So far,Mortal Kombat 11has impressed fans of the franchise, with many considering it to be one of the better entries to have released in the fighting game series. A big part of that has been thanks to NetherRealm’s post-launch plans, which includes a ton of newcharacters being added through the Kombat Pack, which may make the time between releases well worth the wait in the long run. Among these DLC characters is the Terminator, who just so happens to be one of the best fighters yet.
While Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t voicingMortal Kombat 11’sTerminator, it’s still a very faithful adaptation of the character into the fighting game. Terminator is a character with incredible offensive capabilities. He packs a variety of mix up attacks that can lead to some massive combos, while still managing to be somewhat newcomer friendly. He doesn’t have the longest move list out there, but the attacks he does have can be chained to whittle an enemy’s health bar down by 60% if used effectively.
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Mortal Kombat 11’s Terminator moves slowly and methodically, with most of his attacks taking the form of punches interspersed with some hits from the sawed-off shotgun he carries on his back. That sawed-off just so happens to be one of the character’s best tools, as it gives him one of the most devastating uppercuts in the game, which is essentially just a shotgun blast to the face, and a quick sweep move to knock enemies down. NetherRealm did a wonderful job making the characters basic attacks feel as the Terminator should, and that authenticity makes a massive difference in the character overall.
However, Terminator’s general sluggishness does mean that many of his combos have openings that will allow opponents to counter and punish with relative ease. That being said, a lot of his attacks are also safe on block, which helps balance things out to some degree. His speed may be something players have a hard time getting over, though, especially those that prefer faster characters likeLiu Kang. It isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker for the character, though it may make the learning curve a bit steeper for some.
As the Terminator, it’s key to stay close to an opponent.The Terminatorhas really poor range, and staying far back will almost certainly result in a quick game over - or at least a round loss. Luckily, the character does have a few ways to close gaps. The sawed-off has a projectile attack that can be amplified to move towards an opponent, and it also deals more damage as the Terminator gets closer. Terminator also has a projectile canceling move that can be used while closing in on an enemy. That move also has an a long duration when held, make it all the more useful. Other variations of the character get the Running Man stance, which allows Terminator to sprint at enemies.
One big fan service aspect of the Terminator is his endoskeleton. While theTerminator’s endoskeleton is a thing of beautyfrom a design perspective, it does severely limit his move set. Luckily, this really only happens when the Terminator drops down to 10% health and even then only if the endoskeleton is a part of the variation players are using. That being said, it can result in plenty of match losses during close games, so it may not be the best thing to rock during competitive play.
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Compared to the other DLC characters released so far, Terminator feels incredibly solid - which says a lot considering how well-receivedNightwolf was when he was added to the game. It’s a testament to how much effort NetherRealm is actually putting into the game post-launch, which should get players excited for the future of the game in general. It’ll be interesting to see how the character fares on the competitive scene, and how the character will be worked into professional tier lists.
Terminator packs a surprising amount of nuance for a character that NetherRealm really could’ve just dumped into the game.While Terminator does have a fairly limited move set, those moves are some of the most effective in the game when chained together. Plus, it all feels authentic to the character. So far, Terminator has proved to be one of the most interesting characters in the Kombat Pack. There’s still the highly-anticipated release of Spawn to look forward to, but Terminator is amazing nonetheless.
Mortal Kombat 11is out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version in development.
