GC '07: Ultimate Mortal Kombat Hands-On

Ultimate Mortal Kombat is arriving on the DS, with both Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Puzzle Kombat in one package. We got time with the both of them at Midway's Leipzig booth.

LEIPZIG, Germany--The Mortal Kombat franchise has made it to pretty much every platform imaginable over the years, and we're long overdue a Nintendo DS appearance. The first game to carry the name is a double pack comprising ports of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Puzzle Kombat. While neither title makes use of the DS's touch-screen capabilities, they both offer wireless multiplayer game sharing locally and online using Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 offers the 19 fighters from the original title, with three unlockable characters taking the total to 22. By default, punch buttons have been mapped to the X and A buttons, with kicks on Y and B, and block on the right shoulder button. As we've discovered with previous fighters on the console, the buttons can be a little fiddly and awkward during prolonged use, but it's still possible to pull off the special moves with a little practice. The game also offers a fairly lengthy challenge thanks to the novice, warrior, and two master levels.

Puzzle Kombat is a game much in the mould of Columns and Tetris but with a fighting spin. Sets of two coloured blocks fall down the screen, and the aim is to arrange blocks of one colour together. Then, every fifth or so time, one block will fall that makes all interconnected blocks of one colour disappear. This then charges up a special move meter that can be used by the fighters on the top screen to knock one another out.

What really impresses about the package is how Midway has implemented local and online wireless multiplayer for both games. Two players can link up locally using two carts or game sharing, and you can also use the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection to play people across the world. The game saves single-player and multiplayer high scores to the cart, and you can set up user profiles, too.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat DS also houses a number of extras that help add some longevity. There are character bios, credits, and a series of lost treasures to check out. The latter feature allows you to watch all the different character endings, fight super bosses such as Ermec and Noob, and take part in more than three different types of endurance battles.

While Ultimate Mortal Kombat on the DS is unlikely to change the world, it does offer fans of the series another excuse to play these games on the go. Mostly we just like that the game supports Nintendo Wi-Fi connection--still a rarity for DS games--as well as game sharing and local multiplayer for both fighting and puzzle games. Ultimate Mortal Kombat goes on sale worldwide this Q3.

30 Comments

  • tictac_doh

    Posted Oct 4, 2007 1:45 pm PT

    nice i cant wait!

  • spider-manfan45

    Posted Sep 27, 2007 3:47 am PT

    looks funny........................

  • Sunrie

    Posted Sep 15, 2007 8:05 pm PT

    Ultimate MK was crap the first time...

  • hybridfury7

    Posted Sep 13, 2007 6:08 pm PT

    This title will be arcade accurate with some special features tossed in. I am a HARDCORE MK Fan, so I CAN'T WAIT for this game. I already got it on reserve!

  • The_Weekend

    Posted Sep 10, 2007 7:14 am PT

    Sweet.

  • GreenXMega

    Posted Sep 5, 2007 4:31 pm PT

    Now that kicks ass!

  • D3xxRay

    Posted Sep 5, 2007 3:50 pm PT

    this looks much better than the xbox live verson

  • Tungsten88

    Posted Sep 2, 2007 6:04 pm PT

    Hm, I don't think the d-pad on the DS is cut out for this. I mean, I tried playing Super Street Fighter 2: Turbo Revival (whew) on this thing and my thumb was burning after a few minutes. The DS Lite's d-pad is just to "mushy".

  • zonetroperalpha

    Posted Sep 2, 2007 9:50 am PT

    trunks i wa playing a lot of mortal kombat at 8 too,and earlyer the 8 .GOD IM LOKING FORWARD TO THIS!!

  • trunksrg

    Posted Aug 31, 2007 12:16 am PT

    when i was 8 years old (now i'm 15) i was playing a lot of mortal combat on my sega mega drive 2 and as far as i know this game is amost the same as i was playing o my sega
    i kind if miss that game
    so i think i'l buy the DS version too

  • Hcoregamer

    Posted Aug 29, 2007 11:11 pm PT

    um yeah he typed ermac wrong

  • Yadish

    Posted Aug 29, 2007 6:56 pm PT

    Noob is such a funny name..."fight super bosses such as Erma and Noob" Ha hes still my favorite

  • norberto1995

    Posted Aug 29, 2007 1:10 pm PT

    I'll hope they add a WI-FI Team Play too ^_-

  • XBASX

    Posted Aug 29, 2007 1:04 pm PT

    Sweet, Mortal Combat Wifi, looking forward to this one.

  • VirtualTofu

    Posted Aug 29, 2007 7:00 am PT

    MORTAL KOMBAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

  • roryk666

    Posted Aug 27, 2007 4:19 pm PT

    ill be getting this. see you online

  • valcrist09

    Posted Aug 27, 2007 3:19 pm PT

    good lord just show me some info on the next GEN MORTAL KOMBAT stop release the same 4 MKs over and over on different platforms.

  • My_Name_Is_Sin

    Posted Aug 27, 2007 12:55 pm PT

    Looks good. I wonder how the WIFI is

  • Darth_Quanstars

    Posted Aug 25, 2007 10:01 am PT

    finally a fighter for the DS!!!!! thank you

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Aug 24, 2007 6:42 pm PT

    At least they are good games.

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