“Finish him!”

One of the biggest gaming icons in the 1990s was “Mortal Kombat.” Who could forget the heart-ripping, spine-yanking gory goodness of MK? After much critical and commercial success, sequels were a no-brainer; the zenith of the series was MKII and after it, the series became stagnant. The problem was that 3D became the hot ticket, and MK at this point became ridiculous with its minor revisions being dubbed as “new” games and the already-saturated list of ninja characters breeding like rabbits.

Midway, however, changed with the times. MK leaped to the realm of 3D, and the progression of that became MK4, Deadly Alliance and Deception, all progressively better than the last. The series was back on track, ready to rip out the young, impressionable hearts (along with legs, arms and heads) of the “Grand Theft Auto” generation.

The newest incarnation of the series is “Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.” The unique characteristic that separates this from the other MK games is it is actually an action-adventure game. Everything that is staple MK is here (blood and fatalities), but now, instead of a fighting tournament, it’s an epic quest.

Midway is treading new waters here, and unfortunately, some flaws do bring down the game. The flaws include: repetitive combat, some awkward camera work and clunky platform mechanics. These flaws are easily overlooked, however, by the unintentionally hilarious story, good replay value, and … fatalities. Lots and lots of fatalities.

The story takes place between the end of MK and the beginning of MKII. Midway has attempted to craft a “Lord of the Rings”-level scale of drama, but all this results in is even more guffaws. The rough premise of the confusing storyline is that there is an Asian dude in a bandana who worships Bruce Lee.

Bandanaman and his friend fight a bunch of ninjas in another dimension. There, they encounter a bell bottom-wearing, self-proclaimed thunder god; he tells them they must defeat some old man who is bent on taking over the world and likes to shape-shift into a woman. They beat the old man, who, in turn, sends an army of bald, smiling mutants out to get revenge. The bald mutants launch monks from catapults, so the two vow to defeat the old man again. Somehow, all this ties up with the final fate of Earth.

Anyway, Midway nailed the story. It also went the mile in replay value. There are unlockable characters, stages, art and even an arcade version of MKII.

Finally, there are the fatalities. An MK game just wouldn’t be MK without fatalities. There just isn’t enough body-part-ripping, blood-showering epiphany in the world anymore. Midway has never dropped the ball on this one, and it doesn’t do it here, either. Victims’ spines are ripped, bodies are torched to ashes, torsos are cut in half, heads are decapitated and used as exploding soccer balls, and there is even a “very unfriendly rabbit.”

As an MK game, “Shaolin Monks” is a worthy bearer of the name. As an action-adventure game, it feels somewhat standard, a little cookie-cutter. The hilarity of the game, coupled with the great extras and bloody fatalities, however, is enough to give a thumbs up here.