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MOOORTAAAL KOOOMBAAAT! It's back once again, but this time it's on the Saturn. Although this is the second MK game to appear on the system, many would like to forget the system's version of Mortal Kombat II, which was a total mess. As a translation from the arcade to a home system, UMK3 is excellent. It retains most of the animation of the arcade version, the backgrounds are identical to those in the arcade, and the sounds are almost perfect. Looking at UMK3 as a game itself is another story. First off, allow me to say that I am not very impressed with MK3 to begin with. Whereas I fell in love with Mortal Kombat and its sequel is my favorite fighting game to date, I expected a little more from the third installment. I find the characters a bit too goofy for my taste (seriously, who's idea was Stryker anyway?), and the palette swaps are getting out of hand. Just look at the character select screen. You have an assortment of different colored robots, three Kitanas with different names, and not four, but a whopping five Scorpion-cloned ninjas (counting the human version of Smoke). In addition, you have two versions of Sub-Zero, a feature which made me laugh upon my discover of them. I'm sure I am not the first to wonder what happened to the classic Mortal Kombat II fatalities. UMK3 has fatalities all over the place, but there are so alike and boring that they're not even worth memorizing. The animalities are incredibly weak, and the friendships should have been left only in MKII, where they were a surprise. The backgrounds are a mixed basket of interesting and uneventful. While the backgrounds of the Soul Chamber and the Throne Room are mildly appealing, the Subway and the Street are just plain boring. Next time, stay with the outworld story. The amount of freedom you have there allows for some pretty outrageous backgrounds. Earth is just too boring these days. The control in UMK3 is very close to that of the arcade. The combos are pulled off with ease and the in-close combos (which I absolutely despise) are, regrettably, present as well. Now you can use the flying punch to begin a combo, which I though was pretty neat when I brought myself to use those in-close hits. I must say that the control is the best feature in MK3 and UMK3. It is very responsive and quick, and allows for some furious fights to take place. The AI in UMK3 is quite cheap, with much teleporting by characters who have the ability, and combos which will infuriate you after a short while. UMK3 is definitely best a two player game. In case there was any doubt, Shang Tsung still sits there for about five seconds deciding whether or not to take someone else's shape before he decides that yes, he is tired of looking like Sub-Zero on a bad hair day. Allow me to remind you that this is a problem inherent in CD-ROM systems, and not a shortcoming of the game. In all, UMK3 is a decent game. I have been a fan of the Mortal Kombat series since Mortal Monday in 1993, but it seems as if Boon and Tobias have exhausted the series, in 2-D at least. I'm sure that when MK4 comes, it'll turn a few heads, and MK Trilogy looks like a nice step in the MK collection direction, but for now, Ultimate is really just average. |
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