Graphics 7/10

Not bad, but not great. Environments can be diverse, but at some points are alike to the point of getting lost. Textures are average and frame rate remains smooth throughout. Cutscenes are quite detailed and offer some great entertainment between gameplay. The ridiculously over-the-top fatalities and excellent fighting animations are detailed and fun to watch, just to see how many ways you can make a minion a broken pile of flesh. Not particularly jaw-dropping, but functional and good to look at.

Audio 6/10

Voice acting is not bad. Hearing the voices of Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and the rest are great. Sadly, the bar stops there. Everything else is standard. The smashing of bodies and punches are not particularly new. The music is okay, but will most likely be drowned out by grunts or Liu Kang’s yells. Overall, there really isn’t much to say about the audio. Functional, but not really much else.

Gameplay 7/10

Midway has improved greatly on their formula for a Mortal Kombat action game, though improved is far from perfect. Shang Tsung is loose and it’s up to Liu Kang and Kung Lao to stop him. Different attacks, throws, and special attacks are assigned to certain buttons for easy access. The combo system in Shaolin Monks is creative and smooth, allowing the player to move into a long combo with ease. Being able to uppercut an enemy up, then leap into the air and throw them is easy to do and doesn’t rely on overly-complicated button combinations. This allows plenty of variety in the fighting. Sadly, most of these moves will not be necessary, as blocking, rolling, and a simple combo will suffice for most of the enemies. If you do branch out and try some of the more complicated moves, you’ll no doubt be impressed at the smoothness of the attacks and fluidity of the combo system. But if you don’t, then you’ll be doing the same moves over and over again. Also, some of the techniques seem too cheap. Some moves allow you to safely attack without an enemy being able to attack. Execute these moves too much and the satisfaction breaks down, allowing for inexcusably long combos (I got a 100+ combo by using the same three moves over and over). You can purchase new moves or upgrades to moves at any time with experience, which is earned through large combos, allowing for a player to try out a new move without having to wait for a new stage. Weapons are also scattered about an area for use, each one having unique moves and powers. The legendary fatalities return, using the traditional button combinations to instantly destroy an enemy. These are incredible to look at, but do slow down the action a bit. Same with multi-killing Multalities, and the raging power-filled Brutalities. Bosses are challenging and unique, requiring precise timing and quick reflexes to complete, making them some of the best parts of the game. The biggest problems with Shaolin Monks are the clunky platforming and the uncooperative camera angles. Projectiles will appear out of nowhere, and making jumps in the game is difficult, both due to the sloppy camera work and difficult jumping mechanics. The gameplay of Shaolin Monks is pretty standard fare as far as beat-em-ups go, but the fighting system is fluid and fun, despite its shortcomings.

Replay Value 8/10

The fighting system does offer a lot of opportunities to experiment and the unlockable characters and hidden Kontent do provide some extra value. The Ko-Op is good as well, allowing partner attacks and some cool cooperative combos. The only problems in the value is the gameplay. If you really don’t like the gameplay and the cons outweigh the pros to you, the repetitiveness will be a prime concern. But overall, Shaolin Monks offers a lot of bang for your buck, even though the story mode is fairly short.

Final Verdict 7/10

It’s quite easy to say that this is the best Mortal Kombat game that isn’t a fighter yet, but sadly, the game could’ve been better. The repetition can be avoided by using the different techniques, but there really is no reason to try the different moves unless you want to. If the game gave you more incentive to be diverse in the fighting, the repetition could’ve been avoided. But, it doesn’t. The game’s presentation is okay, and it has a lot of Kontent and modes, but many of the ideas of the game seem incomplete and almost redundant. If you’re a die-hard Mortal Kombat fan, give it a purchase. If not, rent it for a quick, solid beat-em-up.