Mortal Kombat X is an amazing achievement of a game. Honestly, right now it probably ties MK9 as my third favorite game in the franchise, only behind my first place (Mortal Kombat II) and my second place (Mortal Kombat Deception). The mechanics feel smoother and more rich than before. The new characters all play amazingly even if I don't like one or two of them (here's looking at you Ferra/Torr and Jacqui). It's fully-fleshed how I like all my MK games to be. It's a game for the casuals and a game for the die-hards, the best of both worlds.

First off, I'd like to talk roster. The 24 (25 if you got Goro) characters we were given in Mortal Kombat X all feel, look and play amazingly. I've tried them all out to a varying degree and I find myself enjoying even the characters I initially disliked in concept (see above). They all bring interesting things to the table, especially now with the variation system. However, I feel like they could've given us a bit more. I'll get into this a bit later in my write-up but I'm going to go ahead and mention some of it now. There are certain characters that SHOULD have been in the initial roster. While I appreciate the surprise effort by NRS to give us NPC battles in Story Mode, part of me feels a little cheated that, considering two of them appear in battles that equal characters already on the roster, namely a character who has little to do plot-wise and is more or less a cameo of the same regard (Ferra/Torr), we should've had a base roster of 29. Add to the original mix; Rain, Tanya, Baraka & Sindel. They should've had variations. Not just that, but I'll go a step further and even say they should've announced two Kombat Packs. One guest per each pack with 3 MK characters alongside them. My dream would've been Kombat Pack 1: Jason, Fujin, Li Mei and Bo Rai Cho. Kombat Pack 2: Predator, Smoke, Frost and Cyrax. But hey, that's just me. DLC aside, I strongly feel those fightable characters should have been on the initial roster, however I won't fault them or lower my opinion of the game because of it. NRS is a team that loves easter eggs and considering we're still in early stages and have yet to see hidden battles and Faction Bosses, I'll hold off until then but I definitely give them a standing ovation for the surprises. They were indeed welcome.

Now I'd like to go to the Story Mode. A driven tale of a civil war, family drama and the fate of Earthrealm (per usual). A re-telling of Mortal Kombat 4, pumped x10 with a more diverse cast of characters. There IS inconsistency that sticks out to me and that is the family drama. It feels very un-MK and it nags me. Who am I to complain though? NRS delivered possibly its best Story Mode yet full of cameos, QTE's and some of the best cinematics we've seen thus far from the impressive developer. Redemption for some of the fallen, interesting set-ups to come (RULER OF THE NETHERREALM IS A FUCKIN' TURKEY!) and the promise of a No Fucks Given Raiden make me squeal with giddy, nerdish pride. While the writing itself is a little spotty at times, they still gave us one hell of a 2-3 hour experience. Definitely something to remember.

Factions are a highly welcomed addition. This will keep me competitive for months, as well as the online mode which is back and (in my opinion) better than ever. I've played around 30 matches today and all but 2 were smooth. Small issues and a little lag but overall a very good experience. Much, much better than my online experience with MK9 and I hope it stays that way. The redesign of the Krypt is nothing short of amazing. It's creepy, the jump scares get me and the hunt for hopeful secrets and easter eggs in there have me intrigued for days.

So in conclusion, Mortal Kombat X is everything I wanted it to be minus a few hiccups here and there. It's an amazing experience thus far and I hope NRS keeps building upon this game for months to come after the Kombat Pack is over. Dare I hope for a Kombat Pack 2 or an Ultimate MKX? Yes, but if my dreams are not fulfilled, I will rest easy knowing that Boon and Co. hit it out of the park with this release. It's almost the 25'th anniversary of Mortal Kombat as a franchise and it's back and better than ever.

Flawless victory.