Game Review: Ultimate Mortal Kombat

Boon to newbies and nostalgic gamers, but bane to veterans.

There seem to be a handful of classics making a return to the DS this year, including Contra 4 and the games in Namco Museum DS. Ultimate Mortal Kombat is another one of those games, packing in arcade classic Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Puzzle Kombat from the more recent Mortal Kombat Deception. Having experienced neither the original arcade UMK3 nor the puzzle game in Deception, I must say that Ultimate Mortal Kombat is really my first brush with the long-running Mortal Kombat franchise – it is a fresh experience. And it turned out quite well.

Essentially a 2D fighter, UMK3 still holds up well after so many years. There is a great selection of characters available with some unlockables to boot. Typical of conventional fighters, controls are made up of convoluted combined button presses, which I am not too fond of. It should be a breeze for Mortal Kombat veterans, but for newbies like me, Other Ocean Interactive, which handled both this DS port and the Xbox Live Arcade version, has thoughtfully dedicated the top screen of the DS for display of all the moves available to the particular chosen character and button presses which are needed to execute the moves.

For the most part, UMK3 is challenging. While your first few opponents are considerably manageable, the challenge grows in leaps and folds as you approach the end. The bosses are especially hard to beat and do well to provide ample training for anyone before hitting multiplayer. Speaking of multiplayer, Other Ocean Interactive has done well to include single-card play, multi-card play and online play over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service, which is fast becoming a standard feature in today’s DS games. With multiplayer, Ultimate Mortal Kombat feels like a more wholesome package and its replayability, extended. Unfortunately, online play often has lags, to the point where the gameplay resembles a PowerPoint presentation. When it comes to online competition, however, Ultimate Mortal Kombat is full of it. To date, Ultimate Mortal Kombat is one of those games that I have played that has one of the most numbers of readily available online opponents. All in all, UMK3 is great component to be had in the package if you haven’t already experienced the original.

Puzzle Kombat is the other component in the package, providing a refresher from all the fighting action if need be. Like UMK3, Puzzle Kombat has got single-card play, multi-card play and online play for multiplayer. If you have played Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo before, you would feel at home with Puzzle Kombat – because it applies the same design, just with Street Fighter characters replaced with those from the Mortal Kombat universe. For those not in the know, blocks of random colors drop into a playfield much like Tetris, but instead of eliminating blocks by placing other blocks of the same color together, Puzzle Kombat employs another different element altogether. Basically, you have got to place what I will call the elimination gems together with other blocks of the same color as a particular elimination gem, wiping out adjacent same-colored blocks. While not an original concept, the gameplay is addictive and would appeal to all types of gamers. In the case of Puzzle Kombat, the upper screen it utilized for the showing off of some really cool animations, including fatalities, which are my favorites.

The ability to keep records of both single-player and multiplayer win/losses and the like for UMK3 and Puzzle Kombat, as well as the record of the execution of fatalities, rounds off the entire package, and while Ultimate Mortal Kombat may be a boon to new players or more-matured players who want a shot of nostalgia, ultimately, it a rehash of older Mortal Kombat games and this may turn off the franchise’s veterans.

Final Comments
Ultimate Mortal Kombat packs in both the arcade classic UMK3 and Puzzle Kombat from Deception, a pair of brilliant games that can still stand on their own feets today. If those aren’t incentives for you to play, then consider the added multiplayer, with local wireless and online play, and Mortal Komabt’s trademark blood splatter, gore and fatalities. The variety of selectable fighters stands at the high end of the table and that’s excluding unlockables. Moves are aplenty and the top screen's display of the move list and their required button presses compensates the fact that the moves are generally difficult to pull off. UMK3 is also challenging. Rounding off the package is Puzzle Kombat, an addictive puzzle game that everyone should try out. It is a pity that beyond UMK3 and Puzzle Kombat, there isn’t much more.

TOTAL SCORE: 8.6/10

The Good:
- 2 great games, UMK3 and Puzzle Kombat, in one
- Added local wireless play and online multiplayer play
- Great selection of fighters for UMK3
- Complicated button presses needed to pull off moves, but move list shown throughout gameplay
- Online competition is endless
- Puzzle Kombat is addictive and appealing
- Ability to keep records

The Bad:
- Online play often has severe lags
- Essentially a rehash of old games. This fact is enough to turn off veterans of the franchise.
- Could have used a few more games (or mini-games) in the package