The
king of fighters has returned with more content, more blood, and more new
characters than ever before. Fatality!
STORY:
Who
are you kidding? Did you really buy this
game for the story? You did? Oh.
Okay then. Well...years after
Shao Kahn was defeated, Shinnok, an enemy to earth realm that sports a
fantastic clamshell headdress, decides he wants to take over. A strike team is assembled—consisting of
Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and Kenshi—to take down Shinnok and his all-powerful
amulet. In the process, veterans of
Mortal Kombat come to their aid, while others try to help destroy earth
realm. Bloody cut scenes, mediocre
voice-over, and some of the most brutal fighting ensue.
Even
though most gamers will not be picking up Mortal Kombat X for the story, it is
a nice addition to the game that consists of about four hours of
entertainment. The funny thing is most of
the cut scenes—which do require you to pay attention due to QTE's throughout—are
longer than most of the fights that occur.
And even though you might be confused about amulets and who is good and
who is bad, there are still hours of entertainment to be had in the story…and
you haven't even gotten to the meat of the video game yet.
THOUGHTS:
Every
80's born baby remembers Mortal Kombat in their childhood. Running to the arcade, slapping a quarter on
the machine to signify you have the winner, and then losing horribly. It was a part of life. Mortal Kombat has been around for a long
time, and as they say, has gotten better with age. The tenth version of the series doesn't only
bring 24 fighters into various rings, but also introduces eight new playable
characters...and that doesn't even include the DLC that's coming down the
line. So not only will you be able to
strap on blue and pound enemies with an ice hammer as Sub Zero, but you'll also
be able to wreak havoc from your ass as the insect Queen, D'Vorah, one of the
new playable characters.
"Alright, listen up! Some idiot with a clam on his head is attempting to take over Earth. So pack
your best rocket launcher and let's take this f*cking mollusk down."
GAMPLAY:
If
you've been using a controller up to this point in your gaming career and have
barely touched the D-pad, well…all that's about to change. If you want to become excellent at pulling
off the more brutal moves in Mortal Kombat X, then you better learn to call
that area of the controller home. The
one thing Mortal Kombat has always been known for is the unstoppable,
fantastic, over-the-top ridiculous
attacks. And this game is no
different. Between breaking bones,
busting faces, shooting rockets, cracking skulls, crushing noses, nut shots,
and throwing sand in your opponent’s eyes, there seems to be an endless sea of
possibilities while entering the ring.
Sure, just like any other fighting game you'll become excellent with one
fighter and probably spam the hell out of that one move, but who's to say that
isn't how you're supposed to play? No
one. So shut it. And last but not least, each character comes
with three distinctly different fighting styles to choose from before each
battle, allowing your favorite character to have another level of uniqueness,
depending on your style of combat.
When
you first load up the game, you'll probably go right into a fight and realize
that the old kicks and punches are easily accessible by pressing just one
button on the controller. It's when you
want to really tune up your opponent that you'll hit start to pause the game,
allowing you to go directly to the move list and begin to learn the brutal
attacks needed to win fights. Most are
three-button combinations with some being a little longer. But the real fun during a fight comes in the
form of X-rays. X-rays can be used once
your energy meter (a meter that increases
as you do more damage to your opponent) is full and they are super easy to
pull off…as long as your opponent doesn't block. And if you like Mortal Kombat for the
fatalities, then you'll love it for the X-Rays, which at times, can be just as
brutal and hilarious to watch. Between
breaking necks and punching opponents in the balls, there are also various
attacks that devour your enemy via bugs, destroy jaws, break noses, and stab
people in the skull with very sharp objects.
And you can't help but laugh during an X-ray even if you're the one taking
the beating. That's just good game
design right there.
On
top of this, the environment also plays a role in combat. Not only can you jump off of tree stumps or
broken down cars to gain a quick advantage, but you can also pick up a lamp and
smash it across a foe's face, kick a bowl of hot coals in their eyes, swing
from tree branches, beat someone with an iron hammer, or even crush an enemy's
face with a villager. These tiny details
tell you that the developer of Mortal Kombat X, NetherRealm Studios, took care
in creating this game. And each time you
see these environmental attacks you can't help but smile, and that's the true
heart of Mortal Kombat X. No matter if
you're getting your ass whooped or doing the whooping yourself, you'll still be
laughing like a hyena at each and every brutal attack.
Mortal Kombat: when literally being chopped in half means nothing and the character will
be walking around again in no time.
GRAPHICS:
Let's
face it: this is the best looking Mortal Kombat yet. The environments are heavily detailed, the
character animation is fantastic, and the cut scenes could be made into an
animated feature. There's just nothing
else to say. The one thing you might
notice is the difference in detail of some characters as opposed to
others. When you pull up Sub Zero or
say, Scorpion, their outfits, skin, and even facial hair looks astounding. Then you might choose Johnny Cage or Sonya
Blade and the detail on their clothes or faces looks a little less loved
compared to some of the other characters.
Does this hurt the game or gameplay in anyway? Nope.
It's just something that seemed odd with all the love the developer already
put into the rest game.
FATALITIES &
ADDED FEATURES:
Fatalities
are the one thing everyone who watches or plays a Mortal Kombat game wants to
see. Sure it may be a little more
degrading to your opponent to simply walk over and slap your enemy when the
screen flashes "Finish Him" causing them to wobble like a drunk and
fall over. But you'll still want the
satisfaction of a Fatality every once in a while. And boy does Mortal Kombat X deliver. If you thought the X-rays were brutal and
hilarious, the Fatalities cross those lines and up the bloody eye-candy by one
hundred percent. From ripping bodies
apart at the spine or slicing faces off from the front, to even grinding
characters up into purée, this game has it all and you get to unlock more as
you go along.
Along
with Fatalities, extra outfits, pretty graphics, and hysterical attacks,
there's also the Krypt. This is a bonus
area of the game where you embody a first person view and walk through
cemeteries, underground spider lairs, and other various locations in search of
unlockables. All the koins you earn
fighting, progressing through the story, and taking place in online battles,
can then be used in the Krypt. Your
character walks around in a grid like fashion mimicking old RPG's from the 90's
and spends koins to unlock random stuff throughout the game. Unlockable treasure can include new outfits,
brutalities, fatalities, concept art, game music, etc. It's not the greatest RPG experience you will
ever have, but it simply adds another layer to an already very rich fighting
game.
ONLINE:
So
you think you're good enough to drop the padded gloves and take on real people
in Mortal Kombat X? Or maybe you just
want to be able to pound a friend into the ground and tease them about it for
the next hour. Whatever your temptation
is to jump into the online ring, you won't be disappointed. From 1 vs. 1, to King of the Hill, to ranked
matches...everything you want out of an online fighter is easily in your
grasp. Wait times are very short and bringing
in all your friends for a simple tournament couldn't get any easier. Online combat for the most part is smooth,
but if one fighter doesn't have the fastest Internet you will experience some
lag during fights. But this has nothing
to do with the game itself, and everything to do with individual Internet
providers. So be rest assured, if your
friends have a fast Internet just like you, it'll be like kicking each other's
ass in the same living room…which is also available if you have two controllers
and a friend actually willing to leave their own house and venture into yours.
Extra Strength Excedrin: perfect for even the toughest of headaches.
CONCLUSION:
Mortal
Kombat X is currently the king of all fighting games available right now. The game may have a slightly confusing story
and some dropped detail on a few characters, but what it brings to the genre in
terms of graphics, gameplay, collectibles, unlockables, uniqueness, hilarity,
and just good old-fashioned fun, far exceeds any flaws the game may have. So if you've had the itch to venture back
into earth realm and beat the snot out of baddies and friends alike, then don't
think twice about picking up Mortal Kombat X.
This game is everything you ever wanted out of a fighter and then
some. Here's hoping the DLC adds even
more variety to an already awesome game.
4.5
out of 5 Stars (minus a ½ star for clunky
story and uneven character detail)
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