Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat 9 (that’s what I will be calling to clear up any confusion) was developed by NetherRealm Studios . NetherRealm Studios is made of members from Midway Chicago and WB Games Chicago. Mortal Kombat 9 goes back to the 2D fighting style of those first three games. Mortal Kombat 9 is also a return to the blood and gore that we all enjoyed, which was absent in Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. Now I have never really gotten in to the previous Mortal Kombat games as I felt they were extremely difficult and I was not very good at them. Now I will be the first to admit I am still no good at Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat 9 makes it extremely easy for a beginner like me to jump in and just enjoy themselves.

The Mortal Kombat storyline is full of downright non-sense, and it may sound crazy, but after playing Mortal Kombat 9 I feel that I understand all the non-sense. The story mode is broken down to sixteen chapters, each of which is dedicated to its own character. The story mode retells the story of the first three Mortal Kombats. The difference is this version of those stories have some twists. Like delving into the back-story of characters such as Noob Saibot and Kabal. Both of which were not really explained in the past games. The pacing of the single-player is pretty good. When you first start the fights are relatively easy. They start to ramp up in difficulty,which two-on-one fights and cheap boss battles.

As mentioned earlier NetherRealm makes is relatively simple for anyone to just jump in and have fun. Now where the depth comes in is when you want to master the game. There are many combos and tricks to learn by playing the game a lot and learning what moves can be combined and which can not. Now even the best of players can not use their skills to defeat the bosses in the game. Shao Kahn, Goro, and Kintaro. These bosses can only be taken down with cheap and annoying tactics, Shao Kahn especially. For Kintaro and Goro I was forced to jump around like a mad man and uppercut when I had the chance. If only it were that easy for Shao Kahn. Shao Kahn is easily the worst part of the game. These bosses are staples of Mortal Kombat, but they are something I wish would have been fixed in Mortal Kombat 9.

Included in Mortal Kombat 9 is a new special move called X-Ray moves. These are executed by saving up enough special meter. The same special meter is used for combo-breakers(uses two-thirds of the special meter and break the current combo) and enhanced moves(uses one-third of the special meter and increases the power of a character’s special moves). Of course there are the fatalities, of which each character has two. And a returning finisher is the Babality (which turns the enemy is turned into a baby). Also new to Mortal Kombat 9 is Tag Mode. This is where a player (or two different players) can control two fighters and fight like any other fight. There is a good amount of stuff do do in the single player game including the new challenge tower. The Challenge Tower consists of 300 small challenges including Test Your Luck, Might, and Strike.

As with any fighting game it is much more fun to play with friends, and Mortal Kombat 9 makes it simple to play with many friends at once. NetherRealm included a lobby system where groups of people can gather and challenge each other. Another new mode included is King of the Hill mode. Now this is not the king of the hill mode you expect from shooters. This is where up to eight people enter a room of people and two people battle at a time and the others spectate and at the end of the match, rate the performance. The winner fights the next fight and the loser gets sent to the end of the line.

The character set in Mortal Kombat 9 is one that includes every character a fan of the first three games would want. Series favorites, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Johnny Cage return. Along with obvious choices there are some questionable inclusions. These include Quan-Chi, Sheeva, and Cyber Sub-Zero. Even with the questionable entries all the playable characters are balanced with some being new-user friendlier than others. Included as a way to unlock hidden fatalities, secondary outfits, and art concepts is the Krypt. It is a place to spend the Koins you will acquire through fighting in any form. There are over one-hundred different krypts to unlock and what you will get is a complete surprise.

Overall Mortal Kombat 9 is a great new direction for the series to go and is an easy recommendation for anyone remotely interested in fighting games or Mortal Kombat.