On April 14th, 2015, Mortal Kombat X was unleashed to the world, and the 10th installment in the storied fighting game franchise has already beyond exceeded everyone’s expectations. Co-Creator of Mortal Kombat and the creative director of NetherRealm Studios, Ed Boon, had this quote to share on his Twitter: “Thank you everyone for making Mortal Kombat X the biggest launch in MK history. You made the game FAR exceed our wildest expectations….!!”

MKX is a direct follow up to the wildly successful reboot titled, “Mortal Kombat”, which was released in April 2011 to rave reviews. However, MKX has hit home and has surpassed all of its predecessors with new features never before seen in a MK game. MKX has reinvigorated the franchise and hopes to target a new generation of fans who will be playing the game for years to come.  Check out the game’s official launch trailer below:

 

Perhaps one of the strongest aspects of MKX is the size of it and the amount of the content and features included in the game.  Netherrealm Studios has packed this game with hours and hours of gameplay that will keep gamers playing it for months and even years to come.  MKX has a story mode , traditional 1 vs. 1 Ranked, King of the Hill, Survivor, and Test Your Luck.  Also making a comeback is Mortal Kombat’s Challenge Tower, now called Living Towers, where the play conditions will be changing every hour.  If that’s not enough to keep you button mashing, a new persistent online cross-platform competition has debuted in this game called Faction Wars.  Here players can choose to join one of five MK factions that include the Black Dragon, the Brotherhood of Shadow, the Lin Kuei, Special Forces, and the White Lotus Society.  The whole point of this is to win points for your faction and to contribute to the ever evolving conflict between them and the other factions. Earning points will enable players to rank up, earn special rewards, and perform faction-specific fatalities or brutalities.  However, this only takes place if the player’s faction wins at the end of any given week.  Below is the exclusive Factions Wars trailer:

 

Mortal Kombat X has so much content to delve into that it sort of feels overwhelming at first in deciding where to begin.  I have actually felt the same way about deciding how to start this review.  So, below I’ll list all the positives that I feel make MKX standout from the rest of its competition.

Positives

Character Roster –  The roster that makes up MKX totals 25 fighters and is comprised of seasoned, aged, veteran, Klassic Kombatants plus new-comers to the series that will certainly spill new blood, appealing to a younger generation of players.  Some of the returning favorites include Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, Kano, Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade and Goro.  Some of the fresh faces include D’Vorah, Erron Black, and Kotal Kahn.  In addition, several new characters are family to the aged warriors such as Cassie Cage, Kung-Jin, Jacqui Briggs, and Takeda (Scorpion’s apprentice).  Now 25 characters may not seem like a lot for these new systems, however, each character now comes equipped with 3 different variations that alter their gameplay and add specific special moves.  Thus making traditional, arcade style 1 vs 1 matches more of a chess match.  In addition, several DLC characters have already been confirmed via the Kombat Pack including Tanya, Tremor, Predator and yes, Jason Voorhees.  Additional DLC fighters have also been hinted at via Ed Boon’s Twitter account as some characters appear as non-playable opponents in the story mode.  Boon stated that Story DLC may be on the way, consisting of Baraka, Rain and Sindel.  Check out the official Kombat Pack trailer below:

 

Story Mode –  The previous Mortal Kombat game had a story mode that was captivating and ended on a cliffhanger.  I’m happy to report that the new story mode in MKX picks right up where the last game left off.  In fact the first chapter takes place directly after the last game’s ending and then fast forwards to 20 years later.  There is even a Mortal Kombat X comic, published by DC, that will fill in the gaps of that 20 year period leaving no stone unturned.  The story mode is fantastic and plays just like the previous game, only its improved to feel more like an action-packed, summer blockbuster experience.  Netherrealm did a magnificent job tying the story into the previous game, incorporating a comic and then basically presenting a movie that winds up running over 2 hours long.   Check out the trailer for the story mode below:

 

Fatalities/Brutalities –  A fixture of Mortal Kombat is the fatalities.  When the iconic “Finish Him” enters the fray, gamers button mash in real time to try and land grisly, deadly, and bloody signature moves on their opponents.  MKX delivers greatly here, with each character getting their own pair of signature finishing moves.  These are probably the best fatalities that I’ve seen in a Mortal Kombat game to date.  I went through each characters’ fatalities and every one was brutally disgusting yet entertaining.   Netherrealm keeps pushing the limits and they deliver.  In addition, brutalities have been reinstated.  Last seen in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy, in order to perform a brutality you have to trigger certain moves that are used to give the opponent the last attack in a round.  The brutalities are fast-paced and look awesome, and each character comes equipped with at least 5 brutalities.  Check out some of the fatalities, brutalities and X-Ray moves in MKX below:

 

I could go on and on and list various other things that are superb in MKX, but I feel this review has already done enough in giving the game a ringing endorsement.  As for negatives at this point, there honestly aren’t any that I can think off.  Surely there are some things that make this game a near flawless victory, as some of the complaints I’ve heard from the gaming community question why there aren’t more characters, especially fan favorites like Cyrax, in the game.  But don’t despair, because as stated before, DLC will be rolling out for this game in the months to come and I’ll be sure to cover it right here on Morbidly Amusing.  So far a classic fatality pack has been revealed for DLC.  Furthermore, there’s also costume packs, easy fatalities, and Krypt items available to be purchased right now.  So be on the lookout for all things MK.  I also forgot to mention that there is even a mobile game that you can download and play right on your smartphone that also ties into the gaming experience.  Check out the trailer for that and FINSIH HIM!

 

Mortal Kombat X score:  X/10