Mortal Kombat Box Art

Few fighting games are as iconic as Mortal Kombat, which first landed in arcades back in 1992.  Since then, the series has had three arcade titles and several home console versions.  Each of the console versions has been unique in their own way, including 2009's tie-in with the DC universe after Warner Brothers bought the distribution rights from Midway Games.

With the latest Mortal Kombat, gamers are getting their first taste of legitimate Kombat on the next-gen systems.  This is an incredibly good thing, as it's been far too long since the blood and humor of MK has been enjoyed.  The DC game was drastically toned down for the younger generation, and fighting Scorpion versus Superman just seemed simply ridiculous.

Mortal Kombat serves as a perfect reminder for how gruesome and fun MK used to be.  Everything is so well polished here and Midway (now called Warner Brothers Games) has really created a game that is so perfectly tailored to the fans that it's hard not to thoroughly enjoy it.  The fighting is fluid, the graphics are beautiful, and an incredibly bloody and violent game can be found within.  The words Mortal Kombat should be synonymous with blood and gore, and the return to MK's roots here is exceptionally fantastic.

 

The Options -

From the get-go, Mortal Kombat presents you with so many options you won't know what to do first.  From the Main Menu, selecting 'Fight' will take you to another screen with the options for Ladder, Team Ladder, Test Your Luck, Test Your Might, Test Your Sight, and Test Your Strike.  Ladder and Team Ladder are essentially arcade modes, taking you through a selection of Mortal Kombat baddies up until you reach Shang Tsung (the big baddie of the MK universe).  The 'Test Your' challenges serve as simply time wasters, something fun that challenges you outside of the normal fighting realms.

Then there's the Story Mode, which has the player play through a series of matches while detailing the story and history of Mortal Kombat.  The storyline being followed and told here is exceptional, and players itching for an in-depth playthrough experience are certain to find it here.

And then there's the Challenge Tower.  The Challenge Tower is one of the most entertaining ways in which a gamer can play through Mortal Kombat.  It is, essentially, 300 random 'challenges' that force the player to learn and understand many of the fundamentals of the game.  In order to pass the challenge, the player must perform certain actions or beat certain opponents, often times with some of the most silly and ridiculous situations presented.  For example, one challenge on the tower has the kombatants beginning the fight with no arms.  In order to pass, you have to defeat your opponent with only kicks.  These silly and fun tests are quite addicting and humorous, and often present a level of completion never seen in fighting games.  The addition of the Tower is a welcome one, for sure.

 

There is, of course, console multiplayer as well as online multiplayer. 

The Graphics -

And here is where Mortal Kombat truly shines.  The game is so polished and beautiful looking, for a fighting game, it's impossible not to be swept away and engrossed within its shine.  The blood and guts thrown across the screen is absolutely entertaining, and it's great to watch so much brutality on the screen. 

The Mortal Kombat world is set perfectly within the realm of 2D, which is different than the previous console versions that have come before it.  Returning to the roots of 2D for the series is a bold step, but ultimately the right one as the gameplay is incredibly fluid and fun.  Often, with the previous titles, the 3D realm took away from the gameplay experience rather than adding to it.  Too much time and effort went into mastering the camera controls that gameplay was sacrificed as a result.  That isn't the situation here, which helps to set Mortal Kombat above the other console versions.

And then there's the X-Ray attacks.  Gamers will undoubtedly be torn when it comes to these combo moves, as the result is a combination of silly humor and incredibly violent attacks.  By increasing their X-meter during battle, players are able to ultimately perform a 'finishing' move on their opponents.  The result is a beautifully looking black/grey brutal attack which borders between being too silly and too brutal.  The moves are sure to split fans in half, with some loving the added fighting techniques and others despising them.

The levels themselves are beautiful as well, with an amazing amount of detail and gorgeous 3D look and feel to them.

Overall -

There's so much to play here and enjoy it's impossible not to be thoroughly entertained.  The game is well worth the price.  The level of depth and unlockables available are sure to please any hardcore fighting game fan.  The graphics are absolutely great and all of the controls feel perfectly fluid.  There really isn't much to be disappointed in here, and fans of Mortal Kombat or fighting games in general are sure to be pleased with a purchase.

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