MK. Flawless fighting, brutal fatalities.
FATALITY!
There’s no better word in the English language than that one when I turn on my Xbox and go to destroy tiers of opponents, laying waste to the likes of Sub Zero, Liu Kang, Raiden and eventually Goro and Shao Kahn himself. Fighting games are my favorite. They offer instant gratification, brutal confrontation, and an adrenaline rush unmatched by any other genre of video game. And there’s no better game to celebrate the relentless violence with than the rebooted MORTAL KOMBAT, Ed Boon’s gift to fighting fans everywhere, which released a year ago today.
And it’s by far the greatest fighting game ever made.
X Rays enhance the concept of pain
I was never good at the MK games until MK 4 came out for the Nintendo 64. Once the franchise went 3-D, I became very adept at slaughtering my enemies in the guise of my undead warrior soul mate, Scorpion. After the lukewarm T-rated MK vs. DC UNIVERSE, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the chance to rip flesh the same way again.
And then MK’s reboot came out. And it was the flawless fighter. Blood gushing everywhere, the purest 2-D combat I’ve ever played, and some legendary stomach turning fatalities.
Scorpion, my ninja demon of choice
I played every day for the first six months it was out. I got so good with Scorpion that I was clearing out the single player tournament on Expert within a month. Too good, in fact. It became a lot less challenging, but with over 20 other characters, I still go back and annihilate Kung Lao and friends every so often.
And I will tonight. The game’s one-year anniversary inspires me to want to tear muscles, kill and kill again, and send those bold and foolish enough to challenge me right back to the Neather Realm. With three different finishers.
Join me in the celebration. Or as Scorpion would say…
GET OVER HERE!
–Phil Fasso
