Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

"The trend of switching "C" for "K" Kontinues"

With the popularity of the MK franchise, i'm surprised that there aren't more spin-offs in circulation. The only two I know of are the sub-par MK: Mythologies, and the absolutely horrid MK: Special Forces. If these two were any indication then Shaolin Monks would certainly not match up to the game to which it was spun. Glad to see that this isn't the case.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks takes place after the end of the first MK game where Shang Tsung doesn't take his defeat lightly and attempts to reek havoc on earth realm. Lui Kang and Kung Lao must team up in order to stop him. As one who follows the story somewhat closely I was interested in how it would all play out.

Visually, game is adequate. They break the old formula and present an array of beautifully rendered cut scenes as opposed to gambit stills and text. As far as gameplay goes, everything looks ok. I think they could have taken this the next level but simply chose not to. In any case, everything is more or less functional.

The sound is fine. The BGM is somewhat forgettable but the voices are dead on and screams are abundant and vibrant here, right down to the taunting of Shao Khan. There are no problems here.

If you're into basic platforming Shaolin Monks has it. All the elements here should be familiar to MK veterans. You walk around (by yourself or with an ally) and defeat various baddies. Combat is pretty much the same as the MK games. You can use various weapons, combos and fatalities against your enemies, and you gain experience for defeating them and multipliers are combined when a combos get excessively larger. You can then buy new moves, combos and fatalities to cause further damage. This is all well and good, but two problems are caused by this. First, the gameplay gets repetitive too quickly in single player mode and second the co-op is simply too easy. You'll literally breeze through the game no matter who you choose.

As for extras its your standard fare. Making of videos and the like, nowhere near the mark that Deadly Alliance and Deception set. The only noteworthy piece here is the full version of MK 2, Which is heralded as the best MK game.

So for the final verdict. If you love the MK franchise, then there is no reason for you to pass this one up. It is definitely the best MK spin-off I've played yet. for the rest who have memories of playing MK1 in the arcades, renting this wouldn't be a bad idea. The rest of you can just let this one go.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/24/05