E3 06: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Hands-On

LOS ANGELES--It was announced back at a Midway event earlier this year, and now Microsoft is showing off Midway's classic 2D-fighting game, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, in playable form. The emulation isn't perfect, but for an early version of the game, it already seems pretty playable.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was the upgrade for MK3 that added more characters, backgrounds, and important moves, such as Stryker's gun. All of that 2D-fighting action is contained in the early playable build that Microsoft is showing off. What's currently missing from the game is sound effects. Also, the controls work fine, but they felt a little sluggish, and the online feature wasn't available, which is pretty much the game's key feature.

On the achievement front, you'll earn points for finishers, like for finishing a fight with a babality over Xbox Live, giving mercy, executing a fatality, and so on. You'll also earn points for getting 10 wins, landing a five-hit combo, and so on.

The gameplay is right, and the emulation seems solid so far. Stuff like the prematch "kombat kodes" work, letting you enter the all-powerful, extremely exciting "throwing encouraged" code, and so on.

As one of the greatest fighting games ever made, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 definitely stands out as one of the best chances for online fighting on the Xbox 360 later this year. We hope that aspect of the game, along with the sound and control, will be ready to go when the game releases.