PlayStation 2

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

It’s no secret that Mortal Kombat is not the dominate force in video gaming that it once was. It’s also no secret that a good portion of the blame falls on the two MK “adventure” games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces. Both bombed with critics and fans and combined with the series’ delayed transformation to 3D cost it the crown.

At first glance, Shaolin Monks seems similar in design to a typical brawler like Double Dragon or the more recent The Lord of the Rings titles. Although you do spend most of your time beating the pulp out of every enemy that dares challenge you, this isn’t your typical button-mashing brawler. Keeping its fighting heritage close to its heart, Shaolin Monks features an expansive combat system that embraces complex combo strings, aerial juggling, and even cooperative strikes.

Anyone remember Mortal Kombat: Special Forces? Yeah? Well put it out of your mind, as Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is such a fun game, you’ll easily forget about all those depressing attempts at bringing MK characters into other genres. In Shaolin Monks, you’ll get to explore the dark and blood-drenched world of MK in a way that’s never been done before, and enjoy doing it.

During the battle with Baraka you will have to use projectile attacks to get to him when he's not within reach. That is the tiniest example I can give without giving away important strategies. Learning them makes up about 50% of the game's fun. That's one of the reasons why I avoided pre-release game details – I didn't want to know what surprises the developers had planned.

Mortal Kombat has been one of the longest-running series of games to date, and for good reason. Perhaps the most recognizable fighting game out there, MK has been well known for its brutal fighting style, gallons of blood, and gruesome finishing moves. In the process of making one of the most successful game franchises of all time, Ed Boon and the team at Midway have created a massive universe that serves as a backstory to the games themselves.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is one of those games I think you either like or hate. I like it. It's a really nice combination of old and new Mortal Kombat. At some point in this game you will interact with or fight with just about every character in the MK universe! I know I've run into just about all of them. But all in all, this is a pretty solid game. It's long enough to satisfy most people, and it's got good action. There are some small issues with the game, like lack of checkpoints. But it's worth checking out. Definitely worthy of the Mortal Kombat name.

Non-fans just won't get the appeal of a game like Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. It is, after all, just another third-person action beat 'em up. That's not the point. If you don't understand Mortal Kombat, this isn't the game for you. But if you do get it, especially if you loved the first two arcade games, this IS the game for you. That goes double if you can convince a friend to join-in on the second controller.

Midway Games' Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is one those games that, four years ago, would have sucked. In fact, Mortal Kombat Trilogy did suck, but Shaolin Monks, despite a few rough edges, not only offers a good single-player game, but delivers an extraordinary co-op game.

Shaolin Monks is clearly one of the most ambitious side projects of the Mortal Kombat franchise. It offers a stellar single-player adventure mode experience, a ton of unlockables, a comprehensive two-player versus mode, and best of all, the original freakin' Mortal Kombat II arcade game. For all of these different modes in a single game, the price tag is practically a steal.

Wipe the awful taste of Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero and Mortal Kombat Special Forces from your mouth. There’s finally a good action game in the franchise. MK: Shaolin Monks may not return the series to its 16-bit golden age, but it manages to provide decent co-op gameplay with plenty of nostalgic touches.

Mortal Kombat: Shoalin Monks is a brainless action game with platform and rpg elements. It’s extremely fun for about half an hour; ideal to kill those dull minutes in a day. However if I wasn’t in such a privileged position (reviewing games that is) I wouldn’t go out and buy it. I would however consider renting it for a weekend and inviting some friends for some lean mean fatality fun.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks does a lot of things right. It builds on the Mortal Kombat universe and takes place during its most popular period, with fan service left and right. The amount of times you hear 'toasty' and the first time you see the witch go across the moon on the Pit, you'll know that they really tried hard to bring a smile to MK fans' face. Regardless, the game is also accessible to newcomers through solid action. If the game had less pointless back-tracking and a bit more length to its single-player campaign, it'd be close to perfect.

Shaolin Monks’ replay value could use a jump-start or two from Raiden’s fingertips. Despite an arcade port of Mortal Kombat II and a two-player versus mode, there’s simply not enough “kontent” to justify a purchase for most. The problem is that the single-player mode can be easily completed within six hours, and while finishing the game as Liu Kang and Kung Lao unlocks both Sub-Zero and Scorpion, the storyline is exactly the same. To get the most out of Shaolin Monks, you’ll want to play cooperatively with a friend to unlock the versus characters and experience the great team-up moves. Yet even that is short lived. The alluring environments, subtle references, and the immensely satisfying combat will tug at the heartstrings of any true fan of the series--right before their heart’s ripped clean out of their chest. How befitting!

We've been burned before by third-person Mortal Kombat. In fact, the announcement of a new action game based on the franchise is now met with a roomful of groans and rolled eyes. But perhaps Midway has had some nefarious plot in mind all along. Maybe those earlier, crappier efforts were like meat tenderizer, meant to soften us up. Because now Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is here, and it's a monster.