I want to give you a challenge! A simple challenge... I challenge you to Mortal Kombat! MORTAL KOMBAT!!!! Now as it may seem, this is my review for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Luckily, I can tell you a lot about this review since I do own the Wii version of the game (yeah, a lousy excuse since the Wii and Nunchuk combination feels incredibly stiff and painful to use). Armageddon is chronologically the final chapter of the series, which makes you wonder why there are 63 characters to make up an incredible roster (62 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions... Khameleon fans will be missed :[), yet in the character roster, the models have the same stance... That really doesn't bug me, but for the sake of some, don't freak out! There are four new mechanics introduced in Armageddon that I would really like to share: first off, the Kreate-A-Fatality system. Like in previous games, after the second round or whatever, after you attempt to kill your opponent, you use a deadly fatality to finish. Armageddon allows the player executing the fatality to perform many different hits in any level: the more you hit, the less time you have. When you use this system, there are eleven levels based on the amount of Koins: lowest being a basic fatality, highest being an "Ultimate Fatality". Now to be honest, I'll call this addition a "mixed bag", praising it for the inclusion of variety, but degrading it for no real originality. Readers beware, there is also a new "Kreate-a-Fighter" mode, which lets you create your own character with over a thousand of different combinations of items. Some more presets (or clothing, if you will) need to be unlocked from Konquest (if that's the case). You can also give your fighter a stance, fighting style, special moves, Air Kombat variety, name, weapon, and best of all, biography: the biography you write shows on your created character's ending if using him/her on Arcade. About the main fighting system, each character possesses two fighting styles (instead of three of them, both in Deadly Alliance and Deception), one hand-to-hand, and one weapon. Larger boss characters have only one fighting style, and no weapon. There's even some other characters (ex. Smoke, Mokap) that possess no weapon style, yet another unarmed style... This just seems a bit unbalanced for me! Now because I play the Wii version, I prefer using a standard Gamecube controller because it just feels simple and easy around the edges. Now about the character roster, there are two extra slots that hold a created character, though apparently my version only has one extra slot due to the inclusion of Khameleon... Bummer! Now just so you know, the Wii version is slightly worse than the PlayStation 2 and Xbox ports due to no online features (In my knowledge, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection wasn't built in yet) or possibly a second extra character slot. However it does have two new modes in actuality: An Endurance Mode and a Wii Remote Training Mode. It also has new menu screens and of course, like I said that much already, Khameleon as an extra character. Not much to say about Konquest Mode, since it's very much like the one back in the last two games... Yet there's a whole new variety of a storyline! It shows Taven and Daegon (two playable characters who can be unlocked during the ongoing progress of Konquest Mode), two brothers who were put in suspended animation due to their parents's foresee of a cataclysmic event brought about by the fighters in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Gameplay in Konquest is very similar to Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, another game that I have on my PlayStation 2 (and to me, it's extremely badass and awesome!)... That's pretty cool, so the Konquest ain't that bad! And finally, I'll just skip the Motor Kombat Mode talk since it's very similar to Mario Kart, using different items, special moves, having customized go-karts, and various deathtraps, as well as some fatalities. Overall, I feel that Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is truthfully one of the better 3D Mortal Kombat games, yet it's too underrated because of the near-same game engine that Deadly Alliance and Deception used. And also, this game may be outclassed by older titles, plus the new Mortal Kombat 9 entry for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, releasing in two more weeks as far as I've heard. I give Armageddon a gory 8.0 out of 10! MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!!!!
Final Verdict: Wii Version[]
Pros[]
- Dynamic character roster, yet slightly unoriginal
- Awesome Kreate-a-Fighter Mode + Sauce = Awesome sauce!
- Konquest Mode is like Shaolin Monks.
- Control scheme choices
- Gameplay is nice and not too over-the-top
Cons[]
- Lack of Online capabilities
- Only one extra character slot!
- Kreate-a-Fatality is a nice addition for variety performance, but overall just has a nail in the coffin