Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks Critic Reviews

A shining triumph of beat 'em up glory, spinning off from the traditional MK one-on-one gameplay and showing us all just how excellent the old-school beat 'em up can be in this current generation of gaming.

The 3D beat ‘em up I have been waiting a long time for. The fighting engine just feels fantastic.

Unfortunately, this game is not online, something that would have significantly boosted replay value.

The game flows extremely well, and is just a complete blast to play. Seeing your favorite MK landscapes come to life is a total joy and the story provides some insight into the strange MK world.

While the nutball MK mythos is annoying—click through those windy speeches by Raiden as quickly as possible—it's all good once disembodied heads are bouncing around like popcorn.

I haven't had this much fun with a co-op game in quite some time.

The fighting - and there's tons of it - never grows laborious or monotonous...

A good mix of an action/adventure game and a traditional fighter. Fans of either genre will find something to enjoy and MK fans will especially enjoy the references to MK lore.

Far from the dodgy cash-in we expected, Kombat dwarfs the likes of Beat Down and offers genuine improvements in the formerly stagnant scrolling fighter genre.

A little bit of "Final Fight" and "Devil May Cry," and an even littler bit of "Prince of Persia," Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is a must-have for MK fans. It's repetitive – what did you expect? You fight the same enemies repeatedly.

The combat system is easy to learn but has enough depth that it will take time to master.

It's a really nice combination of old and new Mortal Kombat.

Shaolin Monks certainly has its problems, but the action at its heart is the most enjoyable the series has offered in ages.

Midway has done a great job of taking a very popular, well-entrenched franchise and moving it over to another genre with success. Shaolin Monks isn't without its faults, but the game's tenets are good, the moves, the fighting, the unlockables, and its surprising level of depth all count for so much. And all of this is topped off with the superb co-op mode.

If you're looking for a fight you came to the right place. If you're looking for something more than just a fight you've also come to the right place. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks puts the mental fun back in fundamental.

The Mortal Kombat transition from fighting game to action-adventure experience is handled exceptionally well in Shaolin Monks. As Scorpion would say, "Get over here!"

The creators get points for keeping the combos, juggles, air attacks, and instant-kill fatalities, not to mention the chopsocky feel and cameos from familiar faces like Baraka and Reptile.

It offers a stellar single-player adventure mode experience, a ton of unlockables, a comprehensive two-player versus mode, and best of all, the original freakin' "Mortal Kombat II" arcade game. For all of these different modes in a single game, the price tag is practically a steal.

The mighty "God of War" is a little more deserving of your action cash if you've only got the funds to buy one game where you run around killing stuff. But Shaolin Monks is a very close second-best in the heaving action sector, thanks to its good looks, decent play and a gory, blood-soaked style that's well in keeping with the Mortal Kombat legacy of pain.

It's not overly deep or terribly long, but for anyone looking for simple, cartoonish blood and brutality, this is very definitely the place.