With the release of Mortal Kombat in 1992, the fighting genre changed forever.

Now, with the release last week of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, the fighting genre has changed once again.

In this new game, the two sorcerers Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have formed a “deadly alliance” to take over control of the Mortal Kombat tournament and rule the universe. After the death of Liu Kang at the hands of Shang Tsung, Earth’s other warriors must now join the fight to destroy this “deadly alliance.”

In this latest installment of Midway’s Mortal Kombat franchise, the game play is excellent. From the standard arcade mode to the new Konquest mode, the game play is intense, exciting, and, most importantly, addictive. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance represents the future of fighting games.

In Deadly Alliance, each character has three distinct fighting styles – two hand-to-hand combat styles and one using a weapon. For example, Sonya Blade’s three styles include: Kenpo, Tae Kwon Do, and Kali Sticks.

In addition to the three fighting styles, each character also has a few special moves, like Scorpion’s spear throw or Shang Tsung’s fireball. The new fighting styles, a change from previous Mortal Kombat games, take a little getting used to, even for the experienced MK gamer. While the controls are a bit complex at first, you will soon be pulling off combos (even the new style change combos) with ease.

In terms of graphics, Deadly Alliance is superb. The characters and the arenas are detailed and lifelike.

One new feature that really adds to the game is that the characters now bleed, sweat, and bruise through the course of the fight. Seriously. Just hit your opponent a couple times and watch the blood run down his body.

Another new feature in Deadly Alliance is the Krypt, which contains hundreds of “koffins” with special features inside of them. In order to access the special features, which include artwork and even hidden characters, you must earn various coins to buy the “koffins” and reveal what is inside, which is truly addictive.

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance receives a final score of 9/10.

If you’re a Mortal Kombat fan, Deadly Alliance is a definite must have. For you fans who have followed Midway’s Mortal Kombat franchise, this is the game you have been waiting for – a high quality game the likes of MK and MK2.

For other gamers, this game is at least worth renting. Who knows, maybe you will end up among the legions of Mortal Kombat fans if you give it a chance.