What a fighting game of this era shouild be
That said, with this generation of consoles this is perhaps one of the best fighting games I've played and is what fighting games SHOULD be.
Controls: Pretty basic FP, BP, FK, BK and the directional commands. If you want to pull off some amazing combos (not that I ever have the skill to) you have to have fast fingers. If you don't, well some of the basic moves still look cool and are easy to pull off. Even some of the fatalities, while they do take some timing to pull off, can be done. And with the move list just a button push or two away, you can call them up anytime.
Story: I'm not halfway through the story but whoever made the game actually put a lot of thought and time into it. While I'm not saying it is of Mass Effect or Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic caliber, the fact is there is a story, the dialogue is decent, and you do see a reason for every fight. Sadly a lot of fighting games scrimp on story and consider it an afterthought. Mortal Kombat, in the story mode, does not and makes an effort to draw you into the universe that it's set. A lack of story might have been okay for fighting games in 1998, but not now and this game shows how it can and should be done.
Other modes: Arcade is pretty much standard fair for fighting games and I have yet to play any of the tag team arcade modes yet. As for the challenge mode, it adds a nice break and adds some variety. It's a nice addition to the game, while giving you a break and at the same time, in some cases, improving your skill