Mortal Kombat X

Before reviewing what would on average seem like a very straightforward game, I had to give it a very fair shot before delivering unto you my fair impressions.

I loved the Mortal Kombat revival, with the introduction of the brutal X-Ray sequences, a proper tag team system, and a non cookie cutter storyline, it was a very refreshing experience after the ABBYSMAL MK Vs. DC Universe. Following that, you had Injustice: Gods Among Us, another brilliant fighting game that tackled my comic brand of choice and made it into a gritty fighting game that, as a DC guy, I couldn’t get enough of.

NOW!

It is because of these two preceding games that I felt the successor fell unfortunately flat on its face. MKX delivers a lot more of the same in an advertised revolutionary king of the fighting series, but I wasn’t feeling that at all.

The graphics felt far more grainy than Mortal Kombat and Injustice, and not in the intentional artsy way. Mind you, I run a high end gaming PC, so there’s no way it was a hardware issue. The framerate would differ from level to level, where you’d have smooth framing on one, but boggy detailing on another.

The game felt heavy overall and a tad clunky as far as combos and attack strings were concerned. The process of learning and mastering a character becomes a tad frustrating solely because, aside from the fact that you need to overcome the button combinations in your head, you need to rely on the responsiveness of the actual game to register said combos. Keeping in mind that I’ve damn near dominated the MK and Injustice multiplayer circuits with minimal issues in that department.

The X-Ray sequences and Level interactions make a return here, but seeing as we’ve seen far greater level interaction in Injustice in form of transitioning from one map to another. This just seemed like a recycled and not too moving. The story mode is VERY cookie cutter, even by Mortal Kombat standard. I don’t expect the Illiad from you, but I don’t want fifth Harry Potter book bad, either.

It’s not all terrible though, MKX introduces a Faction mode, wherein the beginning of the game, you choose one of several factions and fight for them to increase your standing by winning online matches and completing challenges. I imagine this would be incredibly fun if the Multiplayer servers were lively enough to actually proceed through this mode, but as of yet, I’ve not managed to truly, fully experience it. And BELIEVE me, it’s not for lack of trying.

Will I keep playing? Probably. Will my disappointment yet resonate? Most definitely.