These points can then be used to purchase new combos and special moves. And it can be multiplied even further by Finishing your poor opponent with a bloody Fatality. You can do it the old fashioned way by killing enemies to earn points and then multiply it the MK way by stringing together higher and higher combos. Too much fun.Īttacks can also be upgraded by earning Experience Points. It's even possible to throw an enemy into the air and then jump at him and attack him in mid-air. All of these attacks fluidly blend together to create some of the best beat Сem up action I have ever seen. R1 is the modifier button and holding it while pressing any of the face buttons will unleash Liu and Lao's special moves. This system allows players to attack in any direction while using the face buttons (Square = Quick Attack, Triangle = Launch Attack, O = Power Attack and R2 = Throw) to string together combos on any enemy in their general vicinity. Once you're thrown into the game, fighting is done with Shaolin Monks' Multi-Directional Fighting System. Liu Kang has more speed, while Kung Lao has more strength and the ability to perform air combos (remember that nifty Dive Kick from MKII, yeah that one). Both have all of their special moves from MKII, and they do move slightly different. In fact, the game opens with a huge cut scene detailing the end of Mortal Kombat I and Liu Kang's victory over Shang Tsung.įrom there the true game opens up and players are given the choice of playing as Liu Kang or Kung Lao. Shaolin Monks takes place during the Mortal Kombat II-era in the MK timeline and is basically a retelling of the events of that tournament (with a few new wrinkles, see below). The only way to describe it is as the 3D beat Сem up fans of Final Fight and Double Dragon have been waiting on for years. Both bombed with critics and fans and combined with the series' delayed transformation to 3D cost it the crown.īut all that changes with Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. It's also no secret that a good portion of the blame falls on the two MK УadventureФ games Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces. It's no secret that Mortal Kombat is not the dominate force in video gaming that it once was.