These days it seems Midway is obsessed with blood and gore.
Running the gamut from Survival Horror (The Suffering slash The Suffering : Ties That Bind), and 3rd person shooters (Psi Ops) to 1st person shooters (Area 51) and fighters (Mortal Kombat franchaise), it seems that blood flows like water over at the offices of Midway.
But if you think about it, one of the things that could probably be blamed for Midway’s slow corruption to the “deep red” side of the gore has to be their Fighter genre mega hit of fatalities, “Mortal Kombat”.
Ripping off heads and committing Fatalities, Brutalities, Babalities, Friendships and more for years on end (over 10 years running), the franchise has held rather tightly and survived despite some faux pases in it’s past. For instance…

- The whole “sweat fighting” of the original Mortal Kombat release on the SNES. Huh? You don’t remember that? Well apparently Nintendo (back then) wanted to water the game down for it’s SNES release since they thought it was too bloody, so they replaced the blood with “grey sweat” that flew whenever the Kombatants hit each other. This, of course, didn’t go over well with fans, even when it was revealed that there was a code available for the SNES version to restore the blood.
Subsequently off-color remarks about how (if the President of Nintendo and (name your own opponent) got into a fight) the sweat would fly everytime the Nintendo president got punched began to fly about.
- Do you remember the most despised character of MK3? She who would not be mentioned… the female of the same race as Goro & his dad Kintaro (MKII) with the completely cheap and easy to pull off moves that pissed off long term die hard MK players to no end? Remember her? You shouldn’t because nobody liked her, nobody liked her at all… whatever her name was. Because fans hated her so much they had to go back to the drawing board ASAP and re-release MK3 all over again, replacing her with another character.
That, by the way, is a good way to know what version of the game your playing. If she appears in the game your playing a first gen version, if she has been replaced then you are playing the re-release.
- The (bleep)tascular theatrical movie “sequel” to the successful original Mortak Kombat movie, Mortal Kombat : Annihilation. Think of this, by the way, as your look into the future as to what you can expect from X-Men 3 as long as Brett Ratner continues to direct it. Nuff said.
- And, while I’m on the topic of visual media Mortal Kombat that was a mistake, who the hell thought a blood drenched adult fighter would make a good children’s animated series! Who! Well somebody thought it was a good idea since, capitalizing on the success of the franchise somebody put out Mortal Kombat the Animation which (I guess) was supposed to widen the reach of the series to find new audiences… obviously that didn’t work out and the series ended soon after it came out.
Just as well since I’d hate to think what kind of kid friendly Mortal Kombats would have spun from that “creation” if it caught fire and became successful, though I dare Midway to put this animated series out on the GBA in two-episode packs to see if people buy it -- which people might. It might not be a blood drenched animation but it is a slice of nostalgia and I’d be interested in seeing if people embrace it years after it’s original airing.
- And, ‘cause it ties right into the topic of this review, adventure based Mortal Kombat games…

Mortal Kombat, in the arena, is often a fan fave that draws tons of players into the arena to “Finish” them!
However when the game ports over into a different genre, like adventure gaming, then the experience usually falls flat. The best example of this from the past would probably be the underwhelming game Mortal Kombat Mythologies : Sub-Zero. Do you remember that game? Starring, of course, Sub-Zero, the game was supposed to take the franchise into a new direction… and it fell apart.

Then we have the adventure game that never was, Mortal Kombat : Special Forces.
This game, which was supposed to star Sonya & Jax from what I heard about it, was pulled prior to it’s release and now is only known of in rumor and speculation… unless a preview version came out before it’s release, but you’d be hard pressed to find one of those demo disks, let alone anyone who got it who’ll hand it over to you anytime soon. So (in that case) we might as well forget about it.

Finally, for a slice of the here and now, the little spoken of mini game that came along with Mortal Kombat : Deception, which had you controlling a young fighter living in a village that idolizes the Mortal Kombat tournament. You and your young friends like playing as Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Goro and so forth (’cause Mortal Kombat is so a game for the whole family!)… but soon enough you are thrown into an “adventure” that brings you

from the Earth Realm to Outworld. Yeah.
Apparently it wasn’t universally loved since people talk more about the lovely addiction that is Tetris style Puzzle Kombat, complete with it’s chibi-sized Kombatants, than they do about the adventure game.
Maybe it was the odd little quests that had you finding your friend’s housekey in the park, or the dire mission to retrieve a potion to save another youth from the deadly tummyache! (Not since that outbreak of the deadly Osakan hiccups has common ailments been so damn deadly!!)

So with that seeming lack of interest in “alternate” Mortal Kombat lifestyles (and no I don’t mean that kind of lifestyle) we come to the latest outing, Mortal Kombat : Shaolin Monks. Yeah. You’d think a game entitled “Shaolin Monks” would suck, but it might actually not suck… really. First off the game goes backwards, back before Liu Kang, Kung Lao & Raiden died, back to the golden age of the franchise, back to between Mortal Kombat I to II. As the game opens the first Mortal Kombat tournament is coming to a close in dramatic manner (via a lovely opening cutscene), and you see all the classic Kombatants fighting it out to the end. And, surprise surprise, who should show up during the smackdown but Kung Lao! Yeah, apparently he & Baraka showed up during the original MK and nobody knew about it! Amazing!

Anyway the tournament ends with Liu Kang winning, Shang Tsung and several other Kombatants running for it into Outworld through a portal, and the island beginning to break apart. This is where the game begins. Chosing to play as either Liu Kang or Kung Lao you’ll pick up the basics of the game as you travel through the first levels, all the while Raiden talks you through each tutorial as you learn how to play Shaolin Monks… and, oddly enough, it’s like playing God of War -- oh, wait, that’s because it is like playing God of War! Apparently Midway thought the best way to get people to snatch this game up was to make it a God of War clone… and yet it does retain some of it’s roots as well. For instance all the moves each character had in MKII are here, and they’re all upgradable through a system similar to God of War, though the moves list won‘t reach the depth of moves supported in God of War.
The more you kill the more points you earn (which can be multiplied with the more hits you score which racks up the multiples rather quickly which each hit, x1 multiple for each 10 hits). These points (as well as points you pick up along the way) are cashed in for new moves like Special Moves & Combo moves.
There are also non-purchase moves that you need to find during the game like Platform moves (moves made specifically for the game for progressing through the game), Fatalities (or Multalities or Brutalities) and Team moves (for two player Kombat).

The combat is nicely done, and moves smoothly which makes the kombat fast pased and fluid. Sure, and while some critics of the game may say it is repetitive then again so was the fighting in God of War (lest you kicked it up by using all your skills to their fullest, like what you need to do in this game). But with all the moves you can learn you can definitely spice up Kombat in this game, and let’s not forget the fact you can pull off fatalities (let alone ANY fatality once your fatality meter is full) when you want to (unlike God of War which gave you a set fatality for a set creature) which is another plus which only gets better with the addition of Multality and Brutality, not to mention the fact that all of these are way way easy to input! No more jostling around with complex dance steps of up up down down left right whatever while holding down the Block button to make sure you don‘t move, all the while standing at such and such a distance while pushing such and such a combination in so little time. That means even someone like me can perform fatalities at any time by only having to remember a five button combination for each move (and that’s it)! Multality is good for an instant kill of several enemies surrounding you, while Brutality gives you a deadly boost which (for a short period of time) allows you to off multiple enemies (though you won‘t earn individual experience for each enemy you finish off in this manner).

Then there’s the very active and useable background! Backgrounds can be used to kill off enemies, from pit fatalities to wall spikes and catapults that fling enemies far far away (and all you have to do is either punch or throw enemies into these, no “Pit Fatality“ combo of button mashing required!
Also sometimes background elements are used to solve puzzles (like for instance you need to feed the living trees of the Living Forest zombie flesh in order to progress), or they hide bonus icons (which unlocks bonus material which I felt could have been

mor extensive, and less relying on a second player to unlock).
Though this also means you can fall into the same “traps” as your enemies. You can be harmed by the same things, though not to the same extent as your enemies. Also you can be knocked off platforms to fall to your death, or knocked into the portal you just came out of and sent back to the previous area! (Once I was doing an air attack combo and was knocked backwards into a nearby portal which triggered the instant I fell into it, knocking me back to the previous area.)

As for the aforementioned fatalities? Yes, there are sometimes your finishing move are pre-programmed (battles with the main fighters as opposed to cannon fodder clone creatures) but your moves are yours to control for the most part, and they can bring an immediate end to even strong clone opponents using a Fatality move! Unlike the traditional MK where you had to weaken your enemy to near collapse before you could perform a Fatality, here you can start off with a Fatality right off the bat and knock out even a strong opponent (as long as it’s one of the cannon fodder creatures of many numbers and no name recognition). Heck, you could go with a Multality right off the bat and wipe out a batch of hearty enemies at once this way before the fight even begins! How’s that for convenient?

Everything about your combat may smack of God of War, but it remains true to the series. That, more than anything, is one good reason to check this out. Unlike other games that really went over and cloned too much this game at least has a lot of elements that’s true to it’s own franchise name, which is a plus.
The environments bring back classic levels of the MK & MKII game, including the little quirks here and there that make all the difference in presenting these classic levels in a new way (including a vibrant environment filled with many many things to use against your enemies (or yourself if you are caught unaware)). There‘s also the matter of the story itself, which fills in timeline gaps between the first two games which is another plus. Also it’s another plus that this game provides an unlockable Mortal Kombat II game, allowing you to relive the glory of that classic arcade game here.

The fights are strong and furious, which means you can definitely throw yourself into the action as you go all out into each and every engagement. The sub-bosses play out well and you get to tangle with quite a few MK alumni like Mileena, Jade, Reptile, Baraka and more. There’s also secrets, like hidden content and characters like Noob Saibot, and five hidden Smoke missions to locate as well. And then there’s also the fact that there seems to be two unlockable characters to play as in this game, but whose identities I have no idea of… though I do know who they are since I have already unlocked them.

Yes, there are a few downers to this game.
1) The game is short, but then again so was God of War and I don’t see much people complaining about that, now do I.
2) Yes, the game does seem abit repetitive but then again you could complain the same about God of War.
3) The story is singular. As in despite the fact you have two characters (Liu Kang & Kung Lao) and two unlockable characters the story doesn’t seem to reflect this difference in any great detail, at least not enough to give you any replay value on that aspect of the game. And as for those unlockable characters? Sadly it seems Midway cheaped their way out of having to make new cut scenes for each (complete with a new story or two) by having said unlockable characters take the place of Liu Kang in storymode (which is kind of odd since you have x character or y character talking and fighting in place of Liu Kang to the point of mimicking his every move during the cut scenes).
4) While the starting cut scene, recapping the end of the first Mortal Kombat, is great… well, the rest of the scenes are not so. It seems as if the best animation of the game is used only in the beginning, with the rest of the cut scenes falling short of expectations after that. That and the story also falls short of the mark after the vibrant and exciting beginning. Basically the story starts strong but doesn’t power through after the opening.
5) The unlockables could have had more. More moves, more fatalities, just more. And they could have used that aforementioned story since it just looks like they were thrown in to add content and not much else, there didn’t seem to be much thought to their “role” in the story at all which is a shame.
6) The game requires two players! Yes, while you can play it in single player mode you’ll never be able to unlock all the extras in just single player mode! The only way to find

every last hidden treasure in this game is to have a second player join you for co-op mode! With two players you can unlock areas previously unavailable in single player (via the useage of twin switches that your characters stand on, of which Raiden is quite happy to tell you about everytime you accidentially stand on them), which in turn unlocks more extras. This means that people like me, who don’t have a second person to call upon for these kinds of things, are left out of the loop when it comes to unlocking every last extra of games like this.
Guess this is the kind of game best played by friends, or significant others, or whatever as long as we’re talking two people… sigh.
The breakdown will tell the rest… and no I don’t mean my breakdown for the lack of a friend or companion or whatever to unlock all the game’s secrets… though I guess it could mean that…

Mortal Kombat : Shaolin Breakdown
What’s Hot?
Yes, it is a Mortal Kombat game. And no it’s not one of those one-on-one fighters… no, wait, don’t run away! Yes, it’s true, past attempts at adventure style Kombat has looked good in theory, but fallen apart in practice, only this game isn’t like that! Yes it does seem to draw from the God of War mechanics but it does it in it’s own special way with each character maintaining their individual styles while embracing this new way to do Kombat. Anyway this is most definitely for someone like me, who is not exactly the best at the standard Mortal Kombat fare. It’s easy for me to pick up, easy to play, and easy to get into.
While it took X-Play only about 6 or so hours to play, for me I’d say I could go through this in about 10 or so hours which is a good pace for someone like me, but it’s still short.
Mortal Kombat fans both die hard and new will find something about Shaolin Monks they’ll love…

What’s Not
EXCEPT THE PRICE! Sorry, but the game is not good enough for that $50 price tag. Hold your fatalities and wait until it drops to at least the $20-$30 range, then snap up a copy.
The game is short, the story could have been better (and could have been done to have given an actual story to the two unlockable characters), the cutscenes are just no good after the initial opening one which is great, and the extras are OK and all but I wish they touched up MKII for this game and gave it a spiffy new look instead of just making it a straight out port. Also the game is abit unfair to those of us who don’t have a second person to play this game with, since you can’t unlock all the secrets without a second player.
Overall while the game does have bells and whistles to impress it’s just not worth dropping a $50 for it, especially if you are a solo player and have nobody else to share fatalities with. Hold on and once it drops abit in price you should find it more palatable to your pocketbook.

Moments to Remember?
The fatalities. It’s ALWAYS THE FATALITIES! That and the opening cut scene which is the best of the cut scenes in this game… which is kind of sad, really, since it’s the only good cut scene in the game.
That and the fact that Kitana, Mileena & Jade seem to be rather --- well --- rather “well rounded” in this game… yeah… that. You should remember that… oh yeah… or not, it’s up to you.

What to Ignore?
Let’s see. What to ignore? The not so sterling story that spills forth from the oh so great beginning which just seems intent on embarrassing itself occasionally? Hmm… that seems forgettable, doesn’t it.
Well then how about the fact that you can unlock two characters who take Liu Kang’s place in story mode, and just go through all his motions? Yeah. I like it when somebody pastes some other Kombatant’s body over Liu Kang’s so it looks like they’re part of the story, when they really are not. Hmm… that’s ignorable too. Maybe it’s the lacking cut scenes that occasionally sports the worst visual effects?
How about the fact that the story seems kind of predictible? The not so excellent port of MKII as a bonus? The fact that people like me can’t unlock all the games secrets without a second player to team up with?
So what to ignore? Well… I won’t say it. Hmm… yeah, it’s all of the above and a few unspoken things of which you’ll find out soon enough.

Overall?
It’s a great game, but just not worth a drop of half a hundred spot to own. Patience, oh MK player, wait for this one to drop in price before you dedicate yourself to it’s purchase. It’ll be a keeper once it’s half what it’s presently being sold for, and then you won’t mind so much owning a game that has the flaws this one has. Why? Well despite it’s misgivings it’s still a solid game… just not a $50 worth solid game.