Mortal Kombat X Review

In early 2011, we received a copy of a little fighting game called Mortal Kombat (Mortal Kombat 9). The office completely changed that week. Our lowly TV screen that was usually occupied by a single person was all of a sudden surrounded by 10 or so people at a time. Every few minutes or so you'd hear them go "Oooooooh!" or "Daaaaaaaamn!" whenever someone pulled off one of the new signature X-Ray moves that shattered bones and broke spines. And of course after every match it became a ritual to start chanting "Finish him, finish him, finish him!" Mortal Kombat (9) changed our office dynamic. It made coworkers who don't interact with each other on a daily basis come together, albeit in grizzly fashion.

The reason I gave you that little anecdote is because now in April 2015, four years after the launch of the previous Mortal Kombat, our office has once again turned to a pit of cheers, yells and fatalities, with even more people huddled around our TV. Not even Super Smash Bros for the Wii U did this when it came out. What is it that makes Mortal Kombat X so special? What makes it such a spectacle that rouses the attention of people around it? Is it the diverse characters? The intricate and gorgeous stages? Perhaps it's the brutal X-Ray moves that literally shatter bones. Or maybe it's the amazing Fatalities that everyone waits for when one of the opponents helplessly waits for the correct button input. It's probably all of those.

NetherRealm Studios have once again made an ultra-precision fighter with a silky smooth framerate, and an array of moves that borderline spectacle. Watching someone play Mortal Kombat X is often just as fun as actually playing it. It has the uncanny ability to draw the crowd in, despite its gory moves that often result in very vocal response.

Given the very positive response from their last game, NetherRealm knew what made that game good, and expanded on that in a lot of meaningful ways. But even with a slew of new additions, it's still very similar, at least mechanically, to the game that came before it. So if you've played MK9, then you'll be fairly familiar with the MKX's Kombat as soon as you boot the game up. But if this is your first time coming to Mortal Kombat in quite a while, then you'll not only get the amazingly responsive Kombat that the series prides itself on, but some new variations that actually change up the way each fighter moves and operates.

Each Kombatant comes with three different Variations or stances that fundamentally change their strategy. I won't go too deep into how it changes each character, but Sub-Zero for instance is able to create an Ice Klone that he can throw or use as a Shield with his Grandmaster variation, create ice weapons with the Cryomancer variation or gain a defensive aura as well as a ice shield in his Unbreakable variation. Each one of those has three completely different tactics. It's a great way to change up an existing character, and even have two people pick the same character and have slightly different movesets based on their Variations. It also stylistically changes each character's appearance, if only slightly, but it is a nice addition nevertheless.

The aforementioned X-Ray moves are still as devastatingly beautiful as ever, and can still help players out in a pinch. However, they're still very fair. Not only can they be easily dodged, but they can be blocked as well. It's a system that's never exploitable to the point of breaking a match.

NetherRealm made story meaningful in fighting games, and proved it in 2011's Mortal Kombat and 2013's Injustice: Gods Among Us. Naturally, the story mode makes a comeback and it's just as good as ever. It once again allows you to relive another storyline, progressing through Chapters that focus on individual characters. While the story starts off just five years after the events of the previous game, it's not long until we see a big time skip.

Chronologically, the game takes place 25 years after the previous game, which opens up some great new character opportunities like Cassie Cage, Jacqui Briggs and Takeda, all of which are children from previous Kombatants. But there are also some pretty awesome new original characters like D'Vorah, a female fighter with deadly flies coming from her insides, or a pair of characters called Ferra and Torr that act as a single fighter. The cast is diverse, and giving them three Variations gives yet another layer of variety on top of the already big cast of charachters. If there's one aspect that I find absolutely deplorable on NetherRealm's part, is making Goro a pre-order exclusive, and those that don't pre-order, have to actually purchase the character separately. A character that's already on the select screen. I get that it's supposed to entice people to pre-order, but it's Mortal freaking Kombat, a game that needs no introduction, or a dangling carrot on a stick.

But the character designs themselves are absolutely fantastic, and a testament to NetherRealm that put a lot of work in making each character not only mechanically unique but visually as well. We've certainly come a long way since the original Mortal Kombat's blue and yellow visual distinction between Sub-Zero and Scorpion.

When you're done with the game's story mode, there are a ton of extra modes to sink your teeth into. Towers also make a comeback but this time a much bigger way. Aside from the Traditional Towers, which are split between Klassic, Test Your Might, Test Your Luck, Endless and Survivor, there are also the Living Towers mode. Living Towers are three constantly changing towers; Hourly, daily and premier, with each of them having a different challenge and modifier.

The highlight of the extra modes has to be the Krypt. As in the previous Mortal Kombat, the Krypt is where you spend your Koins on various unlockables, be it new costumes, new concept art, new music, etc. However, this time, it's actually its own game. It plays a lot like the old-school first-person dungeon crawlers, complete with puzzles you need to solve and various enemies that you'll need to dispose of with quick reactions.

It's split into a few different areas, from a cemetery to a deadly spider cave, complete with giant spiders hurdling themselves at your screen. It's in these areas that you'll come across various iconic items like Raiden's Staff, Kung Lao's hat or Scorpion's chain. Each of these items will serve a purpose when solving some of the environmental puzzles. You can use Scorpion's chain to cross a great chasm, or Raiden's Staff to teleport yourself across a larger distance. I couldn't believe how many secrets the Krypt held beyond simply unlocking new items. It's awesome, and I spent a longer time in the Krypt than I'd like to admit.

Binding the game together is the Faction war. Upon booting up the game, you'll be prompted with choosing one of six Factions to join; Lin Kuei, Brotherhood of Shadow, White Lotus, Black Dragon, and Special Forces. Whenever you participate in any sort of Kombat in the game and win, you will gain Faction points for your community. There are also three daily challenges that will greatly boost your contribution. This Faction War ultimately results in… well, I actually don't know. One week has gone by, and the Lin Kuei whom I joined were the victors, but I didn't notice getting anything for it. Or if I did, the game didn't make it a big deal to point it out.

To me, personally, making a better fighting game seems like a daunting task. Especially if you've been making them for two decades. At this point it has to go beyond simply adding more characters and a few new modes, and NetherRealm delivered on all fronts. They simultaneously re-invented themselves while keeping the core of the Kombat in tact, and that's an impressive feat.