Shane
FIGHT!
Mortal Kombat 11, from NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Games is most definitely here with a ‘Mortal Kombat’ experience better than even what I was expecting.
The almost 30 year old franchise, first published by the long defunct Midway Games, (beginning in 1992), introduced melee gamers to an alternative and brutal Universe made up with a long reaching storyline and iconic characters such as Raiden, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sub-Zero and my always favourite, Scorpion and many, many more.
Now in its 11th iteration, Mortal Kombat has mostly retained its fluidity and consistency throughout the years with vast improvements on the carnage, gameplay and mechanics, albeit having been bought by Warner after the closure of Midway.
Mortal Kombat 11 is the Mortal Kombat we have been all been hanging out for. Straight away there are 24 fighters available from the select Menu including one that you can take as your own and fully customize. This does not include the vast amount of DLC’s available, and unlockables.
Game modes of course offer up online and offline play – including Konquer, Fight, Kustomize and Learn (Tutorials).
Each game mode is choca with additional sub-modes. Konquer has the Story play, Towers of Time (a twist on the classic towers from previous Mortal Kombat’s), Classic Towers (my personal and always favourite), and it is also here that you will find access to the Krypt – a free roam and exploration ‘safe zone’.
Styley fight moves and winning bouts not only nets you bonus in-game items, or rewards, you will also earn Koins. These are spent inside the Krypt – an expansive environment of caverns and caves that will have you will traipse around long abandoned temples unearthing chests, destroying environmental objects and reaping the loot. Each chest however has a price tag. Interestingly the deeper you go throughout the Krypt the currency (or ‘Kurrency’) level per chest still fluctuates.
It’s easy to find yourself hanging about in the Krypt – aiming to squeeze out the last of your Koins on that one elusive chest that has a lower cost once your Koin balance depletes.
The Krypt is a looters dream – providing you have the cash for it.
Fight mode has four options; Local, Tournament, Online and A.I. Battle.
Kustomize is exactly as you would imagine, it’s also here that you can view your Kollection (you’re getting the ‘K’ theme by now, right?), and Learn mode offers up Practice, Tutorials and even Fatality Training.
And the Story Mode takes you back to the dawn of Mortal Kombat time where the actions of Raiden, caused the events that have shaped present day… but Konika wants a future without Raiden, and there we have a clash of Mortal Kombat characters from the 90’s bought back in to the present day – as Special Forces struggles to keep the Immortals at bay in their Nether Realm.
But fighting, is of course where it’s at.
As we have experienced in the last couple of Mortal Kombats your 2.5D environments are not only loaded with hazards – but are also interactive and can be utilised to gain an advantage against your opponent.
Fighting bouts, against on or offline frenemies are really where the satisfaction of Mortal Kombat 11 (or most fighter games) is.
The slow-mo Fatalities have also returned. This pleasing horrifically graphic move requires two things in Mortal Kombat 11 to be able to perform. Your meter needs to be high enough in a singular fight – and the Fatalities move is reserved for when your health gets to a Critical level. (That’s not to say that you cannot perform a Fatality earlier on either, if you are skilled enough with the button mashing).
L2 and R2 will begin to flash near your embarrassingly diminishing Health Bar, but also time it right against your opponent so that they do not deflect you as you go in for the kill.
Mortal Kombat 11 has it all and is super choc loaded with playable content, collectibles and fatal fighting it’s going to satisfy all Mortal Kombat fans’ bloodlust.
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Released: April 2019
Rating: R18
Platforms: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), also on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Fighting
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive