First things first, the game is AWESOME. The feeling of ABSOLUTE NOSTALGIA you will get right after the announcer says fight is worthy the 60 dollar price tag alone. This is MORTAL KOMBAT 2 ON STEROIDS my friend. The graphics are INSANE. I love that they went the realistic route instead of cartoonish it makes the game that much more brutal and graphic in nature. I love it. I love it. I love it. The stages are gorgeous. I can't wait to see the others live. The SOUND? OMG THE SOUND!!!! The team at NetherRealm Studios should win an ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST SOUND EFFECTS EDITING for their work here. IT IS STUNNING. If it doesn't get perfect scores on sound from everyone it's a absolute travesty.

The characterizations of each character were pretty damn remarkable. They all really feel different to use. Their speeds, punches and kicking techniques really are different. You're gonna love it. Fatalities are easy and responsive and awesome. XRays as well. Though XRays are easy to DO, I can promise they want be as easy to LAND. Because the game is so fast that you really have to be smart in setting up an opponent to do and XRay because it you do it and miss you're gonna feel like shit.

The game is easy to pick up and have fun. But it is the DEEPEST Mortal Kombat I ever played. I can honestly see it being tournament ready. The is not easy to pick up and master. First you have to get a feel for it. And then you have to remember combos and what works best to start them. It really feels like a cross between MK2, Tekken, and Street Fighter. It has a lot of potential. Can't wait to dig deeper into it.

CHARACTER GRADES:

SCORPION: A+

(Scorpion is instantly nostalgic, he feels EXACLY like Scorpion from MK2 and his additional moves only make him that much tougher to handle). His takedown is a great combo ender because it knocks the opponent down and you can do a wake up follow up. I've found 3 that are REALLY effective. His spear is great and the recover time on block is really, really good. because it seems you have frame advantage. But if you miss completely expect major punishment. His hellfire is a great move but use sparingly because its the most punishable move he has. His fatality is indeed awesome and he's gonna be one of the favorites. PS. If you thought his costume was a bit 'much', I assure you, wait to you see it live. Scorpion's outfit is badass and WAAAAY better than his old one.

MILEENA: A

Shockingly, Mileena is one of the most incredibly fun characters to use. She is fast, funny, and explosively brutal. People are gonna love her. Her personality alone is brilliant. I love after her Enhanced Dash Bite she says "Mmmm, Tasty!"...lol So awesome. She too feels EXACTLY like her Mortal Kombat 2 rendition but her personality is what makes her so damn fun to use. I have gotten deep in gameplay with her. But I can assure you, you're not gonna be able to resist Mileena's charm. Her new Xray is INSANE. The stabs to the stomach with her sai sound incredibly visceral. She's the most graphic character in the demo. After she wins she jumps toward the screen bloody mouth and all and her tits bounce up and down like ping pong balls (REALISTICALLY). Can't wait to see the other female characters (hehehehe).

JOHNNY CAGE: A-

Wow. Johnny Cage has come a long way. This guy is going to be a beast I believe. His kick combos are SICK. The set ups are easy and his shadow kick comes out so fast people are gonna be caught off guard by it. He is surprisingly going to be not only used a lot (he is popular but just wasn't always that good) but now he's GOOD. He has a lot of juggle potential but the damage scaling is great so is pretty good balance. You definitely need to be rushing down. Because you want be spaming hi/low fireballs in this game. They are smaller balls and easy to avoid. So you'll need to be in close to be effective. But man, oh man when you do. Look out! He too has his cocky personality and it's funny. Because it thinks he's LIu Kang and he's not...lol I love his in between rounds chants "Come one....(walks like "is that all you got")". And I love the way he says "JOOOOHHHNY CAGE!!!" when he does his enhanced uppercut. Awesome.

Sub-Zero: A- (But after I play with him longer gonna be an A+)

I think Sub-Zero defines how hard NetherRealm worked to make the game balanced. Because when you initially start playing with him he feels off. He's slower than older versions, his ground ball takes longer to come out, his ice ball is small. BUT, once you get the rhythm of him. He is probably the BEST CHARACTER in the game. His combos are MASSIVE. Think of this...he can freeze you and pull of an XRay freely. They had to make him slower and harder to use. Because people would just spam him and exploit him. Sub Zero will frustrate you at first but then you will realize the team at NetherRealm studios are seriously tyring to make a DEEP, WELL BALANCED game. After playing wit Sub some more I can see that when you DO actually learn him HE WILL BE AN ANIMAL. Sub fans don't get disappointed. GET EXCITED!!!

All in all the game is remarkably impressive. It's the most graphically detailed fighting game ever made. The stages are beautiful. The characters are ALIVE and UNIQUE to themselves. And the fighting engine IS DEEP. And has INCREDIBLE POTENTIAL.

Get ready, Mortal Kombat is KOMING! And it's looking ready to challenge Super Street Fighter IV for best fighter ever.