Apocalypse Then: Mortal Kombat 3

It was fifteen years ago, in 1995, that the third game in the legendary, lengthy Mortal Kombat series was released: Mortal Kombat 3.

It was developed by none other than Midway, released initially on arcades, with the ports handled by Williams.

I remember that I first played it when I borrowed it from a friend of my brother’s years ago. I gave the game back a while later, but I’ve actually still got the manual for it. I was so taken in my the drawings and diagrams in that book that I traced the picture of the new Sub-Zero, the younger unmasked brother of the other Sub-Zero [or Noob Saibot] in it and hung it on the wall in my room.

One thing that many didn’t like about it was that it replaced or simply left out a number of favourite characters in the series, like Scorpion and Reptile, and most of the other ninja like fighters that were present in previous incarnations.

This was remedied when Midway updated the game with Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, which put those characters back in. I remember playing that one at my neighbour's house years ago. Then after that it was updated for a second time to bring what was considered one of the last great Mortal Kombat games: Mortal Kombat Trilogy. A game that I still have and occasionally play to this day.

It was also more westernized than previous MK titles in character design as well as arenas in the game. Smoke was the hidden character, and was one of three cyborg characters. All of the characters in MK3 were digitized rather than a combination of digitization and hand drawn sprites. The soundtrack also had more of a westernized feel, with instruments sounding like guitars as well as drums.

Animalities were a new addition to series in this game, as well as Mercy.

MK 3 also inspired the second and least appreciated movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, with characters like Stryker and Kabal referenced, as well as others like Rain and Ermac.

If you want to play a classic, you can get Mortal Kombat 3 here at Amazon.

Apocalypse Then: Mortal Kombat 3

New Mortal Kombat Game Coming Next Year, New Movie in Future Too

I agree with those who say that the last great Mortal Kombat game that ever showed up was indeed Mortal Kombat Trilogy. MK II was great, but Trilogy just put it all together – fighters and arenas from all previous games up to that point.

I will say that the animations from MK II were actually quite good - particular the ninjas and so on like Scorpion.

After Trilogy, back in 1996, the series has taken a long, slow downward turn, which culminated in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe not too long ago. Many argue that it lost its edge. And of course Midway fell apart last year and went bankrupt, with Warner Bros. buying out the studio responsible for the MK games.

Anyhow, the new Mortal Kombat game headed by Ed Boon and NetherRealm Studios, formerly known as WB Games Chicago, received a trailer and a lot of fanfare recently. They say it’s a kind of a like a remake of the original games, but in 3D. But more like Street Fighter IV, where even though things are in 3D, the fighting and so on is strictly 2D.

The first MK game to try 3D out was Mortal Kombat 4. Likely nowhere near as good as Trilogy, it looked awful – even back then.

This new Mortal Kombat, called “Mortal Kombat 9” for some time now, but now just titled Mortal Kombat, is set to be the series’ rebirth. it should be out on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011. This all means that upon its release, it would have taken 15 years to get another great MK title.

Now I hate to be nitpicky, but if you really want to win people over again, you should come up with at least a decent PC port. Stay tuned for a petition coming your way soon.

Hey by the way, there’s also a video clip that is said to have been a pitch for the new Mortal Kombat movie doing the rounds on the net which you might like to see. They say its pretty damn awesome as well.

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Source: [Kotaku]

New Mortal Kombat Game Coming Next Year, New Movie in Future Too

Apocalypse Then: Mortal Kombat Trilogy

Developers: Point of View, Inc. (Saturn), Avalanche Software (PlayStation), Williams Entertainment (N64)
Publishers: Midway, Williams Entertainment
Series: Mortal Kombat
Engine: Updated UMK 3
Platforms: Nintendo 64, PC, PlayStation, Saturn, Game.com
Release date: September 1, 1996
Genres: Fighting

On this day in gaming, in 1996, Mortal Kombat Trilogy was released.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy combines practically everything from Mortal Kombat 1, 2, 3, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, hence the name "Trilogy".

Back in the 90s, I was obsessed with this game. I picked it up at a reasonable price at a local secondhand shop.

My favourite character was Sub-Zero, of which there were two, the masked (older, who is now Noob Saibot), and the unmasked (younger). In fact, this is the first out of two games in the series, the other being Armageddon, to feature all the ninjas, except this game just had them as palette swaps with different moves.

I was unable to play this game on Microsoft Windows XP for years, until I discovered a patch on a fansite, totalmortalkombat.com that makes this possible. Replaying the game while listening to Megadeth, especially Countdown to Extinction, was like going back in time.

Out of all the classic MK games I've ever played, I maintain that this is one of, if not the best, even though there are others who feel differently, particularly those who got one of the console versions.

You can pick up Mortal Kombat Trilogy here if you want to play a classic.

Apocalypse Then: Mortal Kombat Trilogy