Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine..."

Mortal Kombat's latest installment "Armageddon," puts forth a whopping 62 characters to play as, as well as multiple game modes. Right away, this sounds too good to be true, right? Well, let's take a look...

Gameplay-8

There are lots a things to keep you occupied with this game, in the form of normal fighting, Konquest, Kreate a Kharacter, and Motor Kombat.

The normal fighting system is based around the same one used in Deadly Alliance and Deception. Whether you think that's good or not, they have made some noticeable improvements. (Before we get going, note that the number of fighting styles has been cut from 3, to 2 or 1 in order to accommodate 62 characters. 1 style is only for boss characters though.) First, being the wakeup system (moves you can do after you've been knocked down). You now have the ability to stay on the ground to avoid oncoming attacks, and pop-up attacks to punish anyone that foolishly rushes in. You'll find that this fixes a lot of cheapness that had to be dealt with in fighting in the last installments, especially against bosses. Second is parries. By simply pressing back and block together, you can throw out a move that will stop any physical attack, preventing a combo. In some cases, if timed perfectly, you can parry out of a combo. But, be wary, because if you miss, you'll be left wide open. Third, aerial kombat. After launching your opponent into the air, you can follow up with a string of attacks in the air, knock them down, have them rebound up into the air, and hit them again. It is possible to ukemi (roll from the ground) to avoid being rebounded back into the air if you time it right. The bad thing is that air combos are relatively generic. But, it's still fun to watch. Breakers have also made a return. You still only get 3 a match, but they are also usable in the air.

There are subtle improvements made overall to the experience as well. For instance, in Deception, if you decided to knock your opponent into a death trap as a finisher after the fight, the game would act as if you only smacked them upside the head, say "you win" and perhaps even cut off part of the death trap scene. Now, if you decide to do so, the game waits until your opponent has actually been killed before it says anything. Stage interaction has been kicked up a notch as well. Multi-tiered stages and death traps have made a triumphant return. Added, is the ability to smack your opponent into the ceiling (or through in some cases). Also, new victory, throw, as well as other animations have been added. A must if they wanted to include 62 characters. The endings to arcade mode are not pictures like in DA and Deception, but rather you see your character performing a kata as their ending is read aloud. This is a little disheartening, but it accommodates your created character as well. (Except their ending won't be read, of course. More on that later.)

The fatality system is not as it once was. This new concept, Kreate a Fatality, involves stringing together multiple gruesome techniques, then finishing off with a head rip, spine rip, etc. The bad thing is that all the techniques are universal. No one has anything unique to offer. Everyone may frown upon this at first, but instead of watching the same one or two fatalities over and over as you progress up the ladder, this new system is more involved, letting you choose from a myriad of attacks and finishers. For every input you put in, the time you have to enter the next one becomes shorter and shorter. It's fun to try to go as far as you can and to see what works and what doesn't. Plus, once again, this also accommodates your created fighter.

While this may seem all fine and good, there are bad points. The fighting system at its origin didn't, and still doesn't, really compare to such fighters as Tekken or Soul Calibur. Some animations look quite unnatural and stiff, and attack options are limited due to the dial a combo system. Nothing outside of that really flows together. But, no one expects them to reinvent the entire fighting system without the game being on hold for a lot longer and/or taking something else out. They still made great improvements on the previous games, though.

Next is the Konquest mode. Based loosely upon the fighting system of the side game Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks, this is an action/adventure mode that tells the story behind the events of the game. If you didn't like Deception's Konquest, you're in luck! This is much more fast paced, as you have to fight through enemies as well as avoid traps and such and you don't spend 50% of the mode talking to people. Throughout the mode, you collect koins and other items that lead to unlocking things within the game. The dialogue is B-movie-ish, but it's acceptable because this isn't quite the main mode of the game, and it's not terrible. Overall, it's a lot of fun beating up random enemies and searching for things. A nice addition.

After that, Kreate a Kharacter. It is like it sounds, you create a fighter for use in the game. Choose a gender and go. Add clothes, work how the face looks, add accessories, add moves. You really get to fine tune each attack you fighter does, assigning a movement to every button, as well as combo enders. Also, you et to type out a bio for use when you beat the arcade mode. The bad thing is, it is REALLY pricey to add things to your character, and you might find yourself adding what you really want as you earn money, or else avoid the option until you've acquired one large lump sum. Also, it's not really possible to create someone that looks roughly under 25 or 30. (But, we wouldn't want any 15 year olds going around and killing people, now would we?) The killer is, you can only make one character per profile. But, it's not like you can't make multiple profiles, right? It's very interesting, and a nice addition.

Finally, there is Motor Kombat mode. Based upon the game Mario Kart, this mode take 10 "chibi" MK characters and puts them on a race track. Each character has a defined special move that can be used on your opponents once you acquire a "star" on the race track. Featured on the tracks or "death traps." While these don't take you out of the race completely, they slow you down. Probably more appropriate would be the word "hazards." Koins to be spent on items within the game can be collected on the track as well. The bad points are there are only five tracks to choose from and you can't adjust how many laps you make around the track. This mode is probably the weakest of them all, but it's still worth giving it a go. Especially with friends.

An added plus is that the normal Kombat mode (with or without your created character) and Motor Kombat can be taken online, to duel against anyone you see fit.

Graphics-8

While the character models are recycled from the past two games (excluding new characters and those that haven't been on the current gen systems yet), the textures and particle effects have been improved upon. The fighting arenas are numerous and look awesome, and there are lots of things going on in the backgrounds. Konquest mode looks a lot better than it had in the past, with nice character models and areas. The tracks in motor kombat are done nicely as well. Nothing really looks pixelated. It's not the best by any means, but it's pleasing to the eyes.

Sound-8

The music is excellent. There are a lot more orchestral sounds than in previous games, but there are still some nice techno rock and percussion tracks for your enjoyment. Overall, everything sounds more "Armageddon"ish. The yelps, screams, and other sound effects are nothing new. And of course, the unintelligible gibberish customary to MK has returned. But, would we really have it any other way?

Story-6

Yeah, well, I wouldn't look too hard into the story. This game is mainly an excuse for everyone from the the MK games to make a comeback before the MK team starts something new with the next-gen systems. Who cares how everyone was brought back to life, right?

The main premise behind the game is the number of powerful combatants is increasing rapidly, and they threaten to bring about the destruction of all reality. The Elder Gods decided that something had to be done. So they sent forth a powerful entity to quell this threat. Sounds like fun, huh?

Replayability-8

With the different modes, as well as UMK3 if you have the premium addition, there are many reasons to sit down and play (Beating arcade mode with 62 characters is gonna take some time in itself...). The amount of things to be unlocked in the game isn't as great as in the past two games, but most of that stuff no one really wanted. (Be truthful to yourself, you didn't want most of it.) There is only one type of currency in this game, so there's no luck of the draw coin collection. That cuts out a lot of frustration. But, because the amount of money you'll need to fully trick out you KAK you'll find yourself in need of a lot of that one type of coin. This game has many options to keep you occupied.

Overall-8

While this game doesn't reinvent the wheel in any way, it's still gonna take up most of your free time. The presentation overall is very good. There's a little bit for all tastes. If you're not an MK fan, rent it first. If you are, WHY ARE YOU READING THIS REVIEW!? BUY IT, NOW!!!!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/06