Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (Xbox)

Shaolin Monks captures the mood of the first 2 Mortal Kombats perfectly. If you've played either, then you'll go weak at the knees upon seeing the Living Forest stage in glorious 3D. Or knocking enemies down to their doom in the beautiful moonlit Pit stage. This game is super flowy. Controlling Lui Kang, or Kung Lao, at the beginning is an extremely satisfying experience. Both characters handle superbly. But once you get a friend involved, the game comes into its own. You'll delight in finding ways to dispatch the scum in more gruesome and over the top ways possible using tag-team type moves.

The stages/backgrounds aren't just there to make you reminisce about the glory days of the series neither. Spikes, heavy hammers, twirly blades, spikey doors that slam shut, trees who need flesh, fire breathing statues, they can all be used to torment your unsuspecting foes. Infact, the stage hazards are needed to unlock alot of the hidden content in the game. Which there's alot of! Including the orginial arcade release of Mortal Kombat 2. You'll also pick up weapons along the way - two-handed axes, swords and daggers. Aswell as dual-wielding weapons such as Escrima Sticks and dual daggers. All are a joy to use.

With up to 10 fatalities per character, you'll delight in unlocking them all and taking care of business, as it were. All in all though, this game will most certainly appeal to fans of the series. But to others it will be way too short. Only took me 5/6 hours to complete - all be it no way near getting all the extra goodies. If you're a Mortal Kombat fan, then you definitely NEED this game. If not, then buy it anyway when it comes down in price.

The downsides to the game are..............none! Except for perhaps you could have played as all of the characters once you unlocked them as it would have increased the replay value a hundredfold, but apart fromt hat, the game is mint!