Reviews: ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Super Street Fighter IV: 3D’

If you came of age in the Clinton-soaked ’90s, chances are you pumped a whole lot of quarters into arcade fighting machines. In those days, no two brands flew higher than Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Good news, then, for you old-school joystick hounds. Both franchises are back and badder than ever. It may be time to look up that snotty kid that hung around the Galleria Mall arcade and challenge him to a rematch. He’s probably still there.

‘Mortal Kombat’
Console: PS3/360
Company: WB Games
Grade: 4 (out-of-5)

As you can tell by the name, this title seeks to return to the franchise’s roots. This means gruesome fatalities, fighting along an old-school 2-D plane and tons of secret moves. The fun, albeit ridiculous, storyline is also a nod in the retro direction. It involves the game’s cast traveling back in time to the original tournament in order to make sure their parents fall in love, um, or something. Time travel is so confusing.

But how does it play? Great. The controls and move sets are different from the original games but still solidly executed. Be careful, though. The single-player mode can be aggressively difficult. Luckily, there are more game modes than you can shake a stick at. Four player co-op, tag-team modes and online tournaments are only a few of the reasons that make this a great purchase for fight fans.

‘Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition’
Console: 3DS
Company: Capcom
Grade: 4 (out-of-5)

Who would have thought that in the year 2011 a Street Fighter game would be considered a top-tier purchase for the launch of a new system? Believe it, because this title is helping Nintendo’s new handheld fly off of the shelves. It’s easy to see why. “Super Street Fighter IV” for the 3DS is easily the definitive version of the game and probably the best portable fighter of all time.