Mortal Technique?

And as much as things change, they stay the same.

The Tournament Edition Arcade Stick for the upcoming Mortal Kombat game is up for preorder now, and is literally a direct opposite from the Madcatz/Sanwa themed endeavor for Street Fighter 4. Where the aim with the SF4 stick was to recreate the feel of an authentic Japanese style arcade cabinet, this stick looks to replicate the feel of an American-style one instead, you gaijins. An article up at IGN Gear has shots and impressions of the thing, and honestly, aside from the storage ability and cool blood-spattered finish, I can't see how this thing would be comfortable to play on, by any stretch of the imagination.

Let's forget for a second that for all the effort to strip everything from MK that didn't work and augmenting everything that did (and I am LOVING the effort, believe me), the game is still a 2D fighting series with a BLOCK button. Why they continue to deem this a necessary evil is beyond me, but I'm pretty sure it's why this stick's design mocks the button layout of an MK cabinet circa 1993. Concave buttons made from HAPP parts, bat top arcade stick, funky vewlix button layout. Only thing missing is the oppressive rumbling of the DCS sound system to make you want to stick quarters in the thing to shock nearby gamers with the "HEY I'M ABOUT TO PLAY MK" gong noises.



I appreciate the nostalgia, I do, but the block button was one of those things that just DIDN'T make sense in a 2D fighter, and I'm pretty certain it's why the stick has the layout it does now! Looking like a five sided die is not only strange and ergonomically awkward, but it pretty much ensures that you'll be playing nothing but Mortal Kombat on this thing. I'm mean, look at where the LT and RB are located! Even though PDP (the manufacturer) has ensured that it'll be fully customizable, I still find myself somewhere between praising the return to roots and wondering if $150 is really a reasonable price for a controller I'm only going to use with ONE type of fighting game.

Is that really a good investment?..

Source: IGN