Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Kombat, Konquest, and … Karts?
Tags: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Categories: Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by Mark "MadMup" Zwolanek on Oct 28th, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (title page) | 1 - 2 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Fighting | No | ||
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The three words that make up the next paragraph will tell you whether or not you want to buy Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.
Zombie Liu Kang.
If your reaction to those words was to roll your eyes and think, “Oh, brother,” this game is not for you. If, however, said some variant of “Awesome!” and maybe cackled with glee a little bit, MK:A is right up your alley.
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The Realms are all in danger again – the Mortal Kombat Tournament has been corrupted and it could mean the end of everyone and everything everywhere. Luckily, there just might be a way to stave off this Armageddon. Oddly enough, it involves fighting. Brothers (and new characters in the MK universe) Daegon and Taven are the key, and the story unfolds around their actions in the game.
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The main storytelling takes place in Konquest mode. Players guide the main character through several realms, meeting famous characters from past MK games and beating them up. Hidden chests reveal secrets that open new parts of the game or new pieces of armor or Koins, which can be used to purchase extra features in the Krypt, the repository for all things buyable. This now-standard Konquest mode is a great fit with the MK story and, in many ways, feels like the main focus of the games. The Konquest featured in MK:A feels a little short, but the story is satisfying and it sets up the fighting game.
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Kombat mode is the classic MK fighting game with a bit of a difference this time around: 60+ characters from the MK universe selectable from the get-go. The character selection screen is actually a bit overwhelming, but simply everyone from the MK universe is here, from Johnny Cage to Noob Saibot to Jade to Darrius to Kintaro and Li Mei – and, of course, the aforementioned Zombie Liu Kang. (He’s called simply “Liu Kang,” but there’s no mistaking his zombie-ness. The fact that he was killed a few games back also drives the point home.) Finishing Kombat mode with the different characters reveals the outcome of the Armageddon scenario based on who is the ultimate winner. The fighting includes welcome new aerial moves, but fatalities have been dumbed down a bit, with character-specific fatalities being absent. Instead, the same fatality combos can be done by any fighter and results are the same for all.
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And as if 60 characters weren’t enough, there’s also a new Kreate-A-Fighter feature that lets players use a grillion different setting to create a fighter that looks … well, if this is any indication, there are already instructions scattered about online on how to create lookalikes for Hulk Hogan, Evil Dead’s Ash, Jason Voorhees, and even Jack Thompson. The possibilities are virtually endless.
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“Certainly,” you are saying, “a mini-rpg and a huge stable of characters in a fighting game would be enough for one game disc.” And you’d be right. However, MK:A also includes one more thing: a Kart racing game. Sure enough, super-deformed versions of the more famous of the fighters race each other through tracks inspired by fighting arenas in the Kombat mode. There are arctic tracks and fire tracks and all the rest of them. Being bumped off the track and into the lava results in a FATALITY!, as does getting crushed or burned or flattened by various track hazards. It’s a fun little feature that plays surprisingly well, and it can even be played online with up to 8 participants.
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All in all, a good “last” game in the series. Of course, “last” in this instance most likely just means “last on the Xbox,” so it will be interesting to see where the series goes from here.
Oh, and parents who’ve been living in caves for the last 15 years or so? This game isn’t for kids unless you’d like them to gorge on a diet of death, dismemberment, screaming, and half-dressed females. Your call.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ 60+ fighters available from startup +Konquest mode is fun and lays a good story background + Kreate-A-Fighter mode + Zombie Liu Kang! |
8.8 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Konquest mode feels a bit short - Character-specific fatalities are gone - The character "Meat." Gross. |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Rip off limbs, throw enemies into vats of acid, and drive around in little karts. Around here we call that "Tuesday." | |
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Tags: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Posted by Mark "MadMup" Zwolanek on Oct 28th, 2006 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
