Mortal Kombat

One of the greatest irritants of gaming this generation is the huge number of remakes. Sure, they help make a quick buck but don’t result in anything even remotely innovative. You could mistake Mortal Kombat for a remake. The roster is as classic as ever with oldies such as Liu Kang, Baraka, Scorpion and Raiden making a comeback along with their signature moves. And if you own a PS3 there’s Kratos from God of War in the fray as well.

However the gameplay has been refined, the pacing is a little slower and a tad more tactical. Plus there’s something called X-ray moves. These let you go into slow-motion as you pulverise an opponent’s organs complete with a zoomed in X-ray of the carnage. It’s brutal, visceral and quite intense.

In addition to this there’s a great single-player campaign that serves as a reboot of the franchise and its origins. You’re given a free reign with almost each character from the series as as you parry, block and punch your way till the blood-soaked end. While it does a great job of explaining why things are the way they are in the realm of Mortal Kombat, the real reason you have to play this or any beat ’em up for that matter is the multiplayer and it does not disappoint. King of the Hill mode takes a stab at the arcade gaming experience minus the coin slot. You can watch others playing MK, interact by booing, throwing tomatoes or cheering. It’s nice touch if you’ve been around during the days of arcades.

There are ranked and unranked game modes as well which allow you to take on random people on Xbox Live or PSN, and works quite well once you’re in a game, so much so that you’d think that American kid you’re thrashing is sitting right next to you. Getting into a match takes a while but that should be fixed with an update.

All in all, while it might look like an HD remake, Mortal Kombat is much more than that. While it’s got the old familiar cast and moves, the well thought out single-player mode and robust online make this reboot well worth your money.