MORTAL KOMBAT!! Deh deh deh, deh deh deh—you know what, just press play on the video.
Well, look where Mortal Kombat has come over the years. We’ve finally reached the tenth instalment of the main series and by the gods it is beautiful. NeatherRealms‘ one-on-one fighting game has once again wowed me with its crisp and clean graphics, gruesome fatalities and story mode—one of the many reasons why I love MK more than other fighting games.
Taking place 22 years after the last game; we see characters, both old and new, facing the returning threat of the sorcerer Shinnok who, like all good villains, wants world domination at any cost. Unlike previous Mortal Kombat games, the tournament portion has been removed in favour of the story mode with fights happening in between. Honestly, this makes a lot of sense ’cause the tournament was only relevant when Shao Khan was around (may his Highness rest in peace) and the overall story more than compensates for this lost aspect by giving players an immersive experience. Unfortunately, the ending was a little underwhelming.
Like all good sequels, Mortal Kombat X (MKX) comes loaded with a bunch of new stuff. First off, there’re 8 new characters joining 16 older characters in the roster, and each of these new character’s development is apparent in their unique fighting styles.
Another new feature is the 3 different fighting styles you can use for your characters. For example Sub-Zero can choose the cryomancer variation, making him rely on using ice based special attacks whereas if he uses his grandmaster variation his style becomes a balance between offensive and defensive moves. Unfortunately, I’m not really a fan of this simply because I don’t get to use all the moves all the time and have to repack the character to try the other moves… and that’s just plain troublesome.
MKX also changes up the multiplayer by giving players the option to join one of 5 factions, with the objective being to fight for points, pushing your top faction to the top, all while earning achievements and in-game mechanics.
Speaking of in-game mechanics the faction wars introduce two new Fatalities: Quitalities, which occur when someone leaves an online match halfway through, and faction kills that are specific finishers given specifically to members in a particular faction. Along with the returning fatalities and brutalities, MKX may just be the most gruesome instalment yet!
Although Mortal Kombat X is an amazing game overall, no game is perfect. For one, during the story mode, you fight against certain characters that are not included in the roster and are probably going to be only available in upcoming DLCS, meaning that the developers have decided to sell already-built the character models for less than reasonable prices…
Nevertheless, Mortal Kombat X is still a fantastic instalment and with great graphics that bring fatalities to a whole new level with a captivating story compelling me to finish the game within a day. So for all you fighting genre gamers and gamers in general MKX is definitely a must buy!