Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

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Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Developer(s) Midway (Playstation 2/Xbox)
Just Games Interactive (Wii)
Publisher(s) Midway
Series Mortal Kombat
Aspect ratio 1080i 1080p HDTV: PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 upscaler
720p HDTV: PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360
480p EDTV: PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox
480i SDTV
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox
Release date Flag of the United States October 11, 2006 (PlayStation 2)
October 17, 2006 (Xbox)[1]
May 29, 2007 (Wii)
Flag of Europe October 27, 2006 (PlayStation 2)
June 15, 2007 (Wii)
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) 1-8 players. Online play (PS2/Xbox)
Rating(s) BBFC: 18
ESRB: M17+
OFLC (AU): MA15+
OFLC (NZ): R18
Media DVD
System requirements Xbox, PS2, or Wii gaming console with appropriate game version.
Input methods Gamepad controller, Wii Remote

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is the latest title in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. The PlayStation 2 version was released in stores on October 11, 2006 while the Xbox version was released on the 16th, with a Wii version released on May 29, 2007 in North America.

The game was not released on the Xbox in PAL territories.[2] This game is the last Mortal Kombat for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and the first on the Wii.

Contents

[edit] Storyline

Throughout the Mortal Kombat universe, the warriors were growing too strong and numerous for the realms to handle. The warriors' powers threaten to utterly destroy the fabric of the MK universe. These warriors clashed in a single battle royale that would threaten to rip apart reality and bring about the apocalypse. Without warning, a pyramid rises from the ground, and the tip bursts into flames, attracting the warriors' curiosity to see what it was. The kombatants fought one another to get to the top, while Blaze revealed himself to them. The firespawn was created by the Elder Gods to destroy as many fighters as possible in order to save the realms from Armageddon. This would be the warriors' last battle, their last chance to prove that they are worthy of surviving, while many others will perish. This will be the final battle for Mortal Kombat, the battle that will determine the fate of the realms...

[edit] Character roster and information

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of Armageddon contain 62 fighters (other than those that can be created by the player in Kreate a Fighter mode), a total of 63 fighters, the most of any Mortal Kombat game to date:

Originally, Armageddon was billed as featuring every single fighter from the six main installments of the franchise thus far. Later, developers went on to add characters that were exclusive to the renditions of such titles (for example, Chameleon from Mortal Kombat Trilogy) to the final roster. Still, however, Armageddon does not include every single fighter that has appeared in the franchise. Some characters that have appeared in the adventure titles - Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks - are not in Armageddon. Also absent was Khameleon, a secret character who appeared in the Nintendo 64 version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy; however, due to fan complaints,[3] she is now a playable character in the Wii version of the game.

Only two characters, Daegon and Taven, are new to the series, while Sareena makes her playable debut on non-portable consoles and Meat makes his debut as a legitimate character.

[edit] Features

[edit] Krypt

A returning element from the preceding titles, the Krypt appeared once again in Armageddon with a completely new look that's more like a catacomb than the traditional graveyard or tomb. This time around, all of the Koffins are clearly marked with what they contain, and are broken up into groups for Artwork, Gameplay, and Media, so the player knows precisely what they're going to unlock before they unlock it. Also unlike past Krypts, a player can unlock the items in Armageddon through different means, either by paying the requisite amount of koins like before, or by unlocking them via the game's Konquest mode. Gathering up all 60 Relics in Konquest mode will unlock nearly everything in the Krypt straight away, allowing the player to save their koins for unlocking items for the Kreate a Fighter mode (which also requires koins to unlock). One Koffin in the Krypt, a question mark box, allows codes to be inputted to unlock items at no cost.

The Krypt in Armageddon includes four unlockable characters, almost two dozen arenas, alternate costumes for most of the characters, blooper and concept videos, and more, though it is worthy of note that none of the items available in the Krypt this time around are "joke" items (such as Cooking with Scorpion in Deadly Alliance) or technical errors (such as the Cyrax fatality blooper), and are all meant to be directly related or used in the game.

[edit] Konquest

The Konquest mode in Armageddon is a combination of the same mode seen in Deception with elements borrowed from the spin-off adventure title Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. The storyline centers on Taven and Daegon, two brothers who were put in suspended animation because their mother known as Delia, (a sorceress) and their father, Argus, (the Edenian protector god) foresaw a cataclysmic event brought about by the Mortal Kombat fighters. Their awakening leads into the Konquest mode, which in turn leads into the game's standard play.

Taven is the main hero that the player controls in Konquest, whilst Daegon is the primary antagonist, plotting with villains such as Shinnok and the Red Dragon Clan to destroy his brother. Certain weapons are available at times in Konquest mode, which appear to handle very much like those found in Shaolin Monks. Various artifacts can be collected, one for each Kombatant (except Taven and Chameleon), throughout this mode. Konquest unlocks characters and rewards in the rest of the game, while successfully completing the Konquest entirely will unlock Taven for arcade play.

[edit] Kreate a Fighter

A sample custom character from early screenshots.
A sample custom character from early screenshots.

In addition to the choice of over sixty characters, Armageddon gives players the ability to design and use new fighters in the game

From the number of options, there are potentially thousands of different combinations available. During production, the game offered at least fourteen different character classes,[4] which include humans, Tarkatans, Mercenaries, Black Dragon Members, Ninjas, Retro Ninjas, Geisha Assassins, etc.[5] However, after the game's release, only one preset was available to the two genders, Sorcerer to Male, and Tarkatan to Female. Although the clothing of each class is still available, it must be individually unlocked, and cannot be preset. All these presets can be unlocked by unlocking each piece of clothing that makes up that class. The preset will then appear under the preset menu.

Players can give their character a unique fighting style, by changing their stance and assigning different attacks to the buttons on their controller. There is a range of swords and axes (the only weapons available) and special moves to choose from. Most moves and costume items need to be purchased with koins earned in the game's other modes, though some moves and items are available for free from the beginning.

The fighters can also be given their own storyline. If a player uses their creation to finish a single player game, they will see the ending that the player designed for them, although the ending will cut off after roughly twelve lines or if the last line consists of one word.[6] They can also be used in multiplayer games and online, using the PlayStation 2's online capability or Xbox Live. The ending that the game shows is the same text that the player inputs as the fighters biography.

[edit] Kreate-a-Fatality

Also new to the series is the ability to create a Fatality. These custom fatalities are a constant series of commands that players input until the Fatality ends. This method of performing Fatalities replaces the character-specific Fatalities of previous Mortal Kombat games, where gamers would simply enter one input and view the Fatality cinematically. As the player adds each input, less time is allowed for further inputs and some moves cannot be repeated. There are eleven levels that can be achieved with Kreate a Fatality, lowest being a basic Fatality to the highest being a "Ultimate Fatality". It should be noted that custom-created fighters lack the ability to transition the opponent into another position during these Fatalities. The greater the number of inputs for the fatality, the more amount of money is gained.

[edit] Motor Kombat

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon's mini-game is named "Motor Kombat". True to the name, Ed Boon compares it to Mario Kart in the September 2006 issue of Official Xbox Magazine. Each of the characters has a customized go-kart, as well as their own special moves. The Motor Kombat characters keeps their cartoonish "super deformed" style that was introduced in Deception's Puzzle Kombat mode. It also includes style-based fatalities for characters, and deathtraps.

Motor Kombat features online play, as well as off-line support for up to four players (two players in PS2 version) with a split-screen display. In the game, players can knock their opponents into various deathtraps on the courses.

The character roster for Motor Kombat is Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Bo' Rai Cho, Jax, Baraka, Raiden, Kitana, Mileena, Cyrax, and Johnny Cage.

The tracks available for Motor Kombat are Bo' Rai Cho's Brewery, Botan Jungle, Lin Kuei Raceway, Lost Pyramid and Outworld Refinery.

[edit] Other info

A versus screen from Armageddon, featuring Kano vs. Sonya Blade.
A versus screen from Armageddon, featuring Kano vs. Sonya Blade.
  • The "Versus Screen" feature from previous titles in the Mortal Kombat series (MK through MKG) returns in Armageddon with animated backgrounds.
  • Each character possesses two fighting styles (instead of the three previously available in "Deadly Alliance" and "Deception"), one hand-to-hand and one weapon. Some of the larger bosses, like Onaga, have only one fighting style available (which does not show up) to reflect their massive size. [1] Other characters, such as Smoke and Mokap, do not have a weapon style, but a second unarmed style.
  • Several classic fighting arenas such as "The Bell Tower", "Goro's Lair" and "The Subway" return in Armageddon in 3-D, with new arenas such as "Lumber Mill", "Meteor Storm" and "Outworld Spire" as well. There are a total of 34 fighting arenas in Armageddon [2].
  • New special moves assigned to many characters in Armageddon, for example, Kitana now has a teleport move, Kano has a new taunt mode, Hsu Hao can use the laser turret on his chest and so on.
  • Techniques such as Breakers and Parries can be done in the air.
  • There are alternate ways to unlock all the features.
  • There are 4 different limited editions featuring the following content:
    • A 60-minute bonus DVD with a History of Fatalities movie and new videos for more than 50 characters, an animation cell of the cover art autographed by creator Ed Boon and an arcade-perfect version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. The limited editions are only available on the PS2.
    • Several limited edition versions of the game have different metallic covers exclusive to certain stores:
  • The Wii version of Armageddon has a new motion-based control system, along with playability on the Classic Controller and a GameCube controller.[3] It also has a new Endurance Mode, a Wii Remote Training Mode, new menu screens and Khameleon as a playable character; however, this version does not have online features.

[edit] Reception

Reviews
Publication Score
IGN 8.5/10 (PS2, Xbox)[7]
7.8/10 (Wii)[8]
Gamespot 7.0/10 (PS2, Xbox)[9]
7.5/10 (Wii)[10]
Game Informer 8.25/10 (PS2, Xbox)[11]
7.5 (Wii)[12]
Gametrailers 8.6/10[13], 7.6 (Wii)[14]
Eurogamer 5/10[15]
Official Xbox Magazine 9/10
Official PlayStation Magazine 3/10 (US), 7/10 (UK)
Nintendo Power 80/100
Compilation review site Aggregate score
Game Rankings Xbox: 78% (22 reviews)[16]
PS2: 76% (48 reviews)[16]
Wii: 72% (32 reviews)[16]

Reception for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon has been generally favorable with an average critic rating of 76% for the PS2[16], 78% for the Xbox[16] and 72% for the Wii[16] at Game Rankings.

The game was notably praised for including a complete character roster (although initially without Khameleon, who is exclusive to the Wii version). IGN stated, "The inclusion of 62 total warriors is a massive achievement,"[7] while Game Informer said, "Nothing really comes close to what Midway has thrown together here."[11]. Gamespot praised the Konquest mode, "which was such a low point of MK: Deception, is one of the relative strengths of MK: Armageddon."[9]

Reception to the Kreate-A-Fatality feature was mixed. While Gamespot called it "a disappointing replacement to the classics," IGN noted not having set fatalities adds variety to gameplay. The Kreate-A-Fighter was called also mixed where some noted limitations yet with others like GameSpy saying they "haven't seen a character creation tool this robust since City of Heroes."[17]

The game's engine was criticized for being built entirely upon that of the previous 3-D Mortal Kombat titles. PSM went as far as saying the system was not innovative. While many of the gameplay flaws in MK: Deception have been fixed (lack of a wake-up game that allows 50/50 attacks upon knocking down an opponent, and the slow jumping system, which prevents players from jumping over most projectiles, infinite combos), new glitches arise with the new Air Kombat and Parry systems. Eurogamer noted that despite the large choice of characters, "much of this number is made up by the huge number of clone characters" and that "so many characters look and play alike."[15]

Another problem was the story where character endings lacked unique cinematics or artwork that are a common feature in most fighter games, including previous Mortal Kombat titles. The Krypt in Armageddon features an unused concept video for Ermac's bio, which caused rumors to circulate that bios had been created for the game but weren't included due to time constraints. However, Midway, through fansite Mortal Kombat Online, confirmed that no bios had been created.[18] A month later, in a chat event held by Mortal Kombat Online, Ed Boon confirmed that bios would be made available on the Armageddon website.[19] Kenshi's bio was the first to be released, on December 21, 2006, and other bios have been made available since then.[4][5]As of October 15, a moderator on the Midway forums confirmed that the remaining Armageddon bios were nixed. [6]

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ DArqueBishop (2006-09-20). Midway Confirms Delayed Release of MK: Armageddon on Xbox.. Mortal Kombat Online. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
  2. ^ DArqueBishop (2006-08-11). No Xbox PAL Version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Mortal Kombat Online. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
  3. ^ MK Fighter of the Wiik: Khameleon. IGN (2007-05-11). Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
  4. ^ Haynes, Jeff (2006-09-23). GC 2006: Mortal Kombat Armageddon. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
  5. ^ TMK E3 MKA Video #11. YouTube (2006-06-11). Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
  6. ^ Haynes, Jeff (2006-09-13). Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Progress Report, page 2. IGN. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
  7. ^ a b Haynes, Jeff (2006-10-09). REVIEWS: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Xbox) "The end is here -- has the Mortal Kombat franchise survived?". IGN.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  8. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2007-05-25). REVIEWS: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii) "Midway brings its acclaimed fighter to Wii with new gesture controls. Is the end experience better?". IGN.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  9. ^ a b Kasavin, Greg (2006-10-10). Reviews = Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2). Gamespot. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  10. ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (2007-06-05). Reviews = Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii). Gamespot. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  11. ^ a b Reiner, Andrew. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Xbox) review. Game Informer. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  12. ^ Reeves, Ben. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii) review. Game Informer. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  13. ^ Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2). Gametrailers (2006-10-11). Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  14. ^ Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii). Gametrailers (2006-05-24). Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  15. ^ a b Albiges, Luke. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2) review. Eurogamer. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  16. ^ a b c d e f Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Xbox) at Game Rankings. Retrieved on October 5, 2007.
  17. ^ Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2) Review. GameSpy (2006-10-20). Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  18. ^ DArqueBishop (2006-10-16). No Character Biographies for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.. Mortal Kombat Online. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  19. ^ Mortal Kombat Online Fight Night 2006 (2006-11-06). Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  20. ^ Oblivion naps Spike TV honors (2006-12-09). Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
  21. ^ IGN 2006 Awards (2006-12-22). Retrieved on 2006-12-22.
  22. ^ Gaming Target: 52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2006 (2007-01-03). Retrieved on 2007-01-03. sindel rules

[edit] External links

[edit] Reviews

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