`Mortal Kombat 1' reboots, alters franchise to mixed results
Now that the “Mortal Kombat” series has done its second reboot, one has to wonder if anything has really changed. While many things have changed in “Mortal Kombat 1,” the focus remains on violent, combofocused fighting with an engine that's more flexible.
By the end of the “Mortal Kombat 11” story, series protagonist Liu Kang became the god of fire, and now he's reset the timeline of war and violence to give the universe a chance for peace. This means all other characters' stories have been reset, and the canvas is cleared for a new story. While many classic characters are back, the way their stories play out puts a spin on the lore that fans are familiar with, but it still feels so familiar that it raises the question of why they bothered with a reboot to begin with.
When the first “Mortal Kombat” reboot from 2011 chose to focus on its story mode, it created a new standard for fighting games: a mode that combines cinematic storytelling with matches involving a variety of characters. While the premise is interesting, the results end up feeling like a less interesting rehash of past events. Some of the former heroes become villains and vice versa, but most of the characters maintain their old personalities.
The real meat of any fighting game lies with the fighting itself. The new twist this game adds to keep things fresh is Kameos. They work like a tag assist in other fighting games. After you pick your fighter, you have to select someone who acts like a sidekick, and you can call them to assist with combos — giving you more moves at your disposal. It's an interesting system that adds a lot of opportunity and flexibility. Figuring out which Kameo is best for each fighter provides the level of experimentation that fighting game fans thrive on.
Aside from the online versus modes, there's also the new invasion mode that's unlocked after beating the story. The mode involves picking a character and moving them around a board while completing fights, using special items and unlocking new gear/ Kameos. While the mode is a fun novelty at first, navigating the board and dealing with the various item upgrades and resources feel like a real mismatch for a fighting game.
Towers of Time in “Mortal Kombat 11” was a great feature that offered a revolving set of fights of varying difficulty. It was fastpaced and gave players who preferred to play offline plenty of content to enjoy. Invasions in “Mortal Kombat 1” just doesn't match what the Towers brought.
While “Mortal Kombat 1” offers a good amount of content, it feels as though the developer isn't sure what they want the franchise to be. Most of the new incarnations of fan-favorite characters aren't as interesting as they once were, and while the fighting engine is better than “Mortal Kombat 11,” it lacks the modes that fit with a fighting game. This is a game that strips a franchise to its core and adds new bells and whistles to it. The end result is a mixed bag that I hope improves over the next few months. “Mortal Kombat 1” finishes the fight with three-and-ahalf stars out of five.