The Button Presser

Mortal Kombat gets the reboot it needs and deserved

Mortal Kombat fans had to stand by as Capcom unleashed Street Fighter IV in 2009. That long running franchise which garnered critical acclaim from fans re-lit the fighting game flame when it was released. Fast forward to now, Street Fighter IV has had some digital and retail updates, and Mortal Kombat has begun releasing it's add-on characters.

As with Street Fighter IV, Mortal Kombat has returned and gotten back to it's roots; the violence is over the top, the fatalities are brutal, and the game is back on a 2D plane accompanied by great 3D visuals.



The great element about the Mortal Kombat games has been the many modes you can play, and this version is no different. Once at the main menu in Mortal Kombat, you'll find classic Arcade mode, Story mode, online play, and the series of 'Test your' modes. If you want to take to the fight to the online community, there are a few cool modes for online play as well, just make sure you the buy the game new, or purchase the $10 pass to play.

The first one I jumped into was Story mode which retells the story of the first tournament and Shao Kahn's attempts to take over Earthrealm. The story is well done and features about 16 chapters in which you'll control a different character to advance the story. The story mode is only a few hours long depending on the difficulty you choose, but it's only one part of the Mortal Kombat experience.



A new feature to this iteration of Mortal Kombat is special meter bar. This bar allows you to beef up regular attacks when used before the meter fills up, but when you have a full bar, you can unleash a devastating X-ray move. Every character has a specific X-ray move that show different parts of the body when damaged by the moves the fighters perform. These moves are easy to pull off, but you have decide on whether to save up the bar, especially when fighting against an actual person.

Besides the X-rays, Fatalities make their triumphant return, and each fighter gets about three to unleash on a victim. When you hear the announcer say 'Finish Him' or 'Finish Her', you know what comes next, and you've only got a few moments to pull it off. It was tempting to just look up the finishers on Youtube, but when you pull them off yourself, it's much more satisfying.




I talked a little about the modes, but one I wanted discuss more was the Challenge Tower. The Challenge Tower mode includes 300 stages that feature specific challenges for players to complete that range from defeating an opponent without jumping, to fighting with no arms, or not using any special moves.

Tag-team is also a cool feature for Mortal Kombat. It allows four players in one match, with two players at a time until their partner is tagged in. Players can also use assist tags which call in their partner to quickly attack and leave. Other fighting games have had tag-team modes, and Mortal Kombat makes it a fun addition to the game like others have done before.




Ed Boon and his team at NetherRealm Studios has returned Mortal Kombat to the status that is deserved: Brutal and Fun. After experimenting with weapons and including DC heroes, MK9 is a throwback to the original game we all played and enjoyed.





Developer- NetherRealm Studios

Publisher- WB Games, Inc.

Warner Bros has announced today that coming this summer, you can grab Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in one digital package titled the Mortal Kombat Arcade Collection.

The Collection will be for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC, and will be priced at $10 (800 MSP on Xbox Live). Even better for the collection is that each game will feature online play and leaderboards.

The newest Mortal Kombat has been selling great and was highly rated, but the classics are always welcome to play.

-Source (Giantbomb)-

Announced earlier today, the new reboot of Mortal Kombat appears to be going back to it's roots of 2d combat and brutal combos. Co-creator of the MK games Ed Boon has also stated that this new game will be hitting sometime next year. Check out the trailer below and see a glimpse of the new game in action:



Source- Joystiq Xbox

Whatever this is, it looks pretty awesome. The Characters all seem pretty realistic especially since it includes Baraka and Reptile in a different way then the past games. I hope more will be known about this at E3, which is only a few more days away!

Mortal Kombat Returns and it brings along familiar faces in MK vs. DC Universe. How can this be? Don`t worry, all is explained in the game`s story mode which splits into two versions of the same overlaying plot. You'll see Batman fighting Scorpion, Raiden taking on Superman, and any and all combinations you could want in a game where universes collide. The roster clocks in at 20, ten for each side, with a few secret characters to unlock. The story is well written and understandable, but is also pretty short. Both the DC and MK sides last only a little bit over an hour and Completing the Arcade mode with each character can also be beaten pretty quickly as well.

What has always been appealing to Mortal Kombat games were the fatalities, finishing moves that were violent, crazy, funny, and over the top. Mostly violent though. They are still in MK vs. DC, but are toned down in order to maintain a T-Rating. Toned down isn't a bad thing in this case, as this allows the Super heroes to have finishers of their own. Named "Heroic Brutalities" for the good heroes, these moves still require quick and precise button presses in order to successfully pull a finisher off after a match.



The Fighting engine is quite good in this game as well, even more defined than past popular Mortal Kombats. Gone are the weapons and styles of the PS2 and Xbox games, and now include traditional punches and kicks, along with a variety of special moves to perform. Playing online was fun too, with lag barely noticeable for me. What was an issue was finding a match and also finding someone with an equal skill to compete against. I was mostly matched up against players who had win streaks of 20 or more, and players far better than me. It was still fun to play with friends, but at least for me, quick matches always turned up with advanced players which might turn off beginners like me to hop online.



Overall this is a great fighting game with familiar superheroes to choose from and many classic Mk characters. The game has a few problems here and there including no option to choose a level to fight on in multiplayer matches and has less extra options than other fighting games, which may decrease the time you have with the game, especially since there are so many new games to play. But if you love The MK series, this is a great addition to the fighting franchise.






+ Great Variety in character selection
+ Storyline explains how DC characters can meet the MK fighters. They're not just tacked in
+ Solid Fighting Engine and Online Mode
- Short Story Mode. Both can be beaten in a couple of hours
- Toned down krazy violence from past Mortal Kombats. Understandable though as it is T- rated
- Matchmaking can be slow to connect. Not enough online options