Blog, Blog, Bloq

 Postponing my Elden Ring post again because the Final Boss is beating my ass. So that means I can talk about one of my favorite events of the year, EVO. The Evolution Championship Series is back in Vegas once again. And I couldn't be more excited. It is easily the most entertaining major in the FGC because of the emotions that come out of it. Many players gear up for the chance to take the crown year after year. And the payoff is always tremendous when someone wins. In all my years of viewership, I have only seen a few instances of of the crowd not being moved by the victor. My journey with this tournament began over ten years ago when I used to watch Tekken Tag 2 sets. So, I was well aware of JDCR and Knee. Yet, I wouldn't really buy into the community until years later. My only points of knowledge were Tekken and Evo Moment #37. Like, I remember showing my friends the clip, and just being flabbergasted by Daigo's insane reaction and execution in the sequence. This type o...

 Mortal Kombat 1 released this month, and the team at NetherRealm Studios has knocked it out of the park. It manages to take the slower game that was MK11 and blow it out of the water. The game feels solid and the characterization is tremendous. It is easily one of the best Mortal Kombat games of all time. I may be a longtime fan and player, but I am extremely casual when it comes to the titles. I usually can only do simple strings and don't go much further than that. The only game I know a full combo in is MK4 with Tanya. And funnily enough that is who I have picked early on to run the new Invasions mode and I am having a blast.  On my list of things to discuss, I have the story-mode, Invasions, and some other little tidbits here and there. I don't usually play ranked, so I won't be talking about it. I'm not that good at the game and I don't feel like wasting time on it when I have other games I would rather be playing. Regardless there is still plenty of other mea...

 Throughout the history of my time with the Mortal Kombat franchise, I have been a staunch supporter of Scorpion. The leader of the Shirai Ryu, Hanzo Hasashi, has a tragic backstory where his entire clan was slaughtered because of the threat they proposed. When I was a child, my draw wasn't the empathy I felt for this murderous spectre. It was the design, the actions, the iconic voice lines. And I think those things don't have to be tied to the mask that is Scorpion. Kuai Liang is now Scorpion in the new Mortal Kombat game and I think that is fine. But I am also worried that Hanzo will be left off the roster for the first time since Mortal Kombat 3. A game that was replaced by the much better Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. So, I want to spend some time going over some of the things that have made me appreciate the character over the years. The Mortal Kombat brand has become ingrained with these characters that sit at the top. Your Scorpions, Sub-Zeros, Liu Kangs, the faces of the fr...