Parents, hide the young-ins! Another Mortal Kombat game has just been released, and this one is filled with even more ov
For gamers that actually try and follow the storyline of the Mortal Kombat series, “Shaolin Monks” appears to take place in-between Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 with Liu Kang winning the first Mortal Kombat tournament against the soul sorcerer Shang Tsung.
The story begins with Shang Tsung escaping into Outworld from his humiliating defeat in order to hatch another despicable plan against Earth’s warriors. Other than that the rest of the plot is water-thin as it leads our two heroes, Liu Kang and Kung Lao, from bad guy to bad guy.
Speaking of bad guys, expect appearances from such menacing villains as Scorpion, Mileena, Baraka, Reptile, Goro, Shao Kahn, and even a cameo from Noob Saibot. In the game these baddies will frequently give players a run for their money, but Earth stands much more than a chance with heroes like Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Raiden, Johny Cage, Sub Zero, Sonya Blade, and Jax fighting for it.
While the majority of Mortal Kombat games take place in small 1-on-1 fighting arenas with tons of characters to choose from, “Shaolin Monks” only gives gamers the choice of two characters to play with as they take the fighting everywhere and anywhere in completely free-roaming levels filled with multiple bad guys at once. Just think of it like a 3-D Double Dragon or Streets of Rage.
As players progress in the game, they will face countless henchmen and gain experience points for when they dispatch of them. These experience points can be used to upgrade characters with new special moves and combos.
As for the fatality, Mortal Kombat’s gruesome version of a coup de grâce, there are tons of new fatalities to obtain and use on baddies. The good news is that fatalities can now be used at anytime while fighting a bad guy, instead of beating his life bar away first. This makes it easier to thin out groups of foes when surrounded.
While “Shaolin Monks” is a fun game, it is also quite flawed too. The graphics are sub par at best. The game suffers from framerate slowdown when lots of enemies are on-screen at once. Jumping from platform to platform can be quite tedious with some of the camera angles.
Yet the biggest flaw comes from the game’s length as it barely clocks in at 5 hours to beat. Overall the game feels very rushed, and it pays for it too.
But it’s not all bad news. Like previously mentioned, the game is undeniably fun. The single player mode is fast and furious, but the two-player Ko-op Mode is where the game really hits its stride. This allows two players to run through the game while fighting side-by-side. Gamers can even link combos and special moves together to create one awesome spectacle of fighting.
On top of all this, many secrets are unlockable and even a Versus Mode is included in case any gamers miss their old-school Mortal Kombat fun.
“Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks” could have been a much more solid game, but playing the game for what it has to offer is well worth it. Gamers are ill-advised to run out and spend full price to play, but rather a rental is more than enough to enjoy this gruesome arcade game. Just make sure you bring a friend along for the fun.