These days, nearly every console fighting game has to come out on PC as well. On one hand that’s great as it means more gamers can access fantastic fighting game titles that have traditionally been the toys of the console gaming elites. But on the other hand, PC versions of fighting games come out way after their console releases, sometimes years after. This is the case with Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition, recently having been released on Steam, and coming soon in old-fashioned hard copy in-box version for the PC. Sure, now PC gamers get to play the game that console gamers have been playing since multiple EVOs ago, but what else does Komplete Edition give us other than the opportunity to let fan modders reskin Baraka as Wolverine?

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Komplete Edition comes with all the downloadable content that the console versions have to offer at no additional charge. That means you will be able to play as Kenshi, Skarlett, Rain, and yes, Freddy Krueger, right out of the box. Who you won’t be able to play as, however, is Kratos. Unfortunately, the God of War is still only available to be played on the PS3 version of the game.

You’ll also be able to take advantage of the game’s many balance fixes that have been implemented since its console release without the need to install any patches. This means that all the infinites, the abusable dive kicks, and the touch of death combos will all be removed from day one. Unfortunately, you will still find that instant air tiger kneed projectile spam is very abusable in Komplete Edition, but that hasn’t been patched out of the console versions either. In a sense, Komplete Edition gives you a tournament ready experience right out of the box, which is good for everyone who is looking to actually bring their skills to the competitive scene.

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Most PC versions of popular fighting games tend to bring with them improved versions of their console counterpart’s netcode. Komplete Edition is, unfortunately, not one of them. In fact, the netcode feels a bit worse than the console version. Button delay seems to kick in big time even with a tiny bit of ping between you and your opponent. When you start to get up to midrange ping, matches become almost unplayable. It also takes a metric millennium to find a match online in Komplete Edition. That may simply be because few people are playing it prior to its in-box release, but even the console servers have a better success rate than this. If you are able to bear with the online problems, all the great modes from the console version are here, including lobbies, king of the hill, ranked matches, and more.

Komplete Edition also comes with additional content in the Challenge Tower and the Krypt. Granted. A lot of these are aesthetic or goofy things, such as extra costumes for your characters or special game modes that are widely unbalanced in competitive play. These are nice little diversions and bonuses, but don't do much to increase the replay value of the game itself. Most of your time will still be spent in versus mode.

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Finally, it’s worth talking about the graphics of Komplete Edition which are really second to none. They are far better than the console version’s graphics, which is saying something. There aren’t a lot of graphical options to tweak in the PC version of the game, so you won’t be able to scale the graphics up to eyebleeding gorgeousness if you are running this on an Alienware rig or something similar, but you will still see a marked improvement over the MK graphics we have been dealing with for the past few years. All the better to watch the blood spurt out of your decapitated foe’s neck.

It’s also worth talking about how smooth it runs. If you don’t have to have a monster graphics machine, Mortal Kombat Komplete edition still seems to run like butter. The game was played on a laptop without a discrete graphics card and it still didn’t miss a beat. You can rest easy knowing that your rig will be able to handle all the blood and gore that Mortal Kombat has to offer.

The problem is, Komplete Edition doesn’t offer much more to the consumer than that. It’s basically a chance to play Mortal Kombat on the PC with all the DLC included. Aside from that, there really aren’t any extra bells and whistles to speak of. Unfortunately, this makes the game less of a value if you already bought the original Mortal Kombat on consoles, especially if you also picked up all of the DLC along the way. This isn’t like Street Fighter IV or Skullgirls, which added PC only features, graphics, or even beta balance change access. It’s just the same game we have seen before.

If you've never purchased Mortal Kombat, then Komplete Edition is an amazing value. If you consider what the game cost at launch along with all the extra stuff you are getting here, you are easily getting over $100 worth of content at a vastly reduced price. Not to mention, the game itself is just awesome, with a solid vs system, tag team battles, a great training mode, and one of the most well done single-player campaigns in fighting game history. If you are a first-timer, do not hesitate to pick up Komplete Edition for your PC today. However, if you are an old school Mortal Kombat veteran, your console version will keep you satisfied.

This review is based on a publisher supplied copy of Mortal Kombat Komplete for the PC.

7.0 out of 10 arcade sushi rating

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