Mortal Kombat

"An incomplete game."

Comic book collectors, pull out your old collection. Check out the comics from about 1993 or 1994. Look on the back. Chances are, you'll see an ad for Mortal Kombat. It advertised ''Mortal Monday,'' which was the day Mortal Kombat was going to be released on essentially every platform: SNES, Genesis, Game Gear, and Game Boy.

Mortal Kombat, as we all know, is probably one of the most controversial games in history. Nowadays, it's not THAT bad, but by the standards of eight or so years ago, this game caused a lot of controversy. It also probably was one of the main causes of the video game ratings system.

Anyway, the Genesis version is really an incomplete version of the game. The framerate, graphics, and sound are subpar to its arcade counterpart, as well as the SNES version. This is due to the hardware limitations of the Genesis.

Graphics - 6/10
Well, where to start? The most noticable thing is the fact that everything is grainy. Very pixelated and such. The framerate is also slower than the SNES version. The backgrounds aren't very good. Once again, the SNES MK has the better backgrounds. Much like this review, the graphics are simply very sloppy :) Heck, the start menu isn't as good as on the SNES version.

However, the Genesis has something the SNES doesn't: blood. That's right, the SNES version doesn't have blood! Evidently, the ''Paranoid Soccer Moms of America'' wanted this game censored. Nintendo obliged, but Sega opted instead to have blood be a code. So a quick, easy to remember code unlocks the gore-fest of the arcade game. This makes the Genesis version feel a lot more like the arcade version than the SNES version.

Sound - 6/10
One of the things I always loved about this game was the announcer. I loved how he said the names of the characters, how he said ''FINISH HIM!'' and the like. Well, most of the voices are gone in this game. The round number and ''FIGHT!'' are the only voices in the game.

The in-game music sets the mood perfectly... but the quality is lacking. The music is simply very grainy. So the in-game music is really a mixed bag.

Controls - 9/10
You need the six button controller to fully appreciate the game. There are essentially five commands: high kick, low kick, high punch, low punch, and block. All of the characters do essentially the same moves except for their powers and Fatality. Both their powers and Fatalities are pretty easy to pull off... as long as you have the six button controller.

Fun Factor - 7/10
Well, this is a great game for nostalgia purposes. It really takes you back to when this game was THE game to play. Of course, it isn't as good as MKII or other fighting games, but it is certainly worthy of buying. It's only a few dollars at FuncoLand.

Overall - 7/10
This is a fun game, and that should be motivation enough to buy. Poor graphics and sound aside, I still find a lot of fun in this game, and if you liked the game eight years ago, you'll like it now.

SNES or Genesis?
Usually I can really say that one version is better than the other. This is one of the few times where I am simply stumped. The graphics and sound on the SNES are superior, and in that sense make it really like the arcade game. But the Genesis version has the blood and unnecessary violence that really became MK's trademark. So I'll leave that decision up to you.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/21/02, Updated 06/21/02