[Mr. E. Yis]

What a surprise - all 4 fights in the last challenge of the Bonus tower (End Game 2) have shaking and tapping integrated in them. >:( And the reward for winning is just as minimal and anti-climatic as the normal challenge tower.

no one? screw you guys!

what's your psn name?

[impact]

impact1g

[Mr. E. Yis]

connection died. ggs impact. You like my Sheeva? ;)

[impact]

The match you pick her it lags like crazy. It's not a coincidence!

[RkOwnage]

Got this game yesterday and have had a chance to play it both off and online, and I am really enjoying it, but it is painful to look at, I wish more could have been utilized to make this game look like more than a PSP game, in game I mean, the cutscenes and menus look fine. The gameplay is also awesome, as is the new challenge tower, I am having a blast going through it to unlock the additional stuff.

I jumped online and played a few matches with a friend, but I am looking for more competition, so add me! Rkownage is my pSN and just let me know if you're from NeoGAF when you friend me.

Look forward to playing some of you online soon!

[Echoes]

Graphics are disappointing -- that's an issue when you're playing story mode, because while the transition from cut-scene to gameplay is lovingly smooth, the difference in quality really puts me off. Every single time. Edit: yeah, character models suck each time the camera focuses on them. No argument. Really makes me sad.

That aside, though? Oh God, where do I begin? I didn't get the console version, so there's a huge amount of content to be consumed. I think I suck so much at this game (and UMvC as well; I'm only good at SF) but I'm enjoying the ride.

[PushingButtons]

So I see that Player matches are still full of rage quitters and padders. It's always funny to see a person with a positive win record decline a match.

[impact]

So I see that Player matches are still full of rage quitters and padders. It's always funny to see a person with a positive win record decline a match.

I just wish it showed ping or something. I'd like to be able to decline laggy matches

[PushingButtons]

So far I haven't had an issue with lag but showing ping would definitely be helpful.


Also, if anyone wants, feel free to add me for some matches.

PSN Name: woodenlore

[nexen]

Just bought this last night and played a bit of the tower.
Gameplay is flawless but...well you know.

Inconsistant is the word I'd use. Scorpion looked fine but omfg did Liu Kang look terribad.

[VanWinkle]

Just bought the game. Darn you guys.

Edit: Just played a little Practice. It was nice to see the graphics weren't nearly as bad as I was thinking they'd be. Extremely smooth, too.

[EXGN]

So gameplay is good, graphics not so much?

[Forsaken82]

So gameplay is good, graphics not so much?

Graphics are fine. Characters took a hit, but everything else is on par (or just below console quality), and as already mentioned, the biggest distraction is story mode going from cut scene to gameplay

[2&2]

Ya, that's a problem with the console version to, as a whole the game is super quiet, music, sound effects, everything. Its a really weird decision on there part, usually you want fighting games to be loud as fuck.

Gah, why did they not fix this? This was annoying as hell on the consoles.

[nexen]

Graphics are fine. Characters took a hit, but everything else is on par (or just below console quality), and as already mentioned, the biggest distraction is story mode going from cut scene to gameplay

I mildly disagree with this so far. The mesh on Liu Kang is bad enough to rip me out of the game when I play with him. When he animates in convo or fights you can see the triangulation poking out at wrong angles and it makes the game feel extremely cheap. Looks worse than midrange ps2 games though the shaders are obviously better, framerate is awesome, and the levels are very animated.

Scorpion didn't bother me at all, even zoomed in. He looked good enough to me.

Haven't played much yet though.

[SteeloDMZ]

Online right now. Anyone up for some games?

[danno1769]

Only thing I hate is the always on mic. I turned mine off but I wish other people would too. Im sick of other people talking to their wives or yelling at their kids.

Plus I turn mine on when I beat someone with a good record and let him know that I was better lol (too easy to abuse this.. needs an option to mute that)

[Forsaken82]

I mildly disagree with this so far. The mesh on Liu Kang is bad enough to rip me out of the game when I play with him. When he animates in convo or fights you can see the triangulation poking out at wrong angles and it makes the game feel extremely cheap. Looks worse than midrange ps2 games though the shaders are obviously better, framerate is awesome, and the levels are very animated. Scorpion didn't bother me at all, even zoomed in. He looked good enough to me. Haven't played much yet though.

Like i said

Characters took a hit, but everything else is on par (or just below console quality)

Not sure how you only complaining about characters is a disagreement to what I said. Even mildly. I have no idea what this "triangulation" is you are talking about, but I am sure it is something regarding the fact that the characters are lower poly and as such poly faces are just more noticable. If i recall kang and Cage looked particularly bad since since they were shirtless :P The lack of detail stood out more than the clothed characters

[Gav47]

Anyone know what time the EU PSN updates at for Friday releases? I'm hoping it's at midnight tonight rather than sometime tomorrow.

[PushingButtons]

Only thing I hate is the always on mic. I turned mine off but I wish other people would too. Im sick of other people talking to their wives or yelling at their kids. Plus I turn mine on when I beat someone with a good record and let him know that I was better lol (too easy to abuse this.. needs an option to mute that)

I enjoy it on occasion, it makes for great comedy.

The last match I had the kid was completely raging and freaking out, I couldn't help but laugh.

[nexen]

Like i said Not sure how you only complaining about characters is a disagreement to what I said. Even mildly. I have no idea what this "triangulation" is you are talking about, but I am sure it is something regarding the fact that the characters are lower poly and as such poly faces are just more noticable. If i recall kang and Cage looked particularly bad since since they were shirtless :P The lack of detail stood out more than the clothed characters

I just disagree that they are 'fine' and only problematic in cutscenes, is all. Liu Kang disturbs me even when playing because when he animates it exposes how low poly he is. Really wish they would've cut elsewhere to free up some overhead for higher poly models. Well, model so far. Like I said he is the only one that bugs me but he really bugs me :(

[pickle]

yeah, the game is great but the shirtless characters really hammer home the lower quality models. but then the stereotypical looks good in motion really does apply here. it still kind of amazes me at times that it's a portable game.

[GreggTheGrimReaper]

Ya, that's a problem with the console version to, as a whole the game is super quiet, music, sound effects, everything. Its a really weird decision on there part, usually you want fighting games to be loud as fuck.

Didn't the original voice of Shao Kahn become deaf? Other than that, I also always wondered why MK2011 was so silent and lacked dramatic music.

[VanWinkle]

Man this game has SO much content. It's insane. And I never had the console version, so it's all new to me.

Seeing the Krypt and the other extra mode with the character bios and stuff made me sad though, because those modes are rendered in native res, and, despite the character models being less detailed, they look so much better in native res.

See: (Keep in mind, both areas shown look quite a bit better on the Vita, especially in aliasing)

[fernoca]

Didn't the original voice of Shao Kahn become deaf? Other than that, I also always wondered why MK2011 was so silent and lacked dramatic music.

Sounds a little low, it's fixed a little by going to optiosn and putting everything on "max"; but not much.

Steve Ritchie (the original vocie of Shao Kahn and the one that came up with the name "Mortal Kombat") and yep, was diagnosed with tinnitus.

The music is quite great, but most are updated versions of music from the original games.

[Mr. E. Yis]

After playing a lot of the day today online, it seems the online is just as crappy as the console online. Horrible lag, games ending, etc. Day 1 online was so good because there weren't that many people who had the game yet. Today there's a lot more people, but a lot more lag. Tried it on 2 different router connections, same outcome.

I wish I knew someone who had a vita and this game, so I could play adhoc. :(

[fernoca]

TRMK posted pictures of the new-alternate costumes; just in case some wonder how they look.

[a Master Ninja]

yeah, the game is great but the shirtless characters really hammer home the lower quality models.

Yep. I respect that they gave priority to 60fps, though. That was the right decision.

[Khezu]

MK3 Male Ninja outfits are so awesome, so upset there not in the console versions.

They need to be in MK10 as default.

[Ninja Scooter]

Yep. I respect that they gave priority to 60fps, though. That was the right decision.

wtf that's terrible

[VanWinkle]

Yep. I respect that they gave priority to 60fps, though. That was the right decision.

Yeah. I compared it to SF4 on 3DS, and SF4 has vastly superior character models. That being said, while playing each, MK on Vita looks way better overall (with the 60fps and detailed, active backgrounds).

[CrAzYLeGzLU]

What gets me about the models in the game is that most of the human ones when looked at up close look like they have aged 40 years.

[Kenak]

wtf that's terrible

Yeah, I don't get why people say the graphics are okay. They're blatantly pretty bad -- it just depends on how much that really bothers you. For me the gameplay more than makes up for it.

[anddo0]

Does anyone else find the audio extremely low in this game?
Compared to Blazblue and UMvC3 it sounds very tame.

[dark10x]

The online play works really well. I was connected to an AT&T hotspot within a Barnes and Noble yesterday (a pretty sluggish connection usually) and the game was running pretty much lag free. Huge variations in skill on ranked matches. I obliterated most players but there were a few that did the same to me. Pretty fun online. Considering the difficulties the console versions had with this, I'd say it's pretty impressive that a slower wi-fi connection can deliver the speed necessary for an online match.

Yep. I respect that they gave priority to 60fps, though. That was the right decision.

The models are really awful, but they could have looked so much better if they simply used higher resolution textures and some normal maps.

[Letep]

Liu Kang looked kind of fucked up in the 360 version as well.

[Noisepurge]

just bought the European version off PSN. Add me to your buddylist and mention GAF in the message for some online bouts!

Been playing the PS3 version online as well as some tournaments too. Fear my rushdown Kano! :D

[impact]

Kano is the worst online. So hard to punish upball so they just spam it :(

[infinityBCRT]

TRMK posted pictures of the new-alternate costumes; just in case some wonder how they look.

unnnnnnnngh. I want those for the console versions so badly. So sad that they are deciding not to release them because they want to avoid desync issues.

[ToD_]

Yeah. I compared it to SF4 on 3DS, and SF4 has vastly superior character models. That being said, while playing each, MK on Vita looks way better overall (with the 60fps and detailed, active backgrounds).

I think the lack of normal mapping hurts the character models the most. The lighting simply looks extremely flat.

I'm sure you're aware of it, but SF4 on the 3DS runs at 60fps as well if you disable 3D in the options menu (turning off the slider doesn't, but adds AA).

[infinityBCRT]

I think the lack of normal mapping hurts the character models the most. The lighting simply looks extremely flat. I'm sure you're aware of it, but SF4 on the 3DS runs at 60fps as well if you disable 3D in the options menu (turning off the slider doesn't, but adds AA).

Yup, and I think the thing to recognize is that SF4 models & textures were built without normal mapping in mind, so when they were downscaled they didn't look terrible.

The textures in MK probably should have been reworked such that they didn't look like a mess when downscaled & normal mapping was removed. For example, the wrinkles on the loose fabric look pretty bad without the normal mapping, they probably should have just flattened that part of the texture out.

[AwRy108]

I think the lack of normal mapping hurts the character models the most. The lighting simply looks extremely flat. I'm sure you're aware of it, but SF4 on the 3DS runs at 60fps as well if you disable 3D in the options menu (turning off the slider doesn't, but adds AA).

I played a ton of TEKKEN 5 and 6 on the PSP (which I believe both run at 60fps), and they looked terrific at the time, especially considering the age of the PSP hardware. Fast-forward to MK on the Vita, and it's disheartening how the character models seem to have such similar poly counts to the TEKKEN games on PSP. With MK, I understand that the backgrounds are more detailed and the code has to be optimized for tag play; but, I dunno, I just expected better from the Vita.

[impact]

I played a ton of TEKKEN 5 and 6 on the PSP (which I believe both run at 60fps), and they looked terrific at the time, especially considering the age of the PSP hardware. Fast-forward to MK on the Vita, and it's disheartening how the character models seem to have such similar poly counts to the TEKKEN games on PSP. With MK, I understand that the backgrounds are more detailed and the code has to be optimized for tag play; but, I dunno, I just expected better from the Vita.

NRS aren't really all that talented though. It's not the Vita hardware, its the developer.

[SteeloDMZ]

I disagree. Netherrealm is extremely talented. Proof of that is that they have an unreal engine game running at perfect 60fps on 360, and it still looks fantastic.

My guess is that they had to get out MK for the VITA ASAP, and that combined with a lack of experience with the hardware produced the dramatic drop in visual fidelity.

[chubigans]

I played a ton of TEKKEN 5 and 6 on the PSP (which I believe both run at 60fps), and they looked terrific at the time, especially considering the age of the PSP hardware. Fast-forward to MK on the Vita, and it's disheartening how the character models seem to have such similar poly counts to the TEKKEN games on PSP. With MK, I understand that the backgrounds are more detailed and the code has to be optimized for tag play; but, I dunno, I just expected better from the Vita.

You can blame the unreal engine and not the Vita, methinks. Instead of "let's pour tons of money into reworking this engine for Vita" it was "let's throw out as much of the effects as we can to get this engine running on Vita." you can't necessarily blame them business wise, but yeah, it's too bad.

Of course I'm speculating so who knows. :p

[impact]

I disagree. Netherrealm is extremely talented. Proof of that is that they have an unreal engine game running at perfect 60fps on 360, and it still looks fantastic. My guess is that they had to get out MK for the VITA ASAP, and that combined with a lack of experience with the hardware produced the dramatic drop in visual fidelity.

The console version isn't good looking either. That's on top of a clunky engine and a pretty shitty netcode, which was unplayable for at least 3 months.

[dark10x]

I disagree. Netherrealm is extremely talented. Proof of that is that they have an unreal engine game running at perfect 60fps on 360, and it still looks fantastic. My guess is that they had to get out MK for the VITA ASAP, and that combined with a lack of experience with the hardware produced the dramatic drop in visual fidelity.

Plus the fact that Unreal Engine 3 hasn't been used in a retail Vita game until now either.

Let's not forget MK vs DC. The game ran at a sub-HD resolution with much uglier models and backgrounds than MK9 would ultimately feature. They already had experience with those platforms and UE3 was well established.

[fernoca]

I disagree. Netherrealm is extremely talented. Proof of that is that they have an unreal engine game running at perfect 60fps on 360, and it still looks fantastic. My guess is that they had to get out MK for the VITA ASAP, and that combined with a lack of experience with the hardware produced the dramatic drop in visual fidelity.

Yep.
As noted already, the same thing happened with MKvsDCU back then. their first "next-gen" game, using Unreal Engine. So a ton of stuff was toned down and even the PS3 version looked lower-res than the 360 version.

Then compared to the 2011 game. Maybe their next Vita games might look better, but for that we have to wait for them to make it...or at least someone else make an UE3 game on Vita that runs at 60fps.

[SteeloDMZ]

The console version isn't good looking either. That's on top of a clunky engine and a pretty shitty netcode, which was unplayable for at least 3 months.

Isn't good looking. What? To me, is the best looking fighting game on the market, and damn if I haven't played most of them.

[dark10x]

Isn't good looking. What? To me, is the best looking fighting game on the market, and damn if I haven't played most of them.

I agree that it's good looking, but I actually think Soul Calibur V is the current champ. Absolutely incredible visuals there. Insanely detailed backgrounds and characters along with a lot of fancy effects.