Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

"Mortal Kombat............ Advanced"

Background.
Based around the events of Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat – Shaolin Monks is a 3d battle adventure, where you take control of either Liu Kang, or Kung Lao and help lord Raiden defeat Tshang Tsung and his army.

Game play.
Right from the opening cut-scene, which features some intense MK action, including very recognizable fatalities, you can see why this game has a mature rating.
When the intro has passed, you jump right into the action as either Kung Lao or Liu Kang.
The action is intense and full on, and when you see yourself doing mid air flips into 14 hit combo's, you feel some what rewarded, even if the enemy still isn't dead.

Unlockables come in the form of Koins, which you collect along the way. You also need these to unlock and learn such things as brutalities and fatalities too. Sadly, you will need a partner to play with for Ko-Op mode as this is the only way some things can be unlocked, which is unfortunate as a large majority of players, such as myself are solo players.

Again back to the controls. You will find yourself satisfied as any random combination of the face buttons will or seem to give you combos which seem eye pleasing no matter what happens. Although each button is designed with its own function in mind this doesn't really matter.

Graphics.
The graphics in MK-SM are nice, not amazing, just nice. The backgrounds are nicely rendered, with most places easily recognizable to the MK veteran. Even the playable characters look nice, but when your fighting 5 or 6 Barakas that don't look any different from each other, and you find yourself fighting 50 or 60 per level, this can get monotonous. This though is only a minor complaint. Nice touches come in to play when you see fights going on as part of the backgrounds, or when you force an enemy into stage traps, such as the bridge pit from the original MK.

Sound.
Sound is nicely done in MK-SM, from everything from the voice acting, to the sounds of swords clanging or being scraped along the ground. The music is perfect too, especially when a fatality is performed.

Overall.
A great addition to the MK saga that takes us back to MK2 in a different way, with some nice unlockables, from extra playable characters, to the original version of MK2.
Pros.
Great sounds.
Eye pleasing combos.
Easy to control.

Cons.
Having to fight the same looking character around 60 times per level.
Having to have a partner for some unlockables.

Ratings.
Graphics 8/10
Sound 9.5/10
Playability 9/10
Overall 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/03/05