Scorpion Vs. Sub-Zero. Round One, FIGHT! Get Over Here!!! FINISH HIM! Scorpion Wins, Flawless Victory. Oh, the familiar rhythm that is Mortal Kombat, or in this case Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for the Xbox Live Arcade!

The game costs an appropriate 800 points, contains Xbox Live and Single Player modes, and a whopping 22 characters! Not to mention this has been considered one of the most balanced fighter games around, and tournaments are still being done despite its age!

First of all, if you’re not a fan of Mortal Kombat, don’t complain that you don’t like this game. It may not appeal to the players of newer more flashy fighters like “Dead or Alive” or “Virtua Fighter” but for the time, the 2D/3D graphics worked, and the game has an odd yet nice flow to it. In other words if you’ve played older fighters you’ll feel right at home, if not…get used to it! Really the graphics are fine, nothing amazing, but it’s nice to the eyes, (except Sheeva) especially with all those HD TVs that are all the rage now a days!

In a fighting game the Gameplay is really the only thing you need to have going for it, although an entire Female Cast dressed like strippers tends to help sometimes. Mortal Kombat isn’t going onto its 6^th fighting game for no reason, so the fighting is good. Nothing too elaborate, but hey, it’s Mortal Kombat! Luckily the balancing and all the Fatalities, Babalaties, and Friendships create a nice illusion of freedom! I mean America fell in love with the cast of MK, and their moves like Scorpion’s Spear are legendary, not to mention parodied. Unfortunately the game feels sort of empty, 3 characters are unlockable, but only after putting in a painstaking code, and hoping they don’t get reset, as for other unlockables there’s achievements, that’s it. Sure you can see all the endings in the game after defeating Shao Kahn, who not knowing you don’t need quarters to play, lets you know “You Will Never Win!” but that’s all there is. Now lets just hope there’s some great form of online play to keep the game going…

Alright, Online play, lets look at the only characters you will see during your time Kombating foes from across the world. We have Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Styker, Smoke, Human Smoke, and…that’s pretty much it besides an occasional Reptile or two. Seriously, expect to see hundreds of people using the same combos as Smoke or Reptile, anyone call pull them off, yet most can’t stop them from murdering you! So unless you’re some god at this game, don’t expect much mercy. In fact, even single player will have you punching yourself occasionally from tough characters!

Basically Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a game that’s best left to the die hard fans. Again, its 800 points, 2 player has a few different modes which all have the same goal of defeating your opponent, and has 200 well earned achievements. If you like fighters, I say get it and wait for Super Street Fighter II’ Turbo HD Remix (Rolls right off the tongue), this game is enjoyable, but its emptiness and annoyance can be its downfall.

+22 Characters

+Nostalgia!

+Pretty Balanced

-Brutal Online Play

-Feels “Empty”

-Unlockables?

Final Score: 6.5/10