This is a great game that offers all the goodies that made us fall in love with MK franchises right from the beginning.

User Rating: 9 | Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition PC
The good
1. Brilliant graphics (even on low-mid spec computers)
2. Great audio and music effects
3. In-game tutorial (training) mode takes care of mostly everything
4. Rich and action-packed story mode
5. Presence of dash-towards and dash-away commands
6. Battles are very engaging
7. Quick and easy learning curve

The bad (Unforgivable)
1. There is no running. This makes it hard to go close to an opponent.
2. Lagging online gaming.
3. Extremely difficult final boss (Shao Kahn).
4. The combos/moves are not fluid and flexible. Every combo/move must be inputted at a specific frame. No whiffs, no delays, no fakings and gradual in-flows

The bad (Forgivable)
5. Items are bought before knowing what they actually are.
6. Move list is not easy to navigate through.
7. No 'Brutality'
8. The number of Characters could have been more.
9. Bosses are unplayable


Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition is a two-years late pc port of mk9 on the xbox 360 and PS3. It possesses a striking similarity to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in the PSone and SEGA Mega Drive. It also possesses their charms, fun and addictive nature. The first time you launch the game, the game automatically configures the graphics that best suits the type of hardware you own. You can however return later and max out the settings and the game will still run smoothly. The graphics are crisp and the colours are quite vibrant. One thing about Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition is that it runs smoothly on PCs that are not so powerful graphics-wise although the set-up process takes longer time on such PCs.

Inside the game there a couple of modes:

1. Fight

-Ladder: Fight through a tournament with one fighter and defeat Shao Kahn in the end.

-Tag ladder: The same as ladder except that two fighters are chosen and your opponents are a tag team.

-Test your luck: Here a slot machine's wheel is spun and a random modification is made on your opponent such as armour and the fighting rules are changed.

-Test your sight: Death awaits those without a fast eye and mind.

-Test your might: Power up your meter and smash through progressively difficult objects.

-Test your strike: Same as test your might except precision outweighs strength.



2. Story mode

In this mode you get to play as various characters going through their life events in Mortal Kombat. The Story mode is made up of chapters and each chapter is about one character. The story is engaging and after a battle there are cut-scenes that appear. The dialogue is good although it could use more humorous twists (well except for Johnny cage that does all the joking served in a dish of arrogance and over-confidence) but hey this is Mortal Kombat and your life is on the line here, so no jokes. The voice acting is good too but not the best. Each battle is unique and sometimes you may have to face up to three opponents in single fight (Not fair!). The final battle is with Shao Kahn and he is a really tough opponent. Chances are you may be stuck with him for days trying to figure out how to defeat him.



3. Challenge Tower

The challenge tower is made up of lots of challenges. In some cases, it is like an advanced training mode.



4. Training

This is the place where you practice and perfect your fighting skills. You can practice freely with one fighter or a tag team. You can also go through the games tutorial guide where certain commands must be performed to advance through the next phase. Finally you can also decide to practice only fatalities. In fatality practice you are shown the command for a fatality as well as the position it must be done in.



5. Online

The online experience is mediocre at best. Some matches load while some don't load at all, Other will load but the fps is reduced. The game is fairly new (on pc) and hopefully this issue will be fixed in later updates.



6. Extras

This has three options: 'Krypt' where you buy stuff, 'Neokroplis' view the stuff you've unlocked or bought and lastly view the game credits under 'Kredits'. The shop ('Krypt') is a torture zone to say the least. Men get beheaded, chopped up, stretched etc. Much of which may be too much for the squeamish. It's made up of four sections where you get to spend all the excessive coins you will receive. There is also a shortcut to the Neokropolis. The only downside is the inability to know an item before buying it (in other words not knowing what you are buying before buying it).

7. Options

The settings include: Audio, video, keyboard, controller, game-play and social message. The game does a good job at quickly and automatically detecting any connected external controllers and customizing and remapping them again, so those with game-pads will have no problems. Keyboard users too are completely covered too as there is a section to configure the keyboard. The social message posts a message to your social accounts when you've accomplished great feats, unlocked 'Kontents' and so on but it requires you to first register and obtain a password at the official Mortal Kombat website.





Stuff you ought to know:


1. All bosses have some kind of armor that gives the temporary invincibility (though they will still receive damage)

2. The infamous Jax 'ground pound' and 'punch grab' is back and cooler than ever

3. The entire character rooster has been balanced. Everyone is unique and special with few overlapping.

4. Characters like Sub Zero and Scorpion cannot include their ground freeze and hell into their combos. I don't why these were left out by Netherealm studios.

5. Shao Kahn is incredibly cheap. Your fight with him can be summarized with three words: Shoulder, Hammer and spear. Learn to fight cheap with cheap.

6. Coins are awarded in every turn and anyhow with few things to use them on. You'll be left with huge sums of coins even after emptying the Krypt.

7. The game is very similar to UMK3 (PS1, SEGA) in audio, music, stages etc

8. The best experience is only achievable when two players or more battle each other. Playing against AI is stoic, predictable and at times easy but still very engaging.

9. AI will move away from you frequently (Reptile), other times they'll be jumping around like kangaroos (Rayden, Kitana) in heat and you will be frustrated so keep calm. It'll be hard to land attacks or throws on them.

10. Unlike UMK3, there is no 'running' here so you're unable to get close to an opponent. Forget about spamming projectiles as AI will always get you.

11. Even if you think you know how to play the game, when playing it for the first time set the difficulty to 'beginner'. Trust me on this one, the frustration is unimaginable.

12. Special attacks can be chained after combos. Practice and practice till you're almost perfect.

13. There is an attack called X-Ray. This attack uses a special meter that fills up as you are fighting and it is the most devastating attack yet. When an x-ray is done, the game goes into slow motion showing you how the attack affects the victim's body in an x-ray kind of view. X-ray can only be done once the special meter is completely filled. It is best to include your x-ray as part of your combo since it may be blocked/dodged.

14. Your special moves can be enhanced too. For example: Nightwolf will normally shoot an arrow at his opponents. Once the enhanced version is done instead, he will shoot out three arrows simultaneously at his opponent causing greater damage. Enhanced special moves require one thirds of the special meter.

15. Try not to always wait for the special meter to be totally filled. Use the enhanced moves frequently too.

16. A reversal attack system known as 'breaker' is present. This move enables you to free yourself from the combos/attacks of your opponent but it uses two thirds of your special meter. Except otherwise, It's best to use it minimally as most combos hardly cause any serious damage.

17. Juggles can be performed. Juggle combos allow you to continuously attack an airborne enemy. They are best done on an airborne opponent that has been cornered. The juggle hits can be as high as 15+ hits. Some can even go as high as 23+ hits with X-rays. Like i said earlier before practice till you're almost perfect.




Final verdict

Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition is a great game that offers all the goodies that made us fall in love with MK franchises right from the beginning. Although this game is about two years late from its console counterparts (PC gamers once again treated as third class citizens) it is in an ordered and complete state.
The game is arguable better than the console counterparts and one of the best available PC fighting games (among the few). From the fatalities, to throws and the x-ray moves the game is violent. If you squirm at blood or are squeamish at the sight of blood (animated/real) stay away from this. Still thinking of getting it? Well don't waste any more time go and get it! You'll be glad you did.