Easily the best fighter of the past few years.
One thing I will have to give this game credit for is the sheer easy learning curve opposed to most fighting games on the market. Ill be the first to say that this was the first Mortal Kombat game I played extensively and even for someone who had minimal knowledge of the fighting system could easy comprehend the way moves and combos were executed. All of the characters are different and sleek in their own unique ways and are all pretty fun to use in different respects. Its a basic plus to most fighters, but I like the different strategies you can have with each individual character. I appreciate how long this game takes to master, but once you have it down it is utterly satisfying to fight offline against your friends in single matches and extensive tag matches. The character roster is large, and will satisfy all fans of the series with nostalgia and even unique characters such as Kratos, or Freddy Kreuger who are DLC characters.
The story is Fantastic actually, which is funny considering some of the lackluster or very unexplained stories in most fighting games such as Street Fighter 4 and even the recent Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. The way the storyline is presented is very tense and nicely setup with some cool twists and an opportunity to use a majority of the characters in the game. I actually felt connected to a lot of these characters and what they were going through, particularly Cyrax's chapter in the story, which I won't spoil, but it actually gave me some emotion for someone I thought was a cardboard character. All of the characters are very developed and have significant traits that make them fun to love and fun to hate as well. There are a few characters that are really poorly developed but the well developed characters outweigh them and frankly it seems like the reason why some characters seem like they don't have anything going for them is because of how many characters they stuffed extensive stories into. Overall, every fighter in the game is worthy of someone to call them their favorites and all of the fatalities are just as gory and epic as you would ever expect. Just an awesome job by Netherrealm in creating a roster and moveset that would satisfy both old veterans of the series and the newcomers of Mortal Kombat. I mean, the story is by no regards perfect but it did all it needed to, especially in the fighting game genre.
The gameplay is just very well done, and as I said easy to follow. Most character's moves are similar to use, and end up being easy and enjoyable to get to master. Fighting in the arcade to hone your skills in tag or single remains fun, while the much improved online mode gives an epic way to play. Play with a friend in a tag team together from the same living room online and then you could possibly do the same against others online by yourself. The network runs smoothly and its always easy (as far as the PSN goes but I can assume the XBOXLIVE runs just as good) to find a match. Playing online is just as easy and just as fun as playing offline and is nearly flawlessly executed.
The only cons with the game I can really find that really hinder the game is the fact that sometimes it just gets boring, but this frankly is just like other fighters. The Story is a little eh, but It is ultimately satisfying, and I find it amazing really. I can't think of anything too major really, I mean the ending to the story mode made me angry, but most of the other flaws are really minimal, and as far as a fighter goes, I think I really do need to give this game a 10 and I strongly recommend you pick this one up.