Mortal Kombat X: Jason Voorhees (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 first character that has been released for Mortal Kombat X is horror movie villain Jason Voorhees.

Jason is the supernatural killer from the Friday the 13th series. As a child he drowned at Camp Crystal lake while careless teenagers went about their daily routine of lounging and having sex. His mother stuck around the area and killed any teenagers that dared to turn the lake site into a summer camp to avenge her son. Jason's mother met her demise and then Jason returned to kill teenagers in the area in order to avenge her. And so, a horror icon was born! Jason is a character that I grew up watching in horror films so finally having him available to play is fantastic.

Neatherrealm has really done their homework well when it comes to designing Jason for a fighter. There are so many references to classic kills from the Friday the 13th series and Jason's overall personality in his MKX character. Just like the other characters, Jason has three variations - Slasher, Relentless and Unstoppable. For the Slasher variation, Jason fights with his machete. He slashes with the machete for all of his punch attacks. Slasher has some of the easiest combos to do in the game and the strings are extremely easy to combine for juggle combos. He actually has a low kick into an overhead slice for one of his combos in Slasher, but thankfully, it isn't safe on block so it's easily punishable. This variation has a stabbing grab, a machete toss and a machete combo as it's exclusive special moves.

Relentless and Unstoppable versions have Jason fighting with his bare hands. Both of these variations don't have incredibly easy combo potential like Slasher, but they do have some decent strings. Relentless gives Jason a very quick teleport where he steps through a mist and then appears in a mist behind his opponent and he also gains a sort of panic mode where the screen will turn red and all of his opponent's attacks are reversed for a short time or until Jason is hit. Unstoppable gives Jason a chain around his neck that illuminates whenever he performs his special moves that give him a small healing over time buff or a damage buff. The most notable part of the Unstoppable variation is that Jason will resurrect (get struck by lightning) after he gets hit the final time and he will regain some of his health based on how much of his X-ray meter that he has left. Jason has two command grabs in both Relentless and Unstoppable variations and a ram. His stab from the Slasher variation turns into a choke as well.

As mentioned above, Jason has many hints of classics kills and his overall personality from the films. He will get struck by lighting upon resurrecting, he stares at his opponent in between rounds while tilting his head to the side like a lost child and MANY of his moves and grabs reference a classic kill from his backbreaker and chest squeeze to his stab and machete toss. His first fatality is pure Jason (perfect sound effects), but his sleeping bag fatality is a total letdown and doesn't make sense. His brutalities are just as brutal and pleasant to watch as other brutalities. My main complaint with Jason is that his running and dashing animations make him look so stiff. Overall Jason is a fun addition to the cast and a fine example of how to do a guest character. Jason has his own ending for those wondering and it's quite hilarious. I like him much better than Freddy Krueger in MK9, of course I am biased when it comes to Friday the 13th.

The Good:
+ Great animations that reference his movies
+ Unique variations that change him up quite a bit

The Bad:
- Stiff animations when running and dashing
- Fatality 2 could have been better

Final Rating: 85%