Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm/Warner Bros.)

It’s uncommon for PS3 software to display in 1080p but all three games I tested do just that. Well, at least they do until you turn 3D on – then they drop down to 720p. Of the trio, Mortal Kombat’s drop in resolution is the least noticeable. Have a crowd of people over, but only own two pairs of glasses? Not a problem. Backgrounds, foregrounds, and some of the series’ trademark gore is rendered in 3D, but story sequences and the fighters themselves remain in 2D, but, making the action easy to follow for those sans spectacles.

More surprisingly — especially given the fact that its action happens in the 2D plane — MK profits the most of the three tested titles from the use of 3D. The depth adds a lot of dimensionality to the fight sequences. While you’re busy busting Mileena’s skull in the Pit stage, you’ll notice two fighters duking it out on the bridge behind you; the added depth looks very cool. Spikes on the elevated walkway jut out into the foreground while the special move meter, fighters, and health bar displays occupy slightly separate planes from everything else. The Living Forest, Hell, and Chapel stick out in my mind as some of the best depth-enhanced stages, but really, they all rock.

I’d never expected a fighting game to impress me with 3D, but I noticed little details (like an escaped monster running around in the back of the prison stage) that I missed completely without it. Heck, I didn’t even realize there were prisoners in those cells to begin with before donning my active shutter glasses. The added dimension makes playing this update of the classic fighting game truly immersive, without sacrificing any of its 2D playability.