Written by: Ian

 

 

 

Despite a downsizing to the Vita and all that means, have Netherealm been able to kram all the content into this portable version of "Mortal Kombat"? With a slew of additional content and use of the touch screens over all of the console editions, is this the best version of MK to get despite the slight price premium?

 

 

Don’t expect anything new over the console versions of the 2011 reboot of MK here. Having said that, for a fighting game, MK features a seriously impressive storyline, which is a re-imagining of events around the first couple of games, but allows for some of the more memorable fighters introduced from MK3 onwards to be included.

 

There’s obviously quite a bit of silliness going on to ensure you spend most of your time fighting, but to squeeze it all on in such high quality to the Vita is an impressive feat.

 

 

Despite the size decrease, Netherealm have gone to great lengths to ensure that you get the full console gameplay experience on the PS Vita. All of the single player content (which was already hefty) has been copied across, including all of the DLC which was made available after launch.

 

 

You have a real wealth of fighters, a long and varied story mode, a variety of training modes, the traditional arcade ladder to fight through, and the challenge ladder, with hundreds of small challenges available to complete using a variety of disciplines. You also gain koins to spend in the krypt to get yourself some more unlocks and little easter eggs, which has always been one of my favourite MK aspects. There’s literally about 50 hours of content there already, but if that weren’t enough, then there is also a Vita specific bonus challenge tower available.

 

Featuring a wealth of further challenges, these try to make more use of the Vita’s extra controls. One moment, you may be playing a fruit ninja clone, before moving onto touch fatalities or juggling your character by tapping missiles. Some of these challenges feel a bit gimmicky, but most are decent, and you can always skip the more annoying ones.

 

 

Even downsized, the game controls really well. Sometimes, the little sticks that are on the Vita aren’t ideal, but if you move over to the d-pad (which purists will no doubt default right to anyway), then you’ll find the game probably controls better than with the 360’s awful d-pad. Throw in some relatively simple touch-screen controls (which are also totally optional), and you have a really tight game that pleasantly surprises at just how close it gets to a full home experience. With great controls, a fluid frame-rate and an overflowing riches of content, MK comes straight into the fray showing other developers just how to make a great handheld experience.