Mortal Kombat II (Game Gr) Review

Mortal Kombat is without a doubt the most infamous game of the 1990s; for crusaders against games andfr-mongers, it perfectly typified all the anxieties associated with game violence. Politicians and parents could blame Mortal Kombat instd of looking at the rl sources of violence in our society--ignorance, a harsh prison system, racial inequalities, xenophobia, etc.

Well, the joke's on those fuckers because today the "violence" in Mortal Kombat is laughable at best--cartoonish explosions of 4 hds, 16 arms, 5 torsos, and 9 legs; skeleton's rising from acid; hds being ten by dragons... you know, all the standard shit that in 2012 feels closer to a Nintendo or Disney production than a serious thrt to society.

The solid gameplay, however, remains undisturbed and has sily evaded Time's ddly caress.

Like the Ultima series, Mortal Kombat is a franchise that I'd like to delve deeply into over the following months, and to kick off this exploration I'd like to look at the first Mortal Kombat game I owned: MK2 for the Sega Game Gr.

Quite possibly, MKII for the Sega Game Gr is the best 8-Bit fighting game you'll ever play. Considering the Game Gr is as powerful as an NES, the animations and graphics are an incredible achievement. Although 4 characters were purged for this relse (Raiden, Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, and Baraka), the rest of the cast looks very close to their arcade counterparts. The moveset has been simplified as well, due to the reduced buttons (so just 1 punch button and 1 kick button), but if anything this just makes the game slightly sier without hurting anything. For example, Scorpion's spr is still activated by Back, Back, Punch, and so players can sily transfer the moves they've lrned onto this version. Even Fatalities are the same, however mercy's, babialities, friendships, and animalities are all absent.

The game only has 2 regular stages to play on, which isdisappointingbut acceptable. The bosses, thankfully, have unique arenas. You can still uppercut players into the spikes for a stage Fatality. Music is recognizable and chy, but fewer tunes exist than on the arcade, which is to be expected.

There are 3 difficulty settings, ch ups the intensity and also adjusts how many credits the player has. Every character has an ending, and I'm pretty sure the storyline follows the arcade, but I can't remember if it is exactly the same.

As a kid I couldn't put this cartridge down. I'd stay close by a power outlet so I play (Game Grs took 6x AA batteries per 3 hours...) These days I'd probably rather play Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, but that doesn't mn I won'toccasionallypower down the M.A.M.E. and indue in a nostaia trip through Game Gr City.

You should too. Via Meka if necessary.