Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, released on September 16, 2005, for the Microsoft Xbox, is an action-adventure spin-off from Midway Games, diverging from the Mortal Kombat fighting formula. Set after the first Mortal Kombat tournament, players control Shaolin monks Liu Kang or Kung Lao (or Scorpion/Sub-Zero post-unlock) to thwart Shang Tsung’s Outworld invasion. Selling ~1 million units across platforms, it earned praise for its co-op mode and brutal combat (GameSpot: 7.5/10), though the Xbox version scored lower than PS2 (Metacritic: 74/100) due to minor slowdowns.