Mortal Kombat Review

Despite a few control issues, Mortal Kombat on the Vita is every bit the great and gruesome fighter as its console counterparts, but with even more bloody content to explore.

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As fighting games go, Mortal Kombat has always held a distinct place in the history of the genre, shunning the often cartoonlike style of its contemporaries in favour of gore and guts. Its latest incarnation on the Vita is no different, pushing the boundaries of taste to the extreme with ludicrously over-the-top attacks that see you ripping your opponents in half and impaling them on spikes, while also building upon the console versions with new content and challenges that make great use of the Vita's multitude of inputs. Subtlety and sophistication are not Mortal Kombat's strong points, but beneath its bloody exterior lies an engrossing 2D fighting game that manages to capture the feel of its forebears, while also offering new experiences for longtime fans.

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Most fighting games have some kind of narrative backing up the action, but few do more with it than bookend their arcade modes with a few cutscenes. Not so in Mortal Kombat's Story mode. Each fight you have is punctuated by in-engine cinematics, taking you on a journey that reboots the narrative from the first three Mortal Kombat games. The story picks up where Mortal Kombat: Armageddon left off, with Thunder God Raiden under attack from Shao Kahn, an evil emperor hell-bent on merging Outworld with Earth Realm--a process that threatens to end all life on the planet.

Raiden sends a message to his past self in order to prevent that outcome, which manifests itself as a series of visions. Though he's not entirely sure what the visions mean, Raiden proceeds to help the people of Earth Realm compete in the Mortal Kombat tournament, which decides the fate of the two worlds. By using the time travel mechanic, the story does a great job of introducing new players to the series, while also giving long time fans a new perspective on events. Be warned if you're not a fan of cut scenes, though. You can't skip them, even if you've already watched them when you resume a game. You also can't choose to replay specific sections of Story mode, even after you've conquered it; you either resume from your last save or start all the way from the beginning.

You initially take on the role of the actor Johnny Cage, whose arrogant personality and inordinate sexism make him something of a chore to listen to. Fortunately, you play as different fighters as you progress, most of which made an appearance in the first three games. They include classics such as Scorpion, Sub Zero, and Liu Kang, through to later additions such as Kabal, Smoke, and Sindel, who are unlocked from the start. You're also taken through a range of different environments, which look great. They're full of detail, re-creating some of the classic environments from previous games. One moment you're fighting beside a river of blood or in the fiery depths of the underworld, and the next you're being transported to an arena filled with giant monsters and chained-up slave girls.

Since the Vita version contains all of the previously released DLC, you also have the option of playing as Skarlet, Rain, Kenshi, and the infamous Freddy Krueger, as well Kratos from the PlayStation 3 version. Plus, you get a bunch of new costumes and fatalities for characters like Reptile, Jade and Kitana. Each time you switch characters in Story mode you learn about their origins and motivations for joining the tournament, whether that's revenge, bravery, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Though it would be inaccurate to say the story is particularly deep, it is entertaining, with tongue-in-cheek dialogue and a number of twists that keep you guessing--even if it gets a little absurd at times. Each character is well voiced, and because there's some motivation for the fighters' actions, there's more than just gameplay to keep you invested through until the end of the five-hour-plus narrative.

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That's not to say the gameplay isn't enough to keep you entertained--far from it. Mortal Kombat makes a return to the single-plane 2D fighting that the series is known for, albeit with 3D models in place of digitised sprites. Your goal is to knock out your opponent using a range of kicks, punches, and special moves, such as knife throws, acid spit, and fireballs. You can chain moves together to perform combos, and also juggle your opponents by knocking them into the air and following up with additional attacks. Pulling off such moves is tricky, but things are made a little easier with a stripped back control scheme that harks back to the simple controls of the arcade originals, albeit with some tweaks.

There are still four primary attack buttons, but rather than launching high and low attacks, each button now corresponds to a limb--similar to the control scheme from the Tekken series. Separate buttons perform blocks, while another performs throws. Though longtime fans may lament these changes, they actually make things a little easier, particularly if you're new to the series, as it's much more intuitive to perform low attacks by pushing down on the D pad or analogue stick. The new controls are pleasingly responsive, with a feel that's very much reminiscent of Mortal Kombat II--that is, very fast. You need quick reflexes to dodge your opponent's attacks, as well as for finding those small openings in fights where you can squeeze in a punch and follow up with a devastating combo.

Many of the button combinations for moves have been simplified. You still need speedy thumbs to enter in the button commands at the right time, but with less to remember it's easier than ever to pull off some impressive looking attacks. If you're used to playing the likes of Super Street Fighter IV, then the feel of Mortal Kombat will take some getting used to because the animation is less fluid. Moves don't string together as smoothly, so if you try to perform a combo that isn't in your character's repertoire, there's a delay between each attack, which feels jarring if you're not used to it. This doesn't make the game any less fun, though; it's just a different approach.

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While the basic controls have been stripped back, a super meter has been introduced that gives you a few more options during a fight. As you receive and land hits, the meter builds up through three levels. The lowest level gives you access to enhanced moves. By holding down the block button while performing one of your character's special moves, that move becomes faster and more powerful, making it much trickier for your opponent to dodge. Fill the meter up to the second stage, and you can perform breakers--a type of counterattack. Tapping a directional button while holding down the block button breaks up an opponent's combo, letting you unleash a satisfying counterattack of your own, though getting the timing right does take some practice. Max out the meter, and you can perform devastating super combos called X-ray moves. These vary depending on your chosen character, but all are performed the same way, by holding down the block and grab buttons.

As each hit of the combo lands on your opponent, you're treated to a slow-motion X-ray view of your opponent's bones and organs being crushed in an excessive display of blood and guts that even the most hardcore of sadists will appreciate. Skulls are smashed, spines are broken, and knives are thrust into eyeball sockets, all accompanied by flying shards of bones and chilling sound effects that crunch and splat just right. Aside from the visual payoff, X-ray moves take off massive amounts of your opponent's health--so much so that it's often worth ignoring the first two stages of the super meter altogether, nullifying its strategic merits somewhat.

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Get the timing right and you can integrate X-Ray moves into your existing combos. They're especially useful if you're juggling--nothing screams pro more than launching your opponents into the air, landing a combo, and then, while they're completely helpless, smashing their skull with your boot in glorious X-Ray vision. While X-ray moves are powerful, they're not unstoppable; some can be blocked if they're not performed as part of a combo, and others can be dodged. They're also not the bloodiest of moves in the game--that accolade is reserved for fatalities.

Gruesome, a little disturbing, and so over-the-top they're downright hilarious at times, fatalities are performed at the end of fights. Depending on your chosen character, you can perform moves such as ripping the skin off opponents, slicing their bodies into quarters, or turning them into vapour with a barrage of explosive rockets. There are also stage fatalities that let you use the surrounding environment to kill opponents, such as by punching them into a pool of acid or dropping them onto a set of spikes and seeing their guts spill out. Simple commands make fatalities easy to perform, but stick to using the d-pad: while you can swipe the touch-screen to input directional commands, it's difficult to do so at the speed required, and to tell if they've registered correctly. If you're finding it tough either way, a helpful fatality training mode shows you exactly where to stand and displays the button commands onscreen along with an input display, so you can see any mistakes you're making.

Strangely, that same input display doesn't appear in Tutorial mode, which teaches you the basics of fighting, such as how to punch, throw opponents, and dodge attacks. It's still useful, but if you're new to fighting games, an input display would make learning moves a little easier. The tutorial also gives you an introduction to another new and fun addition to the series: tag team fighting. Unfortunately, with the block, throw and X-Ray commands mapped to the shoulder buttons, the Vita's lack of triggers makes switching between your two characters incredibly awkward. The tag-switch command is relegated to the right analogue stick. Trying to perform one of the many impressive-looking tag team combos by pressing a face button and twiddling the right stick at the same time requires some extreme finger dexterity--so much so that the feature is nearly impossible to use accurately.

Ladder mode lets you try out your newfound tag team skills against a bunch of CPU opponents in a 10-fight tournament, though you can use just a single player if you prefer. Ladder is essentially an arcade mode where you must fight your way to the top and take on boss Shao Kahn in the last battle. Fighting Shao Kahn is difficult and extremely frustrating. He is one of the cheapest opponents you encounter, spamming you with a range of unblockable moves that seriously deplete your health bar. Worse still, you can't throw him, and if you don't manage to land a perfect combo when you attack, he absorbs the first hit and launches a counter of his own. If you do manage to defeat him, you're rewarded with an epilogue, which briefly tells you about what your character does after the tournament. It's little more than a simple voice-over set to 2D artwork, but it's a nice addition if you're craving a little more narrative after Story mode.

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There's yet more content to play through in Challenge Tower, which acts as an extended tutorial, teaching you different strategies via a series of challenges and minigames. These range from standard fights where you can't block or use specials, through to minigames such as destroying a horde of zombies with Stryker's handgun or following a list of rapid-fire input commands to break a spell. There are also a bunch of inventive new challenges exclusive to the Vita version that make use of the handheld's many input options. Challenges like Test Your Balance use the gyroscope to balance your character on a beam as you try to avoid turning yourself into a bloody pancake, while another sees you tilting the Vita to change the angle of the arena for bonus buffs. Others have you furiously tapping on the screen to detonate incoming rockets, or--in an inspired move--swiping to wipe off ever-increasing splodges of blood that explode from you opponent with each hit and obstruct your view. They're a lot of fun, and perfect fodder for quick 30-second blasts while you're on the go. They add yet more value to the already substantial and entertaining offerings of the Challenge Tower, Story, and Ladder modes, making Mortal Kombat one of the most content-rich fighting games out there.

That's before you even touch the multiplayer modes--the cornerstone of any good fighting game. You can compete in standard one-on-one versus matches and tag-team matches via local ad hoc connections, or take the action online. There you can play in ranked matches, friendly player matches, or compete against your friends directly in private games. It's a shame the great King Of The Hill mode from the console versions is missing, but at least your performance is tracked on a global leaderboad. Matches are largely lag-free, though like in any online game, there are times when a bad connection causes the game to stutter significantly, making it tricky to compete.

Whether you fight online or offline, and in all but the ad hoc versus mode, you're rewarded with coins for your victories. They are used to buy your way up the Challenge Tower if you're stuck on any particular challenge, or purchase new content in the Krypt, which is a virtual graveyard-cum-shopping-mall. There are hundreds of gravestones and corpses within the graveyard, each of which requires a certain number of coins to destroy and reveal the content underneath. Items such as concept art, character costumes, and music tracks can be unlocked, as well as more practical items such as new fatalities and Kombat Kodes, which unlock new game modes such as Headless Kombat and No Blood.

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With all that content, an in-depth Story mode, and a wide range of modes to play through, Mortal Kombat is one of the most complete fighting games around--not to mention one of the bloodiest. It's visually impressive too, rendering the gory action at an impressively smooth frame rate, even if it does lack some of the finer detail and anti-aliasing of the console versions. The return of fatalities and the addition of X-ray moves mean fans who have craved the return of gore after the toned-down Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe will have plenty to keep them amused. Likewise, the return to 2D fighting and a substantially tweaked control system have made the game more accessible for newcomers, seriously fast, and lots of fun. Plus, no other fighting game lets you knee your opponents in the groin and proceed to tear their bodies in half. And really, isn't that what Mortal Kombat is all about?

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The Good

  • In-depth story mode
  • Revamped control system makes it easy to pick up and play
  • Huge amount of content to unlock--even more than the console versions
  • Challenge Tower minigames and challenges are lots of fun
  • Viciously brutal moves

The Bad

  • Tag team combos ruined by placement of the tag-switch command
  • Shao Kahn is incredibly cheap

About the Author

Mark is a senior staff writer based out of the UK, the home of heavy metal and superior chocolate.