The new Mortal Kombat has revitalized the series with its return to 2D gameplay and gruesome finishing moves. It has also taken up something relatively new in fighting games in the form of DLC. So far there have been four downloadable fighters, and with the last one having released just yesterday, here’s a group review.

First, let’s talk about Skarlet. Skarlet originated as a glitch rumor that showed Kitana in red attire, similar to how Ermac came to be, and in typical fashion, became an actual character. She was created by Shao Kahn by fusing the blood of countless victims into the perfect assassin. Naturally, a recurring theme of hers would be blood. She has something of a fetish of it, one that would make Mileena’s entire character look relatively tame. Her attacks revolve around the knives she uses, from simply using them as a projectile, to popping her opponent into the air for a follow-up, or even stabbing herself (dealing self-damage) to throw a ball of her own blood at the opponent. She’s a fast and agile character, with fast movement (including a teleport attack) and swift strikes.

Next in line is Kenshi. Kenshi was a new character in Deadly Alliance, with moves reminiscent of series familiar Ermac, who was omitted from the game. A lot of the focus on telekinesis has been shifted for this game’s incarnation of the character, however, with added emphasis on his swordsmanship. Many of his attacks utilize his telekinetic abilities by projecting a sort of spiritual self to attack his opponents, allowing Kenshi to remain back away from danger. These spiritual self attacks including a downward sword slash from the air, to popping foes upward, and a slash that reflects projectiles. He’s a tricky character to learn, preferring a more distanced assault.

Third up is Rain, the Edenian prince. Originally a joke character that appeared in the attract demos of the arcade version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 without actually being programmed as a playable character, he was the most demanded DLC character to appear (as he is also the only one who wasn’t included among the original MK1-3 line-up). Carrying over his existing lightning strikes and his super roundhouse kick that sent the opponent flying from the other side of the screen, he also brings some actual water-influenced moves that weren’t really seen until Armageddon. Not only does he have a teleport, but he also has an especially dangerous projectile that encases his opponent into a bubble. Once trapped, the player can actually control his opponent to move anywhere on the screen, and once the bubble pops, can leave them open to a follow-up combo. He also has a boost move that increases his attack power temporarily, but takes away his ability to block for the time the move lasts. A very dangerous character overall, and doesn’t really take too much to master, either.

Last in line is Elm Street’s very own Freddy Krueger. Not too surprising as a rumor had popped up that Freddy and rival Jason could be making their ways into the game (and as Netherrealm Studios and New Line Cinema are both owned by WB). Sporting his signature fedora and claw (well, claws) Freddy has been pulled into the real world after attempting to take down Shao Kahn in his dreams for stealing souls Freddy claimed to be his own. His moves mostly revolve around his claw, to be expected. One of his moves, he stabs the floor in front of him, and the claws come out elsewhere on the screen, range depending on input. He can also simply throw the gloves as a projectile (they respawn immediately after), send one out to spider its way across the ground and, of course, a teleport. He also has another move that summons a leak of green liquid from the air above his foe. If it hits, it will cause them to “fall asleep” temporarily, allowing you to follow it up with some damaging combos. His damage potential is in line with Rain’s, and can be a huge threat to opponents.

That’s about it. None of them have any added chapters to the story or challenge tower modes. They’re strictly additions to the character select screen for regular play, although they do have their own endings in arcade mode. They’re all quite fun characters to play, but depending on how stingy you are with downloadable content pricing, you may or may not like the price of 5 bucks per character. Alternatively, if you choose to buy all 4 characters, you can get them as a bundle for 15 bucks, and get them for the price of 3 characters individually. A pretty sweet deal either way it goes, as these characters all bring about a unique playing experience.

6/7