Review: Mortal Kombat 2011

by Hypnotiq18
in Reviews
June 2, 2011 at 12:47pm.

Just by the name this game makes you feel nostalgic way back in ’92 when this game was in the arcades. Now on the seventh generation platforms Xbox 360 and PS3 it has come back with a whole bunch of new features for fans of the genre and newcomers to this franchise.

This entry has 4 game modes when you get to the menu which will keep you entertained for hours. Fight, Story Mode, Challenge Tower, Training, Online, Extras and Options. In fight mode it is basically a renamed arcade mode where you can play Ladder, Tag Ladder (offline only), Test Your Might, Test Your Sight and Test Your Strike from the 28 characters to choose from. Story mode which unlike other fighting game series, this really shines and seems a lot of thought has been put into given a enjoyable single player experience. You do not get to choose a character to use but rather fight based on the story which goes right back to the origin of the MK game and moves forward and should be finished after around 6 hours.

Challenge tower is where some good times and irritated times can occur. 300 challenges await  you which help you become a better player and have a bit of a break from online and single player fun.You do not have to complete them in order and can skip some you may have trouble with.By completing these you unlock koins which can be used to buy around also 300 items in The Krypt, ranging from music, artwork and kombat kodes.

A new gameplay that was implemented is the meter system . Taking damage and dealing it fills this power bar. Fill the first part of your meter and that allows you to do a special move, fill the second which allows you to use a combo breaker which is self explantory. Finally fill the bar up and you can perform an X-Ray Move. Your character of choice then shatters bones and blood is everywhere and takes almost half life off your opponent. Old fatalities are back as are babalities and boy are some brutal which is why some people love this series. Each character has 3 to use and you have to unlock them to use as you play the game.

After you have trained and punished the arcade , you then will want to head online. Here you can choose from One-on-One and Tag Team Bouts which can be played by 3 others players. The main mode you will find people is King of The Hill mode. For those who do not know, it is a lobby where winner stays on and stays there till someone beats them, then they become ‘king’ and someone has to topple thier reign. Lag is always an issue when playing online but not bad enough to not give it a go.

Graphically this game is pretty polished, the detail involved in flesh and costumes and even the blood are done with great precision. Sound wise the characters have some excellent voiceovers which just adds to the atmosphere of the game. Levels you fight in are also detailed, from acid dripping, trees that are alive and people fighting in the background, this luckily does not distract you.

Final Comment

This entry is hopefully going to revitalise the franchise and bring it into a booming fighting game industry so right now it is a great time to be a fighting game fan. NetherRealm studios has managed to create a great game with lots of content and also captured what the old MK use to feel like when you played them at the arcade.

Graphics: 8
Gameplay: 9
Sound: 8
Lasting Appeal: 7
Fun Factor: 7
Overall: 8.5