Mortal Kombat was the first entry in the famous and highly controversial Mortal Kombat fighting game series by Midway Games, released in arcades in 1992. It was later picked up by Acclaim Entertainment for the home version, then later returned to Midway. It centers on the first Mortal Kombat tournament and the ultimate defeat of the evil Shang Tsung by the monk Liu Kang.Originally, creators Ed Boon and John Tobias wanted to create a video game starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, with a digitized version of the action star fighting villains. Unfortunately, Van Damme was already in negotiations with another video game company (that game was never realized either), so they decided instead to create a game loosely based on Enter the Dragon. Van Damme's likeness is still clearly seen in the character of Johnny Cage; a Caucasian Hollywood martial arts movie star who performs a split punch to the groin (inspired by a scene from Bloodsport).

The Mortal Kombat series is one of the premier gaming series' around today. The series, which until now utilized digitized actors to give the game an extra layer of realism, has been the topic of comic books, movies, action figures, and even Senate hearings. The fourth time around the game has gone polygonal, giving the developers much more leeway when it comes to adding new moves, holds, and characters. Also, weapons have been added into the mix, with each character possessing a different sword, club, or staff to beat his enemies with.

Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Pentium III 512 Mb RAM

To whom is fan of this game, a portable version to you run directly from the CD without installing or folder