Mortal Kombat 9 [Review] - The UpStream

Over all Mortal Kombat 9 is definitely a buy. This particular Mortal Kombat is honestly the only game in the franchise that I consider to be a true successor to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. With fresh, up-to-date graphics that is sure to impress, excellent character designs along with multiple un-lockable costumes and goodies, awesome gameplay - and you are able to experience it all online.

I'd say this game is a win, and it only took over a decade for them to get it right. The fight mechanics are simple, yet complex - this game is no button masher's delight. Combos are pretty specific, but can be pretty long and very damaging. One good thing about this is that game director Ed Boon decided to take this game back to 2 dimensional fighting! 3D characters on a 2D plane: a formula that has worked for many games like: Capcom's Street Fighter IV and Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series'. I must say, it works pretty damn well!

For more of my thoughts on the game, hit the break.

The fatalities are nothing short of brutal, shocking and some are just downright crude. Some are a little underwhelming, but eh... you can't win them all. An amazing addition to this game is the crazy new "X-Ray" moves. It's a move that is comparable to "specials" that we see in games like Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom and as you can imagine, the screen goes black as you strike your foe many times, and it displays you crushing your opponents breaking ribs, skull, legs, arms, and nads.

In my opinion, it's the best feature of this game beside bringing it back to 2D fighting! The MK9 soundtrack is pretty good, but the music tends to be so low in volume that you generally can barely hear it. It seems that the focus pretty much went to everything else but the music, which doesn't really kill the game at all. Though you can unlock the soundtrack one buy one in the "Krypt" using the "koins" you earn in the game.

You can earn a crap-load of booty climbing your way up the Challenge Tower. With 300 missions to konquer, you'll earn plenty of booty indeed! They are a lot of fun, between throwing your limbs to vanquish your foe, to fighting multiple bosses with just one life bar, you'll either love the challenge or break your precious, and quite expensive, controller trying to make your way to the top.

Now for the online. Overall, the community is abundant, and konnecting to a player for a match is not a total pain, and it flows very well, just as you would expect a modern-day online fighting game should. Overall, WB Games has done a fantastic job on this game, and it is a definite buy! Go and beat the crap out of your bud's nads and earn some booty!! Oh and play this game too! Good job Ed, good job.