Preview: Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

Midway / PS2 Xbox / RP

Mortal Kombat has a firmly cemented reputation as the most violent fighting game out there. It’s a wonder that this ultra violence has never been translated into a Mortal Kombat beat-em-up, until now. MK Shaolin Monks translates the characters, settings, and fatalities of the MK fighting games into a simple side scrolling action game that I was lucky enough to get my hands on in demo form.

Gamers will play mainly as one of two familiar MK characters, either Liu Kang, or Kung Lao, as they traipse through assorted, blood-splattered environs, beating the crap out of all who stand in their way. This crap beating is accomplished with four basic moves, quick moves, uppercut moves, heavy moves, and throws, each of which has a special variant for each character. All these moves are combined into long flowing combos that will gain experience points, as well as build towards the horrific Fatalities, which were unfortunately blocked from view in the demo (though you can get the idea from the sounds). Sprinkled around these fighting environments are various MK trademarks such as environmental hazards and weapons of both the slashing and throwing variety, and all this leads to an end of level boss fight with one of the evil MK characters (Baraka in the demo).

It’s no secret that this formula has been around for years but Midway strives to do it to perfection with a unique MK touch. Combos flow very nicely and there is never a lack of action. In the end it seems the only thing that can derail Shaolin Monks is what has befallen so many games like this before, repetitiveness. We shall see when Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks hits a fatality on stores in mid-September.

By Zack Rovinsky