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PS Vita Game Review


Mortal Kombat

 

Format: PS Vita
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
RRP: £39.99
1 000275 190
Age Restrictions: 18+
Available 04 May 2012


Mortal Kombat has been around for about twenty years, starting in the arcades before making the transition to home consoles, now the iconic game makes its way to the PS Vita.

I remember playing this with my daughter, who would irritatingly beat me almost every time, when it first came to the consoles. The experience was fine as a single player, but much more enjoyable against another person, so I was a little concerned that the single person experience of the Vita would be a bit of a disappointment.

There were a couple of issues which concerned me. First was the playing experience and second was the graphics. The five inch OLED Vitas screen, although large for a handheld, still remains pretty small when compared to a television and although some of the initial releases for the Vita were great games some were not a great experience as no one wants to have to strain to follow minute graphics.

Mortal Kombat uses the screen well; the graphics are detailed and large enough to allow you to relax into your gaming experience. Of course, to achieve the frame rate, some graphical finesse has been lost, but this is true of all the games which have made the transition to the Vita.

Being, mostly, a single person experience the makers of the game have pushed the medium to another level, including an on-going narrative in the eight hour story mode. Here the game has a neat trick. Instead of playing a single character throughout the story you are constantly being pushed out of your comfort zone, by forcing you to play as differing characters.

The story is a little cheesy and the vocal acting is over the top, but then both are in keeping with the game. Eight hours isn’t a great amount in other games, but its incorporation into what is essentially a beat-um-up extends and enhances the overall experience.

You’re not restricted to the story mode. If you have a particular favourite which you would rather play as, the game provides the 'Fight' option, which gives you an arcade ladder of fights to climb as well as 'Challenge Tower' and the 'Bonus Challenge Tower'. 'Training' mode is self-explanatory. 'Versus' brings back the human element allowing you to play either on-line or in adhoc matches with other Vita owners. As you play through all these various modes you collect coins which can be exchanged for production art and combat improvements.

The replay value of the game is quite high. Admittedly the central core of the game, as ever, is learning the ability to beat the crap out of the opposition, but the inclusion of the various games modes and wide range of characters means you have many more than the eight hours gameplay included in the story mode alone.

8

Charles Packer

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