Mortal Kombat Review

Mortal Kombat 9 (Or 2011) is available on the Xbox 360 and PS3. Mortal Kombat is a reboot for the series both story and gameplay-wise. Many of the games’ iconic things that had sort of been lost over the years have been brought back and are better than ever. Fatalities are as brutal and cringe-worthy as they’ve ever been, the gameplay’s much more simple for each character and is easy to pick up, and the 2D fighting stages are back! It also has plenty of new and shiny things such as the King of the Hill mode on Live and Tag Team Battles. This can bring you back to the arcade days of waiting in line to challenge the winner of the sticks. It is also a great way to bring in new fans that never played the series

 

 

Mortal Kombat also brings back many of the hidden special things as Secret fights, Kombat Kodes, a certain “Fatality” and great unlocks along the way. The Krypt isn’t the biggest ever, but it really is just the most graphic one they’ve come up with, filled with lots of great art and music to unlock.

The actual gameplay is very fluid and easy to get ahold of. Combos are shorter with most of them only 3-5 actual buttons in them. Most of them are also designed to be easily chained together so players can create their own combos. Because of this not as many are pre-programmed into the game. Ed Boon was quoted saying “You’re making your own combos. We aren’t programming them in as much” which in turn helps the player create their own unique fighting style.

 

 
5th set D2P7Z
In general the gameplay and controls are a lot like Mortal Kombat 3. The run button did not return to the game (thankfully) but in place have added a new quick dash by simply tapping forward or backwards twice. Many of the combos and attacks also have a lot to do with ariel combat especially characters like Sonya Blade who is more of an air based fighter rather than ground and pound.

The story mode for the game is fairly simple and easy to follow as well is a good length for a fighting game. It’s separated into chapters, each chapter you use a different fighter and learn some of that fighters story, with cinematic between most battles and longer ones between the chapters to introduce the characters. The only problem we really noticed with it was that by they time I had finally gotten pretty good with a character and ready for another battle, their chapter would end, but this also prepares you for online battle with making you decent enough at each character.

 

 

A great thing we noticed while playing was the detail, and in all the time we have been waiting, Nether Realm has done it! With damage to the character’s outfits, with rips, tears and blood stains. A+ to that detail, another great thing is during the story mode there is no loading at all! Every cinematic scene moves fluently into each fight, and in all 16 chapters and cinematic scenes not one single loading page and it keeps the action and playing pulled into the story.

 

 

 

A sad part of the owners of the 360 version didn’t get an exclusive fighter as the PS3 version got the Kratos from God of War, it was rumored that 360 was trying to place in Master Chief from Halo or Marcus Phoenix from Gears of War, but since the deal couldn’t get worked out in time so 360 user got the shaft on the exclusive fighter.

The actual story is a retelling of the original 3 games. At the end of Armageddon Raiden is faced with his imminent death, and as a last attempt to save Earthrealm he sends a mental note to his past self with flashes of events that occur and a message “He must win.” Raiden must use the flashes to help figure out what to do, and find out who “Must win.” in order to save the world from complete destruction. This does cause a complete rewrite of the story, meaning everything you knew about the universe is no more. Many events are altered and because of it a few characters are drastically changed.

 

 

Besides story mode, the Ladder has returned and is the same as ever. Choose a character, work your way up to face Shao Kahn, beat him and earn an Ending for the character. Many of the classic hidden battles are back but the requirements for some are slightly altered. To get to the classic battles and hidden fights you must complete a certain requirement for that stage.

Along with the Ladder is a new Challenge Tower with exactly 300 challenges. Each challenge is designed to be harder than the last, finishing off with the most brutal challenge you can think of. You have the option to skip over each challenge (For a price) but they won’t count for achievements. You do have the option to go back to them at any time and complete them when you’re ready. There is also a great prize at the end for completing it.

 

 

In the Challenge Tower many “Test Your” minigames are back. Test Your Sight and Might return, with Test Your Strike and Luck being newcomers. Test You Strike is a slightly altered Test Your Might, with Test Your Luck being a battle with a random Kode to make the battle challenging. There are Kodes such as Headless Kombat, Armless Kombat, and Zombie Kombat, all of which drastically change the battle.

 

 

a feature added is Xbox Live/Playstaion Network option to fight other players online. You can fight other players 1 on 1, use the new Tag Team Battle, or join in a nice game of King of the Hill. There is no 4 player Tag Team so sadly you can’t bring your buddy on with you. King of the Hill is Nether Realm’s way of trying to bring a classic “Arcade Experience” to the game. Up to 8 people may join in on a game, 2 people fighting and 6 watching. The winner of the fight moves onto the next person in line and keeps going until he loses. At the end of the fight, players may give him a rating of 0-10 Respect Points. Players in line may interact with the screen by cheering or booing, with many hidden actions such as throwing a tomato or holding up a diamond. You also have the option to get rid of the King of the Hill screen and make it the regular Fullscreen which cannot be affected.

 

 

Finally, Fatalities… Fatalities truly are, more Brutal than they’ve ever been. Each character has 2 Fatlities, (One given to you in the beginning, the other “secret”) a Stage Fatality combo, and a secret version of a “Fatality”. A few characters also have some Klassic fatalities tied to their Klassic Costumes. Ed Boon was quoted saying “before, Kung Lao had a fatality in which he cut a guy in half and another in which he beheaded a person, now he has one where he does both.” And that’s not even his secret Fatality. Having seen each one first hand, I must say they are all pretty Brutal in their own way with Noob Saibot’s being the most cringe worthy. They have a new Fatality Trainer in which you may not only practice the combination for your favorite character’s Fatality, it shows you where you should be standing. It should also be noted that you may perform the secret Fatalities and unlock them in the Trainer without having to unlock them from The Krypt. The other “Fatality” cannot be preformed in the Trainer though.

Game 2 Gamer’s Final Score 4.5/5