Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat from NetherRealm Studios serves as a reboot of the series. Raiden has been defeated by Shao Kahn in the aftermath of Mortal Kombat Armageddon and sends a telepathic message back to his Mortal Kombat 1 self warning of future events in an attempt to change history. This allows key events to be altered in Mortal Kombat lore and this game serves as an amalgamation of mk 1-3. Mortal Kombat is the most packed, exciting and story heavy game in the mk franchise, and also the best. All the characters from the early games are back with new looks and moves as well as many of their old ones. The konquest mode of recent mk games has been replaced with a story mode which is easily the best in any fighting game I have ever seen. The story is based upon Raiden altering events to change the future, and this allows for some major events in the mortal kombat lore to be changed and new outcomes. Its a smart way to change the storyline while also rebooting the series. The story mode is lengthy and has a lot of cutscenes which merge seamlessly with the gameplay, preventing load screens breaking the immersion. The characters are well voiced, and despite the story being a simplistic battle between good and evil the way in which its told makes it very interesting and fun. You play as numerous characters in the story in a chapter based format. The story concludes in a great way and leaves NetherRealm with options as to where to take the tale next.

The graphics in this game are very impressive and visually pleasing. Its back to a 2D plane, allowing for hugely impressive backgrounds with brilliant set pieces in them. Characters and textures are far more detailed than they have been before, and the lighting in the game is done extremely well. The shadows cast in a room as the fights progress, the special moves, the movement of the characters and the arenas all look fantastic. Similarly the sound is great. All the characters are voiced surprisingly well, and the ambient sound of arenas really impressed me. Depending on the arena you are in, the voices of characters will bounce around the room in a different way based on the make up of the area, its a small but impressive detail. The whole game looks slick and the characters look shiny and attractive to watch destroy each other.

Besides the story mode, the game has the traditional arcade ladder, the krypt which is filled to the hilt with unlockables, and an impressive online set of features. There is also the challenge tower, which is a vast series of challenges and rewards. The game play itself has changed to be more similar to the uppercut heavy and combo friendly gameplay of the early games while maintaining the style of later games. The 2D plane makes the fighting much more tactical than recent entries in the series, allowing the timing of combos and sweeps and the balance of special moves determine the winner.

The game emphasises an offensive approach to the game, and projectile attacks are much more dangerous in the 2D plane. As you fight, you build up a super meter which allows you to unleash devastating and savage x-ray moves which break bones and do huge damage. This same bar can be used to increase the damage of your special attacks, and it is this balance which greatly deepens the combat and makes the game interesting. Online, the game has rooms which you can join and participate in king of the hill mode. This allows players to join a cue and watch the fights as they progress. The winner stays on and the loser goes to the back of the line. Viewers can rate the winner, granting respect points in a nice feature which is easily open to abuse.

From what I have played so far the online has been extremely laggy which is a shame as the game itself is fast and fun. The fatalities in this game are seriously violent and bloody. Limbs are torn, flesh is lost and people die in horrible ways, as it should be. The game play feels smooth and deep in subtle ways. The special moves are easy to pull off, making the game accessible to starting players, but true mastery of the combat is in the timing and the combos. The character roster is varied and strong, getting rid of most of the unpopular characters that were introduced in the latest entries in the series while bringing back the original core characters of the first trilogy in the series. Mortal Kombat is really fun to play, and is a breath of fresh air into a genre and a series that I feared were in serious stagnation.

The presentation and design in this game is refined. Each character has multiple finishers and costumes. The fighters have been well balanced against each other, though some have rapidly become deadly online in the hands of players who know how to use them. The special moves of the characters are easy to do, but difficult to time to maximise your advantage. Mechanically, the game has a refined and fast fighting system in which smart use of your abilities and juggle combos are king. There is also a tag mode in the game which allows you to tactically swap between your 2 chosen characters at opportune moments. The game is pretty tough, and some combos do seem open to abuse by certain characters [ I am looking at you Scorpion and Smoke], but the boss characters are ridiculous. Goro and Shao Kahn in particular are aggressively cheap and difficult to beat as there moves do huge damage and they have larger health bars. Despite this, its extremely satisfying to beat them and they should be difficult to beat. The game is perfect for playing with friends, especially online where there is a ready made tournament set up in the king of the hill matches for you to participate in, provided the lag doesn't kill the festivities.

Mortal Kombat is a fantastic fighting game with a vast array of unlockables and modes to enjoy and play. The game has the best story mode in a fighting game ever, and the best backgrounds in a fighting game I have seen. There is plenty of fan service in this game, including nods to legendary glitches from the early games, and amusing events in the stages where you fight. The game holds nothing back in terms of its violence, with some cringe worthy fatalities. The online has been laggy for me, and even locked up once, but hopefully that will be patched shortly. The bosses are filthy move spammers, but provide a real challenge. The story is fun, changes the story in a smart way and is lengthy. The only things I can fault Mortal Kombat for is the online issues and the ability to abuse certain combos in a truly gross way. I love this game for its feeling of freshness and accessibility, its lengthy and unexpectedly strong story mode and for its return to the series roots, blood soaked as they are. This game has already taken many hours of my time, and will be taking many more. If your in anyway a fan of fighting games then buy Mortal Kombat, and even if your not give it a rent and see what you think.

Pros:

• Fast and savage combat on a 2D plane
• Brilliantly detailed stage backgrounds with a night and day mechanic
• Lighting and textures look fantastic
• Fantastic story mode with seamless transitions from cutscenes to gameplay
• Loads of unlockables and strong character selection

Cons:

• Boss fights are cheap
• Online is inconsistent and laggy
• The online pass

Wtf:

• The challenge tower

Score:

• 9/10 - Amazing