Score Rundown

Visuals
Sound
Gameplay
Replay

Overall: 8 (Swoll)

Ratings Explained

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Official Website
 
 

Developer


Midway LA
 

Publisher


Midway
 

Released

9/19/05
 

Genre

Action
 

If you’ve been weary about the release of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, you might want to reconsider. As most of us know, games from the series that go outside the traditional fighting formula haven’t been that great. Mythologies was boring and Special Forces was nothing short of abominable. It can be easily assumed that Shaolin Monks might follow this tradition, but cast your worries aside because I’m proud to say that Shaolin Monks is the best of the MK spin-offs and a really good game on its own accord, that is, if you’re a fan of the series in any way, shape, or form. Have you ever wondered how Sonya Blade got captured at the end of the first game or wondered just what those glowing eyes were in Goro’s lair? If you have, then you’ll get some enjoyment out of this game.

Nostalgic fans of the series will be pleased since Shaolin Monks picks up right after the first Mortal Kombat tournament and the defeat of Shang Tsung and goes straight into the events leading up to Mortal Kombat II. The gameplay is along the lines of a traditional beat-em-up similar to Final Fight or Beatdown. At the start you can play as either Liu Kang or Kung Lao but as you progress you can find secrets that will unlock more characters from the first two games and even a few from MK 3 and 4. While the single player game is fun, you’ll get even more jollies in the game’s Ko-Op mode where two players simultaneously go through the storyline. Not only are there more secrets and content to be discovered in Ko-Op, but the game is just a lot more enjoyable. There’s a catch to all of this however, once you start a game in Ko-Op mode you’ll have to have the second player around at all times. You won’t be able to load your Ko-Op game as a single player or vice versa which means that you’ll be playing through the same storyline twice if you want to play a single player game in addition to the Ko-Op mode.

The game’s fighting system is surprisingly deep but easy to master. You have buttons for quick attacks, launch attacks that launch enemies up in the air, and a power move that will send them flying across a room. You can lock onto and block enemies’ attacks with the L2 button. All of the classic moves – and more – are all here and a button press away when you hold down R1 and hit an attack button. Fireballs, hat tosses, bicycle kicks, spinning attacks, all of the signature moves for each character are here and look great. As you defeat enemies you’ll gain experience points which you can gain even faster by performing multi-hit combos and juggling enemies in the air for bonuses. The game makes it really easy to pick up and you can get through most of the game just by button mashing and performing successive launch attacks to continually juggle enemies, which could get a tad repetitive after a while. You’ll also be able to execute fatalities on the fly once your fatality meter is full. Pulling off fatalities is easy since you just have to perform a fatality stunner that will stop all of the action onscreen and allow you to input the move. You’ll find a good amount of fatalities for each character though the quality varies between them all. Some fatalities are kind of lame while others are pretty awesome like Kung Lao’s rabbit fatality which is a play on his MKII friendship. Shaolin Monks introduces two new “-ailities” into the mix. Brutalities act as a kind of rage mode where you’ll be able to run around and kill any enemies onscreen in just a couple of hits. Multalities allow you to perform an instant kill move to everything around you and is perfect for when you’re surrounded. There are also weapons that you can use to slice your way through stages with some very satisfying results. The bloodletting never really ceases.

When you save up enough experience points you can buy new combos and moves or upgrade existing moves. You can do it at any time by hitting the start button. When you’re playing Ko-Op mode you can execute team moves that look pretty impressive but aren’t too effective. Ko-Op mode provides the best experience since there are some secrets that require a second player to be there and the game emphasizes the point a lot. While the Ko-Op mode provides a better experience, there are some issues with the gameplay. There are some instances where it would make sense for the camera to pan out and let both players face off against opponents in opposite directions. Early in the game both players are trapped on a bridge while guards come from both sides. Instead of letting both players split up and take one on individually, we had to both run in one direction since the camera was so close and we couldn’t reach both of them. There are some platforming puzzles that can be pretty frustrating as well; thankfully the game is pretty forgiving if one player falls off of a ledge the game will be kind enough to teleport them back up.

Since Shaolin Monks takes place through the events of Mortal Kombat II, you’ll come across a lot of familiar places that have been redone for the game. You’ll battle lumbering zombies and shadows in the living forest, fending off Baraka’s Tarkatan warriors in the tower, fighting creatures called Onis in the pit, and taking on the two shadow priests at the portal. There are a number of small references to the older games scattered around the game that hardcore fans will recognize. Each level has plenty of environmental hazards that you can fling baddies into and is sometimes required to proceed. You’ll be able to impale enemies on spikes, send them flying out of catapults, liquefy them in grinders, knock them into the pit, and feed them to the trees in the living forest. The environmental hazards add to the gameplay as a whole and take away from some of the tedium brought with taking baddies head on brings. There are also plenty of destructive items that you can get bonus experience and life from. Each level is detailed really well and all the familiar landmarks obviously look better than the older versions. There is a fair amount of backtracking involved especially when you learn new abilities. The backtracking isn’t minded insomuch that it adds to the overall tedium of leaving one area, returning to the portal hub, and trying to remember which portal you need to reach your destination. While you’re searching for the portal, you’ll have to fight the same respawning enemies all over again.

All of the playable characters look good but don’t have any real detail on them. During gameplay they look really good while they’re pulling off their moves and attacking in all directions. During cutscenes they tend to look really stiff and can’t seem to stop moving – almost to the point where it starts to make you nervous. Enemies all look good in their respective cookie cutter ways and fare worse than the main characters in terms of detail. You won’t notice much since they’ll rarely stand still and let you look at them.

The game’s sound is full of extreme highs and lows. On one hand, the game features all of the classic sound effects and voices from the first two games including the infamous “toasty” and the over the top squealing of Liu Kang. The old school sounds integrate well into the updated gameplay and only add to the nostalgic value the game has to offer. On the other hand, the game’s voice acting is wooden, devoid of emotion, and outright terrible. Sure, the story may spread itself a little thin as the game progresses and the voice acting doesn’t lend itself to make it any more interesting. The music is appropriate for a Mortal Kombat game and is full of pounding drums and Asian influence.

Despite a somewhat short single player experience, the addition of Shaolin Monk’s Ko-Op mode and the overabundance of secrets will be enough to keep hardcore fans of the series playing through this game. The addition of a stripped down versus mode is nice, but it doesn’t do much to add to the replay value. If anything, unlocking the playable characters and unlocking the arcade version of Mortal Kombat II is enough to motivate those who want to get 100% completion to do so. For others who are new to the series, the lack of nostalgia will make Shaolin Monks seem like a straightforward brawler with a convoluted story. Either way, Shaolin Monks is a very entertaining game that every fan of the series – no matter how casual – should play.

- Brad Hicks (Dr. Swank), SwankWorld Media

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