Today I finally managed to get my teeth into the Mortal Kombat demo which recently became available on Playstation Network. After putting in a week or so of casual Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 playtime on the Xbox 360, I was anxious to see the whole "What's old is new" aesthetic that is the main driving force for the gameplay in the new Mortal Kombat and boy did it exceed that.
 
In the demo you are able to play half of the "Ladder mode" which seems to be the classic fighting game campaign mode and local two player 1v1 match. There are a choice of 4 characters: Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Mileena and Johnny Cage at your disposal and 2 classic stages returning The Pit and The Living Forest but enough about the demo details it's how the game plays that you want to know. Earlier I mentioned the "What's old is new" aesthetic and what I mean by that or rather the developers is that Mortal Kombat is now gone back to it's roots of the early 90s to 2D fighting much like Street Fighter IV, and having come from playing UMK3, you can definitely get the same "feel" from the old days although more responsive and in turn more accesible to even new players prone to button mashing. 
 
From what I got from the demo casual players will have fun and so will veteran players especially now thanks to game giving you the option to look at the command list for button combinations on fatalities (something that pleases me especially now that I won't have to peruse the internet on how to pull them off and unsuccessfully being able to do so) including the usual move set. Another new feature is a new meter at the bottom of the screen containing three tiers, first tier is the "Enhanced" move (which are more commonly known as EX moves to Street Fighter players) which basically gives your special moves an extra kick or in this case a punch or two. Next is the "Kombo Breaker" returning from MK vs DC Universe which at any time you opponent is wailing on you, you can pull block button mid-combo and break out of being juggled in the air, which can be devishly handy against experience players who maybe are able to perform 80% combos. Lastly is the new and brutal "X-ray" move which when activated by pull both L2 and R2 (or both the triggers I presume on 360 when the demo finally come to the Marketplace) you will see you fighter punches, kicks and stabs actually cracking bone and piercing organs as well as dealing an inordinate amount of damage.
 
I can't say enough at how great the game plays, admittedly I was half button mashing (but with some thought at what I was pressing) and I was still having fun but no doubt with some more time with demo and I will be ready to "Test my Might" when the game releases on the 19th April in the North America and the following friday in Europe. This is definitly a game which many of you are already looking forward to and some of you who are intimidated at getting into fighting games, well keep a lookout because this very well maybe your ticket to brawling heaven.
 
-UKSamwise
 
HEY CHECK OUT MY TUMBLR PAGE AT http://uksamwise.tumblr.com/
      

 Yeah, I LOVE The Demo Myself. Im gonna get it First thing April 11th. Also, with the addition of Kratos in this mortal Kombat game, I cant wait to play as him. Though I have to say, Even EXPERT Mode is a bit easy for me. Im pretty Good at Mortal Kombat myself (Dont mean to brag) So I just wish the added more difficulty on Expert. And yes, its good that they included Fatalitys in the moves list, and they are rather easy to pull off. Thats one of the only problems for me in MK. I think in MK Armageddon they focused on adding Characters. They added Characters that barley even make sence like they just said "We have room for a few more, lets make up THIS Guy!" For Example, Jarek, and Kai... wtf? Anyway, cant wait for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. 

I too enjoyed the Demo, it seems to be a game that I could stand a chance agaisnt another played in, I mean I enjoy Marvel VS Capcom 3, but Its to fast paced for me to play online.

The thing that I found to be truly great about the demo, and what I assume will be true for the full release as well, is the way it goes about discouraging button mashing by being so easy to learn to play. The game and all its mechanics are very easy to wrap your head around and none of the moves are overly complicated to do. Within a matter of minutes you have a handle on the characters and are intentionally doing specific moves. The game is very easy to pick up and play, which quickly sort of brings you into that next tier of leaning the strategy of the fight. 
 
The problem I have with a lot of fighting games is how you are immediately hit by this brick wall when getting into them. It takes dedication just to get the basics down and learning to execute moves without fail on a regular basis. So I never get into the more strategic and rewarding aspects of the play experience.  I think MK may be doing for fighting games what WoW did for MMOs. They make them something that even the most casual gamer can spend just a small amount of time with, but still walk away feeling like they had a meaningful and satisfying experience.

this game is gonna be aswsome back to the 2d fighting wich is the best! 
 definately going to the store on the 19 to buy it.   
   
this game reminds me WHERES THE NEXT GEN KILLER INSTINCT AT?!!!!!! lol

WHERES THE NEXT GEN KILLER INSTINCT AT?!!!!!!

 " @rasko9 said:    I HAVE A QUESTION THOUGH: Has anybody successfully managed to do the Living Forest stage fatality? " 
 
It's disabled in the demo

N@dbz1995: No i haven't been able to make it work either

"Has anybody successfully managed to do the Living Forest stage fatality? "