
As always, mileage will vary from person to person. There are reports of poor netcode doing the rounds, but even on a wireless connection, there were no issues in the playing of the game for review. The online area has a number of different modes to participate in, whether it's single match-ups, team battles, or fighting in modified games featuring all sorts of advantages and handicaps. As well as that, it does feel like some characters really didn't get enough screen time, and there are even some that must be fought against that aren't actually playable in MKX itself. The criticisms would have to come down to Quick-Time Events, which are an unexpected surprise although they only slightly alter cut-scenes playing out prior to a fight, they just aren't fun additions to pretty much any game these days.

It's good to see NetherRealm put some effort in. Great one-liners and fight scenes throughout, the story mode is satisfying for a genre where they are almost universally disregarded.

No getting the hang of one character and then being thrown into the shoes of another after just one battle here. It means that, unlike DoA5, which jumps back and forth from one character to another and back again, MKX allows individual fighters to be gotten to grips with steadily by presenting dedicated chapters consisting of around four fights. It's a little overwhelming, so there is the case that adding more characters over styles would have been preferred, but it helps provide variety in online match-ups.Īlthough lacking in originality, Mortal Kombat X introduces a cracking story mode in the sense that it doesn't come off as disjointed or too corny, playing out orderly through chapters that focus on specific characters. Instead, every combatant has three variations of fighting style, granting them different special moves and essentially means more than 70 styles to choose from. Plenty of new characters have been thrown into the mix, but the overall roster itself feels considerably lacking in terms of numbers. The "stiffness" is still part and parcel of the combat itself but the game now flows more fluid than ever before, and sticking to the 2D format over Mortal Kombat's other ventures into the 3D realm has proven to be an excellent choice. Whether it's Cassie Cage literally smashing nutsacks with her fists, Mileena tearing chunks out of people's faces with her nashers, or Johnny Cage splitting open torsos and peeking through The Shining-style, expect some of the most brilliantly gruesome examples of pain in any videogame.

Mortal Kombat X doesn't tone its disturbing moves down in the slightest, with Fatalities, Brutalities and X-Ray specials so grossly outrageous, they actually become hilarious to watch. Perhaps most well-known for its bloody and extremely violent nature, and the rather stiff animation and combat style, Mortal Kombat games have always had a certain stigma associated with them.
