If you're hankering for an old fashioned beat-em-up with a sprinkling of the ol' ultraviolence, Shaolin Monks is just the thing for you. Picking up during the aftermath of the first Mortal Kombat tournament, Shaolin Monks gives you the opportunity to control either Liu Kang or Kung Lao in a single-player or cooperative campaign. The bone-crunching combat is as simple as it is addictive, and the hallmarks of the Mortal Kombat series are on display in glorious detail; with fatalities, brutalities and environmental kills aplenty. Shaolin Monks is peppered with references and callbacks to Mortal Kombat lore, so you'll definitely get a whole lot more out of the game if you're well-versed in the mythology. You don't have to be an MK die-hard to enjoy this one though. And with a bevy of modes inviting countless playthroughs - including arcade and versus - Shaolin Monks is the perfect game for any beat-em-up fan.
