In writing reviews such as these, I openly question how anyone could even remotely consider purchasing a PS3 without backwards compatibility. For even the most discerning gamer, there are literally hundreds of award-winning and disgustingly cheap PS2 titles waiting to be emulated on your PS3. This coming from a guy who thought it blasphemy to even consider buying a PS2 in lieu of my played-to-death XBox.

‘Mortal Kombat Kollection’ (MKK) is one of those PS2 must-have’s, well actually three in one. The sheer amount of high quality gaming at your disposal via this packaged trio – ‘Mortal Kombat Deception,’ ‘Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks,’ and ‘Mortal Kombat Armageddon’ - is mind-boggling.

In all fairness, I’ve always considered the ‘Mortal Kombat’ (MK) series a distant third between ‘Street Fighter’ and Namco fighters (‘Tekken’ and ‘Soul Calibur’). In fact I officially abandoned SubZero and company shortly after their awful, 16-bit console releases, ports of a severely limited arcade game with only bloody mess as its replay panache.

Talk about premature evacuation. MKK is fighting game heaven, and left me with the desire to cheat on my beautiful ‘Soul Calibur IV’ with the older, more skilled woman that is this trilogy.

Let’s break down MKK by individual title:

MORTAL KOMBAT DECEPTION

‘Mortal Kombat Deception’ emerged as my favorite of the three, with very solid graphics, a nice combat system and cool unlockable features. (This is a far cry from the original and limited MK legacy titles, to say the least.) Tight controls, different fighting stances, and of course, the fatalities we all remember. The gore factor is everywhere, and comically so. Midway clearly had fun making this.

My favorite part of ‘Deception,’ however, are the two excellent minigames on the disc. The first is an awesome spin on ‘Battle Chess’ where opposing pieces fight each other for square dominance (when appropriate), the second a solid knock-off of ‘Super Puzzle Fighter II.’ All three – the Kombat game and two minigames – are playable online. I’d kill for the latter two to be ported to PSP.

Criticisms for ‘Deception’ are minor. I didn’t care for its Konquest mode, a story-driven tutorial with a moronic control scheme. Also, Kombat’s save mechanism is equally confounding, requiring a sequence of memorized button presses to enact. Look, I’m not writing down button combos when there are a dozen plus fatalities to memorize.

MORTAL KOMBAT SHAOLIN MONKS

In playing ‘Shaolin Monks,’ I haven’t had this much fun with an arcade brawler since ‘Streets of Rage.’ This blood-spewing, body flying, combo filled kill-gasm is an absolute hoot. Moreover, the ‘Mortal Kombat’ brand is intelligently infused throughout, down to the ability to invoke fatalities after robust combos.

While there are only two characters to play, ‘Shaolin Monks’ does sport a multiplayer mode. This secondary mode opens up a new wealth of unlockables, not to mention hundreds of new ways to spear, burn and impale your victims. Good times.

While fun, ‘Shaolin Monks’ is hampered by a loose control scheme. Even with multiple camera angles, jumps are very frustrating and often result in injury and/or death. Ditto precise movements needed to pick up objects strewn throughout. Also, there’s far too much object flicker and blocking for a finished title. Even one on the PS2.

MORTAL KOMBAT ARMAGEDDON

Likely the title everyone hopes Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe will emulate, ‘Armageddon’ is the pure fighter of the MKK trio. With over 60 selectable characters and gorgeous, interactive backgrounds, I’m not sure how any fighting fan could tire of this game.

I quickly grew to appreciate the more sequential (versus circular) combo controls of ‘Armageddon,’ also the need for strategy on advanced levels where the CPU playa hates in grand fashion.

While cute, Motor Kombat – an awful, dumbed down version of ‘Mario Kart’ – is pretty useless. I’d consider it akin to a below average flash game than a diversion you’d return to.  Same crappy Konquest mode and profile save distractions as in ‘Deception.’

SUMMARY

Mortal Kombat Kollection for the PS2 is a must-purchase for PS2 or PS3 owners even mildly interested in fighting games. A diverse trio of games eagerly ready for multiplayer, this package is a steal for an MSRP of $30.

CONCLUSION: A minus