bit more detail about her time living among humans. I assume that none of the other Valkyries lived as humans, so I would have liked a bit more detail about why they all wanted to save humans, not just Brunhilde.
I thought it was really good to see the different gods, although a lot of them were more of a ‘blink and you miss them’ appearance. I did like the brief interaction between Zeus and Hermes…but I have to say that while Zeus appeared very similar to how I would picture him, Hermes didn’t really meet the mental image I had of him. And really, neither did Thor. Gorgeous artwork, but the gods from other pantheons were clearly coloured by the way characters are drawn in Japanese manga.
I didn’t know anything about Lu Bu’s character, but I really liked the fact that he and Thor were able to respect each other as warriors. And it was interesting to see how Lu Bu’s legend was different from the reality.
I did feel like there was a lot of tension in the battle between Lu Bu and Thor. It was really good that there was a way found to allow the weapon of a human to stand against that of a god. However, given that it seems it takes a sacrifice to make that weapon, it’s kind of sad that, presumably, each battle will require that same sacrifice to make a weapon.
This book ends on something like a cliffhanger, along with the list of gods and humans who will be fighting each other. I’m definitely interested in reading further books in this series in the future!
So, I have had a strong interest in Mortal Kombat ever since I saw the first movie come out and decided I really liked Sub-Zero and Scorpion. And I played the full game of Mortal Kombat 11 and part of X, so I was particularly keen on seeing the new storyline and how everything turned out. I was far more interested in the storyline, even though fighting is a huge part of the game, so I just put the mode on very easy. I’m really not very good with any of the combo moves, although I did manage to do a couple by accident. For instance, when playing as Scorpion, I did accidentally make him use the iconic Get over here! move.
Speaking of Scorpion, I have really mixed feelings about Scorpion actually being Kuai Liang. While it was an interesting idea and ultimately, I was able to accept Scorpion’s new identity, I was disappointed that Hanzo wasn’t in the game. In Mortal Kombat 11, one of my favourite parts was the friendship between Scorpion and the second Sub-Zero. However, there is a piece of gear in the game that Kuai Liang can get that’s called something like, ‘Hanzo’s Mentor’, so I’m hoping that the next game will introduce a younger version of him.
While the game was still called Mortal Kombat, I was very surprised that only a small amount of the game was about the fighting tournament itself. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as I did like the rest of the storyline outside of the tournament…but I was curious as to why Liu Kang had left the tournament in place at all, given that he and Sindel were allies and even seemed to be friendly.
One of the interesting things I found was that Raiden was a mortal and had no memories of his previous life as a god. It was a bit confusing, to be honest, as it didn’t really match how Mortal Kombat 11 had ended. But I did enjoy the friendship that was shown between Kung Lao and Raiden…along with how calm in nature Raiden was (though that didn’t fit his original nature at all), compared to Kung Lao.
I have to say that I also liked how the characters of Mileena, Baraka and Reptile were handled in this game. It was a really refreshing change to see them with more depth than just evil/working for Shang Tsung! I actually really enjoyed seeing Mileena in action throughout this game, especially considering the struggles she was facing in having to hide her affliction from her people. I especially loved that she and Kitana were so close…and I really liked her relationship with Tanya, though it would have been nice to see more close scenes between two women.
I will say that I would have liked to see the character designs more similar to how they looked in the previous games. While some of those could be explained away by the characters being younger (Scorpion, Kung Lao, etc.), those like Kitana…who is thousands of years old…could have shared more of a physical similarity with the version of her from the previous game.
I do have to say that playing the game on the Switch did result in more than a few problems. For instance, there were very slow loading screens…especially in the final chapter, which occurred after every single fight. And I was really disappointed that it took so long for Invasions to start working. While I can play Invasions through now, I spent several hours playing in Johnny Cage’s mansion to try and gain enough levels to unlock some of the Kameo fighters. It did sour my enjoyment of Invasions for a little while, although I have now played enough to unlock all but one of the extra Kameo characters. (And if I’m honest, most of those don’t seem to work that well. Kano is definitely the best out of the Kameo fighters, but I’ve found a lot of the others don’t do any damage at all).
I have to be honest and say…I absolutely hate the test your might aspects of this game. While I’ve managed to get to a point of succeeding in them (mostly), having to smash four buttons repeatedly is really annoying. And I failed so many times throughout the story mode that I came really close to giving up…especially when the first test your might had me having to do so multiple times, one after the other. I don’t know about any other players, but I didn’t enjoy it.
I haven’t unlocked all of the character endings yet, but I really liked the fact that the ones I have unlocked so far all expand on the original ending of the game, rather than giving completely different endings to the game, like Mortal Kombat 11. I unlocked Mileena’s ending first (because I really liked her character in this game), but that ending was quickly follwed by Scorpion’s and Sub-Zero’s…and then Kitana’s.
On the whole, despite the glitches and the annoying test your might parts, I really did enjoy playing this game through. The storyline was interesting and engaging…and there was a good variety of different battles to play as the storyline unfolded. I’m hoping that there will be more to unlock in the game, such as other characters and potential extra storylines…especially as I did pay out for the premium edition!
If you enjoy the Mortal Kombat games, I’d say you would probably enjoy this one…although you might not want to play it on the Switch if you have an alternative games console.
Ink of Blood 