Mortal Kombat 3

"Kombat Time"

Introduction
Following up the success of two previous Mortal Kombat, Midway launched the third game in the series in 1995. This new game features a quite large amount of new characters. This however was done at the expense of some fan favorites such as Scorpion and Raiden.

Most fans would agree that this game is inferior to MK 2.

Gameplay
There are up to 12 regular characters to choose from. Among them, are old favorites like Liu Kang and Tsang Tsung. Kano and Sonya made their return after absent in MK 2. There are new characters as well. You could unlock two secret characters by using codes.

Notably, some might notice that MK 3 isn't as brutal as its predecessor isn’t. Known widely for violence, Fatalities in Mortal Kombat 3 are toned down and not as gory and gross as the fatalities in the previous two games.

There aren't many features that make it unique compared to other fighting game. The regular VS mode is still present. Using the VS mode, you'll be able to play in one player mode or two-player mode.

Storyline
Not much of an achievement here. Some characters are lacking solid storyline and make this game dull compared to MK 2 whereby there are old characters with more interesting storyline.

Sound
At best, the sound is mediocre. Music doesn't help to build the right athmosphere for the arena.

The most glaring flaws would be the sound effect. There isn’t really much sound effect that builds up the realism of the game.

Graphics
Just like the sounds, but a little bit betters. The graphics isn't much of an improvement compared to MK 2. However, details such as blood are one of the plus points of this game.

Difficulties
Quite hard, you'll need to master this game if you wanted to beat the computer. Well of course, there are always a cheap way of using Sub-Zero. What baffled me, would be the fact that there isn’t any significant difference between the easy level and hard level. If there are any difference to begin with.

Control
Easy to master. The control is considerably easy to master. Character's moves could be done easily barring combos, which takes practice in order to execute it properly. Using a code, you could also activate 1-button fatality whereby you'll need only 1 button to pull out a fatality.

Conclusion
Not much of a game I would say. If you are MK fans you might want to consider getting this game. There are some ''Easter eggs'' to be found in this game. Yet, the game doesn't do any justice to Mortal Kombat. The lack of presence in old characters might the biggest downfall of this game.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/21/03, Updated 02/21/03