When you're renowned as the poster-boy for ultra-violence and gore-tastic thrills, your return to a new generation of hardware is always going to be looked upon as a blood-drenched envelope-pushing foray into the most challenging material possible - so it's a good thing then, that NetherRealm knew exactly what was expected. Although they didn't introduce any brand new mechanics like 2011's X-Ray moves, for this tenth instalment it was more about delivering a solid instalment that can forever be looked back upon as a concrete milestone in the franchises' history. Franchise stalwarts like Scorpion, Sub-zero and Liu Kang were joined by new head-rippers like Ferra/Torr, D'Vorah and Kotal Khan - they even managed to contend 2011's headline-baiting Noob/Saibot fatality (you know the one) with a lovely little intestine-pulling number from demonic soul-summoner Ermac. Everything is just unabashedly gruesome in the best way possible, topped off by the treasure trove-like Krypt being full of things to unlock and online multiplayer being frantic and enjoyable. With Street Fighter V and Tekken 7 on the way too, hopefully MK X has ushered in a new appreciation for the fighting genre overall.
