GC '07: Ultimate Mortal Kombat Hands-On

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.