This installment of the Mortal Kombat series has really brought a mix of a fresh yet familiar flavor. There is a lot that MKX has to offer, including both new experiences and classic ones.

This is the most fluid installment of MK yet. Running at 1080p and 60 frames per second, fighting has never felt so quick. The controls are super responsive and the characters onscreen respond to every action performed, every button pressed. Every fighter feels balanced because of the new variations you can choose between each character. You’re really forced to learn one character but in a fun way. Every character is unique and allows you to find who you are most comfortable with.

The game looks beautiful; there is so much attention to detail on the characters. Their motions feel really natural and the game looks as realistic as ever in terms of anatomy and blood physics. Because of this, the fatalities are as gruesome as ever. They tried their best to get the anatomy right when x-ray moves and fatalities are performed. Fighting looks super fluid. It’s really fun to follow the fighters onscreen; it gets hectic but there isn’t screen-tearing whatsoever or even a drop in frame rate.

The sound design and quality really leaves one wondering what they go through to get the sound just right for every action, especially for a game that revolves around mutilation, bone crunching, and all the gruesome actions you can think of. That being said, the sound design is great and it adds on to the brutality of the game.

This is the first time I’ve ever dived into a game so deeply and practicing combos has never been so much fun. The challenge is to pull it off during a real match. But the feeling when you nail the combo is amazing. Each character is so unique that it’s so hard not to try them all out. Once you find the right one, you have to stick to it, though, as it is nearly impossible to master them all. Everybody’s x-ray move is satisfying to see. Some are better than others but they all do the same amount of damage, since they really are just there to slow down the pace of the match and allow you to breathe. Fatalities are back too and each character has their own, along with “faction fatalities” which are specific to the faction you choose in the beginning.

The game isn’t perfect. There are some things that bother me, like the star of the game, the fatalities, some are far more gruesome than others, but I guess it is hard to vary the brutality among all the characters. Also, the game suffers frame rate issues during quick time events in the cut-scenes. It seems to me that many games in this generation suffer from frame rate issues during cut-scenes. There are also “easy fatalities” that cost “koins” and essentially, you’re going to have to start paying for these “easy” fatalities.

Mortal Kombat X is a solid fighting game. It lacks in some departments but if you’re really just looking for a solid fight experience, MKX is great. It’s been a while since I’ve played a fighting game that I really want to learn to play. The game is as gruesome as ever and somehow is even more over-the-top than the previous installments.

DISCLAIMER: I don’t advocate for killing, bloodshed and all that. The game is just really fun, and the whole point of Mortal Kombat is for it to be a fun fighting game with a little treat in its fatalities and brutalities.

Update: a video review was added to the article. 10:27 p.m. 4/24/2015.