10 Infuriating Video Game Bosses That CHEAT To Win

Mortal Kombat II concludes with the player facing the monstrous Kintaro and Emperor Shao Kahn. Although these bosses are rock-hard, many players have more trouble fighting Shang Tsung, who serves as the third-last kombatant.

If you pull off a sweep or uppercut on him, the shapeshifting sorcerer will nullify your move and perform an immediate counter. Even if your attack unmistakably connects with him, Shang Tsung will be like "nuh-uh" and hit back. This infuriating habit happens so regularly, you'd swear the AI is reading your moves.

It turns out that's exactly what's happening. This programming, which is called input reading, is designed so the computer opponent automatically counters your attack the instant you perform it.

If you were wondering why Midway would design the game in such a cheap way, the answer is simple - money. To ensure gamers shoved as many quarters into the MKII arcade cabinets as possible, Midway programmed the AI to perform input reading once the player reached a certain level in one-player mode.

Although certain combatants like Scorpion and Mileena are more likely to rely on input reading, Shang Tsung is the only computer opponent who always performs this cheap tactic.