Changing the genre of a game is something has been tried without triumph many times. The Tekken series tried it with the horrendous Death by Degrees, Duke Nuke'em has had his turn in a side-scroller and even the Mortal Kombat series has tried a couple of times in the past to make the leap, all intentions aside, they weren’t successful ones. This time around though, it seems Midway and the MK team have learned from their mistakes and put forward a cross genre game that worked out. Quite well for that matter. The game starts as the first Mortal Kombat tournament is coming to a close and it is an all out brawl with Shang Tsung and his minions. Once the battle is over, with Lui Kang victorious and Shang Tsung running for Outworld, the game starts. As you learn soon enough, Shang Tsung is a poor loser and has teamed up with other Outworlder's and has attacked Earth Realm. Now it’s up to you as either Lui Kang or Kung Lao, to put a stop to his madness.

The first thing you do when starting the game is choosing which character you want to go through the entire game with. Once you pick which character you want to use, you won’t be able to change later on. There are also two unlockable characters that you can choose to use for a second time through the game that are hidden. Once you choose who you want to play as, you will go through the typical tutorial missions and finally jump into the story. There are two modes that you can play Shaolin Monks through, one being the regular single player and the other is "Ko-op" mode. Ko-op allows you and a buddy to play as both characters at once and makes the game that much more easy and much more fun. It also allows you to open secret passage ways throughout the game. Having friends does have its rewards!

Playing through the single player campaign, you will visit many familiar places from the previous Mortal Kombat games. Places like Goro’s Lair and the Living Forest are some that any MK gamer will instantly remember. There is plenty of back tracking through out the game which can be an annoyance at times, but most areas you can just run through without having to fight to reach the portal you need. Each and every area is filled with traps and environmental objects that can be used to hurt enemies. Ranging from flames to spikes, to catapults and spiked ceilings, enemies can be thrown into them to make short work of them and to get them out of your hair quicker. Although you don’t get experience when you use the area to kill them, it is faster and easier when you need it. The experience points mentioned are also an interesting part of the game. Much like the smash points in Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, they can be used to purchase new fighting moves and combos for when the going gets tough later on in the game. Along with the environment traps, you can also pick up weapons to use that are scattered about to either hack and slash with or toss at enemies meaty heads. Of course Mortal Kombat isn’t Mortal Kombat without the insane fighting moves. Each character has a catalogue of moves that they can pull off, so many in fact that the controls for the moves and combos can get a little confusing at times. Along with fighting moves used in battle, you also have the ever famous Fatalities. Also included are Brutalities, which allow you to run around and perform instant kills and Multalities, that allow you to perform multiple fatalities on any enemies around you

The graphics of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks are quite impressive when playing. The movement of all the onscreen character is smooth and fluid and the animation is superb, with not one slow down experienced. The cut scenes are less spectacular, which really is a shame considering how many there are. A plus about the cut scenes however is watching the fatalities that are played when you lose against a boss as well as when you yourself perform fatalities through out the game. Another big plus that any Mortal Kombat fan will love is the original sounds are in the game. Everything from the “excellent” to the fan favorite "toasty!" are there as well as the screaming and sometimes odd sounds of battle that squeak out of Lui Kang.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks has managed to pull off the feat of hopping its franchise from one genre to another very well, although nothing is perfect. When playing alone, the cut scenes will still involve the other player that you didn’t choose. Once the scene is over, the other character magically disappears. Fighting along side NPC characters such as Johnny Cage is a treat as well as seeing the many characters from the previous games in the MK series pop up. Also it’s nice to see just how much from the original games they packed in, not just the characters. The "Test Your Might" game and other throwbacks can be found through out the game in the most useful places. Along with the many hidden features in the game, power ups, skills you can gain, the latest entry into the long line of Mortal Kombat games is definitely worth checking out and has our hopes up that there will be future installments.