OXCGN’s Mortal Kombat Review

A brutal return to the fighting genre

by : GrathiusXR

©2011 Arthur Kotsopoulos

Whilst the movie is still far from being revived and though Kevin Tancharoen’s mini web series received less than stellar responses, Mortal Kombat has been brought back to its roots by Netherrealm Studios, the newly formed company under Ed Boon and Warner Bros (WB) replacing Midway.

With the earlier iteration titled Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, fans of the beloved franchise cried foul.

The game was nowhere near the same caliber as previous MK games, with stale game play and fatalities that were pretty lame and looked like regular combo moves.

That, however, has changed with Mortal Kombat under Netherrealm Studios.

Worthy successor or nostalgia goggle-fest?

Back are the brutal fatalities, engaging gameplay with blood at every punch and kick, and torn clothing depending on the damage done to the character.

Introduced are some new features such as X-Ray moves which are achieved in a similar fashion to the special moves you see in the Street Fighter games by Capcom, the Challenge Tower and the long awaited Tag Team battles.

After dishing out and receiving a certain amount of damage from you opponent your metre fills up and by pressing the left and Right trigger buttons you can unleash a flurry of moves on your opponent in some brutal fashion.

If you successfully land an X-Ray move on an opponent the game slows down and the camera zooms in getting up close and personal.

From here every punch, kick or slam, depending on the character’s fighting style, lets you  see your opponent’s bones crunching, muscles ripping and blood gushing. It’s an amazing inclusion to the game and whilst different keeps that Mortal Kombat feel that we all know and love.

Everyone that I know that has that laid eyes on this are always amazed at the level of brutality and are always left pleased. [ED - Bloodthirsty lot your friends!]

Death is the spice of… kombat?

Tag Team battles have been a long times coming and whilst seen in the plethora of other titles from Marvel vs Street Fighter, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom to name a few, it’s a worthy addition to the MK franchise.

They work perfectly well and because each character has been balanced to utmost perfection you will never find 2 characters together that will cause any kind of handicap. However if you’re a master at the game then the combos you can rack up with both characters could dish out some serious damage.

The Challenge Tower on its own is a different beast altogether and it’s been specifically included into the game for the fans and those looking for a challenge.

Boasting an impressive 300 levels, everything from your smarts, patience, stamina, endurance and skill will be tested by various fights and scenarios.

Think you’ve mastered the art of blocking well?  How about try fighting an opponent with the Block feature disabled and him doing double damage.

That is the beauty of the challenge tower each fight is different and there are various catalysts involved that will always change the pace of the battle.

From slot machines that determine which abilities are nullified from punching and kicking special moves, to blocks and jumping, to enemies doing double damage, and health dropping every 5 seconds, to the floor becoming electrified at certain points the Challenge Tower is a Mortal Kombat’s fan’s dream come true.

What hasn’t left fans of the franchise happy though is the lack of inclusion of a story mode that is engaging deep and fun to play.

Not since MK Deceptions Konquest have I played a story mode in a MK game that has just been this enjoyable and fun an experience.  As with EA’s Fight Night Champion we are treated to cut-scenes that lead us into fights with the computer.

Starting from Johny Cage, going through every single MK fighter, the story mode in MK takes us back in time to the first Mortal Kombat and spans accross the first 3 titles into the franchise Mk I, II & III which sees Earth-realm under Raidens watchful presence needing to win in order to save it from the likes of Shao Khan.

Fans who have played previous Mortal Kombat game story modes will know the full jist of what exactly is happening but even if you’re not familiar with this you need not worry as everything is explained through cut-scenes.

From here you’ll get to play as every single character on the roster and it plays out as a kind of origins story, explaining  how JAX got his metal arms, how Cyrax and Sektor started out as humans before becoming cyborgs, Scorpion and Sub-Zero’s famous feud, as well as how Shang Tsung reverted back to his youth.

Sellout or buy in?

This Mortal Kombat game is well and truly for the fans.

It’s graphically as impressive as any other fighting game I have played before.

Everything right down to the music that plays in each level to the backdrop has been finely detailed to please and amuse.  Back are the interactive environments where you can send your opponent to the acid river or spike pit down below.

The wear and tear of character’s clothing during battles, the flesh ripping and hanging off your character whilst he does battle- heck even the guy that pops up at the bottom right hand side of the screen is back to say ” whoopsies ”-  you will not find a better MK game that has been given as much love and care by the developers as this one.

In saying this though there are a few problems that are present within game, and I know everyone will agree with me when I speak about the difficulty level and the cheap-shots by your opponent as you climb the Arcade tower from Medium and above. Anyone who has reached Goro/Shao Khan will know even on Medium difficulty the only real way to defeat these enemies is to stay a safe distance and use your special projectile moves.

It takes away from having any kind of fun or improving your skill in the game as frustration usually gets the better of you when Shao Khan continuously throws his hammer at you rendering you unable to move or fight back.

That’s not to say a purist of the game will not be able to defeat him easily, but those who are casual and new to the franchise will have an extremely difficult time adjusting.

In saying this though I can’t really find any other fault with the game other than the Xbox 360 controller not being the best tool to show your skill due to the D-Pad.  If  you are really serious, you are best saving up your cash to either buy the Street Fighter IV FightPad or the Mortal Kombat Fight Stick.

Verdict

If you follow gaming news, then you probably know the game has been banned here in Australia and whilst there can be penalties for importing the game from overseas, many gamers have already purchased Mortal Kombat and have been playing it for a few months now.

If you’re a fan of the franchise and have any doubts as to whether or not to purchase it, trust me, from the level of gore involved to the aptly named Challenge Tower, Mortal Kombat has gone back to its classic roots.

OXCGN Gold Award

`9/10

©2011 Arthur Kotsopoulos

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Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Game Impressions, New Xbox 360 Games, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 3rd Party Games, Xbox 360 Game Reviews Tagged: | Capcom, Ed Boom, Fightpad, Kevin Tancharoen, List Of Mortal Kombat characters, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat Deception, Mortal Kombat V's DC Universe, Netherrealm Studios, Street Fighter 4, street fighter IV, Warner Bros Interactive, Xbox 360