MORTAL KOMBAT II by Probe / Acclaim Entertainment

Shang Tsung, humbled in the previous contest by seven brave and noble warriors, and with his henchman, Goro apparently slain returns to the Outworld to face the wrath of his master the feared Warlord Shao Khan. Khan rules with an iron fist over a battle scarred landscape, his plan is to use Shang Tsung and the Tournament to unbalance the furies and so open a portal to the Mother Realm (Earth). Frustrated by his assistants' incompetence, he prepares to execute Shang Tsung for his failure but is convinced to offer him another chance by luring the fighters into the Outworld to do battle there.

Mortal Kombat II is a huge improvement over MK, with 12 characters (many of them new) and even deadlier special moves and fatalities. New characters include Jax, a US Special Forces Major; Baraka, a mutant from the Outworld; Reptile, personal iguana bodyguard to Shang Tsung; the twin sisters Mileena and Kitana; Kung Lao, Shaolin monk; and Kintaro, ruler of Shao Khan's armies. Unfortunately Sonya and Kano have been dropped off the roster, however if you look closely you may catch sight of them.

Sega and Nintendo assure us that all of the friendships and babalities are present, however on the pre-release ROM boards we were supplied with, we could not verify this.

Of the two versions, Genesis and SNES, I preferred the SNES even taking into account the pre-release nature of the cart and the levitating Baraka bug. The larger onscreen palette of the SNES lends itself to more subtle shadings than the Genesis, and the control seemed more responsive.

What really buried the technically superior SNES MK last time around was the lack of blood; a situation that Nintendo have thankfully rectified. This time around MKII SNES is just as bloodthirsty as the coin-op and Genesis versions, complete with all the fatalities and gore that we have come to expect from this series.

The two games play identically, and that is what is most important. As far as coin-op to console conversions go, this would have to be the best to date. Genesis and SNES owners can rejoice in the knowledge that all the adrenaline pumping playability of the arcade has been faithfully and lovingly brought home.

Overall scores
        SNES    91
        Mega    90

Questions:

Q1.     Who created the original arcade coin-op? 
A1.     Bally OR Williams OR Midway (or any combination) are acceptable 
        answers

Q2.     How many characters are in Mortal Kombat II 
A2.     12 OR 13 (Shang Tsung is an extra character) are acceptable answers

Q3.     Who is the evil Warlord behind the competition? 
A3.     Shao Khan

Q4.     Name two (2) of the new characters? 
A5.     Kung Lao; Jax (Major Jackson Briggs); Baraka; Reptile; Kitana; 
        Mileena; Kintaro

Q5.     Who was defeated in the first Mortal Kombat? 
A5.     Shang Tsung