Mortal Kombat X: Predator (DLC) Review

Mortal Kombat 9 had a season pass that allowed access to four extra characters that were released shortly after the game released and Mortal Kombat X is getting the same treatment. This time we already know the four characters however - Jason, Tanya, Predator and Tremor - which is a plus if you ask me. It's much more appealing to know the characters that I will be getting before forking over my money for a pass. Anyway, the third character that has been released for Mortal Kombat X is Predator.

If you're familiar with science fiction movies at all then you no doubt know about the Predator. The Predator is a technology-based extraterrestrial that hunts and kills for sport. The first two Predator movies are said to be the inspiration for Predator's appearance in the MK universe. The Predator decides to come to Earth to fight humans, Netherrealm demons and whatever else presents a challenge to him. The Predator is by far the coolest-looking guest character so far and has some of the best sound effects to represent him as well. He uses his familiar laugh and also copies phrases from his opponents in between rounds and repeats it back to them. He has both masked variations and an unmasked variation where you can see his unique face with mandibles. The Predator's variations are Hunter, Warrior and Hish-Qu-Ten.

All Predator variations have the ability to toss his circular blade discs (smart-discs). The blades can be thrown in the air or on the ground and will hover in the air for a few seconds then fly toward the opponent. These can be used to juggle an airborne opponent during an air combo. He can also use his scimitar to stab an opponent after a lunge and he has a stealth move. The stealth move allows him to turn transparent like Reptile, but his stealth last longer and it will not cancel out upon getting hit. He will have electricity that will move over his body as he gets attacked while the stealth cloak is activated, which is very reminiscent of the movies. He can't turn all the way invisible like Reptile. All variations also have a few combo attacks with his scimitar and spear.

His Hunter variation adds in snag traps and a medi-kit heal. He can toss out triangle device traps that will snare an opponent once they are walked over. These can be laid out in the air or on the ground. The opponent will hang upside down and Predator will be free to juggle them from the air at that time. Predator can also detonate the ground traps and make them explode if an opponent is near them. The Hunter variation can heal slightly with a syringe. The healing move causes the Predator to lose all of his stamina for a few seconds but gives him a small health boost.

The Warrior variation is basically the more aggressive variation of the Predator. This variation has an upward strike, jumping overhead and a self-detonate move. He basically has two moves to get in and attack the opponent that will help him out for hitting with his detonate move. The detonate move makes him arm himself for a small explosion that will damage him and send out an explosion that will bounce his opponent. The explosion can be blocked, but if it hits during any of Predator's attacks, it will cancel his current attack and bounce the opponent high into the air allowing for quite a bit of juggle potential. This variation is very much about risk and reward and offers the most reward to those who stay aggressive making it hard to play from the start. Warrior is also the only version of Predator without the mask. While keys in the sequence for his self-detonation on his arm pad, he laughs with his unique laugh from the original Predator film, which is extremely cool-looking.

Hish-Qu-Ten has Predator armed with his shoulder plasma cannon. This variation can be a major zoner with or without meter. Along with zoning, the attacks can also be used in combos very well. The Predator gains a forward plasma shot, upward plasma shot, ground plasma shot and a player can hold down the button on his forward plasma shot to aim it with laser sighting. Just about all of these plasma cannon moves can be meter burned in order to fire out three plasma shots per attack. With meter and just simply at mid-range, this variation can be a major force to be reckoned with thanks to his new zoning tools and the fact that he still maintains all of his basic special moves including the smart-disc.

The main thing I don't like about the Predator is that both of his fatalities feels rather lazy. Thankfully, his brutalities are great though. His winning pose is actually a fatality that looks much better than his actual "fatalities" during finish him time. I also feel that he should have more combo attacks with his spear. None of his variations have any special combo attacks or basic attacks unlike Jason and Tanya. Predator's overall look and sound effects are top notch and make him the best looking fighter so far however. It's so very cool to finally take control of a science fiction icon that we have admired for so long. Just that in itself sells the character (the fact I get to play as the Predator), but Netherrealm has done a great job in displaying him in the MKX universe as well.

The Good:
+ Very cool design that looks and sounds just like the movie Predator
+ Fun and challenging to play especially for Warrior variation

The Bad:
- Fatalities are lacking

Final Rating: 90%