This is something I planned on for a while so I hope you like my big reviews summary of Mortal Kombat, each also submitted for the version listed on GameSpot.

Mortal Kombat (SNES)

Well what can I say about what drew me to this game other than the violence? Because lets face it anyone that says otherwise is pretty much lying big time on that one, everyone was talking about it at the time because it allowed you to kill you opponent ant the end of the fight, and there was blood flying every where great appeal for all teenagers then. However Nintendo in there infinite bunny stroking wisdom at the time decided to leave all of that blood and head ripping heart pulling gore out of the game because at the time they were far more friendly than they are now. Despite this minor detail the game itself was the closest to the arcade version between the two home versions released at the time, offering very close to the original graphics, being much larger sprites than the Mega Drive version could offer and superior sound, plus the SNES control pad was far better than the Mega Drive version for playing and controlling the game due to more buttons. How it holds up now though is a slightly different story after going back and playing it though and seeing how slow and unresponsive it can be after playing later versions, but it can still be fun to pull off some of those Fatalities just to see what they were like, to be fair this game is only good for a quick trip down memory lane nothing more as it really shows it's age with badly digitised actors and slow pace, that and there is very little to separate the seven characters this game has to offer, other than the special moves and fatalities. Still not bad but doesn't hold up well at all.

6.5

Mortal Kombat (Mega Drive)

Ok I really don't like to review games more than once but seeing as this and the SNES version are pretty much two completely different games I felt I had to offer my difference of opinion on the two and more importantly it's actually the only Mega Drive one I have ever had access to because of one reason I wanted to see the blood in it, makes me sound like I like violence, which I do. First off in pretty much every single way this version is inferior to the SNES one as just about all multi platform were on the two systems because the SNES pretty much did everything better due to being the more powerful system, yet the Mega Drive version sold more put down to the simple fact that it had the blood and gore of the arcade game, ok it wasn't in when you just started the game up since it had to be activated with a cheat code, but unlike the bunny loving Nintendo at the time Sega knew it would sell copies and it did, but really other than that this game has aged badly and other than to see a few fatalities different to the SNES version it's not worth it not much else I can say really other than read my SNES review of this game.

6.0

Mortal Kombat II (SNES)

Now unlike the first game all eyes were on this one to deliver everything the last one did and more and it did just that, more characters mover violence more blood, more fatalities and more. This time there was a difference though the home versions never had any of the blood and gore removed so it was far closer than the original was on the SNES, and that certainly helped it out, other than that though this game was far quicker and played better in everyway since it was far easier to link moves together and create combinations that looked good. This was also pretty much twice the size of the last game so there was a lot to take in and remembering all the moves was quite a task especially all the Fatalities, Friendships and Babalities, but you had to see them all, looks wise this game was far better than the original since the actors weren't so badly digitised and the same as the arenas everything looked far better because of it too, being more colourful and not looking like something lifted from a bad Kung-Fu movie, but that's what the first Mortal Kombat looked like as a whole a bad Kung-Fu movie. Playing wise this game is where it all starts to hold up pretty well because of the faster pace, and generally better to play against others, if you want to see where the series really took off pick this one up since it is where the series really started.

7.5

Mortal Kombat 3 (SNES)

Well if the second game had to deliver due to expectation this one had to so it didn't let the budding series down, as for the look of the game once again this was an improvement of the last game, but as far as the 2D series of games goes it pretty much doesn't change much overall from this other than being more detailed as the systems got more powerful, but in my opinion it is a good looking game and everything is just that bit faster than the previous game thins time with an added combo system that letter get's refined as the games go on and even more ways to finish you opponents with new Animalities after the activation of the new Mercy move, Animalities were moves that were originally rumoured to have been in the second arcade game so the team started making it a habit of including things that were rumours or even glitches such as the character Ermac was. So even more moves to remember, and if you thought remembering in the second game would be hard it's near impossible to do it for every one in this game. On the whole though this game is more of the same compared to the last one overall it's much harder though but due to it being pretty much the same in overall size it's a bit of a let down and if anything this really is far from the complete game when other versions get taken into account, but it's still fun and well worth it to see the natural progression of the game.

8.0

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (SNES)

Now this is a really good swan song for the 16-bit systems as far as Mortal Kombat goes first off it is different to the Arcade and Sega Saturn versions that came out featuring more characters than them two of which making there debut Noob Saibot being playable for the first time and Rain making his debut all with the exception of Sheeva being dropped but all the other characters were there and even new Brutalities were included so for the first time the console version actually did something different, a few minor problems were present though as the sound was badly down graded as far a speech samples went and not all of the newer Ninja characters had there full fatality sets in, with the exception all the Brutalities being there since they were the new ones. Baring in mind this game features more twice as many characters as the last one I'm sure many will let that go as I did, overall it was also slightly improved in the combo system too making it easier to make more varied ones. The difficulty was the same as the last so it was a good challenge and will take many people ages to get through all the characters. Remembering all the moves though is pretty much a no go since there are so many and the Brutalities are just so long remembering all them alone could take forever alone. A great swan song on the 16-bit systems though and the game Mortal Kombat 3 should have been to begin with.

8.5

Mortal Kombat Trilogy (N64)

Much like the first Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat Trilogy has two versions that are quite different indeed, the N64 version was the first I got my hands on and in many ways it is very good being the most graphically Arcade like version to have been released on a home system although the frame rate is very jerky and then there is the sound where you have to bump the sound right up to hear it, not to mention the difficulty that really is non existent, despite all that though I really loved this game the speed being a factor and so much easier to pull off combos and I never even had a problem using the N64 pad doing them. As far as characters go this game was pretty much the same as the final SNES game with only four more overall but only one Sub-Zero with a hybrid move set and my favourite version of him for it. There are also a few backgrounds that appear in the N64 version too that don't in the Playstation version and there is the one character Khameleon that is different being a female Ninja that has the moves of Jade, Mileena and Kitana as apposed to the male Chameleon that appears in that versions that has the moves of all the male Ninjas. There is also a cheat to make each pillar full of endurance rounds making the games limited difficulty that little more challenging. There is also the added Aggressor meter that appears at the bottom of the screen that once filled powers up you characters attacks, adding a bit more depth than previous Mortal Kombats. But despite everyone saying this game is bad, but I disagree, it simply takes a little time to adjust to once you do and find some one else who has this is the fastest paced Mortal Kombat game on any system and can be very frantic indeed especially if you know a character well enough to be able to launch into a lot of different combos, despite all the problems this game has it's still one of the best for multi player due to the speed and is certainly the closest looking to any arcade version, it may not be perfect but it's still good fun.

8.5

Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Playstation)

Ok now onto the second version of this game and the best of all the 2D games simply because it has all the things from all the previous games and so much more, as far as characters go this has all the ones from Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy on the N64 except one character than is different in both Trilogys , Chameleon in this version as apposed to Khameleon, but it also has more on top of that with classic versions of both Raiden and Kano from MK1 and Kung Lao and Jax from MK2 and not to mention the four boss characters selectable from the start and Goro and Kintaro for the first time. As far as the game it's self goes it has more in common with the SNES Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 than the N64 Trilogy everything being tighter control wise and a little slower in pace, plus it is the hardest version of them all. This game has everything in it for every character too where as other games have had to leave them out due to space restrictions on cartridge this has no such problems so every Fatality, bar one of Scorpsion's that is only in the N64 version, Babality, Friendship, Animality and Brutality, then of course you have the all new Aggressor bar too so this really is the Ulitmate Mortal Kombat, pardon the pun but overall it is. For any fan though this is by far the best of the lot in the long running third part of the series and would highly recommend it to anyone who is into Mortal Kombat and this really is the best end to the series in 2D form.

9.0

Mortal Kombat 4 (N64)

Well after all the what seemed like infinite versions of Mortal Kombat 3 that kept on being released I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only who was wandering when the fourth instalment of this game was coming out, and when it finally did well it was a bit of a disappointment for me simply because it was nothing compared to the 2D ones maybe it was the speed of the game or that it never seemed to feel right mot that it's bad at all just nothing but Mortal Kombat 3 in 3D and the newer characters weren't all that memorable to be honest. Maybe I had expected to much, and maybe if it wasn't just simply Mortal Kombat in 3D I would feel different, this was definitely more of a side step than anything but could still be enjoyed if anything there really is little to note about this game other than it looks good for 3D at the time and there are plenty of things to see and do, but I got tired of it because it was just as I have said Mortal Kombat 3 in 3D. That's not to say it didn't try so new things like for instance including weapons for each character, at the time though it got a lot of good reviews for the N64 and I can understand why as the system was so starved of a good 3D fighter it was by far the best from a limited amount of games and there always seems to be an expectation of Mortal Kombat to deliver it just fails for me as it's nothing that wasn't done in the 2D games, but if you are a Mortal Kombat fan as long as you aren't expecting too much I would recommend you get it just to see what it's like.

7.5

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (Gamecube)

Well I will admit to not being all that excited about this game as I was previous Mortal Kombat games simply because I was so underwhelmed by Mortal Kombat 4, that was until I read a preview in and old Nintendo Gamecube magazine here in the UK called CUBE and then it really grabbed my attention, first off it look as good as any beat-em-up around at the time down to the style that it went for and for one it wasn't Mortal Kombat as we knew it this wasn't simply a 3D version of MK3 like MK4 was but it was a completely new game engine one that was built from the ground up and rather than each fighter being the same other than the special moves separating them each character has three separate fighting styles two hand to hand and one weapon based. Other than that the whole way the game played changed there is less jumping about and that from MK4 and more combos based juggles and linked moves making it a much faster paced game. But it really doesn't stop just at the gameplay changes the sheer amount of content....... sorry Kontent to unlock will keep you playing for ages thanks to the Koins that you have to earn to unlock everything in the Krypt, from hidden characters, arenas, alternative outfits to just about everything that went into making the game in some form or another, of course you can also watch the Making of video and the History of Mortal Kombat video as they are worth it, although one slight gripe have is earning Platinum and Onyx Koins can be a bit of a chore as there can only really be obtained through winning at the Test Your Might and Sight mini games so earning those alone takes longer than the other Koins other than that unlocking everything takes time but is fun while you do it. There is enough to keep you playing on this two with all the game modes to unlock as well not only do you have the standard Arcade, Verses and Practice mode but there is also the Konquest mode which serves a few purposes and that is a quick easy way to learn a characters moves, a good way of earning Koins that's easy, and good insight into the characters back stories, so quite a lot of work has went into that part unlike previous Mortal Kombats. One thing that has changed is that each character only has one Fatality each so rather than the ten or so that each one had by the end of Trilogy they are back to just one and all the better for it as the game hold up regardless of them now because it's became a far better fighter than previous games. All in all a lot of work went into this to make it the best Mortal Kombat around and the amount to see and do in this package makes it worth it and has helped make the Mortal Kombat game a bit less of a gimmick and a decent fighter.

8.0

Mortal Kombat: Deception (Playstation 2)

First Off I have to say the only reason I am reviewing this on the Playstation 2 is because in Europe this game never came out on the Gamecube which was the version I wanted, since I pretty much had the collection all on Nintendo consoles and it also had the extra characters in the forms of Shao Kahn and Goro who I really wanted to play as, I may look to getting Mortal Kombat: Unchained though since it includes them and a further four characters from Deadly Alliance. Being the direct sequel to Deadly Alliance I really was looking forward to this game hoping that it would have a few improvements to make it the best Mortal Kombat game to date, and really it did just that taking everything from the last game and expanding on it, and making everything look that much more detailed as far a graphically although I find it slightly slower to play and linking combos together a little harder overall, but I wouldn't say that is a big problem overall. Overall this game follows the structure of the last game pretty much in everyway so unlocking things is pretty much the same, and gives you plenty of reason to play through the game with all of the characters at least once although there are also a couple of new modes which are pretty gimmicky yet still good for a quick laugh and break up the game a bit them being both Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat, neither one great but both decent additions. There is one big change in a game mode in this game and that is the Konquest mode unlike in Deadly Alliance this mode is no longer a straight forward set of missions where you progress as you complete it with each character, it is now an adventure mode where you take on the role of Shujinko and it fills in the whole back story of how everything came to be up until Deception starting before the first Mortal Kombat and progressing all the way, so it will have some good nostalgia in there and is a decent way of having a decent story in the game further expanding the deep Mortal Kombat story which now has to be the biggest of any beat-em-up going now since it just gets bigger with each game. On the whole subject of nostalgia this game really features it in abundance from the returning characters from past Mortal Kombat games and there are a lot of them that weren't in any other 3D Mortal Kombats so it is good to see them in 3D for the first time, and there is a few classic arena in there too which look fantastic and really like they have been lifted from the older games and that what they were supposed to look like so nostalgia all around in this game. Onto what's new though all the characters now have two Fatalities rather than just the one as in Deadly Alliance so that's something else you really want to see every one at least once, then you have the return of the Stage Fatalities but unlike in previous games where you had to perform a certain combination when you could finish your opponent these can occur at any point during the bout if you hit your opponent right something that for me really adds to the fighting as they can really end at any point, unlike in Deadly Alliance where you had the invisible walls all the way around the stage, although the stages in Deception are also multiple layers much like what they were in some cases in Mortal Kombat 3 so it really has went out of it's way to be a bit more like previous Mortal Kombats here and with great effect. The one new way to die as such in the game is to do it your self before your opponent gets the chance to by committing Hara-Kiri and killing your self not a bad way of taking victory away from an opponent in one-on-one fights. While this game isn't much different in most ways to Deadly Alliance it improves on it in just about everyway including some welcome additions and just as much content to unlock so if you do like the Mortal Kombat series you really will like this game as it's both new and original and nostalgic at the same time so well worth playing.

8.5