Mortal Kombat has always been the late bloomer of the fighting game genre in more recent memory. As one of the original arcade fighters that popularized the genre, the series seemed stubborn when it came to diverging from the concepts that birthed their first game. Mainly this pertains to the advanced sense of brutality and fatality finishing moves. Other progressive aspects that games like Street Fighter and Soul Edge/Calibur either introduced or perfected, such as 3D planes or a comprehensive combo system were features MK always tried their hand at some years after they were widely accepted. In a sense Mortal Kombat is like a smart phone; in danger of becoming archaic the very minute after it comes out. NetherRealm Studios’reboot does something wonderful for the franchise however, even if most of the experience is still a double-edged sword.

MK still sticks to the strengths that have kept them in the game this long, regardless of how far they continuously fall on the ladder. Over the top character designs and gratuitous violence run rampant on this product, and for the most part that is a good thing. After all nobody who has played enough Mortal Kombat games really fights the fact that story and plot are not the series’ finest facets, so it must strive on something else. Though I must admit that despite the story offered being a weak and mixed up consolidation of events from past numbered installments, it is told rather beautifully.

Story Mode puts you in control of multiple characters on the roster, naming and defining each chapter based on each respective fighter. You relivethe tournament through many perspectives, from Raiden compiling earthrealm’s heroes to Liu Kang’s impending victory. The story goes on to the Nether Realm’s plot to force Shao Khan’s invasion of earth against the elder god’s rules; so the setting shifts throughout the story as well. Voice acting is quite impressive and the dialogue is decent. Graphics are smooth and exceptionally detailed when it comes to the stage settings; from the struggling hanging victims in the living forest to the captivated crowd and chained up slave girls in Shao Khan’s arena. Continuity is slick and seamless when switching between combat and story progression, and does even more to show off the strikingstage design.

One can’t help but feel that despite the size of the roster and amount of time spent highlighting those featured in the story mode, it would have been significantly beneficial to have an even larger cast. I must have beaten down Baraka with 5 or 6 different warriors, none more embarrassing then when Cyrax exclaims that the Tarkatan general couldn’t even stop “the actor”, in reference to Johnny Cage’s first round victory. More than enough fighters get their share of looking like a weak loser; then they become unstoppable when put in the player’s hands.Even throwing in some random cronies would have served a useful purpose at some points in the interest of bridging; such as Kitana fighting her way to Shang Tsung’s flesh pits, or Stryker facing some lesser regarded enemies before getting thrown into the subway by Ermac as opposed to embarrassing powerful Shokan warrior Kintaro.

A problem every fighting game faces is the issue of longevity. Every developer tries to come up with some way to keep things interesting once the brief allure of pounding your friends online runs dry. Challenge Tower is one of NetherRealm’s answer to this problem. The tower is pretty much a series of challenges that the player must complete in order to progress further while earning some “koins” to unlock many extras such as music tracks, artwork, cheat codes, and other goodies that can be found in the Krypt. In addition, challenge tower can actually help improve your game by constantly putting you into situations where you have to master a certain technique to move on. Most challenges are rather creative, while others are redundant and even annoying. This mode can be entertaining and will definitely keep you going after beating arcade mode enough times. A sort of adventure style beat-em-up game mode like what was featured in MK: Armageddon would have been quite welcomed as well; that was a much better side mode to a main MK installment than an actual full-fledged game itself. Maybe with the exception of one were to be created as an Xbox LIVE or PSN title.

Fatalities are back to their gory origins, as no comic book company requires their characters to not be portrayed in such gruesome manners. Needless to say, the M rating was practically institutionalized by the Mortal Kombat series. For the most part each fatality ends in the same results, just with each character’s exclusive twist on it. Dismemberment is a certainty, with very very few exceptions. Usually, if you’ve seen one decapitation you’ve seen them all; but I do rather enjoy the precision and macabre sense of elegance put into Jade’s shuriken beheading and how it differs from Mileena’s sloppy and inhumanhead tear-off. Other fatalities involving ripping body parts off differentiate themselves from one another by targeting internal organs. Though one of my personal favorite for the sheer hilarity of it is when Quan Chi rips off his opponent’s leg and repeatedly beats them down with it until moving on to the next screen.

A new addition to the arsenal of combatant’s is the x-ray moves. Hitting a combination of buttons when your super bar reaches 3 will allow you to do a hyper combo…wait, that’s not right. Oh! Sorry, wrong game. I mean, hitting a combination of buttons when your super bar reaches 3 will allow you to do a series of moves that shatter parts of your opponent’s skeletal, respiratory, digestive, or endocrine system. Give you three guesses which characters are attacking the latter and the first two don’t count. Anyways, the reason for the moniker is that when each hit connects we get an x-ray view of their body parts breaking in slow motion. These moves can be blocked, and everyone has a different lead in as it pertains to distance necessary to successfully connect. Aside from adding some more to the “Holy shit!” factor of the MK namesake, these techniques also do a massive amount of damage and can easily turn the tide of any fight. X-ray moves are a welcomed addition and are always fun to perform.

General combat itself I’m sorry to say is one of the game’s biggest drawbacks, though MK loyalists will not see a problem with it. The combo system is as rigid and limited as ever, despite this engine providing the most fluid combat of any previous entry. Most matches tend to turn into special move spamming contests both online and offline as a result of this. MK’s combat has always had problems with pacing and flow and not a whole lot is really done to change that here. While it is better than any other Mortal Kombat game, it still seems like more of a chore to play than just about any other popular fighter still on the market. The sound effects involved in performing and connecting with moves both from the assailant and victim are the best part of combat, though that really falls more into the same category as the voice acting and music; both of which, as aforementioned, are fantastic as well.

The game’s overall difficulty is another area where balance never sees the light of day. MK has always been touted as a more hardcore fighter and always lived up to providing challenges for the most part, but at too many points does the difficulty of this new entry seem unreasonable. Fighting the boss class opponents can frustrate easily when striking them will not interrupt a move in progress or even stagger them. For all but the Shokan, this seems quite irrational. On the harder difficulties, the general rules that the game puts forward for players in terms of recovery time and speed are often broken by the computer AI and makes timing near impossible to get the hang of; adding more reasons to bash your controller against the wall in addition to the rigidity of combat. Most core gamers and MK faithful will find ways around this if there is truly enough motivation to play, but newcomers may find this game quite insufferable.

Local matches are still the best way to experience versus mode, especially when taking into consideration the amount of lag that can be encountered online. Lag plagued literally every single one of my online matches to some degree. In addition, waiting around for a match to happen can be exceptionally long. Joining rooms can also be frustrating because capacities are not consistently being updated as they should be.

NetherRealm’s 2011 Mortal Kombat is one of the franchise’s strongest defense against the series’ history of being a “flavor of the month” type of game. It looks and sounds fantastic, yet plays only satisfactory. The always interesting cast of characters and the mostly impressive story mode do the game justice, but the concept of longevity is not likely in the cards for this entry.

Fun Factor: Inaugural playthroughs will be quite fun, experiencing the blood and gore long forgotten and going through story mode are worth putting the disc in.

Difficulty: Unbalanced and unreasonable at times on any setting above normal, MK has a big “stay away” sign pinned on it for newcomers or any gamer with little patience.

Length: Climbing the arcade ladder can actually last near 30-45 minutes. Tower mode can last hours, and online mode is limitless if you’ve the patience for it.

On the Negative Side: Unbalanced AI difficulty, online takes patience and can often be hindered by lag, close quarters combat and combo system is rigid and limited.

Bang for Your Buck: MK is a decent value, but will get old quickly for all but the most loyal fans. Worth buying only if you have a dedicated group of friends you can constantly play with.