GET OVER HERE!!!!!

I love the Mortal Kombat games ever since I first bought Mortal Kombat for the Super Nintendo. While originally one of the most popular arcade games of the arcade era, the Mortal Kombat title has been released on nearly every home system from the Game Boy to the PSP, and everything in between. Ultimate Mortal Kombat was doomed for failure from its inception considering most handheld Mortal Kombat games were utter trash. But this games outshines and destroys the plague that had ravaged Mortal Kombat on portable systems.

Story
The central story is actually about Shao Kahn trying to take over the world again, which has been the typical story for most Mortal Kombat games. There are really no other story elements. The only real thing I can fault on the Mortal Kombat games were the lack of a storyline in most of the games.

Graphics
This game is essentially a remake from the Mortal Kombat 3 game from about a decade and a half ago. Considering that the graphics are very slick and everything runs really smoothly. The projectiles, missiles to fireballs, were all rendered beautifully, while all the worlds look great down to each minute detail. Usually, you may come across graphic problems when in a certain arena or when fighting a large character whom consumes much space, which was a problem in the past, this rarely happens in this game.

Puzzle Kombat which has been ported from the newer Mortal Kombat games has been simplified in the graphics department, which sucks since it was pretty simple graphically to begin with, and now it has been even more simplified. I will explain this mode further in the gameplay section.

Also the characters all look like they should with complete attires. All the characters look like their original counterparts but a little bit better and more detailed. Also backgrounds are more vibrant than ever before, which is simply due to the wider color scheme of the DS compared to the throwback systems.

Sound
If you own any Mortal Kombat game before this one you maybe disappointed by the sounds and BGM. This was usually the case for most old videogames. Luckily most of the original BGMs and sound effects have made the transition and upgrade to the DS. Nothing like hearing your opponent scream in pain as you eat his soul or chop him with your spinning head. Fatalities, Brutalities and all of the maneuvers sound great, and the screams of the characters as they face their demise is awe inspiring, well in a sick way. Only drawback to the sound is that all of the female have pretty much the same voice, as the same thing goes for the many characters, with little distinction between them.

Gameplay
First I will describe the bad components of the game. The enemy AI in single matches are simply put capable of godlike moves that will knock you senseless unless you now what your doing. The only ever bad with Mortal Kombat games were the AI were always intelligent and very comparable for the most part. But this game ups the ante, as you will find yourself cursing out your DS as Shao Kahn asks you if you still want to continue.

Puzzle Kombat has been ported from the newer consoles. Puzzle Kombat is like a head-to-head Tetris based game, where the loser gets a stage based fatality upon losing. You can chose from cartoon-looking versions of your favorite MK characters and each character has a signature move that affects the Puzzle Kombat status, such as removing rows of blocks on your screen or adding random blocks to your opponents screen. The great thing about this mode is that you can select characters that were not in the original game.

Seriously though the gist of every Mortal Kombat game is fighting the Classic Mode and trying to make your way to the final boss. In this mode you must run the gauntlet and defeat countless Mortal Kombat enemies and participants as you make your way to Shao Kahn.

Now to the controls. The touch screen is basically only used in the main menu, then never is put to good use again. Though you could chose to put your character's specialty moves and fatality button combination on the screen for visual use, which can be helpful considering performing fatalities is hard for beginners.

The rest of the controls are simplistic. {L runs, R blocks, and the other four main buttons on the DS are used to perform high and low kicks and punches. The controls flow well and feel great considering they are eerily similar to those on the Super Nintendo.

Replay Value
The replay value is very high considering you can play defeat the main mode with every character to unlock a story of the character you beat the game with. You can also unlock a bunch of characters whom can be used in classic and puzzle modes. There are also some cheats that add other thins to the game like characters, stages and outfits.

If you have a DS and love Mortal Kombat or just good fighting games pick this one up. The game is a classic with many new additions which just exacerbates the games greatness. With updated graphics and animations the game gets a FLAWLESS VICTORY!.