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> Results: Mortal Kombat Armageddon
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The ESRB Found:
Blood & Gore: Yep, and lots of it. Intense Violence: Yep, and lots of it. We're talking decapitations, manglings, impalement, and much more. One of the longest-running and most controversial video game series has come to a climactic end on current-generation consoles. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon," now available for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, should satisfy thrill-seeking fighting game fans for its wealth of game modes and full roster of playable characters. In fact, "Armageddon" is the first in the series to feature every character from the 14-year-old "Mortal Kombat" universe -- totaling more than 50 3-D fighters in all -- such as Scorpion, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero and Motaro. Like any good fighting game, however, only a handful of characters are available at the start; part of the fun is unlocking the rest, each of whom has their own unique look, fighting style and weapon preference. If you don't want to go with a preexisting character, "Armageddon" is the first "Mortal Kombat" game with a Kreate-a-Fighter mode. You can select from thousands of physical features and attributes to design a custom fighter, give him or her a name, and then start a game to test their skills against others. Fighting, which is very fast-paced, requires mastery in three key areas: hand-to-hand combat, weapons and magic. Learning how to punch, kick, jump and spin -- not to mention linking successive moves into "combos" -- takes some time to get right. Therefore, gamers who try their luck by random "button mashing" won't get very far in this title. It's also fun to learn how to fight in the air with the many aerial moves offered in this game. Another "Mortal Kombat" calling card is the notorious "fatality" moves, which refers to the way one fighter can kill the other (often with plenty of gore involved). In "Armageddon," a new Kreate-a-Fatality system gives players the ability to create custom fatalities by stringing together button combinations. Throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, Midway has also expanded a few of its game modes; aside from the single-player game (against the game's artificial intelligence) and a two-player mode (on the same television), "Armageddon" also offers a deeper Konquest game (a story-based adventure) and expanded online play for head-to-head matches over the Net -- with faster response times than found in 2004's "Mortal Kombat: Deception" and the ability to play your custom fighter in cyberspace. But even with all of these additions, "Mortal Kombat" is still the same ﾑol 3-D fighting game: each player picks a character and beats each other to a pulp, in a number of different environments. In other words, "Armageddon" doesn't really evolve the genre much, but rather, just gives the player a lot more of the same stuff," which isn't necessarily a bad thing, mind you. Also, while this game's graphics look ok (better on the Xbox than the PlayStation 2), it doesn't compare to fighting games on the Xbox 360 such as Tecmo's "Dead or Alive 4."  
Mortal Kombat sort of kicked off the modern "are videogames bad for kids" debate and most GamerParents probably remember the glee our generation took from the brutal "fatalities." Remember how much that stuff freaked your mom out? Well, the "fatalities" are here and gorier than ever, so now it might be your turn to freak out. Lots of blood, impalements, back-breaking, stabbing, neck-twisting, and the ever-popular "pull-the-spine-out-of-the-back" move. Not for kids, is my point.
Kid Factor by Andrew Bub
This review edited by Andrew Bub Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Mortal Kombat Armageddon |
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