Espio
Kokomo
I was very highly skeptical about there even being a possibility of my favorite character coming back at all.
The reason why my mind has shifted to it being more of a possibility was Cary Tagawa getting confirmation as Shang Tsung. The same thing happened with Ronda Rousey and Sonya Blade. All of this started with subtle teases by celebrities prior to their eventual reveal and confirmation.
What better way to raise hype for a character that isn't as favored than having such a prominent wrestling icon come out the gate playing as him?
One of the last pieces of the puzzle I am waiting on is if Terry Crews gets the nod/confirmation to be playing Jax in this new game as that would reduce this from being coincidences to something more especially given all the hints discussed below.
I think this video discusses it quite well.
So far all the revenants that had a notable presence alongside fighting for Quan Chi in MKX are returning (Kabal and Kung Lao among others).
As for gameplay, I think Stryker can easily be distinguished from other tech users for a variety of reasons especially in his special moves and weaponry especially since MK11 is more focused on weapons based combat. Stryker's roots as a riot patrol/SWAT officer should be put on full display.
Roll toss: functioned as a counterzoning tool that allowed him to advance forward quickly and punish careless zoning thus allowing him to play his game more.
Baton sweep: hits low and advances forward
Grenades: His staple projectiles from MK3/UMK3 and MK9 are not currently used by any returning character and since Stryker's background is as a riot control/SWAT officer I would love to see the grenades come in a couple different types:
Stun grenades- function to slow the opponent's advancing movement down on hit.
Regular grenades- that just do damage traditionally.
Tear Gas Grenade- Takes increased chip damage or damage over time.
Taser- Appeared in MK Armageddon and was supposed to appear in MK9, but was later left out and could function as a good check on advancing movement with restand properties perhaps.
Other than those four for base attacks, I would love to see additional custom variation moves like a riot shield with multiple applications involving him using it to advance and bash the opponent or to block a certain amount of projectiles before it is exhausted.
I would also like to see Stryker have a police dog type of companion to assist him in combat with various attack options from it.
Adding his old UMK3 gun for combo extensions would be nice as well as it wouldn't reach from full screen and would function for the aforementioned purpose.
As for story, he already has established ties to Kabal, Raiden, and other already available characters so I'm hopeful that those relationships can be expounded upon, but if he is DLC that may not be possible or even necessary.
I really loved Stryker's personality in MK9's story mode and would love to see it reflected in intro dialogues and other interactions given the high level of production quality present in MK11 thus far. I always felt Stryker's natural evolution was to join up with Jax and Sonya in SF so who knows.
Maybe I'm completely off base and I normally don't get my hopes up for Kurtis to make it into games(like ever), but he's my favorite character and all the teases have me more excited than ever before.
I would love to hear thoughts and ideas from others about this character.
The reason why my mind has shifted to it being more of a possibility was Cary Tagawa getting confirmation as Shang Tsung. The same thing happened with Ronda Rousey and Sonya Blade. All of this started with subtle teases by celebrities prior to their eventual reveal and confirmation.
What better way to raise hype for a character that isn't as favored than having such a prominent wrestling icon come out the gate playing as him?
One of the last pieces of the puzzle I am waiting on is if Terry Crews gets the nod/confirmation to be playing Jax in this new game as that would reduce this from being coincidences to something more especially given all the hints discussed below.
I think this video discusses it quite well.
So far all the revenants that had a notable presence alongside fighting for Quan Chi in MKX are returning (Kabal and Kung Lao among others).
As for gameplay, I think Stryker can easily be distinguished from other tech users for a variety of reasons especially in his special moves and weaponry especially since MK11 is more focused on weapons based combat. Stryker's roots as a riot patrol/SWAT officer should be put on full display.
Roll toss: functioned as a counterzoning tool that allowed him to advance forward quickly and punish careless zoning thus allowing him to play his game more.
Baton sweep: hits low and advances forward
Grenades: His staple projectiles from MK3/UMK3 and MK9 are not currently used by any returning character and since Stryker's background is as a riot control/SWAT officer I would love to see the grenades come in a couple different types:
Stun grenades- function to slow the opponent's advancing movement down on hit.
Regular grenades- that just do damage traditionally.
Tear Gas Grenade- Takes increased chip damage or damage over time.
Taser- Appeared in MK Armageddon and was supposed to appear in MK9, but was later left out and could function as a good check on advancing movement with restand properties perhaps.
Other than those four for base attacks, I would love to see additional custom variation moves like a riot shield with multiple applications involving him using it to advance and bash the opponent or to block a certain amount of projectiles before it is exhausted.
I would also like to see Stryker have a police dog type of companion to assist him in combat with various attack options from it.
Adding his old UMK3 gun for combo extensions would be nice as well as it wouldn't reach from full screen and would function for the aforementioned purpose.
As for story, he already has established ties to Kabal, Raiden, and other already available characters so I'm hopeful that those relationships can be expounded upon, but if he is DLC that may not be possible or even necessary.
I really loved Stryker's personality in MK9's story mode and would love to see it reflected in intro dialogues and other interactions given the high level of production quality present in MK11 thus far. I always felt Stryker's natural evolution was to join up with Jax and Sonya in SF so who knows.
Maybe I'm completely off base and I normally don't get my hopes up for Kurtis to make it into games(like ever), but he's my favorite character and all the teases have me more excited than ever before.
I would love to hear thoughts and ideas from others about this character.
