Mortal Kombat: Шаолиньские Монахи (Mortal Kombat: Shaolinskie Monakhi)

2005 video game

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is a 2005 action adventure beat 'em up video game developed and published by Midway for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A spin off of the Mortal Kombat franchise, it is a retelling of the events of Mortal Kombat II (1993). Players control the eponymous Shaolin monks Liu Kang and Kung Lao in either single player or cooperative play as they protect Earthrealm from the forces of Outworld. A spin off centered on Liu Kang had been considered since the early 2000s, but was shelved after negative reception to the previous adventure spin offs, Mythologies: Sub Zero (1997) and Special Forces (2000). Shaolin Monks was officially announced in 2004 as part of Midway's plan to release Mortal Kombat games annually. Developed with the intent of appealing to Mortal Kombat fans, Shaolin Monks incorporates elements from the fighting game entries, including Fatalities, combos, and a versus mode. Released in North America on September 19, 2005, the game received positive reviews for transitioning the series into an adventure game and its co op mode, although reception to the narrative and visuals were mixed. It was also a commercial success, selling over one million copies.

The game features three main modes of play. Aside from a single player mode, the game has a co operative mode, where two players can work together through the game, with access to some areas and items that are inaccessible in single player mode. There is also a versus mode, where two players can fight against each other in some of the arenas featured in the game. Producer Shaun Himmerick stated the team wanted to make a Mortal Kombat with a "deeper story." The team were fans of adventure games and decided to follow that direction. Mortal Kombat co creator Ed Boon worked as the creative director for Shaolin Monks and joined the programmers from the team to make the fighting engine. Since Mortal Kombat II was Ed Boon's favorite game in the series, the story of this spin off was based on it. There was also a desire to include both Liu Kang and Kung Lao as protagonists with the latter having been introduced in Mortal Kombat II. The game's versus mode originated from a bug that allowed testers to face each other. Unlike in the typical Mortal Kombat games, the versus mode was made to include adventure games' elements. The engine is different from the one from Mortal Kombat Deception and was made to rival other adventure games. The co op mode was made so that players would be able to work together to perform new moves and discover content that a single player cannot do. Originally, it was planned to allow more than two players in the co op mode.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks has sold over one million copies and received mostly favorable reviews. At GameRankings, it holds an average of 79.10% and 80.64% for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles respectively. The cooperative mode was distinguished for giving the players access to hidden bonuses but at the same time was criticized for being impossible to continue playing in a single player mode. XPlay praised the large amount of combos and finishing moves the player can perform and recommended the audience to use the co op mode for further enjoyment of the game.

An advertisement for Shaolin Monks titled "Blood on the Carpet", created by the London based Maverick Media, was condemned by the Advertising Standards Authority as condoning and glorifying violence. The commercial, "features a boardroom scene in which a Mr Linn, the mysterious trouble shooter at a sales meeting, instructs two men to fight. Punches lead to a pen being stabbed into an arm; then a water jug is smashed over an executive's head – before his heart is ripped from his chest. Mr Linn concludes proceedings by decapitating another executive with his hat." The result of the complaint was, as quoted from the ASA report, "We told Midway not to repeat the approach and told them to consult CAP Copy Advice before producing future ads."

A sequel focused on Scorpion and Sub Zero, titled Mortal Kombat: Fire & Ice, was planned to be developed by Paradox, but financial constraint caused the project's cancellation. Ed Boon recalled: "Monks was FAR and away the best spinoff. We were in talks to do a sequel before the Moorpark studio closed." A possible HD remake of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks was teased by Boon in October 2013. He also previously said they would "love to make one" someday, but a remake would not come "in the NEAR future" (from January 2013). In 2014, he also disclosed that they already did talk "about doing an up rez'ed version for [the] PS3 and 360 a few years ago."