Mortal Kombat PS3 Review - PAGE 1

I had heard about it in hushed whispers: a new arcade game was recently delivered to the local comic book store, and it was supposed to be even better than Street Fighter II. With fierce fighting, blood, and even rumored secret moves, it was only a matter of time before the curiosity got the best of me. Sure my parents didn't want me near it for fear I would be turned into a bloodthirsty brute, but to hell with them. It only made me want to experience it that much more.

I rode my bike five miles to the comic book store and made my way to the back of the shop. There was a black sheet hanging from the ceiling, essentially sealing off the taboo machine from younger eyes. A large filthy looking man hovered around the area making sure no one got past the make-shift curtain without his approval. He glanced at me and grunted for me to go inside.

After pulling back the sheet and stepping inside, I was taken back by what I saw. At least 15 kids were piled into this makeshift 'room', all of them crowded around one cabinet. They were chanting and cheering "FLAME ON!". On the screen the character -- who we all now know as Scorpion -- lifted his mask and torched his opponent. All the while, Street Fighter II sat in the corner in demo mode with no one caring to go near it.

That my friends, in a nutshell, is how I came to be a Mortal Kombat fan. Once I put my first quarter into the cabinet, hundreds more soon followed. My parents never did find out the machine was at the comic book shop. I was just a little comic geek after all, and they never suspected a thing. After nearly 20 years we have come full circle, and once again I jumped at the opportunity to try out the latest iteration.

The developers have put a lot of focus on the online experience,  but in a cruel twist of fate, the game was released in the middle of the PlayStation Network crisis. By now we are all well aware of the fact the Playstation Network is down and online gaming is not currently available on the PS3. I feel in all fairness I should let everyone know ahead of time I was not able to participate in any online matches and the review covers offline gameplay only. This is in no way the fault of the developers, nor is it a negative reflection of the game itself.

With that being said, there is still plenty of gaming to be had offline. Mortal Kombat offers Story Mode, Challenge Tower, two player matches, two player tag-team matches, and even includes a Fatality Training Mode. The Challenge Tower takes you through a ladder of challenges to fulfill as they get increasingly difficult the further up you go, while the two player matches offer matches against your friends locally.

Story mode starts off after the events of Mortal Kombat Armegeddon; Shao Kahn is fighting with Raiden who happens to be the last kombatant left. Sensing his impending doom, Raiden uses his amulet to send a message to his past self in order to attempt to prevent Shao Kahn from merging Outworld and Earthrealm. Thus we find ourselves reliving the first three Mortal Kombat storylines.

The story itself is pretty lame. Let's face it, Mortal Kombat was never known for its compelling story telling. It's all about kicking ass and taking names, something this iteration does very well. With fatalities restored, players finally get back to the roots of what made the series popular in the first place. There's even a new addition called X-Ray Moves which allows you to get an x-ray view of your character crushing the opponent's bones with devastating kicks, punches, and throws.

What I do enjoy about the story is how it is presented; it's almost as if you are playing a live action movie, with the main fights sprinkled in between cuts. Though it does get a bit dull midway through the game, I still found it enjoyable enough to finish it off.

Attack moves are pretty straight forward; basic moves include heavy punch, light punch, heavy kick, and light kick. Using them in conjunction with each other or a grab results in various special moves and techniques, many of which are unique to a particular fighter. The move list is always available at the pause screen, so you can take a quick peek when you forget the sequence.

While the single player story mode is OK, the two player battles is where the fun really starts. Luckily for me, my wife grew up with a SNES and had spent quite a bit of time as a wee lass whooping up on neighborhood boys in the original Mortal Kombat. She was quick to pick up a controller (a rarity these days for sure) and throw down with me. We spent quite a few hours laughing and pummeling each other into bloody pulps. Thank you, SNES!

The graphics are fantastic, but there are definitely times you can still spot some residue that didn't get buffed out completely -- Liu Kang's headband whipping  through his head for instance, a few jaggies here-and-there, and some collisions as well. I only noticed these during the CGI scenes in between fights during story mode, and it looks as if the devs had all of their concentration focused on the game play itself which is a good thing in the end.

The controls really felt like I was playing the arcade version, which is a nice throw back for the older fans. My only real issue is there isn't a lot of movement range with the PS3 sticks in comparison to an arcade stick, and this limitation made the character movements feel a bit clunky at times. There is a nice arcade controller available for the PS3 that looks to be a perfect match-up for Mortal Kombat, however.

Kratos makes an appearance as an exclusive PS3 character who is a beast in this game. He fits perfectly in the Mortal Kombat Universe, and can unleash deadly combos with bloody accuracy. Even though I will always have a soft spot for Raiden, Kratos has a ferocity that is unmatched. It's probably one of the best video game mash-ups I've seen in quite some time.

While I was hoping for a more refreshing story, Mortal Kombat delivers what it has always been good at doing: violence. It may not be quite as shocking as it was 20 years ago, but MK still has golden moments that make you shudder and groan with sympathy pain. It is unfortunate PS3 players can't currently go online with it, but those who do have it will have plenty of time to practice for some of the most brutal online matches yet to come.