Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (Playstation 2 version)
Im going to pass judgment on this game even though I have yet to complete it because I already know that I dont want to. So if you think that dis-credits this review, then don't read it.
Ive come to realize something in games, if a game is going to have cinemas, they better be good or dont bother putting them in at all; because the bar has been raised so high in terms of in-game cinemas/story telling that if I see a crappy in-game movie, it hurts the story, it hurts the pacing and it hurts the over all quality of the game!!!!!
Such a shame, the intro to Shaolin Monks is indeed INCREDIBLY ENTERTAINING!!! In fact, its one of the best game intros EVER CREATED; but every other cinema in game sucks and are no where near the quality of that intro. This game needed a bigger budget and it started off well, but doesnt ever live up.
Ill be straight forward with this: the graphics SUCK! The character models during cinemas are down right UGLY!!! On top of that, the model for the same character changes in style from scene to scene. For example, the intro movie has one version of Liu Kang (skinny, cool looking), then you have your real-time in-game model (beefy looking dude, that doesnt look that bad but nothing like the intro model), then the pre-rendered in-game cinema (UGLY AS HELL and doesnt have the same symbol on the pants).
The music in this game sucks as well. The intro had great music, but that song is never used again anywhere in the game. The music is actually very cheesy sounding and most of the time is just ambient type music that blows.
The gameplay, despite the bad graphics, is actually very good. The whole idea of a one hit kill fatality after charging your combo meter is a lot of fun. The combo system is pretty easy to learn quite fast and works really well. The background elements also add a fun element to the fighting because in some cases you can punch enemies into a spike wall and instantly kill them or knock them off a cliff. On top of it all, its 2 players!!! Just wish the Xbox version was 2 players online too. There are puzzles in this game that dont do anything to make the game better and in fact stop the pacing, so I really dont like them but at least they are very easy to solve. Games like this should be non-stop action. WHY, WHY ARENT MORE GAME DEVELOPERS MAKING MORE BEAT-EM UPS??? This genre is really over due for a come back. I just hope some one makes a good one (The Bouncer was too shallow, Urban Reign is only 1 player, and Shaolin Monks has crappy graphics).
GAMEPLAY: 9 out of 10
MUSIC: 5 out of 10
VISUALS: 5 out of 10
FINAL JUDGMENT: 6.3 out f 10
Im going to pass judgment on this game even though I have yet to complete it because I already know that I dont want to. So if you think that dis-credits this review, then don't read it.
Ive come to realize something in games, if a game is going to have cinemas, they better be good or dont bother putting them in at all; because the bar has been raised so high in terms of in-game cinemas/story telling that if I see a crappy in-game movie, it hurts the story, it hurts the pacing and it hurts the over all quality of the game!!!!!
Such a shame, the intro to Shaolin Monks is indeed INCREDIBLY ENTERTAINING!!! In fact, its one of the best game intros EVER CREATED; but every other cinema in game sucks and are no where near the quality of that intro. This game needed a bigger budget and it started off well, but doesnt ever live up.
Ill be straight forward with this: the graphics SUCK! The character models during cinemas are down right UGLY!!! On top of that, the model for the same character changes in style from scene to scene. For example, the intro movie has one version of Liu Kang (skinny, cool looking), then you have your real-time in-game model (beefy looking dude, that doesnt look that bad but nothing like the intro model), then the pre-rendered in-game cinema (UGLY AS HELL and doesnt have the same symbol on the pants).
The music in this game sucks as well. The intro had great music, but that song is never used again anywhere in the game. The music is actually very cheesy sounding and most of the time is just ambient type music that blows.
The gameplay, despite the bad graphics, is actually very good. The whole idea of a one hit kill fatality after charging your combo meter is a lot of fun. The combo system is pretty easy to learn quite fast and works really well. The background elements also add a fun element to the fighting because in some cases you can punch enemies into a spike wall and instantly kill them or knock them off a cliff. On top of it all, its 2 players!!! Just wish the Xbox version was 2 players online too. There are puzzles in this game that dont do anything to make the game better and in fact stop the pacing, so I really dont like them but at least they are very easy to solve. Games like this should be non-stop action. WHY, WHY ARENT MORE GAME DEVELOPERS MAKING MORE BEAT-EM UPS??? This genre is really over due for a come back. I just hope some one makes a good one (The Bouncer was too shallow, Urban Reign is only 1 player, and Shaolin Monks has crappy graphics).
GAMEPLAY: 9 out of 10
MUSIC: 5 out of 10
VISUALS: 5 out of 10
FINAL JUDGMENT: 6.3 out f 10
