Mortal Kombat 1: The Final Preview

ign.com:

You could chalk up Mortal Kombat’s massive success as a fighting game franchise to a number of factors: It’s 30-year legacy, its attention-grabbing and unparalleled violence, its beloved roster of characters, its deep fighting mechanics, the list goes on. But I’d argue that one of the most important elements of Mortal Kombat’s success, especially since Mortal Kombat 9, has been its single player offerings, which is one thing that we haven’t really seen out of the upcoming Mortal Kombat 1. Until now, that is. At a recent event, I got to go hands-on with the first chapter of Mortal Kombat 1’s cinematic story mode, as well as its brand-new Invasion mode, and my early impressions are that NetherRealm doesn’t seem to be loosening its grip on the crown as the king of fighting game single-player modes just yet.

Mortal Kombat 1’s premise of it being a complete timeline reset, with Liu Kang being the architect of its creation, leads to an unusual start to an MK story: There’s initially no conflict. After a very cool and intriguing encounter between two returning faces that I don’t want to spoil for you here, the first chapter follows Kung Lao, who is now a farmer that works the fields with his friend, Raiden, who is notably not a thunder god and now wears an appropriate hat for his profession.

After a friendly competition in the field, the two head inside a tea house, where they’re greeted by Smoke of the Lin Kuei. Turns out the owner of the Tea House owes the Lin Kuei some money, and Smoke is there to collect. What follows is what you’d expect out of a Mortal Kombat story mode, a series of battles that tell the story of this particular conflict, with Sub-Zero and Scorpion all jumping into the mix to fight against Kung Lao and