The new Mortal Kombat game is heading our way next month and I have to say that I am really excited for it. In prep, I have been playing the recent games and I have just played Mortal Kombat 11 and completed enough to review it. Though, I haven't played the expansion Aftermath as I will be doing a separate review for it. So after completing the story and most of the side activities here is my review for Mortal Kombat 11. The premise of the game sees 2 years after the defeat of Shinnok, Raiden has been putting the offence onto the realms that oppose Earthrealm. But this draws the ire of the Titan Kronika and sees kombatants from different eras clashing to protect their future.
Characters After my complaints about Mortal Kombat X it is great to see Liu Kang be pushed to the forefront here. Bought in as a younger version of the character, I really liked seeing Earthrealms champion be given the spotlight again and playing as him was enjoyable and seeing his development is one of the highlights of the game.
Kitana was another character who was misused in MK X but by showcasing her younger version of the character it really works. She is seen as this leader and is way more then a damsel which I think she has been portrayed before. Her whole story is up there for most interesting part of the story.
After the events of MKX Sub Zero and Scorpion are now allies and watching them work together and have this friendship is one of my favourite parts of the game. Their characters have been developed over the last few games and it is cool to see.
But the problem is that pretty much the rest of the cast aren't given much to work with or are misused.
Cassie Cage was the main character in the last game, but after the first chapter, I feel like she is given little to do and the stuff she is given is pretty dull.
They even recast Sonya Blade as UFC Legend Ronda Rousey and she is terrible in this role. She just doesn't fit the character and all I can hear is the person and not the character they are supposed to be playing. The actress from the previous game was good and it would have kept for a consistent tone amongst the character.
Kronika herself is the villain and she is a terrible villain. Her motivations are all over the place and the voice performance by the excellent Jennifer Hale is not enough to save it. She doesn't really do anything and she continues a trend of weaker villains.
Certain characters get wasted to such as Shao Khan and Erron Black and I wish the game would do better with characters like these.
Story The story is not good here. There are some really promising moments but I just feel like those moments are kind of wasted by decisions they make later on in the story. The most frustrating thing is that the promise that we were going to see Evil Raiden is totally ignored and forgotten about, it all happens off screen and that is incredibly frustrating. The whole game relies on time travel and it breaks its own rules throughout, things make no sense and becomes confusing. Overall, this story is really poor and I hope the next game is written way better then this one.
Side Content Similar to previous Mortal Kombat games, this game has many towers that are fun and challenging in their own ways. There are modifiers added to some of these to add even more challenge to the game. There is also the towers of time, these are updated regularly which is impressive considering the game was released 4 years ago, they are towers with themes and gives gear for specific characters. The krypt is back as an interactive game to get unlockables and it is a fun little game that I am glad they added. Plenty to do here and that is before you get to online which I am not very good at but there is plenty to do there.
Gameplay The gameplay has been developing over the past few games and it is great here. The special moves feel so appropriate for the characters. The gameplay flows really nicely and each character feels unique and that makes it really enjoyable. It was changed that X-Rays are gone and replace by Fatal Blows, these could only be accessed when your character is in the final 25% of your health. At first I didn't like this, but I grew to see the benefits and how it can clearly swing a match. Fatalities are still here and this is the most brutal it has ever been, they are so creative and violent that it sets out this game to others.
Graphics Whether you like the game or not, there is no doubt that this game is beautiful. The graphics are incredible, the character designs are top notch and there are so many options for different costumes. Every level looks great and the arenas have their own nuances and actions going on in the background. The cutscenes look great, even if the content isn't particularly good which raises it slightly higher due to how many cutscenes there are.
Overall Overall, Mortal Kombat 11 is a good game. The gameplay is fantastic and it is a fun game. Skip, the story mode and just play the side content and you will be in for a great time.
Characters After my complaints about Mortal Kombat X it is great to see Liu Kang be pushed to the forefront here. Bought in as a younger version of the character, I really liked seeing Earthrealms champion be given the spotlight again and playing as him was enjoyable and seeing his development is one of the highlights of the game.
Kitana was another character who was misused in MK X but by showcasing her younger version of the character it really works. She is seen as this leader and is way more then a damsel which I think she has been portrayed before. Her whole story is up there for most interesting part of the story.
After the events of MKX Sub Zero and Scorpion are now allies and watching them work together and have this friendship is one of my favourite parts of the game. Their characters have been developed over the last few games and it is cool to see.
But the problem is that pretty much the rest of the cast aren't given much to work with or are misused.
Cassie Cage was the main character in the last game, but after the first chapter, I feel like she is given little to do and the stuff she is given is pretty dull.
They even recast Sonya Blade as UFC Legend Ronda Rousey and she is terrible in this role. She just doesn't fit the character and all I can hear is the person and not the character they are supposed to be playing. The actress from the previous game was good and it would have kept for a consistent tone amongst the character.
Kronika herself is the villain and she is a terrible villain. Her motivations are all over the place and the voice performance by the excellent Jennifer Hale is not enough to save it. She doesn't really do anything and she continues a trend of weaker villains.
Certain characters get wasted to such as Shao Khan and Erron Black and I wish the game would do better with characters like these.
Story The story is not good here. There are some really promising moments but I just feel like those moments are kind of wasted by decisions they make later on in the story. The most frustrating thing is that the promise that we were going to see Evil Raiden is totally ignored and forgotten about, it all happens off screen and that is incredibly frustrating. The whole game relies on time travel and it breaks its own rules throughout, things make no sense and becomes confusing. Overall, this story is really poor and I hope the next game is written way better then this one.
Side Content Similar to previous Mortal Kombat games, this game has many towers that are fun and challenging in their own ways. There are modifiers added to some of these to add even more challenge to the game. There is also the towers of time, these are updated regularly which is impressive considering the game was released 4 years ago, they are towers with themes and gives gear for specific characters. The krypt is back as an interactive game to get unlockables and it is a fun little game that I am glad they added. Plenty to do here and that is before you get to online which I am not very good at but there is plenty to do there.
Gameplay The gameplay has been developing over the past few games and it is great here. The special moves feel so appropriate for the characters. The gameplay flows really nicely and each character feels unique and that makes it really enjoyable. It was changed that X-Rays are gone and replace by Fatal Blows, these could only be accessed when your character is in the final 25% of your health. At first I didn't like this, but I grew to see the benefits and how it can clearly swing a match. Fatalities are still here and this is the most brutal it has ever been, they are so creative and violent that it sets out this game to others.
Graphics Whether you like the game or not, there is no doubt that this game is beautiful. The graphics are incredible, the character designs are top notch and there are so many options for different costumes. Every level looks great and the arenas have their own nuances and actions going on in the background. The cutscenes look great, even if the content isn't particularly good which raises it slightly higher due to how many cutscenes there are.
Overall Overall, Mortal Kombat 11 is a good game. The gameplay is fantastic and it is a fun game. Skip, the story mode and just play the side content and you will be in for a great time.