CES 07: Mortal Kombat II Hands-On

LAS VEGAS--Hot on the heels of Sony Online Entertainment's announcement that it would be publishing and developing several classic Midway titles for the PlayStation 3, we had the chance to try out Mortal Kombat II. The classic sequel was released in arcades in 1993 and converted to a good spread of the era's consoles, which only helped the immensely popular game gain an even greater following. In the years that have passed, MKII has arguably solidified as the best entry in the series thanks to a refined fighting system, cool roster, and a plethora of secrets for players to discover.

Unfortunately, the depth of our affection for the game has been sorely tested as, besides the SNES home conversion of the game, the various console conversions have fallen flat in some way--with a special shout out going to the PC version of the game, which was fantastic. As a result we've been cautiously optimistic about what MKII promises on the PS3, despite the fact that Digital Eclipse is handling the conversion.

The version of the game we played was extremely early but was looking like it was well on its way toward matching the quality of the best MKII conversions. Though early, the game already featured a full roster of fighters, stages, and the assorted finishing moves that were the introduced in the game. Best of all, the title ran at a good clip and felt about right, which bodes well for the final game. Besides what appears to be an impressive version of the original arcade game, SOE and Digital Eclipse are making additions to the experience. The title will support 720p and feature online multiplayer (which we didn't get to try yet) as well as online leaderboards.

From what we've seen so far, we're impressed by how MKII is shaping up. The game makes a good first impression even in this early state, though it would have been nice to see an enhanced graphics option. That said, there are some crucial elements we want to see before we let ourselves get too excited. Online play is obviously the biggest factor in whether the game sinks or swims, in our eyes. Beyond that, little touches such as the button layout (which is currently awkward) and the game's price could send things south, but we're crossing our fingers that things turn out well. Mortal Kombat II is currently slated to be available in the PlayStation's online store in the early part of this year. Look for more on the game in the coming months.