MORTAL KOMBAAAAAAAAT
I remember playing MK 1 and 2 in the arcades when i was a young lad, but as i got older the MK games refused to really grasp my interest. I bought UMK3 for XBLA a couple years back and enjoyed my experience, despite my lack of fighting game skill. In 2011 Mortal Kombat finally was on my radar as something i would want to sink $60 and some precious time into. The trailers looked amazing, the kombat looked entertaining, the game looked like a the complete fighting game package. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Its been a month after release and i'm still coming back to learn some juggling, play with the ridiculous array of characters, and destroy some human anatomy.
Since Mortal Kombat is a fighting game, it was important to me that it would be lasting entertainment whether online or locally with friends. Immediately i loved screwing around locally, performing fatalities and kombos on my closes friends. The kombat has been simplified enough that new players can get into the gameplay, but has the complexity that will keep veterans enthralled. The online ranked fighting is still a little janky as i continue to have trouble finding a match with the matchmaking, but i instantly find willing competitors in the online "rooms", which are basically large chat rooms that feed in some fighting stats and allow for players to challenge one another.
I myself am a fighting game scrub, so delving in to learn the complex juggles was a treat and definitely made me feel like i was a pro, even though i could only do them in the theoretical practice mode, which is great for figuring out the finer details of the kombat. However, using the learned mechanics online is another challenge, dealing with latency issues and a moving player is a lot harder than just playing with a local practice dummy.
The story mode is a bonus. Never in any fighting game i've played has there been a story i cared so much about and was so captivated by. I found myself looking up previous game story lines and started to get curious about where Boon and the rest of Netherrealm would venture to next. The story also forced me to try out some characters i never would have in the first place. I ended up loving characters like Jade and Kitana, while finding distaste for others. Alongside the story is a lengthy challenge tower. The tower, with 300 challenges, could get tedious at times, especially when dealing with the staple of Mortal Kombat's cheap ass bosses. In the end though it was very much so enjoyable running through 300 challenges, some of which are very well thought out as being ridiculous and funny.
Mortal Kombat is known to have a lot of funny aspects in a very seriously gore filled universe. The Test Your Luck, Test Your Might, Test Your Sight, and Test Your Strike mini-games are just the start to the oddities within this game. Bringing back TOASTY! and placing hidden fights within the ladder mode just remind us who is still making this game, and i wouldn't have it any other way.
This is the greatest fighting game i have ever played in terms of the overall package. It has story, some great optional challenges, and some of the most entertaining fighting ever. This may not be a competition worthy game, but its Mortal Kombat... FIGHT!
