Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks will primarily be an action/adventure hybrid, set in the Mortal Kombat universe. Midway has confirmed that they'll be releasing a Mortal Kombat title every year from now on (do we sense somebody's bank balance tumbling?), and this will be the first title in that agreement. The game will be both a single player and multiplayer title, featuring background interactions such as acid pits, living trees and spiked ceilings. Action-based puzzles will also be littered throughout the game ala Prince of Persia.
Liu Kang is back
Rather than focus on just one character in the Mortal Kombat universe however, Shaolin Monks will be paying attention to the entire cast of Midway's franchise. Players will initially assume the role of Liu Kang (we assume he is alive this time) or Kung Lao. Both of these characters will have four attack styles and special attacks and fatalities. More characters (and abilities) will be unlockable as the game progresses. Characters from the franchise will make cameo appearances throughout the title as boss battles, enemies or allies.
For the first time in the series, Shaolin Monks title will also feature a multi directional Kombat System. This will allow players to levy attacks in any direction, so in a full 360-degrees motion. And to their credit, Midway are ensuring the combat is deep, with strings of attacks, juggles, special attacks and air combat all possible. The combo system is shaping up to be some of the best in a Mortal Kombat title yet.
Of course, fatalities were the main reason people piled into the arcades to play the original Mortal Kombat. The previous two titles have watered down the emphasis on fatalities, but Shaolin Monks is promising a return to yesteryear, with more fatalities than ever before. There'll be ten fatalities per character, with multalities, brutalities and classic special attacks. There's three levels of fatalities, and some of them pay homage to the memorable fatalities of the past. We'll try not to get teary-eyed with emotion when we see spines being ripped out once again.
Weapons were first introduced in Mortal Kombat 4, and the game hasn’t been the same since. Throughout the game weapons will be given as rewards, to unleash more damage on your enemies. Midway is yet to release information on what we can expect from the weapons, but we anticipate there will be some new weapons, as well as the classic ones.
Let's just be friends?
The environments have also undergone a cosmetic change. The environments are once again fully interactive, meaning enemies can be melted in acid pits, impaled on spiked ceilings and hung on hooks. Sometimes the player will be challenged to utilize the interactive environments to solve the puzzles, such as hurling an enemy into a spiked wall, and leaping from their impaled body to a higher area. The famous stages from Mortal Kombat 1 & 2 have also been recreated in 3D, so we can look forward to seeing them in a different light.
Due on Xbox and PlayStation 2 later this year, Shaolin Monks has the potential to be a great game. The passing similarity to Ubisoft's Prince of Persia games means we could be in for a treat, but if it follows the pattern of previous action adventure Kombat titles, then we could be disappointed. However, we applaud the fact that Midway has tried something different. It would have been all to easy for Midway to bring a third fighter to the console, but instead they've legitimately developed a completely different Mortal Kombat title. And with 10 fatalities per character, can you really go wrong?
.
Loading...
