thePULSEGet Over Here!
By Tom Hodgson
Before there was violence in video games, spaceships shot little pew pews at aliens, an obese yellow sphere couldn’t kick his dots habit, and a fat Italian American ate mushrooms and saved princesses.
Enter 1992, when Mortal Kombat arrived in arcades and childhoods all but ended. Outside of your quarters, the game took your innocence and naivety, crushing all that was sacred and holy in this world with the swift uppercut decapitation Fatality of your favorite character’s sprite. At least, that was what Senator Lieberman wanted you to believe. And so it began, as the never-ending struggle between violence and video games entered the limelight.
Mortal Kombat has been walking around like a man in high heels, completely unsure of its identity in recent years. With oversaturated lists of forgettable characters, jaunts into the motion capture technology of the 3-D plain, and a completely neutered experience with DC Universe, lifelong fans were all out of quarters. Well-deserving of an overhaul, Mortal Kombat is now rebooted into the next-gen, but it’s not all spear throws and teleport punches.
The way my buddy puts it is that the plot is like an old episode of “Batman,” as the scene cuts away to all the bad guys hanging out in the super secret bad guy cave talking about super secret bad guy stuff. The camera then cuts back to the good guys discussing their plans to rid the world of evil in the super secret good guy society place of noble deeds. Add in some laughable interaction between the two sides which lights the fuse to a poorly acted fight, and you have Mortal Kombat’s story. I was excited to hear that the reboot had all good intentions with elaborating on the lore of the MK universe. After being strapped into the unavoidable, abysmally-acted cutscenes, boss battles that drop off in difficulty, and hours without being able to use Fatalities, I was ready to punch my own head off.
Fortunately, the kombat and subsequent brutality excels far beyond the Flawless Victory given to the single-player, planting itself with legitimacy like an uppercut off a moonlit ramp onto the spikes below. It’s the greatest title within the franchise’s two decade span, with pristine graphical presentations of the characters and arenas, engaging reimaginings of the full cast of the first three titles, and an auditory assault which details, with finite care, every bone-crushing blow.
Outside of the design facelift, two new series-defining additions set this reboot apart from its predecessors. Firstly, X-ray attacks are cinematic super moves which drain your super meter to perform vicious and high damage combos that jettison teeth from skulls and crush bones. Lastly, Tag Team mode combos offer a depth to the series at a tournament caliber that has never been seen, making for some intricate and intense gameplay and seemingly endless character combinations.
Beyond inventive new modes and mechanics, the wealth of additional and unlockable content is staggering, as points acquired through every fight and activity can be used in the Krypt to unlock new fatalities, costumes, and concept art. If disemboweling your friends gets old, one thing is for sure: this game never will.
Rating: 84%
