Set shortly after the events of the first game, demon sorcerer Shang Tsung and his minions have retreated to Outworld and Mortal Kombat champion Liu Kang and fellow Shaolin monk Kung Lao are enlisted by the thunder god Rayden to track him down and defeat him. Now, we're at this year's 'Shaolin Monks.' Whew. During this time, two feature length films were also produced. Last year's nostalgic 'Mortal Kombat: Deception' took another step by basically continuing the same koncepts but introduced the 'Konquest mode' and the 'Puzzle' and 'Chess' modes, which made for addictive gameplay outside arcade kombat while still remaining true to the title.

Their first, 2002's 'Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance,' had crisp graphics, introduced new and old characters, and carried over the koncept laid out in '4.' Kombatants were now masters of three fighting styles (two fighting styles and one weapon style) and kombat was at its peak in the beautifully designed arenas and brutal bouts of action. So, Boon and Tobias and their kreators went to work to give their most prized pet project a long overdue image overhaul. But that game endured a poor reception from fans and critics who felt this once-great franchise was wearing out its welcome. 1997's 'Mortal Kombat 4' introduced two new elements to make the fighting experience even more revolutionary - the addition of weapons, and all-out arena fighting kombatants were no longer confined to 2D kombat where two fighters fought on a narrow walkway on the screen. 'Mortal Kombat II' and 'Mortal Kombat 3' continued the koncept established by the first game, while adding new characters and sets.

But that didn't stop people from going crazy on their friends in simulated kombative environments. Praised for its hardcore martial arts action and gratuitous bloodshed, it also received the biting end of much controversy, due to the latter. I feel a brief recap should suffice: the first 'Mortal Kombat' was released in 1992, and it took gaming a step further than most would have ever dared to take it. As a fan of 'Mortal Kombat' since 1993, 'Shaolin Monks' has a fascinating premise behind it not evident before in any 'Kombat' game, but unfortunately it's also marred by some harsh excesses in the gameplay and other problems. As envisioned by ko-kreators/programmers Ed Boon and John Tobias during the early 1990s, 'Mortal Kombat' took the world of martial arts video-gaming by storm. 'Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks' is the next stage of evolution for the revolutionary 'Mortal Kombat' fighting game franchise.

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