Ridiculous fatalities can't mask shortcomings in gameplay, but it's still fun to play.
New characters included the sisters Mileena and Kitana, and Baraka, an Outworld humanoid with huge swords up his arms. Kung Lao, hinted at it in the first game, is on Earth's side with his trusty hat capable of splitting an enemy in two - literally - and Sonya Blade's teammate Jax, whose cybernetic arms can tear an opponent's off.
Sound ludicrous yet? Well it should, because these were so silly they went beyond shocking and were merely amusing, and great to try and pull off. The combat (or should that be kombat?) was standard 2D fighter-fare, with a range of special moves camouflaging the fact that there was almost no difference between any of the characters' abilities. However, some were clearly stronger than others.
Visually it remained pretty impressive with the digitised actors, and the series hallmarks of "Finish him!" in voiceover and secret characters were back again. It's not rocket science, but Mortal Kombat, if anything, shows that you shouldn't take yourself too seriously.