Week 10

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Join us every week for insightful anecdotes and funny insights into the world of video games

Welcome to week 10 of Press Start to Play Article Edition. The classic critique is making its triumphant return with an equally triumphant game of its time. This week’s classic is Mortal Kombat for the SNES.

Mortal Kombat is an arcade fighting game made to compete with the then very popular Street Fighter. Creators Ed Boon and John Tobias teamed with Midway to make this action packed game come to life. Midway went on to create other games such as Spy Hunter and Rampage.

To tell you the truth there is no real story to Mortal Kombat. As said earlier it is an arcade game so no one really cared about the story. What they really wanted was a fighting game that entertained and controlled well. That’s exactly what Mortal Kombat has come out and done.

The four face buttons control different levels of attacking such as high kick, low kick, high punch, low punch. There is also the block button which I feel trumps Street Fighter’s way of blocking. Unfortunately this early in its creation the game is not too fast paced. It may feel slow and attacks may feel slow to your button commands.

All you do in Mortal Kombat is pick one of the 7 available characters and go through fights against A.I controlled fighters. There are also challenges during the arcade mode such as Test Your Might, a button mashing sequence to see if you can break a certain solid. There are also endurance matches where you as one fight two opponents.

The variety of moves in Mortal Kombat makes each character unique. Each one has their own special attacks as well as two very brutal fatalities. Fatalities are performed at the end of a match by pushing a command sequence and you bask in the glory of watching your character perform a brutal finisher to your poor opponent.

Graphics are good for the SNES. I just wish that you were able to see the characters faces but that was obviously improved on in Mortal Kombat 2. The music during fights is definitely arcade tracks that get you into the game. The level designs are also good and they have a lot of vibrant colours.

If you’re a Mortal Kombat fan then you must have played this. If not then go get it and learn some history about where Mortal Kombat started from. For the amateur gamer this game is a good starting point and you should definitely try it. I give Mortal Kombat 4.5 out of 5.

Don’t forget to check out the Press Start to Play Podcast at pstp.podbean.com which is hosted by two of my affiliates Patrick and Ricardo.

If you have any suggestions of games you would like me to review for classic critiques you can contact me at ric_edone@hotmail.com.

Next week I’m reviewing the most anticipated game of the year. Don’t miss it. Thanks for reading and return back next week. Good luck gaming!