Mortal Kombat X may not be bigger than its predecessor, but it just might be better.
Prepare yourself for our review!
Then it came time for them to do a sequel and they couldnt just go back to the well.
They had to be new and move on.
So who is next?Whatis next?
How do we keep momentum?
IfMortal Kombat 9was about the past, thenMortal Kombat Xis all about the future.
The biggest change here is the variation system, which makes up for the slightly smaller roster.
Every character has three variations that alter the way they play.
With Inferno, he can summon demons to attack his opponent from various directions.
Each character has options and its up to you to decide which one works better for you.
Otherwise, the fighting feels like a merger ofMortal Kombat 9andInjustice: Gods Among Us.
Returning fromMortal Kombat 9are X-rays, the three-level supers that are just nasty to sit through.
One welcome addition is Brutalities.
Brutalities, on the other hand, are always great to see.
Everyone has 5-6 of these and theyre a blast to try and work.
Plus they make for better bragging rights when you pull them off against a human opponent.
The animation has taken a step up, too.
For once the characters dont feel as janky and stiff as they move around.
Similarly, the sound design isinsane.
The voice acting is top-notch too, especially in the pre-fight dialogue.
Every possible character combination leads to a three-line exchange with about 4-6 sets for each pairing.
Some of them are inspired, namely whenever anyone crosses paths with Johnny Cage.Especiallywhen its Johnny Cage meeting himself.
The one thing that doesnt come back this time around is tag team fighting.
Story Mode is what youd expect from the last few NetherRealm games.
You have about two and a half hours of cutscenes told in 12 character-based chapters.
In each chapter, your character is led to four different fights.
The new thing here is quicktime events sprinkled here and there.
Its just there for fun and variety, since they dont really affect the game in any way.
Without Liu Kang around, its up to Johnny Cage to stop Shinnok from destroying the world.
Through this plot, were introduced to the eight new characters.
Really, Id argue this is the best newMortal Kombatroster sinceMortal Kombat II.
On one side, you have the second-generation warriors.
The Outworld crew is way cooler, but everyone has their charm.
You dont have to deal with two out of three rounds of end boss bullshit for that guy.
Corrupted Shinnoks Fatality is…certainly something special.
Screw that, though.
I only want to play as human yellow ninja Hanzo Hasashi and his sweet middle-aged beard.
Thats a big thing about kombatants getting old, by the way.
A lot of them grow beards.
Like I said, theres so much content at your disposal.
It also has the return of Challenge Towers, only thats a little different from the last game.
In the last game, you had 300 missions to play through with different objectives.
It was a good time and made you feel like you were working towards something.
Itll give it more replay value, but doesnt have the same feel of completion as the last game.
Call that a wash.
The towers also play into the Faction War system.
The unsung hero in all of this is Test Your Luck.
Oh my God, IloveTest Your Luck.
This is where the replay really lies.
Screw the core game.
Test Your Luck is what I want to see at Evo 2015.
The game has kept up the momentum of the last game better than I could have hoped.
Its such a solid package that I cant complain about much other than those goddamn Krypt spiders.
Im also rather shocked by how progressive it suddenly got.
Oh, and Kung Jin is the first confirmed gayMortal Kombatcharacter, which is pretty neat too.
It used to be thatMortal Kombatwas the popular-yet-inferior black sheep of the fighting game genre.
Rating:
5 out of 5
