Mortal Kombat Game Review

I grew up playing fighting games. From Justice League Task Force and Street Fighter 2 on the Super Nintendo, to Fighters Destiny on the N64-- it was a great genre back then. With the coming of the last and current generation of consoles, I couldn't help but notice that fighting games have failed to evolve to a standard that their respective specifications have allowed them to. With the exception of Super Smash Bros, fighting games have done nothing but move onto a broken 3D plane and improve a bit graphically. However, when I saw some of the gameplay from the development of Mortal Kombat last year, I was instantly curious if this new installment to the series would add what was lacking to all the fighting games of the past decade. I hope to unravel just that in this game review.

When Mortal Kombat came into the spotlight, the developers had made it clear that this new game would serve as a tribute to the original MK series first released in 1992; it would be brought back to the 2D plane and embrace the brutality that that previous games in the series strayed away from. Mortal Kombat stayed true to their mission statement-- over-the-top fatalities are back, which will leave you in excitement or disgust (depending on your perception of 'bad taste'). All of the stages are remakes from the first three games as well, and some of these stages also have their own fatalities that play off of the surrounding environment. There is also an extensive character list, with future DLC confirmed.

Mine, then craft, then mine, then craft, then LUNCH! Then mine, then craft . . .

If you were like me, you've probably heard of Minecraft before, but didn't quite understand what the hype was all about. Let me tell you, reader-- believe the hype. The premise seems repetitive and mundane on the surface, but dig a bit deeper (pun intended) and you will find something more. Whether you are set out to survive, or to build creatively, the sky is the limit (another Minecraft pun) with what you can do here.

At first glance, the pixelated and chunky graphics might be a turn-off, but in time the visuals become a part of the game's charm. You play from a first person perspective, using WSAD keys to move, and using a very simple control scheme. The controls and the look are completely modifiable, and you can browse through a nice list of user created texture packs if you don't like the default look.

An example of a structure you can build in Minecraft

The Humble Frozenbyte Bundle

If you are into video games and you haven't heard of the Humble Indie Bundle, you've been missing out. The Humble Bundles are a limited time packaging of video games developed by independent game developers, released to the public on a 'name your price' basis. All of the bundles are cross platform and DRM free, making the process virtually painless.

The latest promotion, The Humble Frozenbyte Bundle, is a set of five games made by the Frozenbyte developer. Three of them are full games which include Trine, Shadow Grounds: Survivor, and Shadow Grounds. It also includes a prototype called Jack Claw, which needs an Xbox 360 controller to play, and is only playable on Windows. Lastly, you receive a free pre-order of a game in development called Splot.

While the previous promotions have been widely accepted as very successful, this bundle still has thirteen days left to go and is looking very promising. Proceeds go either to the developers, charities such as Child's Play and EFF, or any combination of the three. The full package is valued somewhere around $50, so virtually everyone wins if you give your $5-$10 to a good cause.



For more details on the games, and more information in general visit http://www.humblebundle.com/