Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Wii)

The final Mortal Kombat game of this current era is a big one. With every character from the series playable in this game, a karting mini game and a side story adventure mode (Konquest), this game is definitely worthy of the final fling for this current era of Mortal Kombat. If there is one definite niggle, it would have to be the fact that online mode was removed for this version of the game whereas the PS2 and Xbox versions both had an online mode.

First of all, this game looks pretty good, nothing more. If you remember the teaser trailer for MK: Deadly Alliance, you’d remember being blown away (this was roughly at the beginning of the PS2’s life), MK:A hasn’t changed the look much and so looks perfectly acceptable by today’s standards, which is unfortunate. Every Character looks great, considering there are 64 characters to choose from, this is quite an amazing feat. On top of this there’s the Kreate-a-Kharacter mode with a huge selection of variables. Environments are similarly well done, with remakes of classic stages such as the demon tower and some new stages as well, each varying in styles, meaning you’ll never get bored of looking at this game, but it’s not going to blow you away.

The sound is similarly well done with a huge variety of stage tracks, some of them are excellent with others trapped in mediocrity. Sound effects include some of the clips from the original MK games which are a great addition. Punches and weapon swings and collisions are great and meaty enough to impress. But it’s the varying screams that had me on the floor laughing; they are so over the top.

The game play is intuitive and generally works well once you get past the learning curve. Typical fighting is assigned to the Wii-mote d-pad and works well even though it is a little cramped. Special moves are where the Wii comes into play; to pull off Scorpion’s spear move (you know the one) you simply press B and swiftly flick the remote left to right or right to left depending which way your character is facing. Other special moves for the rest of the characters are performed in the same way. This makes the action more frantic with special moves popping out every few seconds.

In terms of extra features this game is packed, and not just with the usual junk like concept art. MK:A has the Krypt (full of concept art...) The Kart race mode which is admittedly a bit on the rubbish side but it’s only there as an extra. The Konquest mode is a lengthy adventure mode that’s quite fun if a little basic (there’s not even a jump button).

Overall this game is going to be played and played over again. The large amount of characters is astonishing and the majority of them feel unique. This game definitely outlines the future of fighters on the wii.