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Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition (GBA)
Publisher: Midway	Developer: Midway
Genre: Fighting	Release Date: 8/27/2003
ESRB: Mature	More Info on this Game

By Steve "Lights Out" Steinberg | Sept. 17, 2003
Midway's most impressive portable fight fest yet.

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Pros	Cons
Solid fighting engine; tons of game modes; great multiplay.	Same look as previous MK; unlockables aren't all that great.

'Tis the season for fighters. For a while there, the only time I wasn't polishing my lethal combos in Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution or Soul Calibur II was when I was forced to leave my house. Yeah, it was cool to give my bleeding thumbs a break, but the real world can seem like a pretty mundane place when you're not allowed to throw a string of flying kicks. Happily, that fight-free void in my life has been filled. Midway's Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition may not deliver the visually brutal splendor of your fave console fighter, but it will let you get your shots in while you ride the train or wait for your venti espresso at Starbucks.

I was a big fan of the handheld version of MK: Deadly Alliance. The cart more than made up for the franchise's miserable debut on the GBA. Tournament Edition doesn't trump its predecessor in the graphics or audio department, but it does up the ante as far as game modes are concerned -- especially in the game's excellent multiplay.

Newcomer Sareena draws first blood.

Once again the delicate balance of power in the universe is being threatened by the evil duo, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, and it's up to Earth's mightiest heroes to save Earthrealm from this worse-than-Regis-and-Kelly tandem. This game's crop of heroes is almost a completely new slate from the cast of battlers in Deadly Alliance. Gone are the likes of Kenshi, Kitana, the extra-lame Kung Lao, and Jax (the only guy smart enough to bring a gun to a knife fight). In their place are old favorites like Johnny Cage, Reptile, and leader-of-the-pack, Raiden. Handheld gamers will also get their first crack at playing as rotund drunken fist master, Bo Rai Cho, who debuted only in the console versions of Deadly Alliance. In addition, they'll get the series' first peek at sexy Netherealm demon, Sareena. The two E's in her name not only set her apart from your typical Sarena, they might also be there to help her remember her bra size. All told, Tournament Edition will let you save the world with more than a dozen fighters.

While some of the new characters are a kick, some don't really get much of a rise from the fun-o-meter. Round Mound of Ground-and-Pound, Bo Rai Cho, is a blast to play as. He spews slippery puddles of vomit, belly bumps his opponents, and does a violent series of handsprings. Mavado, on the other hand, has a generic arsenal of moves that'll have you wishing you'd chosen someone else.

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