Single-player can be somewhat difficult in fighting games. They’re built on the backbone of a competitive arcade genre, so a lot of thought has to go into making it fun to compete against the computer. The Mortal Kombat series has been decent at this, usually including a story mode, the classic tower progression, and something on the side. For Mortal Kombat 1, this is Invasion Mode.
Invasion Mode is described as a board game crossed with an RPG. You explore a map covered with board game-style nodes. According to the PlayStation Blog, you put together a party and equip them with gear, and fight to protect the realms from invaders, hence the name. Each node on the map represents a challenge, which may be a simple fight, a mini-game, or a full tower.
In a lot of ways, Invasion is the new Krypt Mode. As you progress, you unlock skins, kurrency, and koncept art. In other words, rather than progress through a story, you’re completing challenges for new goodies.
GamesRadar did an interview with Ed Boon and lead designer Derek Kirtzic where they stated that they will be adding to the Invasion Mode on a seasonal basis, bringing in new themes and invaders. In this case, things will change every six weeks. The old one will be removed, and a new one will be added in its place.
