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rogueblackmage
Reviews
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (2005)
This is Mortal Kombat 2. It does what the Movie failed to do!
Contrary to popular belief, this game is not set between the events of Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat 2. This game is Mortal Kombat 2. Apparently, the people who have given it reviews haven't play the game all the way through, or aren't familiar with the Mortal Kombat Universe. The game picks up immediately after Shang Tsung is defeated at the hands of Earthrealms Champion Liu Kang. Shang Tsung has decided to destroy the island, thus leaving Earths forces to die. From there you play as either Liu Kang or Kung Lao. After escaping the island, you return to the WuShi Academy for rest, only to be attacked by Baraka and his Tartan Warriors. From there, you leave Earthrealm and take the fight to Outworld. Playing through the locales of Mortal Kombat 2, you'll fight enemies such as Baraka, Mileena, Jade, Reptile, Goro, and a few others.
What I found particularly interesting was the fact that even though I'm at the end of the game (No I haven't beaten it yet..I've still got the fight between Shang Tsung, Kintaro, and Shao Kahn left) I've only completed 75 percent of the game. And whats even more disturbing, I've done the Smoke missions, fought Kano and Mileena, and fought the legendary Ermac. There is plenty to do in this game. I first thought it would be a game I'd beat in a day, and I'm glad to say i'm well over 7 hours clocked.
Graphcs wise, I can't say they are the best. I did find some of the voice acting and the lip syncing out of place. The expressions on the characters faces during cut scenes could have used some work as well. They seem lifeless husks of characters. But not enough to detract from the overall game play.
Speaking of.... The combo system is a bit repetitive after a while. Some characters you play as (You can play either Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Scorpion, or Sub Zero) are a bit stronger in that department than others. Its all dependent on your playing style really. Personally, though I've always been a fan of Kung Lao, I found myself preferring Liu Kang (his flying kick move is probably the most useful move in the game). The same holds true for Sub Zero (one of my favorites since the games inception) and Scorpion. And just so you know you don't have to memorize some up down forward X combo in order to pull off special moves. Each is assigned a different button, however, don't expect to do infinite fireballs. You've a power meter that has to be replenished.
This game does suffer from what I consider to be a major flaw in gaming today. That is pacing. The first few levels are large and seem to drag on while towards the end of the game, the last few seem to be thrown together and shortened severely, either due to the amount of information on the disk, or because the level creators ran out of ideas, or simply because the game designers felt the game was running on too long. The levels aren't evenly spread out which is kind of sad in my opinion.
The soundtrack to the game is also pleasant, setting the mood for each level. Although, I feel the Xbox version of the game should have had the option for custom soundtracks. Liu Kangs turkey call does get annoying after a while to, but that is easily fixed in the options menu by lowering voice fx.
So over all, if you're looking for a great action/platforming/brawler this game is it. It will remind old school gamers of Streets of Rage or Mortal Kombat 2, or both.