Common Sense Media Review
By Marc Saltzman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Bloodiest, goriest game since the series began.
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Mortal Kombat
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 17 parent reviews
Parents say that the game is notorious for its extreme violence and graphic content, with many expressing concern over the appropriateness for children, particularly due to blood, gore, and the sexualization of female characters. However, some reviewers contend that it can be suitable for older teens if they understand the distinction between fantasy and reality, emphasizing that the game does not include sexual content or drug references, while the enjoyment of the game is often noted despite its controversial elements.
- extreme violence
- sexualization of characters
- suitable for older teens
- fantasy vs. reality
- not for younger kids
- enjoyment despite controversy
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 63 kid reviews
Kids say that this game is highly entertaining but overwhelmingly violent, with excessive gore, blood, and strong language, making it unsuitable for young children. While some players believe it's fine for those over 10 or 12 if they can handle the graphic content, many reviews strongly recommend it only for mature teens, emphasizing the need for parental supervision and a child's maturity level when considering gameplay.
- excessive violence
- strong language
- parental supervision
- age-appropriate
- not for children
Summarized with AI
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
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Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
MORTAL KOMBAT is the latest in the best-selling and controversial fighting game series. Much like its predecessors, you're tasked with choosing a fighter from a roster, who has his or her own unique abilities, and then pitting your fighter against other fighters in an arena. By punching, kicking, blocking, chaining combo moves, and using weapons (guns, swords) and special powers (such as fire and lightning), you try to defeat your opponent before he can do the same to you. Once your rival fighter is on his or her last legs, you can perform a brutal \"fatality\" move to finish him or her off in a gory, over-the-top fashion. The new game marks a return to its gory roots (a loose remake of the first three games), including more of a 2D look (though characters and environments are rendered in 3D), four-player tag-team, and a deep story mode that takes players back to the events of the original Mortal Kombat in an attempt to alter the events of the past.
Is It Any Good?
If you're a fan of this 19 year-old franchise, then no doubt you'll like everything NetherRealm Studios has added to this great-looking, smoothly-animated, and multi-moded fighting game. Familiar players have returned, such as Scorpion, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Kitana, and Raiden, as well as new fighters (including Kratos from God of War on the PlayStation 3 version). Along with a lengthy story mode, there are also quick battles, tag-team options (the first for a Mortal Kombat game), online games (such as the "King of the Hill" spectator mode), co-op arcade mode (for two players on the same television), and a Challenge Tower which has the player perform 300 different challenges -- such as mastering various characters, trying out gory fatalities, fighting under different conditions, and so on (this mode itself lasts 8 to 10 hours). Fatalities will make you cringe more than ever, including the new X-ray moves to see the insides of someone you're smashing, slashing, impaling, or blasting away to end the duel. While the game is intense entertainment for mature players, there's still some questionable balancing between fighters. Overall, though, it's an exciting but gory fighting game that has a ton of gameplay -- for those over 17 years of age.
Online interaction: One of the modes allows players to play against each other over the Internet (both versions of the game), including a King of the Hill mode. In this "party" mode, you can be a spectator, represented by an avatar and joined by others, while watching the fight between two human opponents. You can also choose to praise or trash-talk the fighters with preselected actions tied to buttons (throw tomatoes, laugh at them, say "wow" or chant for a fatality). Players who are fighting can also talk via a headset microphone so players could hear profanity.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why Mortal Kombat seemed to be going a little less violent -- such as the "Teen" rated Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game from 2008 -- only to deliver an even bloodier and gorier sequel in 2011? Is it carnage that gives Mortal Kombat fans the thrill or is it the fighting mechanic, multiple modes, and familiar characters, each with various moves?
Could NetherRealm Studios deliver as fun a game without all the extreme violence and gore?
Game Details
- Platforms : PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Warner Bros. Games
- Release date : April 19, 2011
- Genre : Fighting
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : December 11, 2025
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