Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
North American PS2 cover artwork featuring Goro in the background, and Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Baraka and Scorpion in the foreground
Developer(s)Midway Studios Los Angeles
Publisher(s)Midway
Director(s)Ed Boon
Producer(s)Ed Boon
Shaun Himmerick
Barclay Smith
Designer(s)Adam Puhl
John Edwards
Luke Whiteside
Programmer(s)David Gautrey
Artist(s)Steve Beran
Tony Goskie
Mark Lappin
Writer(s)James Krueger
John Vogel
Jon Greenberg
Composer(s)
  • Chase Ashbaker
  • Richard Carle
  • Brian Chard
  • Vincent Pontarelli
SeriesMortal Kombat
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release
Genre(s)Action-adventure, beat 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

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.[4] 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, visuals and short length were mixed. It was also a commercial success, selling over one million copies.

  1. ^ Bramwell, Tom (September 30, 2005). "What's New? (Super Catch-Up Alpha Plus 3)". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  2. ^ Keller, Matt (September 26, 2005). "Updated Australian Release List - 26/09/05". PALGN. Archived from the original on December 10, 2005. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Midway Ships Mortal Kombat®: Shaolin Monks™ for PlayStation®2 and Xbox®". September 19, 2005. Archived from the original on November 9, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks Goes Gold". Archived from the original on 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2009-11-23.