Name:	Mortal Kombat series (4 titles) Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat 2 Mortal Kombat 3 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Author/Vendor:	Probe/Sculptured Software/Midway/Acclaim
Released:	various
Type:	Fighting
Language:	English
Premise:	There are many worlds besides our own, many realms where both good and evil hold sway. For centuries, Shang Tsung of the Outworld has sought to control the Mortal Kombat tournament for his own ends. Now a new champion must arise from our world that will fight to the bitter end and put an end to Shang Tsung's ambitions. This video game series was so popular that it spawned both a live-action and an animated TV series, and a live-action movie starring Christopher Lambert as Rayden.
Impressions:	It is the considered opinion of most video game experts that the MK games are more hype than they are substance. Their opinion is that they are flashy SF2 clones that don't always deliver the goods. That didn't keep Midway from selling copies by the bucketful, and the Mortal Kombat franchise has been one of its most profitable ventures since its inception. Perhaps its reputation as a violent game with lots of blood-letting during the fights is what gave the series its overhyped reputation.
Variations:	Mortal Kombat (1993, featured the now-familar cast of Earth and Outworld fighters in their first contest - by far the worst graphically of the bunch, as the jerkiness and poor digitzation show) Mortal Kombat 2 (1994, the contest moves to the Outworld as Sonya Blade continues her pursuit of Kang - this introduced several new characters and is generally considered to be the best of the Genesis series) Mortal Kombat 3 (1995, even more characters join the roster as the Outworld launches its invasion of Earth - nice graphics and decent gameplay, but the jerky animation has unfortunately returned) Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995, same as MK3 but with several "enhancements," including more blood and gore during the fight scenes)
Recommended Emu:	Genecyst X