Last week, the greatest announcement of all time was made: Predator will be playable in Mortal Kombat X. Okay, maybe that announcement wasn't the greatest, but it's still an amazingly exciting reveal. Not only is Predator adored by so many of us, but knowing we'll be able to control a lethal Yautja in the next installment of NetherRealm Studios' most popular franchise makes us want to do a happy dance. Considering the studio's work on Mortal Kombat (9) and Injustice: Gods Among Us, we're feeling optimistic about Mortal Kombat X and we're so thrilled to eventually download Predator -- yes, he's DLC. So, what makes the iconic extraterrestrial such a good fit for this bloody video game? Let's talk about it.
Assuming these DLC characters have their own unique endings, it's pretty easy to see how they can make this alien fit in. A Predator is drawn to conflict and wants to experience the ultimate hunt, yes? Well, a giant conflict with a whole lot of savage, diverse, and skilled fighters sure does seem like a pretty appealing place to a Predator. This bleak setting would likely make many of us run as far away as possible, but a Predator would see all of the madness and leap right in. The alien doesn't want power and he probably won't take sides; he'll just do what he can to slaughter every dangerous individual he sees. In Mortal Kombat, "dangerous individuals" aren't exactly in short supply. We've seen Predators fight Batman, Xenomorphs, Terminators, and even Judge Dredd. Now, it's time to see the Yautja take on the many fighters in Mortal Kombat's universe.
It's easy to see how the studio can incorporate the character, but what's the point of a decent story if the character isn't fun to use? When there's going to be over twenty characters, you need to bring more than nostalgia and a cool costume design to the game. Thankfully, the Predator has a whole lot of offer and I can't wait to see his move list. It really isn't difficult to imagine all of the possibilities here. We're talking about a character that has everything from incredibly sharp blades on its wrist to a shoulder mounted cannon that can blast right through a person's body. The wrist blades alone offer a ton of possibilities. They can be used for an absolutely vicious x-ray attack, melee combos, or even just one or two powerful special moves. We'd all want a stunning slice or stab attack, yeah?
The wrist blades are by no means the Predator's only stabbing and slicing weapons, either. We've seen the alien hunter carry all kinds of pointy gear over the years, but two must-haves would be the Smart-Disc, a.k.a. the weapon that cut Gary Busey in half, and the Combi-Stick, a.k.a. the impaler of doom. Both weapons are ferocious, so yeah, that obviously makes them a fitting addition to the game. We could even see the Predator fire spears (just like he did in Predator 2 and several video games) for an additional ranged attack.
No Predator would be complete without a Plasma Caster and the character reveal video of course had one aiming right at the viewer. This weapon can be a well-implemented game changer or a downright obnoxious attack that'll be easy to spam. Obviously, balancing characters is a huge focus for the studio, so I imagine if the attack can lock-on, it won't happen swiftly and there will be multiple ways to dodge the blast. Or maybe you can even charge the attack and fire it straight, low, or upwards. We'll just have to wait and see, but this should definitely play a big role in the character's offensive capabilities. I mean, it would be blasphemy not to make this attack awesome and fun to use, right? As if all of those weapons weren't enough, they can also include the pesky net (sorry, Cyrax) and maybe even the whip we saw Wolf use in AvP: Requiem.
Then there's the fact Predator's are physically superior to humans. This character shouldn't require its weapons to be all kinds of brutal. Assuming the developers are giving this character the kind of love he deserves, his unarmed attacks will be full of force and very blunt. Goodbye slick technique, hello direct and powerful punches and kicks that'll drop our jaws! Also, we all know it's very likely they're going to give the big guy the ability to cloak. With so many great potential attacks, it's tough not to feel like I'd rather have another weapon instead of the ability to go invisible. Still, if used properly, it can allow you to turn the tide of the match or hold on to an even stronger edge, so it could prove to be useful in the hands of an especially tactical player.
There's three different variations for each character, so that has me wonderful what they'll do with the Predator. If I had to guess, I'd say one will focus on melee attacks (one can never have too many wrist blade attacks) and two that'll focus on projectiles. It'll likely be too difficult to resist finding a creative way to give the Plasma Caster another noteworthy move and considering the guy's arsenal, there's quite a few possibilities for a third variation. Maybe they'll save the net or Smart-Disc for this.
We all love the Mortal Kombat games for different reasons, but a vast majority of us can't resist the joy of unleashing a fatality upon your dazed and defeated opponent. And the Predator? Yeah, this guy is all about finding astonishing ways to slice, blast, and rip apart his enemies. The ol' pulling out the spine and skull routine probably won't be enough on its own, but that's something the studio surely knows and they'll find a way to spice things up before the Predator holds a severed head and spine in the air. We've talked about the numerous weapons this dude has, so they can obviously put a bunch of those to good use, too. It'll be baffling if an alien hunter who aims to kill doesn't have memorable fatalities. Thankfully, I don't think they'll let us down.
Playing as the Predator in a video game isn't exactly something new, but the chance to control him in a fighting game -- one which is more than likely going to be a blast -- is just such an exciting thought. The deadly alien has what it takes to hang with Mortal Kombat's variety of characters and considering how much anticipation and hype the character has received, it's tough to believe NetherRealm Studios won't go all-out with him. It won't be long until we'll get to hop around as the classic combatant -- sorry, I mean "klassic kombatant" -- and slice apart some of our favorite Mortal Kombat characters. Seriously, we now live in a world that'll soon have Predator vs. Scorpion playing out a gazillion different and oh-so-entertaining ways. Awesome, right? Sporting a great design and a whole lot of harsh ways to demolish his opponents, Predator is a perfect fit for the Mortal Kombat universe. And hey, if you don't like Predator, at least you'll be able to "nut punch" him as Johnny or Cassie Cage.