The real draw to this Vita version is the bonus challenge tower. Here you'll find a staggering 150 exclusive tasks to complete for more koins, costumes and modes. These new challenges are mostly based around the Vita's gimmicks, such as the tilt sensor, touch screen and more. It's as if everybody in the office came up with their craziest ideas and they decided to execute even and every one of them. Some of them are bizarre and many are undeniably silly, but they fit the tone of Mortal Kombat perfectly and work as an excellent showpiece for what Sony's handheld can do.

A lot of these challenges attempt to add something else for you to do while engaged in fight. One stage will have you wiping blood off the screen as you pummel your opponent. In another stage your character's head will grow and grow until it pops, forcing the player to deflate the noggin by constantly tapping the screen. In yet another variation on this, you'll be forced to use the touch screen to destroy incoming missiles.


Many of the challenges are more creative than simply wiping blood off the screen. In one especially inspired level you'll be able to force the perspective by rotating the PS Vita around. You can actually have the characters fall to the ceiling by flipping the device upside down. In another stage you will shake the screen to drop bonus power-up items. Some stages will even allow you to aim your helper's weapons by tilting the device back and forth, pushing the button to unleash the attack.

Although a few of these task concepts repeat more than I would have liked, there are a ton of surprises in store as you climb the ladder. None of these goofy missions will hold your attention for very long, but they don't need to. The reason this mode works so well is because you never know what you'll run across next, and chances are it will only take you a minute or two to find out. With 450 challenges in total, Mortal Kombat will keep players busy for weeks to come.


On top of the two towers of challenges, this Vita version features a couple new mini-games to waste time with. The first is Test Your Slice, a silly Fruit Ninja rip-off featuring decapitated heads and severed body parts. Test Your Balance has you tilting the portable back and forth trying to keep your character from falling off a narrow plank. Only one of these mini-games is worth returning to after you unlock it, and the other one is Test Your Balance.

But wait, there's more! Mortal Kombat 2012 delivers a bunch of new costumes, including a few from the classic installments from the 1990s. Between what you can unlock, what was originally DLC and what is brand new for the Vita, this Mortal Kombat has an impressive collection of costumes to wear. Furthermore, the fighters get a new fatality move, which involves you lobbing off body parts thanks to the system's touch screen. Sure it's gimmicky, but it's the kind of kitsch that Mortal Kombat is known for.