Rightnow,13-year-oldmeisbeing
mime-sick. Subtlety? Hugs?
Relationships? Get out. But the stuff
that defines Mortal Kombat is also
here in gore-soaked, self-aware
spades. The fighting is the best it’s
ever been. The fatalities
are sickeningly
inventive. There are
enough unlockables to
keep you busy for ages.
But it’s the story mode
that stands out, putting
together 27 years of
MK lore into
something that’s like
the best bits of a Marvel movie.
The new villain, Kronika, feels like
Thanos and Galadriel’s lovechild. Her
plan is to rewrite time to prevent an
authoritarian Raiden from upsetting
the balance of the universe by
beheading Shinnok. It’s an effective,
morally-ambiguous setup, similar to
what NetherRealm did with Injustice.
The temporal gymnastics also mean
that classic versions of the game’s
heroes return, alongside the revenant
versions seen in MK X. It’s an
absolute thrill for anyone who’s
followed the series, and it’s a smart
way of starting afresh. Some
moments, such as Jax wrestling with
his past as a revenant, are
surprisingly poignant. Others, like
Johnny Cage bickering with his
asshat younger self, are just plain
funny. It’s the best story in a fighting
game this side of Injustice 2.
None of this would matter if the
fighting was guff. But this is as
immediate, engaging, and rewarding
as the series has ever been. It still has
the same pick-up-and-play ease of
previous MK games, but it’s easier
than ever to drill into the specifics
that make this a competitive fighter.Manyelementshavebeenrefined.
Instead of endless X-ray moves, we
now have Fatal Blows – powerful
one-shot attacks you use when your
health is low. They can turn a losing
round in your favour, but they can
only be used once per
match if they connect.Review-ality
Offensive and defensive
meters have been
separated, too. You now
use the former to
amplify certain attacks,
making them more
powerful or strategically
advantageous. And the defensive
meter can be spent on things likecounterattacks and rolls that will get
you out of the corner if pinned. And
if this talk of meters and escape rolls
has you worried, don’t be – the
tutorials are excellent. In fact, if
you’ve never played a fighting game
or never learnt about frame data, MK
11 is absolutely the place to start.
There’s a deep level of
customisation for each fighter. Skins,
gear, entrances, abilities, and even AI
behaviour can all be tinkered with,
using unlockables earned by playing
the game or exploring the Krypt
mode. The latter is a third person
adventure in which your generic
explorer plunders Shang Tsung’s
island, knocking down crumbling
walls and opening chests. Loot is
randomised, but you can get some
sense of what’ll you’ll get from how
expensive each chest is. The third
person implementation is fun – a
throwback to Deception’s ridiculous
Konquest mode – but the
randomisation means it’ll take you
forever to unlock any specific stuff
you want, and the cosmetic changes
in MK 11 feel less rewarding than the
gear grind Injustice 2. While I was
happy to spend too long opening loot
boxes to unlock a cudgel for Swamp
Thing, I’m less enthusiastic about
doing the same for a palette-swapped
costume for Erron Black.
Other decisions feel less nice.
Time Crystals can be purchased with
real money and used in the store to
buy any of the five premium items on
sale. You can also buy easy fatalities,
which is a weird way to deal with
what feels like an accessibility option.
NetherRealm is promising to tweak
the systems to reduce the grind, but a
complete overhaul seems unlikely.
Right now, there’s no way to buy
everything you want with actual cash,
evenifyouwantedto.NeedtoKNow
What is it?
Infinity War with cyber
ninjasanddeadlyhats
EXPECttOPaY
£50
DEvElOPEr
NetherRealm
PublishEr
WarnerBros
rEviEWEDOn
Intel Core i7-7700 CUP
@ 3.60GHz, 16 GB RAM,
Nvidia GeForce GTX
1070,Windows 10
MultiPlaYEr
1-2
link
bit.ly/2BX2BFe85
A deep, customisable
fighter that just happens
to include the best
videogame movie
never made.vErDiCtIt’s an absolute
thrill for
anyone who’s
followed
the seriesI
t might seem like lunacy to begin a Mortal Kombat review by
praising the game’s subtlety. You’ve watched videos of eyes being
plopped out and spines being crushed. But there’s a moment, early
in the game’s story mode, which encapsulates how the series has
evolved. Reunited, Kitana and Liu Kang share a hug. Liu goes to
embrace her – but he can’t. He’s too awkward, she’s too important. It tells
you everything about their relationship without a word being spoken.EntraIl blazIng
MortalKoMbat 11 sets the standard for
storytelling in fighting games. By Matt Elliott
Fight Klub
Want to learn how fighting games work?
Try MK 11’s tutorialMortal Kombat 11
has an incredible
tutorial mode. As
well as teaching you
how the game plays,
it’s the perfect
foundation for
understanding
almost every other
fighting game.1
The tutorial
starts with the
basics – things like
movement,
blocking and
special moves.2
This breaks
down tactics
for specific types of
play, allowing you
to work on things
like zoning.3
Combo inputs
are shown with
little hourglass
symbols so you
can work perfecting
your timing.5
There are also
tutorials for
each character, so
you’ve got no
excuse to still be
using Scorpion.4
Colour-coded
attacks explain
frame data,
showing which
moves leave you at
an advantage or
disadvantage.MortalKombat 11
rEviEW