Review: Mortal Kombat (PS Vita)
Last year, Warner Bros. and NetherRealm Studios released a new Mortal Kombat title. Despite some lackluster releases in recent memory, Mortal Kombat managed to deliver everything that fans had been lusting for, delivering those classic nostalgic feelings that we all fell in love with in the original Mortal Kombat titles. Now, the very same game that’s available on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 is being released onto the handheld giant, the PS Vita. So how does it fair compared to its bigger brother?
I’ll be honest, despite being a huge fan of the series I have never been a good player. I know this because I play on the easy difficulty and still get my ass kicked by the AI’s, which unfortunately have the ability to read your moves as soon as you attack. However, that’s all apart of the reason why many of us have come to love the Mortal Kombat franchise. These “cheap” AI’s are exactly what made Mortal Kombat so damn addictive in the first place. No matter how many times I’ve been beaten to a pulp, every time I see that retry option I go right for it. The game really isn’t meant to hold anyone’s hand, which makes the whole idea of winning all the more satisfying.
So I guess for those who have played the game already you must be wondering what’s different with the PS Vita version? Well there’s a few things. Like the original, MK Vita features a Challenge Tower, however, it has two of them. The first one is the exact same as the console versions. You’ll be taken through a series of challenges which includes fights and mini games. The second (Bonus) tower features a full set (150) of new challenges, which are to composed of vs. matches and mini games. However, unlike the first tower, the second tower will make good use of the PS Vita’s other features such as the touch screen and Sixaxis motion.
Challenges such as “Test Your Balance” will have you tilting your PS screen just to keep a steady balance on a board. Another challenge called “Test Your Slice’ will have you swiping at the Vita screen as you try to slice incoming body parts. Both of these mini games are quite enjoyable and offer a great break from the fighting; though don’t be surprised later as eventually they are implemented into actual matches. For the most part, the touch and tilt features are well integrated into the game, though I did have one issue. As you progress on in the Bonus Tower, it becomes evident that the difficulty is increasing. While that is to be expected, what I didn’t understand is why they bother including fights where you would need to use the Vita Sixaxis feature due to the screen automatically flipping. The issue with this is that you can become so focused with tilting the Vita that at times it becomes impractical to be fighting at the same time while moving the screen. Near the start of the tower these specific matches are not much of a problem, but when you move your way up then they become more and more problematic. Other than that specific match type, all the other Vita features were a welcome addition to the game as they’re well implemented and make matches far much more enjoyable and challenging.
The standard button controls feel great as well, despite it being on handheld. Performing special attacks, such as Sub Zero Freeze Blast, can be done within mere seconds. It’s all easy and if you’re a veteran of the series you should have no troubles whatsoever with the controls. In fact, the differences between the PS Vita and a standard controller are so small that if another fighter were to use the controller against a Vita player, they both would be equally matched.
Graphically speaking the game is a downgrade from its console counterpart. Though it’s not terribly bad, the differences are quite noticeable. For starters you’ll notice that the background environment isn’t as sharp or as clean looking. Small little pixels surround certain objects, which at times can be bothersome. Character models, however, are the biggest difference in the graphics.
At times during cut-scenes or close ups, textures on the characters look rough and outdated and are filled with pixels. They also appear to be brighter in contrast. Though when in movement it’s pretty hard to really tell that the issues (beside contrast) are still there considering that the game does run at a full 60 frames per second, maintaining a constant and fluid flow to movement and animations.
The online component features two modes; one-on-one and tag team. Connecting to players is extremely simple and just takes a few seconds. Of all the matches that I got to participate in, all of them ran with a stable connection without any flaws. There’s a leaderboard to see how well you hold up against other players, which normally wouldn’t matter for me, but for a game like Mortal Kombat being the best there is, is truly a feat. The only difference here with online though is that it’s missing the popular 8 player(s) game mode of King of The Hill. Otherwise, with the added built in chat, the online mode is definitely something worth checking out if your looking for something a bit more competitive.
Mortal Kombat PS Vita packs much more content then the console versions do. For instance, you’ll be getting all of the downloadable content that have released thus far. This means that you’ll be getting four additional characters for absolutely free. There’s also a large amount of new male and female character costumes that are exclusive on the PS Vita; and as mentioned the game does features a bonus tower, which is filled with it’s own unique bonuses.
Overall the additional content is a nice incentive for those who have already purchased the game on home consoles. They offer hours of new replay value and do utilize the PS Vita hardware features quite well. For those who were thinking about picking this title up, then I highly suggest in doing so as this is just one of those title that are a must-have on the PS Vita.
For more information on how we review games check out our criteria here. A copy of this title was provided to The Paranoid Gamer by the publisher for review purposes. If you have any questions about this game the reviewer will be able to answer them in the comment section. Mortal Kombat is now available at retailers and on the PS Store.