Mortal Kombat Review (PS Vita)

Written by Cole Burton Thursday, 26 July 2012 09:00

Mortal Kombat was an instant hit when it launched on consoles last year, and now it intends to recreate that experience on the PlayStation Vita.  This new Vita edition of the game includes everything you would find on the console version of the game (which includes the PS3 exclusive Kratos character), all four of the DLC characters, and a brand new Vita challenge tower.  Add in all of this and the new Vita controls and you have a pretty new way to experience what you may have already played for over a year.

Rather than focusing on the game itself, I am going to review how it plays out on the Vita.  If you have yet to play the game and would like to read a review of it alone, check out this article.  That being said, let’s check out big differences on the Vita, starting with the touch screen fatalities.

It can be very frustrating when you complete a fight in Mortal Kombat and mess up the fatality.  Luckily, this happens much less on the Vita.  Rather than relying on the traditional controls for fatalities, you can swipe the touchscreen to perform them.  This also allows you to avoid using the face buttons.  While the touch screen controls may be much easier than using the traditional control scheme, you can use either method at any time in the game.

Even more important than the fatalities is the Vita exclusive challenge tower.  The challenge tower is very true to the original tower, but it takes full advantage of the Vita hardware.  Remember how Uncharted: Golden Abyss used the tech to dust objects, balance Nathan Drake, and much more?  Well, Mortal Kombat makes great use of it too.  You may be wiping blood off of the screen to see your opponent in one match, and in another you may be tilting your vita left and right to balance out the combat area.

Another thing veteran Mortal Kombat players will notice is that this new version features several new additions, like several challenge tower missions starring the DLC characters.  They also have several kollectables that can be unlocked with koins in the krypt.

In the end, I loved Mortal Kombat on the PlayStation 3, and the PlayStation Vita version stands just as strong on its own.  All of the new additions make it worth purchasing even if you already own the console version.  However, it is still the same game at the core and if you didn’t enjoy it on consoles, well, this may be worth avoiding.

8.75/10