Mortal Kombat 9 : A love story

So it's been awhile guys, and while I'd love to make excuses as I always do, or perhaps some lame post apocalyptic joke (seriously guys, it was never clever), I would rather just get into the meat of today's topic. MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Now growing up in the 90's, Mortal Kombat was a huge deal. In fact, Mortal Kombat 2 was the first fighting game I ever played. I still remember the palette swapped goodness, as I fought my way through each enemy using the cheapest attacks possible. Don't look at me like that, everyone used to simply duck down and wait for their chance to uppercut their opponent... its tradition... Well actually if you can manage to take off the nostalgic glasses, you'll see that the old Mortal Kombat games were mediocre at best.


Uh oh....Did I just say that? Before you crucify me for saying that Mortal Kombat is just mediocre, hear me out. The older games were stiff, the a.i. was awful, and today they are almost unplayable. As far as the old Mortal Kombat series goes, Street Fighter is clearly superior. However that's not to say I don't like the old games, in fact I love them. I have great memories of smashing people through ceilings, and accidentally pulling off a move, and then spending the rest of the match trying to figure out what I did. (I actually fell over once while playing Mortal Kombat....I wasn't the most coordinated child ever)

The digitized graphics were awesome as well, giving the game a unique look that hasn't really been done as well in anything since. It really gave the game a personality of its own, and oh did I mention the violence?  Yes the fatality system was almost mind blowing at the time, and while I personally never managed to magically pull one off, through the modern convenience that is the internet I can share them with you.

See? That was absolutely amazing, and unheard of at the time. However the series spiraled down after about Mortal Kombat 3, and I didn't really think about Mortal Kombat until 2008 when this happened.

 Oh hell yeah, and while a lot of people hated Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe because of the Teen rating, and the lack of brutal fatalities, I will defend this game till my grave. Not only did it allow you to play as Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, and all of your Mortal Kombat favorites, but you could play as the goddamned Batman. Holy crap! Now while Midway went bankrupt soon after the release of Mortal Kombat vs DC, the game definitely got people talking and thinking about the Mortal Kombat franchise in ways that hadn't been seen since the 90's, and with the 2d revival taking place, paved the way for a proper sequel to be put into production. MORTAL KOMBAT 9!

 Now while Street fighter is has since become my preferred fighting series, Mortal Kombat 9 is definitely making a claim to my heart. Also Capcom fighters have recently begun to decrease in quality, starting with the slow moving and clunky Street Fighter 4, to their most recent unfinished cash-in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. So even before I get into the reasons why Mortal Kombat 9 is so great, I can definitively say that it is better than Street Fighter 4, and better than Marvel vs Capcom 3.

 So where do we go from that bombshell? Well I can start by telling you that Mortal Kombat now has a robust and interesting story mode. (This is in addition to the arcade ladder found in most fighting games) The story picks up after Mortal Kombat :Armageddon where everything is pretty messed up. Shao Khan has won, and Raiden basically resets time and erases all of the god awful Mortal Kombat sequels that we dealt with. Instead we are left with a retelling of the first three Mortal Kombat games, only altered slightly to make up for the time travel aspect. (If any of this is confusing, think of the recent Star Trek reboot, which took place in what was essentially an alternate universe.) The story is well told and surprisingly compelling. I honestly never thought I would care about the Mortal Kombat lore, but this game has made me want to learn all I can about the characters and story.

 Aside from the main story there is also a challenge tower, which asks players to test their skills against certain specific challenges. Also, there are a few other modes including test your might, test your sight, and test your luck. Test your luck is probably one of the greatest additions to the game as it allows for random variables to be switched around before a fight. Headless Kombat anyone?

There are new x-ray moves which require you to fill up a meter during a fight, but if hit can result in some brutal moments of bone crunching fun. Also, a huge improvement over the past games is the ease at which you can pull off a fatality. Fatalities have been brutal to pull off in the past (which made sense because arcades wanted your quarters) but now you can even pause the game to look up the button combination. The much more forgiving nature of Mortal Kombat 9's fatalities allows for a more enjoyable experience as you can now see each fatality if you so choose.

I don't want to linger on this too much, but the Krypt returns, which for those who don't know, is essentially a hub for unlocking bonus goodies, and there are a crap ton. Also for ps3 players there is an exclusive character: KRATOS THE GOD OF FREAKIN WAR!

Now the game isn't 100 percent perfect, the Kombat itself still feels very animation heavy, sometimes I found myself waiting for an animation to end while getting my face pummeled in by some dude. However the upside to this, is that it punishes you for your mistakes allowing you to become a better player.  Also this game continues the tradition of cheap ass boss battles. When you reach the end of the story, or the arcade ladder mode, the bosses get ridiculous. Occasionally they will randomly disregard your attacks, or juggle you into your grave.  The game also has handicap 2 on 1 matches thrown throughout the story and challenge tower. These sections are not fun because you have to be as cheap as possible if you want to push forward. It doesn't feel rewarding when you win, it just feels like the game is breaking the rules.

However overall Mortal Kombat is a great game, and is definitely worth a purchase if you enjoy fighting games, or are a fan of the Mortal Kombat series. Although the year is not even close to being over, I can safely say that this will probably be the best fighter of the year, and definitely the best Mortal Kombat game in years. So pick it up if you want a bloody good time. Just as a warning to those who want to get Mortal Kombat for the online : Buy a new copy. In order to play online you need a voucher included in every new copy, if you buy used you'll just have to pay 10 dollars anyway to play online. Just a heads up.

PS. Also if you care about Mortal Kombat as a series, definitely start watching the Mortal Kombat Legacy series. They are all on youtube, and they are probably the greatest adaption of video game to film ever.