A game that expands on the foundation of the MK reboot
Rebooting a franchise isn't a easy task but Netherrealm Studios managed to do that with Mortal Kombat. Now they have the humble task of iterating on that foundation. They decided to do that by giving the player a ton of options. Each unique fighter like Sub Zero has 3 different variations of a fighting style. For example Cyromancer style gives him ice based weaponry while Grandmaster allows him to use his ice clone a few different ways. They may seem small but each type gives the player a different way to approach a fight. The base roster (counting Goro) comes to 29 fighters with 87 different variations on those fighters. This is a strong point in this games favor if you enjoy checking out all the characters in a fighting game.
Next up the story picks up 20 years later after the last game. Shao Kahn may have been defeated but the devious Quan Chi continues to try to revive his dark master Shinnok. This doesn't sit well with the defenders of earth realm and a epic battle ensues over 12 chapters. Overall this story doesn't have as much impact as the nostalgia filled story in the first game. Although some of the new characters they added are interesting.
Other than the story mode you can challenge a variety of towers or even take the fight online against other players. Every tower is set up in a traditional fighting game way by giving you a set of fighters you must defeat. Along with a normal progression they also have towers that challenge the player with different variations of a fight like vampire heath or random portals appearing while a match is going. The online portion is similar to the previous game with a notable sticking point that it feels a little off sometimes. I don't play fighting games online that much so I won't really go into any details.
To give the player a reason to keep playing they have a overarching faction that you gain points for by playing the game. The goal is to gain enough faction points each week to make a faction like the Special Forces be in the number 1 spot that week. This is pooled together with every other player in your faction. This might seem like a reason to keep coming back but it didn't leave much of a impact on me. At this point in the life cycle of the game it just comes down to who has the most players that week.
My final thoughts about this game is that it gives the player a ton of choices character wise while also feeling like every mode is similar. The fighting game part is fun and is enjoyable to play. If you've played the previous game this one makes enough changes for you to check out this one. On the other hand a new player might not see enough content to keep coming back unless you enjoy the combat. Overall I enjoyed it and it is a game worth playing in my opinion.
