Despite the recent surge in HD remakes of classic games, the Arcade Kollection is a celebration of unadulterated, old-school graphics and gameplay. This XBLA pack includes authentic arcade editions of the original Mortal Kombat, the ever-popular Mortal Kombat II, and the less-well-received Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, presented almost exactly the way you remember them — fatalities, babalities, and animalities intact.

How authentic? Hardcore Mortal Kombat fans can configure the screen settings to approximate the curved monitors, scan lines, and cabinets of the arcade originals. The gameplay is likewise unenhanced, with the same tinny music, cheap A.I., and blister-inducing special moves that made our childhoods so “frosty.” With its herky-jerky animations and few characters and combos, the first Mortal Kombat has aged especially poorly, yet that’s part of the collection’s nostalgic fun. Playing it is like being a spine-ripping historian studying the series’ early progression.

Finding an opponent online is easy, although newbies will find little mercy and even less help. Otherwise, this Kollection is an appealing, if never mind-blowing, package.

On Xbox Live Arcade

+ Totally authentic reproductions of the arcade classics.

+ Three games for 10 bucks? Not bad.

– Some Capcom-style remastering would’ve made it better; no practice mode to teach newcomers the ropes.

? Okay, now where’s the HD remix?

7.5