Gamespot has now released its final review for the recent release of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. They give the a game a pretty solid rating of 7.5. Though it does criticize certain aspects of the game, it is safe to say that MK: Shaolin Monks will never be compared against the lackluster attempt that was Mortal Kombat: Special Forces. From their complete review:

When it comes down to it, if you're a Mortal Kombat fan, you'll like Shaolin Monks. If you aren't, you won't. The core action of the game will be enjoyable to any beat-'em-up fan, but what makes Shaolin Monks specifically appealing isn't its brawling. Instead, it's the game's unrelenting desire to cater to classic Kombat fans. Average players aren't likely to want to seek out all the crazy, hidden missions you have to accomplish to unlock the included arcade port of Mortal Kombat II, for instance, but fans are likely to squeal with delight at the thought of being able to unlock their favorite arcade fighter. And that's pretty much how it is with the entirety of the game. It's fan service, pure and simple, and as such, the vast bulk of the content is only going to be appealing to those with a penchant for fatalities and toasty guy. So if you played and loved the classic Mortal Kombat fighters, Shaolin Monks is a game well worth checking out. For anybody else, Shaolin Monks might make for a solid rental; but ultimately, this one's probably best left to the fans.

Thanks goes out to Mortal Kombat Online user DECEPTION for the news lead.

Also, we'd like to bring to your attention that our most recent Developer Diary with MK: Shaolin Monks producer Shaun Himmerick made some waves over at GameSpot concerning Shaun's mentioning of the possibility of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks coming to the Sony PSP. From their rumor control:

Although there's already one Mortal Kombat game confirmed for the PSP--Mortal Kombat: Deception Unchained, due next February--word began to percolate last week that a handheld version of Shaolin Monks is in the works. The rumor trail led back to a post on Mortalkombatonline.com, an independent MK fan site with strong ties to Midway Games. These ties are so strong, apparently, that one of Shaolin Monks' producers, Shaun Himmerick, has been using the forums for his own developer diary. In the sixth entry, he mentions that "we are doing analysis of possibly doing MKSM for PSP.... And I say an ANALYSIS, not a commitment to do it." (Emphasis in the original.) But despite Himmerick's caveat, word began to spread that MKSM for the PSP was a done deal, prompting a quick and emphatic response from a Midway spokesperson. "That's a rumor at best," said the rep. "I can confirm that Deception is in the works on PSP and should ship by the end of this year. Shaolin PSP is nonexistent right now but could definitely kick off in development soon after the platforms ship."

Honestly, we first heard of this rumor when we read the developer diary itself. Stay tuned for our Fight Night chat with the Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks Development Team on Monday October 3^rd, and maybe then we'll get some answers.

Our transcript is now available.

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Mortal Kombat Online is proud to announce along with the release of Midway Games' Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, the return of its popular celebrity chat feature FIGHT NIGHT! The return of Fight Night will bring fans and the Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks Development Team, including creative director Ed Boon and producer Shaun Himmerick, together in one central location to have the fans' questions answered by the team itself!

The chat event itself will take place on Monday, October 3^rd at 9 PM Eastern Daylight Time. The event will last for about an hour, and it will take place at the #MortalKombat Online IRC Network!

The event can be reached via a java chat at the link above or by using the following settings in your IRC client of choice:

Server: irc.webmaster.com -or- irc.webchat.org
Port: 6667
Channel: #mortalkombat

Because of the anticipated high attendance, question submission for Fight Night will be done before the event. From now until Friday, September 30^th at 11:59 PM EDT, we will be pre-accepting questions for the chat via the Fight Night Submission Form available at this link. We will be accepting approximately ten to fifteen questions related to Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (either development questions and/or playable hints) from the pre-submitted queue, time permitting. Then, attendees will be able to submit questions at the actual event itself. The remainder of the questions for the evening will be picked from the questions asked at the event. It will be at this time that we might take a few questions pertaining to the development of Mortal Kombat 7.

Don't forget to mark your calendars! Again, the event will be taking place Monday, October 3^rd at 9 PM EDT. We look forward to seeing you all at Fight Night! As Shaun Himmerick would put it best, Tell your friends!

About Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks:

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is an Action/Adventure title driven by both intense single and multi-player action. Similar to the recently released Mortal Kombat: Deception, background interactions (i.e., acid pits, living trees, spiked ceilings, etc.), multiple new fatalities, and action-based puzzles will also play an important role in the player’s quest for an “outstanding� victory. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks will feature an impressive line-up of Mortal Kombat characters, as well, that make frequent appearances as enemies, in boss battles and during several additional in-game interactions.

About Mortal Kombat Online Fight Night:

Fight Night chat events have been taking place in the Mortal Kombat Community since well before 1999 with special guests including Ed Boon (creator, Mortal Kombat), the MK: Deadly Alliance and MK: Deception developments teams, members of Threshold Entertainment's Conquest television program, and other various MK personalities. Mortal Kombat Online broke a Fight Night record in October 2004 when over 1,200 guests witnessed the event with key members of the Mortal Kombat: Deception development team.

About Mortal Kombat Online:

Founded in 1998, Mortal Kombat Online has covered four E3 conventions, three Midway Gamers' Day events, two past Mortal Kombat developer chats, and Game Stars Live in London. Mortal Kombat Online has gained the reputation of providing the best analysis of the games' progress while featuring exclusive hands on previews of games like Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks and Mortal Kombat: Deception, even before release. The website's growing relationship with Midway Games and the Mortal Kombat Team has supplied fans with information that can't be found anywhere else. Mortal Kombat Online in February of 2004, changed its name from MK5.ORG, in an effort to expand its focus on the entire Mortal Kombat franchise.

Fight Night Host Contact Information:

Scott Howell
Webmaster
scott@mortalkombatonline.com

Scott Bishop
Senior Editor
drkbish@mortalkombatonline.com

Mortal Kombat Online - The Ultimate Mortal Kombat Experience
http://www.mortalkombatonline.com/

If you visit EB Games or GameStop, you can get your copy of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks today! The game is out a couple days early, as the release date is supposed to be Monday, September 19th. If you go in and say you didn't know it was out and you just wanted to pre-order it, you can probably get away with picking up the action figures by Jazwares, at no additional charge. Check out the display stuff the different stores have:

So have fun playing MK: Shaolin Monks, everyone!

UPDATE - 19th September 2005 - Midway has issued a press release announcing the release of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. From the press release:

CHICAGO – September 19, 2005 – Building on the success of its best-selling Mortal Kombat franchise, Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading software industry publisher and developer, today announced that it has shipped Mortal Kombat®: Shaolin Monks™ for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft.

"Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks delivers on our plan to produce quality Mortal Kombat titles on an annual basis," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "In expanding the Mortal Kombat universe in the action/adventure genre, players can expect a challenging and innovative gameplay experience that adds a fresh new look and feel to our best-selling franchise."

The press release also has information on the marketing campaign for MK: Shaolin Monks. To read the press release in its entirety, click here.

Desperately trying to break free of the shadow that is Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, Midway Games has made every effort to pump brand new life into Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. While it still may be be three days until  all gamers are able to get their twitchy hands on the latest installment into the Mortal Kombat series (Shaolin Monks is already available as of yesterday at some retailers), the folks over at IGN.com have played through the game and come through with the first official review. From IGN:

Midway has done a great job of taking a very popular, well-entrenched franchise and moving it over to another genre with success. Shaolin Monks isn't without its faults, but the game's tenets are good, the moves, the fighting, the unlockables, and its surprising level of depth all count for so much. And all of this is topped off with the superb co-op mode. Grab a friend and play this, you'll have a blast.

That being said, both the XBOX and PS2 versions of the game were given an 8.0 rating, which means even though the game could still a few bits of work, it is still excellent and highly recommended. Congratulations to Midway Games and the entire Shaolin Monks team for bringing in yet another solid title!

If you wish to read the rest of IGN's review, click here. As always, keep Mortal Kombat: Online tabbed for all of the latest news.

IGN has posted a whopping ten new videos of in-game footage from Midway's soon-to-be-released Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks! The videos are mostly short videos showing miscellaneous gameplay, including Kung Lao dealing with some giant snakes by feeding them enemies, Kung Lao being defeated by enemies in the Living Forest and being eaten by a living tree, and Kung Lao (again) gaining the ability to perform a Brutality (which is activated via a code combination like any other finisher) and executing it on a small group of enemies. Also included in the videos are a couple of Legends of Kombat videos, including one that discusses Kitana (who, it is revealed, is an enemy until you can break a spell on her, making her an ally) and the Outworld emperor himself, Shao Kahn (who Ed Boon reveals is in fact the final boss of MK: Shaolin Monks).

The videos are in varying lengths and sizes; they are available to stream and also to download in Windows Media format in 320x240 resolution, but IGN Insider members can download 640x480 versions in both Windows Media and Quicktime format. To watch and/or download the videos, click here.

Our thanks to forum member Subzero2 for the heads-up on these new videos!