Mortal Kombat is a legendary series of games that have been brought to us by Midway games since the early 90's by the minds of Ed Boon and John Tobias and Midway. Up until MK:9 it was produced by Midway games,the classic arcade company who produced so many classics that I would honestly have to look up to give a definitive number. With Mortal Kombat's popularity they looked to diversify their portfolio to cover more than just the fighting genre and their first 2 attempts in Mortal Kombat Mythologies and MKpecial Forces were poor attempts at that. Does their third attempt at diversity deliver or is it just another failed attempt doomed to fall into obscurity?

In my HUMBLE opinion YES! Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks is the perfect blend of Fighting game and "Beat em up". It also has a great level upgrade system where as you chain together moves to gain combo points you also gain experience points to unlock special moves and the traditional draw of Mortal Kombat,Fatalities!

You play as either Liu Kang or Kung Lao and fight your way through the first 3 games in storyline. Later on you can unlock Scorpion and Sub-Zero complete with moveset and individual fatalities as well! After you beat the game with our 2 hero's on the box you can play back through it with the two most iconic ninja's in the series history so there is tons of replay value with this game.

The music is the one weakness I would say this game has. Its not bad but there is really nothing notable besides what seems like a traditional Mortal Kombat music. The sound FX are great but I wish the music was a bit more noteworthy other than being "good".

Graphics and visuals are fantastic for a PS2 era game and the camera works well with as many enemies that pop onto the screen while you are playing..and there are ALOT of them at times. You'll never feel like you can't see something or tell what it is. There is a rich variety of colors used on screen that will wow you the further you explore into the game.

If you are a diehard Mortal Kombat fan this is a game you NEED to play and if you aren't but love beat em up them this is a game you should really try as well as it will not dissapoint you!

I give "Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks" a 9/10