Mortal Kombat Season Pass (Xbox 360) Review

When NetherRealm Studios released Mortal Kombat (2011), they packed it full of a significant amount of content for a modern day retail release, something that impressed me very much.  Through the course of last summer, they did release four additional kombatants as DLC, each priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($5.80).  Launching along with the first of those DLC kombatants, Skarlet, players instead had the option of purchasing the Season Pass for 1200 Microsoft Points ($17.40), which granted them access to all four kombatants (once they were released) for a reduced price.

Last Boxing Day, the Season Pass was on sale for 50% off, and since I was busy grinding "My Kung Fu is Stronger" at the time, I decided to bite to add a little more variety to my Arcade Ladder opponents.  This allowed me to both fight against and to use Skarlet, Kenshi, Rain, and Freddy Krueger, and each of these kombatants also came with two klassic costumes each (also available with the free Compatibility Packs):  MK3 Cyrax and Sektor, MKII Smoke and Noob Saibot, MKII Kitana and Jade, and MK3 Sub-Zero and Cyber Sub-Zero.

If you use Random Select at the character select screen you could now get one of the DLC characters, and AI Shang Tsung can morph into them as well during Arcade Ladder/Tag Ladder.  If Skarlet is being used in Khan's Arena, she's no longer chained in the background and isn't replaced by anyone, and I'm not sure if Kenshi still appears in the background of The Pit if he's being used or not.

I spent some time with each of the new kombatants, and I personally found Skarlet and Kenshi to have a great deal of potential, Rain was fun but in my opinion the least useful, and I'm not a fan of Freddy Krueger being included as a guest character and didn't really enjoy using him at all.

Ultimately everyone has different play styles when it comes to fighting games, so whether you like the new kombatants or not is completely up to how you play.  Also, whether the new content is worth its price depends if you really want to play as any of them or not.  If the answer is "No," then each character won't add much to your game and you're better off passing on the Season Pass.  If you're only interested in one of them then getting that character specifically will save you some Microsoft Points, unless, of course, it goes on sale again.  Otherwise, if you're hungry for more characters to play as, then you'll get a lot out of this content.

I personally felt that Mortal Kombat (2011) has so much to offer that more kombatants weren't needed, however for 600 Microsoft Points ($8.70) I certainly got my use out of them, both playing as and fighting against.  In the end these characters are kind of like a bonus, something you can get if you really want but something you won't miss out on if you pass.  At full price I personally don't feel the Season Pass is worth it, especially since the Klassic Costumes they come with are available to all for free via the Compatibility Packs, but at 50% off it wasn't too bad and if you're a die-hard fan like me, you'll get a good bit out of it.