Review – Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition

Mortal Kombat was one my top five personal favorite games of 2011. I spent countless hours with each fighter the game had to offer, and finished the Challenge Tower with pride. The game never grew old to me, even after spending at least 30 minutes to an hour each day when games like Skyrim were jammed in my PS3 all day. I downloaded all the extra costumes and was ecstatic to play as the four characters added to the roster via DLC. The Mortal Kombat 2011 title harkened back to everything I loved about going to arcades and growing up playing older consoles.

Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Publisher: Warner Brothers. Interactive Entertainment
Price: $59.99
Platforms: PlayStation 3 [reviewed], Xbox 360

Without a doubt I recommend picking up Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition for those who missed out on the great fighting game last year. The special edition comes packaged with the original game, as well as all the released downloadable content and a few extra goodies.

The full game features a retelling of Mortal Kombat’s story through the eyes of several characters as Raiden works to alter events in the past in order to save the future. MK’s story is ripe with B-movie quality writing with voice acting meant for overly macho and ridiculous characters, which fans of the series have come to love. The quality is no issue however, as the story is still enjoyable, especially those who have always wanted to make sense of the convoluted Mortal Kombat story (yes there is a lot more story than Liu Kang bicycle kicking his way into victory).

Beyond story mode, the Challenge Tower offers a healthy dose of content that gives players varying difficulty of challenges. The tower also serves as a separate tutorial mode for each character in the game. Challenges range from normal one vs. one battles, to more obscure challenges like fighting a horde of zombies, or fighting three Shao Khans, which is intimidating to say the least.

Gameplay in Mortal Kombat is some of the tightest and most gratifying the series has seen. Each character comes equipped with their own skill sets, making the veterans of the series droll over the hours that can be spent mastering the entire roster. Linking combos is equally satisfying for each character, but also difficult, making it strenuous for those new to the series, which is one of a few complaints I have for Mortal Kombat.

The difficulty is all over the place. Some matches are quick and easy, while others beat you down until you either figure out what you’re doing wrong, or make you quit all together. The difficulty alone harkens back to the old school days of gaming, which I absolutely love, but it makes the game harder for someone new to pick up and play without being turned off by unreasonably tough AI.

The four downloable characters are Skarlet, Kenshi, Rain, and making his first, and slightly odd yet fitting appearance, Freddy Kruger. Each of the four extra fighters features their own unique list of combos and specials. The fighters also have their own unique endings for ladder mode.

Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition also comes with download codes for the 1995 Mortal Kombat film, and Songs Inspired by the Warriors album.

The Final Word: The Mortal Kombat Kollection Edition is packed with everything I happily purchased to enrich my MK experience. For those of you who missed the game last year, I recommend picking up the Komplete Edition so that you can experience a return to form for an awesome series.

MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 – Great