The classic arcade beat em up hits the DS

I used to spend hours on the Amiga, and then later on the Super Nintendo playing Mortal Kombat (MK). Whilst most raved about Street Fighter I always thought that MK was where it was at. The characters were better, there was blood when you hit your opponent and the finishing moves (“fatalities”) were brilliant.

As the later versions came out instead of fatalities you could choose friendships, whereby you did something nice for your opponent, like danced for them or made them a paper chain or a magic trick, or you could do the babality and turn them in to a child. MK3 had the additional finishing move of animalaties whereby your character turned in to an animal and did something crazy to your opponent.

Trying to work out the combination of the fatalities, friendships, babalities and animalities was a challenge and quite often we had to resort to the many cheat magazines available.

When I saw Ultimate MK (“UMK”) was available on the DS I just had to rent it out to see if the game was as good as I remember.

****Characters****

There are 19 characters including Skorpion, Jax, Lui Kang, Kung, Katana amongst all the other characters from the previous versions of MK.

In my opinion UMK has the best characters with the best weapons, the best special moves and the best finishing moves (including the fatality, babality, animality and friendship) of any fighting game.

The characters are quite small as the producers have attempted to have cram in too much on the screen, which is a bit of a shame. Personally, I would have increased the size, and definition of the characters, at the expense of the detailed backgrounds.

****Moves****

All characters have the jump kick, high kick, low kick, sweeping kick, high punch, low punch and upper cut ability. In addition, each character has its own signature moves that can be used to great effect.

The characters are moved during the D pad and the A, B, X and Y buttons. In addition, the L and R shoulder buttons are used.

During game play the inactive top screen shows your character’s special moves, which is very useful especially if you have a poor memory and cannot remember them very easily. It also displays the finishing moves so there is no need to go out and buy any magazines for the cheats. 

****Game play****

The touch screen facility is redundant in this game, which does not surprise me. I am struggling to see how you would actually have a game of this genre using the full potential of the touch screen and stylus.

Like previous versions of MK the action is fast and furious and the single bouts can be over in a matter of seconds. Once you are subjecting your opponent to close in fast punches it is difficult for them to get out of this. Similarly, if you are being pounded by your opponent it is just as hard.

****Graphics****

The graphics are 2D and have a digital and photographic look just like the previous versions of MK. Some may argue that gaming has moved on and 2D beat em up games are obsolete and should be updated to 3D just like Tekken was on the original Play Station.

Personally, I think the 2D graphics are great and since they mimic the arcade then so much the better. Why bother going 3D when these are more than good enough?

Just like the versions before it, MK on the DS is dark with the characters in striking colours and costumes. The background to each bout is very detailed and dark and sets the scene perfectly for the blood bath that is to follow.

Whilst the characters are clear and sharp they are very small, hence it is not possible to see their features very clearly.

****Audio****

The sound is sharp and crisp and there is an excellent range of sound effects that compliments the beat em up genre perfectly.

 There is no cheesy or camp music. This is a refreshing change since it appears that virtually all DS games have such awful music.

****Other bad bits****

This game has the worst computer controlled fighters of any beat em up. Whilst the first couple of fights are relatively easy the computer controlled character suddenly goes in to “win” mode and there is nothing you can do. It becomes really difficult and the computer controlled character reacts to everything you do. It is not a fair fight.

The only way to win when it gets like this is to trick your opponent, whilst this isn’t too hard but it does decrease the fun of the game somewhat.

****Multi player****

The best way to enjoy this game is to play against someone else. It is possible to play against another person with only one copy of the game, but you are limited to a couple of characters, so it isn’t great for long term enjoyment.

The best way is for both you and your friend to have a copy of the game as this allows the full range of characters.

Another way is to link up to the internet and try and seek out an opponent online. Personally, I have never had any problems with the online mode and found this works really well, although I have read mixed reports and some people have complained that a match can be “sluggish and choppy” although I have never experienced this. Maybe it depends upon the speed of the internet connection both you and your opponent has.

As well as fighting using the online mode it is also possible to play puzzle Kombat.

****Puzzle Kombat****

This is a blocks-and-crash-gems style of puzzle game. It is exactly like Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo but with MK characters instead of Street Fighter characters. Each character can pull of a special move (once it is fully charged) in order to jumble the opponents pit and remove blocks from your own. This puzzle game is pretty boring and one I think you’ll try a couple of times and then put aside.

****Conclusion****

This is a great game and is as good as I remember, however, it is not really a single player game unless you have the ability to get your DS online and seek out an opponent. The computer controlled character in single player mode is just too tough and it does ruin it somewhat.

Looking back, I never played previous versions of MK in single player mode either. It was a game that I always enjoyed with mates. To enjoy this game to its full with friends you need each need a copy of the game to unlock all of the characters.