I have both of these downloadable games and did a big head-to-head comparison last night on which holds up as the better fighter.

First off, I have a bias towards MK2. I spent countless hours in arcades playing this game. I remember waiting while the machine was installed and setup the first day, then throwing in quarter after quarter. MK3 appealed to me less because of the change in fighting system with the addition on combos. Mortal Kombat, to me, should always be about the special moves and fatalities.

In the graphics department, they look about the same. The screens can be stretched to fill a widescreen HDTV, or they’ll automatically fill an SDTV screen. UMK3 gets a slight advantage because it looked better in the arcade, and these are direct arcade ports.

For gameplay, hands down MK2 on the PS3 wins this one. The d-pad on the Xbox 360 controller sucks. There’s no other way to say it. It’s almost unplayable with the d-pad on the 360. On the PS3, the d-pad works perfectly as it should, so you get the great classic controls from the game. All the moves and fatalities are very easy to pull off with the SIXAXIS.

Online play is cool in both games. You get your standard matches, and as with any fighting game, there’s always a bit of lag. I’d give the edge to the Xbox 360 just because the Live community is larger, but that’s the only reason I’m giving it that edge.

Overall, I would say go with MK2 for the PS3 because of the control factor. Controls are everything, and this game is spot on. If you’re a Mortal Kombat fan, I’m sure you’ll get both anyway.