The first game to have such excessive violence in it that it enraged parents has made its way back again. Thirteen years after the original “Mortal Kombat” came out, it has remained popular for its characters and over-the-top gore. Finally, the game’s maker, Midway, has changed the focus from strictly a fighting game to an action adventure game. Of course, there are still all the standard one-on-one fights you can handle.

This time, “Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks,” gives the player a chance to experience the characters outside the arena. The story mode can be played with either a single player or in an arcade style co-operative setting with two players. The story is identical for both one and two player versions.

The plot is simple and takes place between the first and second video games. If you never played any “Mortal Kombat” games before, here it is in a nutshell. All you need to know is that the guys from Earth are amazing marital artists and they fight the bad guys who are not from Earth. I presume that the Earth will be destroyed if you fail, or something else just as horrible. Does it really matter? Honestly, I didn’t focus on the storyline too much. The story mode is just a fun way to fight and unlock all the levels and characters.

In all, the story mode is a great addition to the game. It retains the classic feel of “Mortal Kombat,” with crisp graphics and dozens of specialized attacks and finishing moves. Playing the co-operative mode truly brings back the arcade mentality into the game. “Shaolin Monks” achieves this with some old standards of game play such as both characters having a limited range motion so each will stay on screen the entire time. This is not as annoying as it may sound, but it does force both players to work together, which may become annoying if the second player steals your experience.

New attacks and other desirables are gained throughout the game by accumulating experience points by killing monsters and bosses. So, as the player, you naturally want to rack up as many experience points as possible. You can gain the most experience when you use the special finishing attacks on your opponent. However, in the co-operative mode, there is an easier way to earn points. Simply stand back and wait until your partner has damaged an opponent just enough, then jump in at the last second and get the last attack in. You get all the points to yourself, and as an added benefit, you can really annoy whoever you’re playing with.

After having some fun with the story mode, go ahead and switch over to the fights, which made this title so famous. The new backgrounds of the arenas do have some deformable objects in them, but they could use more. Yet, the simplicity does highlight the attacks of each character rather than distract from the quick paced fighting with cheesy graphics.

Like most “Mortal Kombat” games, “Shaolin Monks” is best suited for two players. Alone, this game becomes boring quickly. Even though it was cool to see the same characters and their personalized attacks that I knew so well, the story mode is short and leaves this game in desperate need of plenty of friends to stop by and play.

This game boils down to the same thing all “Mortal Kombat” games do. It has the same characters, the same moves and it is still fun to play. Except for the story mode, which is quickly forgotten, the game is a contemporary remake of the original.

I cannot understand why I had so much fun playing this game. I have generally seen all of this before in previous games. Yet, “Shaolin Monks” still draws you into it. Try this game out and see what you think. It was a good game when I was 10 years old and my opinion has pretty much stayed the same.

Bill Hanley is a senior in LAS. His column appears on Tuesdays. He can be reached at [email protected]