14 DAY TRIAL // 
Midway's previous attempts of taking the series in a new direction with Mortal Kombat: Special Forces and Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero were such total failures that saying those games were of wretched quality feels like praising them. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, however, came as a real surprise. It draws inspiration from the side-scrolling games of the nineties, such as Final Fight and Streets of Rage, and does not abide by the strict rules of traditional fighting games, making it more accessible to the casual gamers while keeping a distinct Mortal Kombat feel.
Story The game takes place at the end of the first MK tournament, right after Shang Tsung is defeated by Liu Kang. Shang Tsung and his minions escape back to Outworld through a portal, from where he hatches an evil scheme to take over earth-realm, thus defying the rules set by the Elder Gods. It is up to Kung Lao and Liu Kang, the game's main playable characters, to stop him, and that's pretty much the whole story. It does twist and turn a little in yawn inducing, soap opera fashion but, considering how fun the gameplay is, it is not hard to overlook the lameness of the story.
Gameplay As the game starts, you are given the choice of playing as either Liu Kang or Kung Lao, both having all their staple moves and abilities, such as Liu Kang's bicycle kick and Kung Lao's hat throw. Midway has done an excellent job with translating the classic fighting style of the series for the new type of game. Battles are very dynamic and have a nice, natural flow to them, partly owing to the newly introduced multi-directional fighting system that makes fighting against multiple opponents a breeze.
The general fighting scheme is simple yet effective. The left stick simultaneously moves your character and directs your attacks, and the right stick controls the camera. You have a button for throwing enemies, one for blocking, and three buttons for the three basic attacks. There is a quick attack that is self explanatory, a power attack that can be charged up and sends enemies flying across the battlefield, and a launch attack that sends enemies skywards, and each attack has an alternative effect when performed while running towards your foe. There also are aerial versions of these attacks, as well as a variety of special moves that can be performed in combination with the R2 button, and all attacks can be strung together into some devastating combos.
Only the basic attacks are available from the very beginning, but as you progress, you can upgrade them and acquire new combos and special abilities by spending the experience points you get from killing enemies. You can multiply these points by stringing together higher and higher combos and by finishing your opponent with a bloody Fatality. A nice touch is that taking a hit does not reset the hit multiplier, only delay your next attack, making the system a little more "forgiving".
Each character has about ten Fatalities that can be used at any time during a fight for an instant kill. In order to perform a Fatality you have to fill up a Fatality meter, use a stun attack to disable the enemy for a few seconds, and type in its five button combination. Not only are you treated with a special cut scene of the carnage but you also get a large amount of experience. The trademark finishers of each character is in the game, but there also are many spectacular ones that have never been seen before. You can also perform "Multalities" that take out multiple enemies at a time and really come in handy during massive battles.
You can pick up weapons from time to time, such as a huge scimitar or dual curved blades, to slice and dice your enemies, but you can also make use of the numerous environmental hazards - hungry trees, spiked walls and pits, chasms and the like - that litter the levels. You don't get any experience when killing enemies using the environment, but there are a few instances when you are required to do it to advance to the next area. For instance, you must throw several enemies into a set of grinding gears at one point that will shred them to bits and cause them to pour down the wall. Then Sub-Zero will come along, freeze the blood and make a blood-red ice ladder.
All arenas from the first two Mortal Kombat games - The Living Forest, The Wu-Shu Academy, Goro's Lair, The Dead Pool, The Pit, Shao Khan's Coliseum - have been brought to life as large, linear environments, and many characters from the MK universe show up throughout the game. Some make brief appearances and fight alongside you, others you have to fight against in some very challenging boss fights, as it is when facing Kitana, Jade and Mileena at the same time.
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is rather short, but has a good amount of replay value if you're interested in unlockable features and other such trinkets. There are close to 200 secrets to unlock, ranging from more characters for single and multiplayer, more Fatalities and concept art, to a few more uncommon ones, such as the entire Mortal Kombat 2 game. Most of these are unlocked by killing enemies in the right place, usually involving environmental hazards, some come from completion of the various difficulty levels, but there's a considerable number of them that can only be unlocked in cooperative play.
Video and audio As expected, the game is ridiculously gory, the simplest jab causing the enemy to shower the screen red, and fatalities are even gorier, which is partly what makes Mortal Kombat what it is and impossible to take seriously. The graphics are just average, the characters somewhat blocky and not hugely detailed, but when they are in motion they look great. The environments are bright and colorful, and, while not very detailed and rather blocky themselves, do a good job of bringing the classic locations to life and immersing you in the Mortal Kombat universe.
The sounds effects are true to the first Mortal Kombat games. All the shrieks, kicks and punches arrive intact to spice up the intense fighting, and the staple voice of the announcer saying "Excellent!" and "Fatality" at the appropriate moments is back in full effect. The voice-acting is terrible, but fortunately there isn't much talking in the game. The music does not stand out in any way, but it doesn't fail its purpose either.
Multiplayer In addition to the single player mode, Shaolin Monks also offers access to a Co-Op version of the game in which one can team up with a friend and tackle the game together. When playing in tandem new moves open up, such as juggling enemies between the players and even the ability for one player to hold an opponent while the other player pummels it to death. Unfortunately, in order to play a Co-Op game you must start the game in that mode, so if you're playing the single player mode a friend can't just pick the controller and join in.
The Versus mode allows two players to fight one another in twelve or so arenas which, surprisingly, aren't just recycled backgrounds of the single player portion of the game. These arenas contain spawning boxes with power-ups and weapons within, and on some maps there are NPC creatures that harass the players as they fight. For example, one level takes place in Goro's lair, where Goro actually goes around the stage and fights both opponents.
Conclusion Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is a significant change for the series and, to be honest, I found it the most enjoyable so far. Whether you are a fan of the series or not, if you like games where the main focus is bloody action, I say go for it.
