on one hand, there's a corporate scrubbing here that is of a very particular kind: gameplay has been smoothed over to appeal to a core group of competitive players. ultimately, this is fine, if a little odd and occasionally awkward. the roughness of mk's combat, in how it still benefited best from getting together with your buddies and a pack of beers on the weekends to marvel at how goofy it was, served as one of the biggest appeals of mortal kombat to me.

i worried that a plotline seemingly plucked from marvel's the avengers might bog down the game as a whole. while it definitely feels like it's meant to have a wider appeal (understandable; this is a reboot, in execution), the characters retain a lot of the appeal they've always had. some of these reworkings are pulled off so well-- johnny cage comes to mind immediately, but so does reptile. baraka's rework is inspired, and sindel is a treat to witness after two decades of the same thing. because of this, the marvel movie style plotline clicks into place: no doubt this is thanks t the charismatic performances put forth by the cast. the core four this go-around (johnny, kenshi, kung lao, raiden) just work together well. it's fun when it needs to be.

in comparison to previous entries in the franchise, there's a lack of Kontent in this entry. it's fluffed out by dlc, but this package is definitely a little slimmer than it usually is. while some of it has gotten better, other aspects still need work, and probably won't see it until MK2.

but honestly? i can't complain too much about the over polished gameplay. after all, you put it down like new york city, i never sleep, wild like los angeles, my fantasy, hotter than miami, i feel the heat, oh oh oh oh, it's international love