Review: Mortal Kombat (PS3)

Review: Mortal Kombat (PS3)

Nachiket 'therapist' Mhatre, May 19, 2011 1742 hrs IST

The best Mortal Kombat game yet.

Challenge Tower; Brutal fatalities; X-ray mode; Great graphics; Sweet gameplay twists; Complex fighting mechanics

None

Expert Rating :

Expert Review

Developer: Nether Realm Studios
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Genre: Fighting
Game Engine: Unreal Engine 3
Cross Platform: Yes (X360)
Price: Rs. 2,250 (PS3), Rs. 2,250 (X360)

Mortal Kombat Review (PS3)

Your favourite special moves return from the original.

The legacy of Mortal Kombat (MK) spans the better part of a decade that marked a paradigm shift in the way the videogame industry perceived gamers. Its humble roots (conceived by a team of four) allowed it to break the institutional inertia, and do what no game of its kind dared - deliver visceral action replete with gratuitous gore.

The dominant videogame entity Nintendo was adamant at maintaining its family friendly image and therefore turned its back on MK. However, after losing ground to Sega thanks to the success of hyper-violent games such as Wolfenstein 3D and Mortal Kombat, the Japanese videogame giant was forced to acknowledge the needs of mature gamers and submit to the collective might of these revolutionary games.

The various iterations of MK may span almost a decade, but the franchise has evolved like Madonna - rarely showing signs of gamer fatigue. That is, until it faltered with the DC Comics tie-in Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe. The tie-in was the very antithesis of what set the original game apart from its peers. Heck, even the fatalities for the DC comic characters were pussified "heroic brutalities" devoid of gore. The fans didn t take it too well either.

Mortal Kombat Review (PS3)

The pimp hand is strong in this one.

When In Doubt, Reboot
In an effort to revive the series, Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon has done a best-of by taking the franchise back to the drawing board with a reboot. The old school fighter goes back to its roots, revisiting the first wave of MK games - the original trilogy with digitised photorealistic sprites that defined the franchise. Unfortunately, unlike the trilogy, the reboot is a console exclusive. The PS3 version is the most desirable because it has all the content of the X360, plus the badassery of Kratos, and familiar locales from the God of War franchise. All thanks to licensing technicalities.

The campaign mode retells the original trilogy from the perspective of Raiden, who travels back in time to escape certain death at the hands of Shao Kahn. Blame it on the Butterfly Effect, but the time travel alters the storyline and the events of the trilogy are re-imagined. The narrative is entertaining and intertwines the original storyline with a clever twist. A total of 26 characters from the trilogy return. If you grew up with a favourite character, chances are you will find him in the reboot. The rest will be taken care of by the DLCs.

Do you agree with this Review?

15

4

Related Links

Must-Have Exclusive Games for Xbox 360

Games to Pimp Your Console: Part 2

Epic Mickey may come on Xbox 360, PS3

Tag keywords

Mortal Kombat Nintendo PS3 Nether Realm Studios Unreal Engine 3 Warner Bros Fighting gaming Xbox 360 Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe Fatality Nachiket Mhatre

Discussion Board

(3) Comments

dude

,kochi, on May 21, 2011 10:25 PM

Nice review mate. Makes me wanna go buy a PS3 despite the PSN fiasco. Pity it ain't there on the PC, but it would have been a shame to play it with the kb-mouse combo anyways. Well, I'm sure someone I know will buy a copy :)