Jason Voorhees Makes Mortal Kombat Even More Violent
Fewer things get horror fans more giddy than crossover fan service, so the announcement of Jason Voorhees as playable character in Mortal Kombat X had me happy as an otter on a water slide. The series is no stranger to guest characters, as MK 9 saw both God of War‘s Kratos on the PS4 version and Freddy Krueger as later DLC. I’ve never been a big fan of the Friday the 13th franchise, but the brutal world of Mortal Kombat seemed the perfect fit for the machete wielding revenant killer.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVLIgsf6qcs]
As the first character in a four character bundle, I won’t be delivering my final verdict on the package until all are out, but there is enough here to give a first impression. Jason kicks the already ultra-violent spectacle up a notch, his moves exuding a physicality that is more savage than precise. Of his three fighting styles, Unstoppable and Relentless are both grapple heavy. An array of brutal grabs and throws each displace enemies uniquely, allowing you to pick your distance for follow up combos better than the standard grab allows. The powered up variants add damage and visceral gore, as head twists and throat crushes drip blood over Jason’s iconic hockey mask. His third variant, Slasher, is a bit more vanilla, switching out the grabs for quick machete combos. Still, you couldn’t have had Jason without a machete option.
He brings some new mechanics to the table, with resurrection in his Relentless mode and a stylistic pursuit option in his Unstoppable mode. His moves fit the character, and even in the hyper fast movement of Mortal Kombat X he feels lumbering and menacing. I was let down a bit by his lackluster fatalities, but they did the trick of capturing his sheer brutality. Speaking of brutality, his brutalities are exceptionally gory and satisfying, and not too difficult to pull off.
I doubt that he will be anyone’s favorite character competitively, as he lacks a solid ranged option and some closers, but he is entertaining and unique enough to stand out. It’s hard to say if he is worth $10 by himself, as the whole 23 character roster was just $60 (24 character if you got it at launch). He comes with a horror skin pack, which includes Vampiress Mileena, Pharaoh Ermac (The Mummy), and Kraken Reptile (a sort of homage to The Creature From the Black Lagoon). The skins look nice, but none of them change the voice acting of the characters like some of the other skins do. Furthermore, they didn’t record unique introductions for characters fighting Jason, making the pre-fight trash talk pretty awkward.
But hey, odds are, you already either have the Kombat Pass or know if you are gonna get this. If you are a horror fan or someone that just has to have everything, then you won’t be let down, but you also wont be really wowed. A good addition, but not a must have showstopper. If you can wait for the rest of the Kombat Pass, then do so, and see how the other characters pan out first.
Categorized:Horror Gaming News
