Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is the seventh main video game in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were released in October 2006, with a Wii version released on May 29, 2007 in North America. The Xbox version was not released in PAL territories.[2] Chronologically the final chapter in the original Mortal Kombat storyline, it features virtually every character from the previous games. Players select one of them and battle a selection of the other fighters to determine the fate of the Mortal Kombat universe.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
Cover artwork for the home versions
Developer(s)Midway Games (PS2/Xbox)
Just Games Interactive (Wii)
Publisher(s)Midway Games
Director(s)Ed Boon
Producer(s)John Podlasek
Designer(s)Jim Terdina
Jay Biondo
Nick Shin
Programmer(s)Michael Boon
Alan Villani
Joshua Chapman
Paul Hyman
Artist(s)Steve Beran
Tony Goskie
Carlos Pesina
Writer(s)John Vogel
Composer(s)Chase Ashbaker
Rich Carle
Brian Chard
SeriesMortal Kombat
EngineRenderWare
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox
ReleasePlayStation 2
  • NA: October 11, 2006
  • EU: October 27, 2006
Xbox
Wii
  • NA: May 29, 2007
  • EU: June 15, 2007
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The gameplay retains many of the same elements from the previous Mortal Kombat titles Deadly Alliance and Deception, including characters' multiple fighting styles. Instead of the prescripted Fatalities of the previous games, players can now create their own Fatality from a series of gory attacks. They can also design a custom character using the "Kreate a Fighter" mode. The game also includes the story-based Konquest mode from Deception, now casting the player as the warrior Taven, who must defeat his evil brother Daegon. Succeeding its predecessor "Puzzle Kombat" is a new mini game called "Motor Kombat", a cartoonish driving game influenced by Mario Kart.

The game was well-received, particularly for the large number of playable characters and the Konquest mode. However, reviewers criticized the use of the same engine from the previous two games as well as the similar play styles between characters. Reaction to the game's custom Fatality feature was also mixed.

Armageddon is the final Mortal Kombat game for sixth generation consoles and the first for seventh generation consoles with its release for the Wii. The next game in the series, which features an alternate timeline, was released exclusively on seventh generation consoles, the crossover title Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The main storyline of the series was later revisited in the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot, the first production from the newly-formed NetherRealm Studios.

Plot

Konquest

In Edenia, the sorceress Delia has a vision of the future where the forces of good and evil will engage in a final battle of Mortal Kombat that threatens to end all realms. In an effort to spare the Realms, the Elder God Argus constructs a pyramid where the battle will take place and has both his and Delia’s sons, Taven and Daegon, put into dormant states in underground caverns. Delia instructs her Elemental, Blaze, to signal their dragons to awaken them just before final battle commences.

In the future, Taven is awakened by his dragon Orin in Earthrealm and is told that he and Daegon will be competing against each other in their quest. Wishing to speak with his father, Taven teleports to his father’s temple and fights several members of the Black Dragon as well as mysterious warriors in red only to find it deserted. He eventually finds a message left to him and Daegon by Argus stating that they will be competing to take his place as an Elder God by defeating Blaze and that he has left weapons for each of them. When Taven finds both weapons are missing, he is suddenly stunned unconscious by Sektor. Despite being imprisoned on a Tekunin warship, Taven manages to free himself and defeat Sektor before escaping back to Orin’s portal.

Taven then travels to his mothers temple in the mountains where she has left armor for Daegon and himself. Upon reaching the Temple, Taven finds that it has been occupied by the Lin Kuei and is forced to fight through their assassins including Frost and their Grand Master Sub-Zero. Upon defeating the later, Taven retrieves his armor is soon attacked by Dark Lin-Kuei. Alongside Sub-Zero, Taven defeats the attackers after fighting both Smoke and Noob Saibot. For Taven’s assistance, Sub-Zero reveals the identity of the mysterious warriors attacking him as the Red Dragon and that they are based out of Charred Mountain.

Upon traveling through the portal, Taven is forced to fight Fujin when the later warns him to return to Edenia. Taven reluctantly defeats the wind god and proceeds to the Red Dragon stronghold and finds Daegon, who is now much older. Despite being reunited, Daegon reveals himself as the leader of the Red Dragon and his intention to kill Taven in order to kill Blaze first. Taven then fights several enemies and eventually finds Daegon’s dragon Caro, who had been imprisoned and experimented on. Upon being freed, Caro reveals that he had accidently awoken Daegon earlier than planned which resulted in Daegon seeking out and murdering Argus and Delia upon learning the true nature of the competition. Hoping to atone for his mistake, Caro informs Taven that Daegon has gone to the Netherrealm and stays behind to destroy the Red Dragon stronghold.

Arriving in the Netherrealm, Taven repels an ambush by Drahmin before noticing Shinnok being attacked by Li Mei. Believing that he is still an Elder God, Taven comes to Shinnok’s defense and is later tasked to help reclaim his Spire in exchange for answers of Daegon’s whereabouts. After Taven defeats Havik, Sheeva, and Kintaro, Shinnok reclaims his throne and informs Taven that Daegon has returned to Earthrealm and transports him there. However, it is revealed that Shinnok is actually assisting Daegon and has informed other warriors of the contests prize in order to eliminate all the competitors.

Upon returning to Orin’s cave, Taven finds him mortally wounded from an attack by Quan Chi. On the verge of death, Orin keeps Quan Chi’s portal open to prevent Taven from remaining trapped in the cave with him. Vowing revenge, Taven goes through the portal and arrives at Shao Khan’s palace in Outworld. Aftet reaching the palace dungeons, Taven fights and defeats Mileena and comes across a captive Shunjinko who informs him of a meeting taking place in Shao Khan’s throne room. After fighting through Goro and Reiko, Taven reaches the meeting between Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, Onaga, and Shao Khan where they agree to an alliance to take possession of the contests prize before transporting themselves to Argus’s pyramid. Before he can follow however, Taven is confronted by Raiden who reveals he has made a deal with Shao Khan to assist him in exchange for Earthrealm’s independence. Shocked at Raiden’s betrayal, Taven defeats him before taking Quan Chi’s portal to Edenia.

Once through the portal, Taven fights and defeats Scorpian before being confronted by Daegon. Before they can fight however, they are interrupted by Blaze who informs them that the competition has been corrupted and that they’re fighting in the wrong place. Transported to the edge of the crater, Taven and Daegon engage in a final battel. Although Taven ultimately kills Daegon, he becomes disillusioned with the quest and refuses to go further until Blaze reveals the true nature of the quest.

With all the fighters engaged in Mortal Kombat in the crater, Blaze reveals that it will be the epicenter of the apocalypse unless the quest is fulfilled. With their respective armors being the catalysts for these outcomes, only Taven and Daegon are meant to defeat Blaze with one of two outcomes occurring depending on which brother completed the quest first and will either destroy all the warriors or strip them of powers and abilities.

Reclaiming his sword from his fallen brother, Taven travels through a portal to confront Blaze. After fighting his way to the top of the pyramid, Taven confronts Blaze. In the non-canon ending, Taven manages to defeat Blaze and rises becomes an Elder God. However, neither outcome occurs and instead the fighters power is increased. Taven vows to use his status as Elder God to come up with an solution.

Gameplay

Fighting system
The Xbox version gameplay screenshot, showing a fight between the zombie Liu Kang and Jade

Each character possesses two fighting styles (instead of the three previously available in Deadly Alliance and Deception), one hand-to-hand and one weapon.[3] Some of the larger bosses, like Onaga, have only one fighting style available.[4] Other characters, such as Smoke and Mokap, do not have a weapon style, but a second unarmed style.

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, the lowest being a basic Fatality and the highest an "Ultimate Fatality". The greater the number of inputs for the Fatality, the more koins (the in-game currency) are given to the player.

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 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, while Daegon, his brother, is the primary antagonist, plotting with villains such as Shinnok and the Red Dragon Clan in order to destroy both his brother and Blaze to attain full godhood for himself. Certain weapons are available at times in Konquest mode, which appear to handle very much like those found in Shaolin Monks. Various relics can be collected, one for each Kombatant (except Taven, Chameleon, the two fighters that the player can create in the PS2 version, and additionally Khameleon in the Wii version), throughout this mode.[5] Konquest unlocks characters' alternate costumes and other rewards in the rest of the game, while successfully completing the Konquest entirely will unlock Taven for arcade play. Meat, Daegon, and Blaze can be unlocked by collecting enough relics.

Kreate-a-Fighter
A sample custom character from early screenshots

In addition to the choice of over 60 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 kombinations available. During production, the game offered at least 14 different character classes,[6] which include Humans, Tarkatans, Mercenaries, Black Dragon Members, Ninjas, Retro Ninjas, etc.[7] 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/win pose animation and assigning different (already named) 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.[8] They can also be used in multiplayer games and online, using the PlayStation 2's online capability or Xbox Live, although the online service for both versions has since been terminated. The ending that the game shows is the same text that the player inputs as the fighter's biography.

Motor Kombat

The minigame in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is named "Motor Kombat". True to the name, Ed Boon compared 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 keep their cartoonish "super deformed" style that was introduced in Deception's Puzzle Kombat mode. It also includes style-based fatalities for characters, and death traps. The cars are based on the characters' looks and personalities - for instance, Baraka's car has blades on the front bumper as an homage to Baraka's forearm blades and Scorpion's car is powered by a fire-breathing skull as an homage to his "Toasty" Fatality.

Motor Kombat features online play, as well as offline support for up to four players (two players in the PS2 version) with a split-screen display. In the game, players can knock their opponents into various deathtraps on the courses, like rolling pins, stones, crushers, slippery snow caves filled with stalagmites, and endless pits. The character roster for Motor Kombat is Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Bo' Rai Cho, Jax, Baraka, Raiden, Kitana, Mileena, Cyrax and Johnny Cage.

Characters
Main article: List of Mortal Kombat characters

The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of Armageddon contain 62 fighters (as well as two extra slots for user created characters), the most of any Mortal Kombat or tournament fighter game to date. 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. The Wii version contains all the original characters from both the original versions, as well as exclusive character Khameleon from the Nintendo 64 port of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, increasing the roster to 63.

The character roster of Armageddon (minus Taven, Daegon and Khameleon)

Playable characters in bold are returning characters with new designs or characters entirely new to the series. The rest of the roster's character models are recycled from Deadly Alliance, Deception and Shaolin Monks.

Development

Armageddon contains every single playable fighter from the six main fighting game installments of the franchise and their upgraded versions, not counting the adventure games like Special Forces and Shaolin Monks. Khameleon, a secret character from the Nintendo 64 version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy (not to be confused with the male Chameleon) was absent from the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of Armageddon, but was added to the character roster of the Wii version due to fan demand.[9]

The Krypt in Armageddon features an unused concept video for Ermac's biography, which caused rumors to circulate that biographies had been created for the game but weren't included due to time constraints. However, Midway, through fansite Mortal Kombat Online, confirmed that none had been created.[10] A month later, in a chat event held by Mortal Kombat Online, Ed Boon confirmed that biographies would be made available on the Armageddon website.[11] Kenshi's biography was the first to be released, on December 21, 2006, and others have been made available since then.[12][13]

Release

The PlayStation 2 version was released in stores on October 11, 2006 while the Xbox version was released on October 16, with a Wii version released on May 29, 2007 in North America. The Xbox version was not released in PAL territories.[2] It was later released as part of the Mortal Kombat Kollection on September 29, 2008 for the PlayStation 2.

A "Premium" edition was released in North America for the PlayStation 2, featuring the following content in a steelbook case: a 60-minute bonus DVD with a "History of Fatalities" documentary and new videos for more than 50 characters, an animation cel of the cover art autographed by creator Ed Boon, and an arcade-perfect version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 included on the main disc. There are four package design variations, some exclusive to certain stores featuring different character sets or the Mortal Kombat dragon emblem.

The Wii version of Armageddon has a new motion-based control system, along with compatibility with the classic and GameCube controllers. It 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.

Reception

Reception for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon has been generally favorable. The game was often praised for including a complete character roster; IGN stated that "the inclusion of 62 total warriors is a massive achievement,"[24] while Game Informer said that "nothing really comes close to what Midway has thrown together here."[18] GameSpot praised the Konquest mode, "which was such a low point of MK: Deception, as one of the relative strengths of MK: Armageddon."[20]

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 added variety to gameplay. The reception to the Kreate-A-Fighter mode was 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."[26]

The game's engine was criticized for being built entirely upon that of the previous 3D Mortal Kombat titles. PSM went as far as saying the system was not innovative. While many of the gameplay flaws in Mortal Kombat: 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."[17]

The game won the award for Best Fighting Game at the Spike Video Game Awards in 2006.[27] IGN named it the Best PS2 Fighting Game.[28] Official Xbox Magazine put Armageddon as the "Xbox Game of the Year" in a 2006 issue. Gaming Target put the game in its "52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2006" selection.[29]

References
  1. DArqueBishop (2006-09-20). "Midway Confirms Delayed Release of MK: Armageddon on Xbox". Mortal Kombat Online. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  2. DArqueBishop (2006-08-11). "No Xbox PAL Version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon". Mortal Kombat Online. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  3. McDougal, Gregory (2006-11-24). "One Last Fight to The Death". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  4. Jeff Haynes (2006-09-13). "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Progress Report". IGN. Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  5. "Armageddon Relics". Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  6. Haynes, Jeff (2006-09-23). "GC 2006: Mortal Kombat Armageddon". IGN. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  7. "TMK E3 MKA Video #11". YouTube. 2006-06-11. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  8. Haynes, Jeff (2006-09-13). "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Progress Report, page 2". IGN. Archived from the original on 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
  9. "MK Fighter of the Wiik: Khameleon". IGN. 2007-05-11. Archived from the original on 2007-04-21. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
  10. DArqueBishop (2006-10-16). "No Character Biographies for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon". Mortal Kombat Online. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  11. "Mortal Kombat Online Fight Night 2006". 2006-11-06. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  12. "de beste bron van informatie over mk armageddon. Deze website is te koop!". mkarmageddon.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  13. "Midway Boards - All Bios released so far... 5/30/07". Forums.midway.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  14. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Xbox) at Game Rankings". Retrieved October 5, 2007.
  15. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2) at Game Rankings". Retrieved October 5, 2007.
  16. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii) at Game Rankings". Retrieved October 5, 2007.
  17. Albiges, Luke. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2) review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  18. Reiner, Andrew. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Xbox) review". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  19. Reeves, Ben. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii) review". Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  20. Kasavin, Greg (2006-10-10). "Reviews = Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  21. Gerstmann, Jeff (2007-06-05). "Reviews = Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  22. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2)". GameTrailers. 2006-10-11. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  23. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii)". GameTrailers. 2006-05-24. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  24. Haynes, Jeff (2006-10-09). "REVIEWS: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Xbox) "The end is here -- has the Mortal Kombat franchise survived?"". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  25. 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. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  26. Li C. Kuo (2006-10-20). "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2) Review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  27. "Oblivion naps Spike TV honors". 2006-12-09. Archived from the original on 2007-03-25. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  28. "IGN 2006 Awards". 2006-12-22. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
  29. "Gaming Target: 52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2006". 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
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