Mortal Kombat review (Vita)

Chances are you've heard of this violent fighting game. One filled with limb chopping, head decapitation, and gallons and gallons of blood spilling everywhere. That's right, Mortal Kombat, one of the most impressive fighting games of 2011, that had another release earlier this year with the Komplete Edition that included even more characters and features, is now making its way to the PlayStation Vita. And boy does it not disappoint.

If you want the in depth review of everything there is to know about Mortal Kombat, as well as the included extras in the Komplete Edition, you can head on over here to our official Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition review. You'll find everything that's included in that version jam-packed into the Vita version. That's right — Skarlet, Kenshi, Rain, and Freddy Krueger are all included, as well as the plethora of alternate and Klassic costumes. You still have the entirety of the Krypt to unlock (with bonuses), the extensive story mode to go through, as well as the original challenge tower to conquer.

Honestly, I haven't been more overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content that's included. What's more is that there are a bunch of Vita-specific extras. The biggest addition is the exclusive challenge tower that is supplemental to the original challenge tower. It fully utilizes the Vita-specific features, such as the touchscreen and gyro sensor.

The Vita challenge tower will have you complete 150 missions, and boy are some of them fun! Ever imagine playing a Mortal Kombat themed Fruit Ninja? With Test Your Slice, now you can! Of course instead of slicing fruit, you'll slice limbs. Awesome! Test Your Slice also allows you to earn Kurrency, which always helps with unlocking the extensive amount of unlockables in the Krypt. Test Your Balance is yet another Vita-specific mini-game in which you use the gyro sensor to balance various Mortal Kombat fighters. You can even use the camera on the back of the Vita for AR functionality by allowing whatever you're pointing the camera at to be the background of the level.

Let's face it, you're not playing Mortal Kombat for the mini-games, you're playing for the over-the-top, violent fights, and the Vita version doesn't disappoint in the least. You'll still get ultra smooth, 60 frames-per-second fluidity which makes the transition from console to handheld almost seamless.

The transition isn't without fault, however. The silky smooth framerate does come with a trade-off. When you transition from cutscene to actual combat, you'll see just how low resolution and blocky the characters are. It's normally not as bad when you're just playing an arcade match, but when you're playing Story mode, and you're seeing all these characters and how awesome they look in the "in-game" cutscenes, and then how they look in combat, its pretty much night and day.

It's a shame, especially when compared to the amazing visuals and smooth framerate from Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. That game, however, had some serious cel-shading going for it, which runs great on any system. With that said, it's easy to overlook the low resolution of the characters in Mortal Kombat when the gameplay is so damn amazing.

You're able to hop online and destroy your opponents, as well as adhoc battles that even allow you and a friend to challenge two other players in a tag team match. Literally all the modes you've grown accustomed to in last year's Mortal Kombat, you'll find in the Vita version.

If you own a Vita and love fighting games — nay, if you simply own a Vita, you should get Mortal Kombat. Not only is it the most complete edition of any of the previous releases, but it's hands down one of the best fighting games to date.