Okay, let’s talk about jumping into the Mortal Kombat 1 beta and checking out the characters they let us play with.
Getting Started and First Looks
So, I finally got access code sorted and downloaded the beta. Took a little while, usual stuff. Booted it up Saturday morning, ready to see what’s new. The menus looked clean, pretty slick. Didn’t waste much time there, went straight for the versus mode to see who I could actually pick.
The character select screen popped up. Not the full roster, obviously, it’s a beta. But we had a decent little group to try out. I saw some familiar faces right away.
Trying Out the Fighters
First up, I had to go with Liu Kang. He’s kind of the main guy, right? Felt pretty good, responsive. His fireballs and flying kicks felt familiar, but something about the movement, the general speed, felt a bit different. Maybe heavier? Took a few matches just to get the basic rhythm down again.
Then I switched over to Sub-Zero. Always been a fan of the Lin Kuei guys. His ice moves felt impactful. Did the classic ice ball, the slide. Seemed like his combos flowed okay, though I wasn’t pulling off anything too fancy yet. Just trying to get a feel for his range and timing.
Next, I gave Kenshi a shot. He felt quite different, especially with his spirit, Sento, popping out. Took me a minute to wrap my head around controlling both Kenshi and the spirit stance. Felt like there was a lot of potential there, but definitely needed more practice than the others I tried first. More complex, for sure.
Jumped onto Kitana as well. Her fans felt sharp, quick. Moved around pretty gracefully. Tried some of her zoning stuff, keeping distance. Felt like a solid character, maybe a bit more straightforward than Kenshi.
Couldn’t skip Johnny Cage. He’s always fun. Had his usual cocky attitude. His shadow kicks and nut punches were there. Felt like classic Johnny, good pressure up close. Got a few laughs out of his animations.
Lastly, I tried Li Mei. Haven’t seen her in a while! Her moves felt flashy, lots of purple energy stuff. Seemed like she had some good tools for controlling space and some decent combo starters. Interesting addition back to the roster.
The Kameo System Mix-Up
And yeah, you couldn’t just pick your main fighter. You had to pick a Kameo fighter too. This was the big new thing for me. I messed around with the ones available, like Kano, Sonya, Jax, and Frost.
- Called in Kano for his laser eye or knife toss.
- Used Sonya for her leg grab.
- Brought Jax in for his ground pound.
- Used Frost for some freeze assists.
It definitely changes things. You gotta think about when to call them in, how they extend your combos or help you get out of trouble. It’s another button to worry about, another layer on top of the main fight. Felt a bit clunky at first, just hitting the button randomly, but started to see how it could work once I got used to it.
Overall Thoughts on the Beta Crew
So, after spending a good chunk of time cycling through these characters, I got a decent first taste. Everyone felt distinct. The core fighting felt solid, definitely Mortal Kombat, but with that new Kameo twist shaking things up. Still gotta work on timings and combos, obviously, but it was good to get hands-on and see how these fighters actually play in the new system. Looking forward to seeing the full roster later on.
