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Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is hands down the best "Mythologies" title in the MK Universe. After having two rather poor spin offs (Sub-Zero and MK: Special Forces), it seemed as if MK could only do well in it's core series... until now.
MK: Shaolin Monks is a re-telling of Mortal Kombat 2, through the eyes of Kung Lao and Liu Kang. The game starts at the end of MK 1 and runs all the way up to the climatic finish where you battle the great Shao Kahn. Along the way you will utilize the game's somewhat unique combat engine, which is basically a hybrid of a platformer like Devil May Cry and the MK "Kombat" engine. What is so great about it though is that it is not stiff like the "Kombat" engine, and allows pretty much free movement. You still have "kombos" and special moves, but they are all easy to execute and chain together, giving even a novice player an easy chance to get in the game and start kicking butt. You also have the ability to pull off fatalities on just about every enemy (even bosses, when you beat them!)
The game also features an "RPG" like experience point system, which you can manipulate heavily depending on how good you get at killing enemies and keeping your combos going without getting knocked down. As long as you keep hitting enemies and killing them, your combo will increase. With each kill or 10 hits, you receive a multiplier point. After your combo ends, the points you earned depending on a number of factors, including your combo and kills, are multiplied. You then receive experience points based on that multiplication. The experience points then can be used to purchase new moves and combos in the status screen. The only downside to this though is the fact that the game has only so many combos and moves to purchase. You will easily have purchased every move available well before the game is over (for me, it was half way before the game was complete!)
The graphics for MK: Shaolin Monks are kind of bad in places (especially in the cinematic cut scenes everyone pretty much has the same face!) The in-game graphics are good though for the most part, although they seem gritty and un-finished in places. The dynamic lighting and the blood makes up for it though... if you like your violence red.
Sound-wise, MK: Shaolin Monks is like any other MK game. The soundtrack is not at all that impressive, but it fits the atmosphere of the game, especially in the areas that are straight out of MK 2. The only qualms with the game's sound are probably with it's voice acting... but we'll get into that further in a bit.
The story telling of MK:Shaolin Monks is another hamper on the game. While the game features some great MK action and appearances from just about everyone's favorite characters, the way they appear (or die) is somewhat non-sensual at times. Also, with the way certain things happen in the game, you will be left with your head scratching, wondering if you recall things being that way in MKII's story. To top it off, the game has some really BAD voice acting (best example is Shao Kahn... instead of using the MK announcer voice, they used some other random voice.)
Despite the shoddy voice acting and rather butchered storyline, MK:Shaolin Monks is still the best MK spin-off game to date. It features a combat engine that is arguably better than the regular MK fighting engine, and it gives the gamer more things to do (tons of stage kills and environmental manipulations.) You also have a couple secret characters to unlock, as well as plenty of extra "kontent" to find along the way (including a hidden port of the arcade version of Mortal Kombat II!) MK: Shoalin Monks is highly recommended for any MK fan or just about any action/platformer fan.
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Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks Circa 2005GOOD:
Lots of combat in a Devil May Cry style, which is challenging but not too easy or too difficult (for most video gamers)
Two players Co-op, now you and a friend can beat the game together (actually it's more fun that way)
Cool combos and fighting moves help make sure the game doesn't get stale (beat the snot out of enemies and even use weapons as well the environment to defeat enemies)
This game even has a versus mode (which plays sort of like power stone)
Plenty of unlockables
BAD:
Graphics are sub-par, but okay (similar to Blood Owen 2)
Some parts of the game can be annoying (like some puzzles or cheap enemies)
When you unlock other characters in the game (like Sub-Zero and Scorpion) and play as them, you still get the same story (involving Lu Kang and Kung Lao)
Some unlockable content is really difficult to get
Might be too Bloody or violent for some people
IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
This game (like all Mortal Kombat games) is pretty bloody and gory, so I would suggest it's not for small kids or people sentient to that sort of stuff
Simple combos strikes and small puzzles like Devil May Cry or God of War make up most of the combat, but unlike God of War or Devil May Cry these combos can be teamed up with a second player (on Co-Op mode) to take the damage to another level
You have to unlock most of the game through hidden secrets hidden in each stage
A must play for die-hard Mortal Kombat fans
GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
God of War
Devil May Cry
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
Final Fight
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
There are some nice unlockables in this game including a full version of the classic Mortal Kombat 2
This Story fills the gap from Mortal Kmobat to Mortal Kmobat II
This is the third Action/Adventure game set in the Mortal Kmobat universe, the first was Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, the second was Mortal Kombat: Special Forces (staring Jax)
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I gave this game to a friend and so I had to get myself another because it was so much fun.Honest reviews on Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks - PlayStation 2
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, is the new MK game on store shelves. I myself usually purchase MK merch when it drops, so I thought i'd give this game a try without even bothering to rent it first. And in a small way, i'm relieved that it didn't disappoint too much.MKSM is by far probably the goriest Mortal Kombat in the series, to date. So if you're looking for a game full of blood and guts, this game is right up your alleyway. It also strays away from the norm, of the MK genre. It isn't a fighting game. It's an action/adventure game, with somewhat of a comparison to God of War, and Devil May Cry. Though gorier than DMC, it isn't quite as fun as DMC. As per God of War...it beats both of these games, hands down.
Anyways...yeah. This is a game full of violence, bloodshed, fatalities (ten per character), multalities (fatalities that kill multiple enemies on screen), and ofcourse, brutalities. Brutalities are basically the same as multalities, but the screen doesn't fade during brutalities, and you're actually able to control your character while doing them.
The storyline of MKSM is pretty much that of MK2, but...the events that lead up to it, and a few events DURING it. Such as the final boss fight (wont give anything away).
Like all games though, MKSM comes with a few (minor, and at times major) flaws.
-The battleing is pretty...repetative and at times, aggrovating and boring.
-The game itself is extremely short, clocking in at about 10 hours of gameplay (maximum), if you're experienced enough.
-Some of the puzzles in the game will annoy the living crap out of you.
-Fatality and multality sequences all happen in the same position (infront of the enemy), and never with the actual stage scenery in the background (the screen just turns black and that move is done...just like in the past 2 PS2 MK games).
-The game secrets (such as unlocking the MK2 fighting game) are at times, really hard to get, and MOST require ko-op gameplay to obtain.
-The characters at times can look really choppy (not alot, but you can really notice it, after comparing the Tarkatan warriors to other character models such as Kitana. Kitana looks better, whereas the Tarkatan warriors look like crap.)
-And to top it all off...the voice acting in the cutscenes is horrible. Cheesy as all hell. Even some of the dialogue itself is pretty stupid and pointless.
But despite all these flaws, I found Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, to be a pretty enjoyable game. It sure isn't the BEST beat em up action/adventure game on the market (I leave that title to God of War), but it's still a pretty enjoyable game nonetheless, if you're a fan of the MK series.
In the end, i'd only suggest this as a buy, to dedicated MK fans that have to have everything MKwise. Otherwise, only rent this to see if it suits your tastes.
By the way, this game is TEN TIMES better than the 2 absolutely disgraceful action/adventure MK titles that came before it, "Mytholigies: Sub-Zero", and "Special Forces." Those sucked, and weren't enjoyable in the least. Whereas "Shaolin Monks" proves enjoyable.
Give it a try...judge it for yourself.
I give MKSM 4/5 stars, due to the flaws the game contained that didn't seem to really effect the fun factor of the game at all. If the fun factor would've been effected, i'd have only given this game 3/5 stars.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks - PlayStation 2
Pretty good game, its really fun and it has a pretty awesome story. The graphics are pretty good for the ps2.
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