Hmm… what was it the people at Midway said again about Armageddon? That it was the end of the franchise and that’s it? Last Mortal Kombat ever? Really? Well I guess not since we’re about to be dragged through ANOTHER Mortal Kombat as Mortal Kombat tries to save itself by latching onto the DC Universe and dragging it down into the waves… except it won’t work as DC is holding tight onto LEGO Batman (which will save it even as it’s being yanked under by Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe).

But this isn’t a review (yet) of MK vs. DC… not that we will never see a review of that as we will… one of these days. This is a review of the classic Mortal Kombat for the Game Gear.

Hmm… how weird. Of all the portable versions of Mortal Kombat I know of (as in versions that are original releases and not re-releases) this looks the most like the original Arcade

version… which isn’t much of a challenge since the other versions so do not look anything like the original (let alone the console counterparts).

Bells and whistles wise this game seems to have nearly nil on that score, it’s a down and dirty straight up fighter, but what does it have on the other versions? Hmmm… is it me or is there NO blood in this version? Either that or I’m not paying attention due to all the nice graphics (which is actually nice in comparison to other MK games available at this period).

Of course the gameplay is same as always (and if I can find my old magazine strategy guide to old systems I’d be able to figure out all the moves without going online to find an old guide to this game’s moves), and I still can pull off some of the moves from memory. The only thing is that I can’t remember how to do fatalities, so

as of this review I didn’t try to pull off any of the old fatalities yet… I’m sure they’re still there though, if you’re wondering.

Otherwise it is what you see, an old port of a classic game. It moves a tad sluggish, you’d need to do your homework to do the fatalities and I am sure I’m not seeing blood flying on hits… but you know what? If you are an old school Mortal Kombat fan you might actually want this in your collection. It’s not the best handheld but it’s noteworthy and, well, if you are a Game Gear owner then you should be having this in your collection. Really.

Now, for the record people at Midway, the day of the fatality as shock value is so over and done with. Sure, when this game came out years ago the idea of fatalities was a fresh shock of the new and innovative… but years past and fatalities became common

place (lost amongst the many games that delivered the bloody fatality move without batting and eyelash).

These days the new shock value is hardcore sex.
How about an over the top Adults Only fighter slash sex sim? It’ll bring you back to the era of shock and awe that’ll revive the franchise and make your adult players remember the days when they were shocked, surprised and (ultimately) thrilled by the good old days of Mortal Kombat (when it went into bold new directions and really showed the gamer something they haven’t seen before).
It can happen again… once Midway goes the route of the dark side and really works to shock and awe the gamer… again.

Until then, however, remember the good old days when a solid fighter with fatalities shook your world and made you a believer… to the tune of 3 fatalities out of 5 (which is a good score for this bells and whistles mostly free game!)