Mortal Kombat 9 – Blood, Gore and Old School Lore

At long last! The newest addition to the franchise has arrived! That’s right folks, ExpJunkie here bringing you an in-depth look at today’s newest and very highly anticipated video game release, Mortal Kombat!

Pres START bitches!

Story: Littered on a battlefield as far as the eye can see are dead bodies accompanied only by flocks of vultures pecking away at a veritable feast. The bodies are none other than those of the Mortal Kombat tournament contestants; slain by each other and left to rot in the sun. At the center of the battlefield is a platform where two sole combatants compete for not only their lives but the fate of their worlds. The Thunder God, Raiden and the Emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn,  are in a battle to the death…though it is Raiden’s death that draws near. In his last fleeting moments he uses the remainder of his power to send his past self visions of the events to come, hoping that he will be able to prevent this dismal outcome. The past Raiden receives the premonitions of destruction and the road that leads to it and informs the combatants of what is to come so that they may all prevent it…But will they succeed? Can their destiny be changed and the fate of Earthrealm be spared annihilation by the hands of the evil Emperor? The only way to know is to take part in Mortal Kombat.

Yes! There’s actually a plot to this one guys and gals! I say that because, in the past (and in my opinion), Mortal Kombat games haven’t really been very…uh…attentive to the “story” portion of their games after about the third addition to the fighting game franchise (not counting the Sub-Zero spin off, Special Forces spin off and MK vs DCU). Honestly, it just kinda seemed like the developers were paying more attention to how to make things look more bloody/gory than how any individual or overall story could develop. That completely changed with this new release, though. In fact, the Story Mode of the game is completely enthralling and addictive.

Bad sorcerer! Very bad sorcerer! ><

There are multiple chapters in the Story mode, each one focusing on a different character whom you control during battles. Since the plot of the game is reliving the past Mortal Kombat games in an effort to change the future, the story mode is initially set at the start of the very first game/tournament/movie. From there, it progresses on to the second installment and so forth in wonderfully rendered detail, animation and fun (but sometimes difficult) battles.

Graphics: The 3D style graphics that have become the signature look of the Mortal Kombat games since MK3 have been revamped and it looks gooooood! Everything is back-to-basics in a way since the developers wanted to give the game a nostalgic feeling reminiscent of the original but executed in a new way so old favorites from stages like the Living Forest and the Pit to character attacks like Johnny Cage’s nut punch are here and in HD! There’s also that “progressive damage” look the characters get as the battle rages on. Each time the characters sustain damage, it shows. From blood splatters and open sores to weapons protruding from their bodies, you can really SEE the damage.

Gameplay

• X-Ray Attacks: Speaking of seeing the damage, this new installment features the new “X-Ray” attack system that allows you to unleash brutal attacks on your opponents. When the Special Bar on the bottom of the screen (also new) fills to max, you can press L2 + R2 which unleashes a special, character specific attack that, if it connects, switches the screen to X-Ray mode and you can see your character damaging/breaking their opponents bones, teeth and/or internal organs. Each X-Ray attack does damage equal to about 30% or so of the opponents health bar but it HAS to connect so use it wisely.

• Fatalities: The fighting style is still very much true to MK style with preset combos, special attacks and of course the Fatalities. Each character has a total of three Fatalities, two of which must be unlocked from the Extras menu and yes, they’re just as bloody and graphic as ever!

By earning coins during gameplay, you can unlock movies, stages and character Fatalities by purchasing them in the Krypt. You can also view artwork, game trailers, etc in this menu.

• Training: For all you beginners out there or veterans who just need to get back into the swing of things, there’s a tutorial mode that gets you accustomed to the basics of gameplay and the new fighting style. There’s also a mode that allows you to train using the partner system, too.

Learn how to move backward and forward!

 The partner system allows you to face off in 2-on-2 battles, switching characters freely to replace the one on the field or just for a quick attack. If you get clever, you can combo into your partner’s attacks and deal more damage.

• Challenge Tower: This is like the “Mission Mode” of the game. You start at the bottom of the tower (duh) and complete tasks to climb higher and higher till you reach the top! The game also gives you the option to skip any mission you find too difficult by spending coins. The amount required depends on the level of the mission. You don’t get to pick the character you want to complete the challenges, rather the challenges are all character specific. You start at the bottom with Sonia Blade and continue from there.

Sonias got to work her way up. The only way to do that is to satisfy Jaxs conditions....

• Online: Let’s not leave out the online capability of the game! Challenge your friends or random strangers from all over the world in Online play! On the one hand, for some reason, the folks who made the game decided to charge people $10 to unlock the online features. If you don’t wanna pay, there’s a two day free trial available for download. On the other hand, if you purchased the game (like you should…how else would you have it?) there’s a little sleeve in the game case that has an activation code to unlock the online features. Idk either.

Play online and get your butt handed to you by some guy whos probably a 12 y/o in japan!

Sound: The soundtrack isn’t anything too noticeable, to be honest. I’m fully aware of the fact that there’s BGM but it’s not too stand-out to me. What I did hear wasn’t so bad. The game is full of very well orchestrated, ominous music tracks that fit well in each stage. Where it really stands out is the sound effects, though. Hearing bones crunch, organs squish and agonizing screams and yells really convinces you that it hurts…as if seeing Reptile’s talons gouge out someone’s eyes doesn’t look like it would hurt anyway. The voice over work is very well done, as well. The story really comes to life because it sounds like the characters are interacting with each other rather than a bunch of random sound bytes put together and badly timed out.

Misc: The game is pretty solid. The one thing that kinda gets me is the controls. It tends to feel a bit stiff at times. Combos have to be input very precisely and a few inputs are very time specific. It doesn’t take much time to get used to but there’s no helping the feeling of fast paced gameplay being limited by attack delays and execution lag.

Overall: This is a kick ass game regardless. It’s a HUGE step up from MK vs DCU (in my opinion…Oh what a bittersweet relationship I have with you, WB). I give it a 4.5 out of 5. Way to step your game up, Warner Bros. Let’s keep the hits coming.

All screen shots courtesy of me, ExpJunkie! Taken with a Motorola Atrix 4G (that’s my phone haha not bad quality on the pics tho, huh?).

Iris Online – Your fate is in the cards

Heyhey folks! Expjunkie here (yes! he lives!) and I’m bringing you a new review for a classic MMORPG called Iris Online. Published by GALA and Eyasoft and brought to you by gPotato! This 3D anime-style F2P game is definitely worth a look into. Check it out!

Story: Here it is in a nutshell: The land of Arcana was a peaceful place (as they all usually are to begin with) until an evil man named Lord Archane used a sword of other-worldly power to try to rule over Arcana. Using the sword, however proved to be too much to handle and so Lord Archane was taken down by a group of heroes who, once again, brought peace to the land…but it was short lived. The power generated by the sword used by Archane was slowly tearing the realm apart; opening dimensional rifts through which hoards of monsters and negative energy were seeping through. It’s up to you, the reincarnation of one of the great heroes of old, to seal the rifts and save Arcana once again! Ya that about sums it up. Throw in a crazy circus run by a crazy looking clown/ringmaster and a deck of Tarot cards and you’ve got a game!

Character Classes: Iris Online features races to choose from, each with their own classes to evolve into. There are the Humans (all-arounders), Hybrids (tanks/thieves) and Elves (scouts/mages). When you start the game, you pick your race and one of the two starting classes based on that race. There isn’t much in terms of customization, though. From there, as you level, you specialize in the two (or three) tiers in that particular class. Confused? Lemme explain: Take for example the Humans. You can choose to start off as either a Fighter or a Mage. From there, the Fighter can choose to become a Knight, Mercenary or Gladiator which can eventually become a Templar, Legionnare or Crusader respectively. The Mage can become either a Magician or Priest which end up as either a Wizard or High Priest (clever, eh?) respectively.

Graphics: If the 3D anime style bit didn’t get you then the bright, highly detailed environments and easy to handle UI will. The game flows quite nicely and in the week (or so) I’ve been playing, I haven’t encountered any problems with overlapping layers or polygons gone awry like in most other 3D games. The only hang-up is a slightly longer loading time when transitioning between maps. If you don’t mind staring at a random game tip for a few extra seconds then disregard that last part. Anyway, the game features great, crisp and vivid graphics. Very pretty to look at =]

Misc: One interesting concept Iris Online features is its Card system. The game is based on different types of cards from Monster Transformation cards that (amazingly) allow you to transform into monsters you see out in the fields, Magic Cards that you can equip or attach to your equipment to give you added stats, to Tarot cards that tell your fortune and give you extreme buffs. You can find cards all around the world as loot from killing monsters and bosses. There are even rare Monster Transformation cards that allow you to turn into bosses! Each card is a one-time use, though, so be careful about when and where you use them. Since it is a F2P game, Iris Online does feature an Item Mall. The selection is kinda limited but then again it isn’t one of those games where you can only get the full experience if you’re a gPotato cash user.

Overall: Iris Online is a great game. One of the better ones I’ve played. If you’ve ever played an MMORPG, you’ll have no problem getting the hang of the controls right off the bat. If you haven’t played one before, the hotkeys are all easily customizable and the simple and SHORT (love that part) in-game tutorial quest will be more than enough to get you by. There are plenty of quests available every level you gain, too so there’s always something to do if straight grinding isn’t your thing. You know, actually following the game plot. The one drawback I can think of is the annoyingly prolific amount of bots in the main area of the main city of the game >< Yeah, you can blacklist them but there WILL be new ones…and they just LOVE to spam every single chat channel. The bright side is that they’re only in that one area so just walk a few meters away and it stops haha

Rating: Definitely a 4.5 out of 5 stars here folks. There’s plenty going on in Iris Online to keep you occupied for a long time. Check it out over at their website Iris Online where you can find more info and download the game client. Happy gaming and remember, the cards don’t lie.

Video footage from YouTube.com