NetherRealm Studios (studio)
18 (certificate)
14 April 2015 (released)
13 May 2015
It’s been a while since we last saw the mighty Mortal Kombat (or Combat to the grammar Nazis) and indeed it seems as though the long absence was well spent on making a pretty solid fighting game.
MK brutalises it way back onto next gen consoles with a few new ideas that evolve the overall design compared to previous instalments. A great addition is a fleshed out narrative involving the roaster of characters you can play as within the game's various modes. The plot is a simple yet epic affair that continues where the previous game left off. Again Earth-realm is under threat and now we have a whole host of new, bad ass characters and potential fighters galore to save the day and to do battle with. Even if all the fighters don't get their fair share in the plot and with some of the older characters missing, its a little bit of a downer. It’s also just a shame that it only lasts between 4-5 hours in most respects. But MK does a great job at actually bringing a well written narrative in a fighting game. Whereas a majority of other titles on the market sadly don't put the extra effort in to create an engaging story.
Yet the “Kombat” makes a grand and dynamic innovation as characters are given three distinct fighting styles to use in their battles. Each style has it's own variation of moves, combos and specials to make every encounter different from the next. This allows for the player to choose from a host of styles that best suit their skills and to be never tied down to just one form of attack. The intensity and brutality of MK is pushed to a satisfying extreme thanks to a host of visually impressive fatalities and brutalities. Other features that help rise the intensity during the fights is the interactions between players and the surrounding area. Certain objects will allow actions to be performed, such as smashing your opponent's face onto a rock statue or breaking off a tree branch to use as a makeshift weapon. Nice tough. The roaster of characters is pretty impressive too but I was sad to see certain characters on the disc being locked. I was not keen on the idea of buying Goro when it was discover he is in fact on the disc.
A major new feature in MK X is the Factions War, where players are ranked in a global struggle for their faction to win points and gain a top spot on the leader boards. At the very start you are told to side with one of five factions and every week, you’ll be earning points to benefit your faction's status in order to reap the massive rewards and fame. Some of the dynamic features include boss encounters, faction towers and more that if succeeded, will gain a massive boost for your faction's rep. It’s a nice idea but one that’s not entirely needed, as it could have been better spent on developing a longer campaign.
However, the game does not lack in content. With the vast amount of "Towers" that provide endless challenges and tournaments to play, you’ll have plenty to do for a while. Including Test your luck, where fights are given certain boosters to enhanced or decrease particular aspects of fights. Test your Might is a re-imaging of the classic mini game and various survival modes featuring special characters such as Jason from Friday the 13th and Predator. Lastly, the best addition and improvement from the other MK games is the Krypt mode. Before it was nothing more than a selection screen of locked content, but has now become a game in itself. Similar to the Legend of Grimlock, The Krypt mode gives players a small open world to explore where you can spend your hard earned Koins on rewards including new Fatalities and costumes along with solving puzzles, fighting monsters and collecting items to open new areas in the Krypt.
MK X is a terrific return to form and one that shouldn't be turned down by any fighting fan or old School MK players. Even with the minor issues and annoying DLC content locks, this is truly a stunning game.
On a plus note, me and my brother did settle an old score on who was the better MK player. Scorpion and sub-Zero once again in brutal fight to the bitten end to determine the better brother.
I got beaten.