Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
2005 video game
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is a 2005 action-adventure game developed and published by Midway for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A spin-off of the Mortal Kombat franchise, it is a retelling of the events of Mortal Kombat II (1993). Players control the eponymous Shaolin monks Liu Kang and Kung Lao in either single player or cooperative play as they protect Earthrealm from the forces of Outworld.
A spin-off centered on Liu Kang had been considered since the early 2000s, but was shelved after negative reception to the previous adventure spin-offs, Mythologies: Sub-Zero (1997) and Special Forces (2000). Shaolin Monks was officially announced in 2004 as part of Midway's plan to release Mortal Kombat games annually. Developed with the intent of appealing to Mortal Kombat fans, Shaolin Monks incorporates elements from the fighting game entries, including Fatalities, combos, and a versus mode.
Released in North America on September 19, 2005, the game received positive reviews for transitioning the series into an adventure game and its co-op mode, although reception to the narrative, visuals, high difficulty and short length were mixed. It was also a commercial success, selling over one million copies.
Gameplay
The game features three main modes of play. Aside from a single-player mode, the game has a co-operative mode, where two players can work together through the game, with access to some areas and items that are inaccessible in single-player mode.
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