Hunting Game(s) - Mortal Kombat on Vita

Not much going on for me in games this week, so I'm doing a short post about the Vita version of Mortal Kombat, my first official Vita game (finally!)

First, I got it for $10 at GameStop during their GameStock sales; you really can't beat that price.

If you've played a console version, it is almost identical. The graphics are a touch worse than I expected, but they are still very good for being on a handheld. It plays much more similar to the original MK games and is better for it -- it's not terribly difficult to play, though I'd say it's very hard to master. I myself do alright against the CPU, and I'm normally rubbish when it comes to fighting games.

So, if you love fighters or MK, it gets a go from that stand point alone.

The most interesting addition, however, really makes this version shine. There are different challenge modes that are unlocked by first beating them in the "challenge tower", which is done in the same way you beat the arcade mode -- complete a match and move up to the next level. The difference here is that there are a slew of different mini-games or unusual fights you have to progress through instead of normal bouts. Some examples of the mini-games include a balance game that requires you to move the Vita to stay upright (while being pelted with body parts), a Fruit Ninja knock off, and a bunch more (I'm not sure if I've even seen them all yet). Some of the unusual fights require you to use the touch or tilt features of the Vita to control the battlefield or things appearing in the battlefield, and then there are matches that simply require you to beat your opponent in a strange way. One match I thought was interesting forced you to pickup randomly appearing power ups or go blind. That's right -- if you didn't get a power up quick enough, the screen went black and you had to pray you were punching the other guy and not getting yourself ripped in half.

If you have a Vita, I'd say this is a buy for the mini-games alone. That, coupled with the best story mode I have ever seen in a fighting game (it takes you through Mortal Kombat's twisted history -- with scenes and everything), makes this a worthy addition to your library, even if you've missed out on the sale.

8/10

Other News: Sleeping Dogs comes out on Tuesday! I do not think I will be picking it up at release, but it is certainly on my radar.