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Quite possibly the best version of Mortal Kombat 3 available. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a perfect rendition of the arcade classic that dominated most of the 90s. The inclusion of online multiplayer just makes it that much more fun.
For those who don’t know or just need a refresher, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is the last 2D Mortal Kombat game to be released on the arcades. It was the most popular or second most popular 2D fighting franchise of the 90s depending on who you talk to (with Street Fighter being the other option). The Mortal Kombat franchise achieved its success with its over-the-top and somewhat gruesome moves, although as the series aged, there were additions like friendships which while gory were more lighthearted in nature. The gameplay is the classic two punches, two kicks and a block button that has since been the norm. The game still has the same combos, fatalities, friendships, etc that we’ve known and loved. After taking a few looks at a move list online (the game doesn’t have a built-in) one, you’ll be ready to go. It’s still satisfying to pull off Scorpion’s “Come over here” or Sub-Zero’s freeze moves.
Because Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a port of the arcade game, you get the same questionable single-player AI that was in the original game. The AI in the game doesn’t serve as very good practice for online gameplay since it’s quite robotic and at times just a little unfair. Nonetheless, you need to play the single-player mode to unlock the hidden characters and many of the game’s achievements but once you do that you’ll probably just want to play multiplayer (offline or online).
Playing online you can engage in ranked and unranked single fights, as well as the versus challenger mode. The latter mode lets four players connect to a game and wait for their turn. The winner of the match keeps playing, the loser gives up his spot to the other, and the remaining two players watch the match, hopefully learning the players’ styles. It’s a fun mode that gets as close to recreating the arcade or offline experience as best as possible online. Technically, there is no lag to speak of while playing online. We played many games and only a handful had any lag at all and it was usually just a second or two.
As I mentioned above, the game has offline multiplayer support for up to two people. It’s just as exciting as playing online and can lead to some heated moments with your friends. Some people are especially fond of blocking and pulling off the same combos over and over again, and on the Xbox, you no longer have the option of yanking their controllers out!
Graphically, the game looks just as it did all those years ago. There are digitized characters for the fighters, somewhat animated backgrounds, and decent though not amazing special effects. The music and sound effects have been faithfully recreated and even seems to be of higher quality than I remember.
Overall, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is just as addicting as it was several years ago. The game is definitely worth its 800 Microsoft Points ($10) cost since you can move online once you get tired of beating your friends. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Oct 26, 2006
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