Welcome to A Feastful of Fists, a new monthly column featuring my take on a plethora of fighting games, ranging from brand new to obscure to the forgotten. To celebrate the upcoming release of of Mortal Kombat X, I wanted to take a look at the most interesting game in the series.
Of all video game genres, fighting games are the most timeless. Not only are fighting games currently in a second renaissance of popularity, they are one of the few type of games where you can play older games in the genre (not just the newest release) and still be entertained. Unlike many shooters or sports titles that make only minor adjustments to the same basic formulas year after year, fighting games continue to be radically different. Even games in the same series have completely different game styles. For example, Mortal Kombat Armageddon.
No other series is as synonymous to the phrase “fighting games” as Mortal Kombat. While Street Fighter is the grandfather of all fighting games, and even the one that brought about a new age of fighting game popularity, it’s MK that brought fighting games into the pop culture forefront. MK, like many 2D fighting games, changed for the worse when it went 3D. However, even though it’s in 3D, MK: Armageddon sticks out for being the most revisitable of the series.
Reasons for Kombat
- With a gigantic roster of 64 characters, Armageddon is also one of the easiest fighting games to pick up and play. Thanks to this, Armageddon is a fantastic party game.
- Any game with a kreate a kharacter mode instantly gets a plus. You can make virtually any type of character your heart desired. Cyborg Lizard? Check. Funky alien with a green afro? Check. Giant jet black demon? Check. Besides appearance, you can alter combos, fighting stance and special moves among other things.
- Motor Kombat- Essentially Mario Kart X MK. What should be terrible is actually a decent addition.
- The Krypt- Full of unlockables and unlike other games in the series, each krypt actually tells you what’s in it.
A Fist in the Mouth
- While Armageddon is great to play with friends, MK is a pretty lackluster single player experience. Besides Motor Kombat mode, there’s Arcade mode, Versus mode (where you can’t play against computers, only human vs. human), Practice mode, and Konquest mode…that’s it. Compared to the previous two 3D MK games, Armageddon is lacking in terms of actual content. There is only so many times one can play Arcade mode, and Konquest was boring in 2006 and is boring now.
- You have to buy most of the stuff in kreate a fighter, so unless you grind out a bunch of fights, your options will be limited in terms of customization.
- Armageddon being the least complex in the series will turn off some hardcore players due to the game’s lack of balance.
Final Thoughts
Is Armageddon the best game in the MK series? Absolutely not. Is it even the best of the of the 3D era games? Still no,but it’s definitely my favorite. You have to appreciate the company for acknowledging that it created way to many lame characters in the 3D era, yet letting them have one final hurrah for them to be killed off. While I would never call Armageddon a complex fighting game, it’s definitely one to play with your friends every now and then.
