Mortal Kombat

The Good
Mortal Kombat is at its best a very average game. However to some it is an unflappable conversion of a perfect arcade game, to others it is a disgusting corrupting game with deplorable violence that should have been banned from the start.

To me it is a hollow 2D beat-em-up that relies on its sensationalist nature rather than its gameplaying core. It is memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. Everybody knows this game has gore. That is not a new thing. But unfortunately for the gamers of the world the makers of this game were determined that the gore would be the selling point of the game. Couple that with a media hype that was unparalleled in its day makes this more of a one trick pony than a challenging game.

Its plus points are found in its use of digitised actors for characters, this was a new thing and kudos to the Arena & Probe for that. The music was ok too.

The Bad
But that is where the praise ceases I'm afraid. Without the blood & gore (and if you were a SNES owner this was the only version you got) this game was boring. Very boring.

It lacks any kind of flow, switches between very hard and very easy and is a control nightmare. The finishers were a novelty but unfortunately they decided to base the entire game on that one thing.

Thankfully there was better to come.

The Bottom Line
A game for renting only.