Mortal Kombat™: Armageddon™ for PlayStation 2

The game is every Mortal Kombat fan's dream. It will probably attract some new fans and bring back a few old ones that drifted away for various reasons. There are 62 characters in this one including some brand new characters. Each character's initial and counterattacks performed by the computer will definitely present an unexpected and addictive challenge to most MK veterans. The fighters are not as predictable as they were in previous games although the fighting engine is similar. Another good thing about this new MK is that Midway removed one fighting style from each character. I think that helps because it can be frustrating and near impossible trying to remember 3 fighting styles for 62 characters. Satisfying gameplay shouldn't always be about memory retention and a novice can probably have a good experience with this game without having a great photographic memory. The fighting arenas are awesome and graphically breathtaking. There are about 20-25 arenas to select from. Nearly all of the stages have a second or third level that a player can be knocked into. The death traps surpass all of the MK games combined. Most of them are not for the faint of heart, which shouldn't surprise anyone reading this review. Aerial combat is also a nice feature to the game. It was first introduced in MK 2. What's better on this game is that you can perform multiple hit combos in the air(up to 6 aerial hits that I've discovered). If you like to pummel your opponents in dramatic fashion then the aerial combos are the way to go. They are very easy to remember also. You can now create your own fighter and make them playable online or in normal arcade mode (after creating your personal profile) It takes a while to get them created, but it's very rewarding when you start cleaning house with a character that no one ever heard of. The konquest mode is more enhanced than the last game also. There is more fighting and interaction with your environment in this one. The character that you play with in Konquest (Taven) is very quick and his moves are easy to pull off. He is much better than Shujinko was in the previous game. The motor kombat part of the game is decent. It has a few of the characters racing each other and using projectiles to slow each other down. Motor Kombat won't keep your attention very long because the fighting element is so challenging, unpredictable and addictive, especially if you've enjoyed the last 2 MK installments. The Krypt element is much better also. There are no useless or silly prizes and you don't mind spending the koins for whatever prize you get. Finally, the Fatalities, the cherry on top of every ridiculously one-sided or skin of your teeth victory. MK: Armageddon has a new fatality system. You can do up to 10 moves on your opponent before they finally die. There is a meter that decreases quicker each time you execute a move. This makes it harder to pull off the next move before time runs out. For the MK players that have good memory this is a great place where you can show off. Pulling off all 10 fatality moves requires mind numbing finger speed and a razor sharp memory. You also receive koins for fatalities with 2 or more moves. The koin reward increases with each additional move you can do but you have to cap off everything with a nice finishing move in order to receive any koins. This is a great game and I recommend it to all fans of any fighting game.