Mortal Kombat: Unchained

"Mortal Kombat PSP - Kombat On The Go!"

OK, We've had MK on a portable console before, with the lacklustre efforts on previous formats, like MK4 on Gameboy Color, with it's unrecognisable fatalities, and MKDA and MKTE on Gameboy Advance, with their lack of real unlockables...

MK Unchained gives you Mortal Kombat Deception, plain and simple, except with a hefty amount of the unlockables unlocked, and a nice group of extra characters, with femme fatales Frost and Kitana, as well as the Gamecube 'exclusives' of Goro and Shao Kahn, highlights of the PSP version.

Notably, Everything that makes Deception great is in here, with Konquest Mode, and Shujinko's quest for the Kamidogu, which you later destroy in Kombat, and Puzzle and Chess Kombat, although you don't need to wait for arenas or characters, since MKU has 'unchained' all of them. However, there are still things to unlock...

GRAPHICS -
When you start it, you'd be allowed to claim ignorance if you said it was PS2 or Gamecube screenshots. Other reviewers call the graphics dark and muddy, but the daytime shots aren't that bad. At night, yes, it's damn hard to see, but turn up the brightness and you can.

SOUND -
The sound is crisp and clear, with little to fault it. Notably, No tune has been removed to make the space. Even without headphones, the sounds are as gutwrenching as in the full size game, and every spot effect is spot on.

GAMEPLAY -
It's Smackdown Vs. RAW 06 syndrome, with load times that bog down the gameplay, with saves taking what seems like forever to happen.
However, when you get into the fights, every command is instinctive, with veterans being able to pick up and play their favorites without a problem.

LIFETIME -
The problem is that, once you've done Konquest twice, and got all the endings, You'll have enough money to buy every krypt, due to overzealous seeding of koins, especially platinum and onyx, and then there is nothing left to do. Kreate a Character would have benefitted this game more than more kharacters.

OVERALL -
If you want something that reminds you of what Mortal Kombat is meant to be, buy this game.
If you have Deception, borrow or rent it, since you'll get little new.
If you are a fan of Mortal Kombat, and can't afford a console, buy this game.
Essentially, Buy it if you want it, but don't buy it if you have time to play it normally...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/06