I have been a fan of the Mortal Kombat franchise for a long time. This game means so much to me and has always brought back great bloody memories from my childhood. So many times, my brothers and I would sit in our room, hours on end, and play Mortal Kombat 3 on the Super Nintendo. There was nothing better than taking turns trying to beat Shao Kaun, or even taking turns battling each other. This game has always had a close place to my heart and over the years it has become the best fighting game on the market. Now that we have made our jump to the next generation of consoles, what does Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate have to offer us that the previously released version didn’t? Let’s dive in and find out…
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTING EXPERIENCE
This is the third time I have had the opportunity to review Mortal Kombat 11 since 2019 and this game is still getting better every few months. In my original review, I had stated that my time with Mortal Kombat 11 was something really special and I didn’t plan on putting the game down for some time. I also stated that not only did this game deliver an amazing fighting experience, breathtaking story mode, and a crazy updated Krypt…they did right by fans and fixed in-game issues very quickly and I still stand by what I said.
To my surprise, only a few months later we received word that the Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Expansion was going to be released, including the first-ever story expansion and characters like Fujin, RoboCop, and Sheeva, as well as more cosmetic skins for the roster added to the game.
Though I did have my doubt originally of what we were getting in this expansion, it is exactly what we all knew it would be, a great addition to the already amazing experience that was Mortal Kombat 11. (SPOILERS)The story of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath takes place directly after the events of Mortal Kombat 11’s original story. Liu Kang, with the help of Raiden, has now taken the mantle of the FIRE GOD and is Earth Realms‘ new protector.
After defeating Kronika, he is also the new Master of Time and has many plans for Earth Realm in this new timeline. Just when things are starting to really look up for the duo the unexpected Trio of Fujin, Nightwolf, and Shang Tsung appear before the two heroes, warning them of things to come. After a deep discussion, Liu Kang and Raiden decide to help the group fix the timeline and save the realm from utter destruction.
The story expansion was nothing but a wonderful, cinematic experience that will go down as one of the best DLC story add-ons of all time. You can see my full thoughts on the story in my original MK11 Aftermath Review. Also, the fact that the one and only Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa reprised his role as Shang Sung really made the game feel that much closer to the 1995 film.
I could probably go on all day about Ed Boon and his team at NetherRealm Studios and their constant work on this game franchise. Just think about this for a second, the game as a franchise has been around for a total of twenty-nine years! This is an incredible feat for any game studio, especially one that has always been hounded on by the media for being “far too violent”.
Now, let’s talk about Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition and how amazing it is on the Playstation 5. First and foremost, the Ultimate Edition comes as a free upgrade to anyone that already owns Mortal Kombat 11 on previous consoles, but if you don’t you are still in for one hell of a deal.
This game includes the base version of MK11 with 37 playable characters, two Kombat Packs with nine additional characters, and the Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath expansion that comes with a new story DLC and three more additional characters to the game. You also get roughly around 30 to 40 cosmetic skins to customize your characters to their fullest potential!
I’m no economist, but if I was I would say that could probably be somewhere around $250 dollars worth of content and the game is still only priced at $59.99. To my recollection, there are no other game studios out there that would charge a base price for a game that has this much content. This is a perfect example of how much this studio loves its fans and product.
We reviewed the version of the game and it is a thing of beauty! The game was already a breathtaking wonder of technology on the previous systems, but seeing this gameplay at 4K dynamic resolution is just wonderful. We also get to experience new enhanced visuals and improved loading times with the game and holy hell does it make a difference.
The Load times of the PS5 version are almost hard to get used to. On PS4, just starting up the game would take almost a full minute and that is not including, picking your character, then starting a match. On PS5, I clocked the start-up time at a total of 14 seconds, with an additional 14 seconds to pick my player and start the game. That is pretty damn fast in my book and is just one more reason for me loving this new generation we are moving into.
I couldn’t actually tell the differences when I first played the game, but that is because my PS5 had downloaded the PS4 version of the game. Once I downloaded the PS5 version, the game literally looked like it had no flaws at all. I mean, no screen tears, no foggy backgrounds, no slowed frame rate, nothing. This game has been enhanced to the top tear level and just goes to show how much NetherRealm loves this game franchise and their community.
Though I have praised the game for its beauty and flawlessness, was there really that much of a difference? No. Playing this on my PS4 Pro looked just as good as it does on PS5, even though there were some rough patches with things like screen tears and dropped frame rates. That is not to take away from how much I love this game, I just hope that we don’t see a super-enhanced ultimate edition in the future as we have with games like Street Fighter.
We also can’t forget that they have added support for Kross-Gen and Kross-platform for all current consoles. This is a great way to connect the community and is finally starting to be a must-have on all games releasing. There is no better way of showing what console’s fan base is better in Kombat than finally having Kross-Platform play in a Mortal Kombat title!
Lastly, I want to talk about the new characters in MK11 Ultimate Edition. It is almost wild that we are still getting characters and possibly will have more joining the roster soon. This makes me stand by my original review statement, even more, Mortal Kombat 11 was and still is my favorite game in the series and the best fighting game I have ever played!
First, we have finally seen the return of the true Queen of Outworld, Mileena. This fan-favorite has been asked for since her untimely demise in Mortal Kombat X (2015). Mileena is extremely fast and really does a lot of damage to her opponent in a short amount of time. Second is Rain, who is not my favorite character in the series but I am glad to see him brought back to bring more choices to the rosters. Last, but not least, we have the shocker of all shockers FUCKING RAMBO!
What makes this character even better is that he was actually voiced by the man himself Sylvester Stallone, unlike the Terminator who was not voiced by Arnold Schwarzenegger, but a voice actor named Chris Cox. The addition of Rambo is a fantastic choice especially after the release of his last film RAMBO: LAST BLOOD, which I freaking loved!
There is nothing cooler than seeing Rambo Face off against the likes of Robocop, The Terminator, Spawn, and more! I can’t wait to see what character comes next to this ever-growing fighting game. To add to the already sprawling content, NetherRealm Studios added a new Skin Pack called the Klassic MK Movie Skin Pack on the 25th of this month.
This pack features not only the likenesses of three main characters from 1995 but the voices as well! So, yes, that means Christopher Lambert as Raiden, Linden Ashby as Johnny Cage, and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras as Sonya Blade. I was a bit sad to not see the likes of Robin Shou as Lui Kang, but maybe he will pop up later in an upcoming DLC Pack.
OVERALL
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition is a perfect way to kick off this new generation of gaming. With a huge amount of content, amazing visuals, and a pretty cheap price. If you like fighting games and want to see more gore than any horror film has to offer, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition is the perfect choice for you.
