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This review is for the Following Systems:

• Xbox 360
  
• PS3
  

Finally the long awaited day is here and I now get to delve deep into debatably the greatest 2D fighter of all time. I have fond memories of playing Mortal Kombat on the Sega Genesis (Megadrive) as a child. I also remember how crazy the media and parents went over the horrific visuals for the time. MK was the first video game to institute a rating system that until that time was non existent for video games. And since then we have come to see M or 18 ratings slapped across the cover of a game without anyone batting an eye lash. With the ninth major title installment and a new developer in Never Realm Studios and Warner Bros. publishing we will see if MK can capture the magic of the original games which has been absent in recent attempts by the former owner of the MK rights, Midway.

Mortal Kombat looks to return to its roots in this installment in a big way. Over the years the MK series have tried lots of different things, some working and some not. One thing I was glad they ditched was the open world story format from MK Deception. While I respect that Midway was trying to give the series some depth in Deception’s Konquest mode, it really missed the mark in almost every area. Well out the door with that pile of shit and meet the brand new story mode. I am really glad how the developer handled the story. Now in the very first game all you got was an arcade style ladder mode without much narrative. The story in MK9 comes as a combination from the original game and the original Mortal Kombat movie. The story plays out via cut scenes between your matches. Each chapter is dedicated to a different fighter where eventually you get to fight the legendary Shang Tsung and stop the end mankind that was envisioned by Raiden. There isn’t much more to the story, and that is what makes it so great. It’s simple to the point and doesn’t try to be something it isn’t.

As with everything else in this game the combat has stayed true instead becoming an over simplified button masher that any moron with thumbs can pick up and play. We have seen this recently with any one of the recent Street Fighter rehashes. Who knows maybe they can remake Street Fighter 4 for like the 10th time and actually get back to basics with Super Duper Street Fighter 4.5 HD Turbo Advanced Alpha 3D. But enough of that pile of cow shit and back to MK, a game that actually delivers the goods. Kombat is fluid and all your favorite Fatalities and Babalities return alongside each fighters traditional Signature Moves. New to the series however are the X-ray attacks. Basically what you have is a bar at the bottom of the screen, and when it is filled you can unleash a devastating strike that goes slo-mo and shows you the actual damage you are causing internally on your opponent. Each fighter has their own unique bone crushing x-ray maneuver and they are always fun to watch.

And what would a modern day game be without Online? It would be SHIT!!! So in order to avoid being shit MK offers a great online experience where you can battle your friends and perfect strangers to a fight until the death. You can play your standard 1v1 and Tag matches which are great. The online runs smoothly and up until now I have yet to experience any lag. The new kid on the block is the King of the Hill mode. In this mode you and about 7 other players are put in 1 lobby where you take turns in matches and try to stay on the controller by beating everyone. During the matches people who aren’t fighting can cheer and boo accordingly with their avatar’s which line the bottom of the screen in a movie theater style setting, with all the action taking place up on the big screen. There is no leveling to the multiplayer which I actually quite liked. It takes the pressure off trying to level up and instead you can just pop on for a bit of fun when you’re feeling randy.

Visually, Mortal Kombat 9 is stunning and by far the best looking of the series to date. The combat runs at a smooth 60 frames per second on consoles. Lighting and textures all look phenomenal. Most of if not all the backdrops for the different stages have been seen before in other games. What they have gone and done is made everything look a lot nicer. They put a nice HD polish on everything and added in some moving background. All of the fatalities look sharp and the x-ray moves will always entertain. There aren’t any 3D capabilities in this game but to be honest it isn’t needed. I have seen what they did on the 3DS to Street Fighter and it was pretty shit. It was basically 2 separate images laid over each other to play a trick on your eyes.

Not too much to mention in the realm of audio on this one. I was kind of hoping to hear that techno MK song that’s start with the guy yelling “MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!” that shit always gets me going. Pretty much just your bog standard Mortal Kombat audio tracks with all the glory of dripping blood in 7.1 surround sound.

Overall I have to say that Mortal Kombat is a must buy for fans of fighting games. They did a bang up job going back to what it did best and you have to respect them for that, I think. You couldn’t ask for a much better game than this from the boys at Never Realm. I for one am looking forward to playing this one for quite a while.

At the end of the Conclusion I rate this game a 95%.

Decent Graphics, and Fun to play