Mortal Kombat: Armageddon - PS2

The end of Mortal Kombat as we know it is here... kind of. Maybe. This is the seventh version, and the final entry in the series on the PS2 and is billed as the ultimate Mortal Kombat experience.

Armageddon boasts a cast of 60 fighters, taking in each and every character ever featured in the franchise, as well as a bunch of newbies. This includes bosses that previously you could only watch as they mashed you into bloody pulp such as Goro and Kintaro as well as classics such as Scorpion and Sub-Zero. So, no longer do you have to be the snivelling wretch to some creepy guy with four arms and bad teeth. On top of this, there's a create-a-player mode, which allows you to design not only your character's look (right down to eye-colour) but also to set their fighting styles, picking moves and assigning them to the controls as you see fit. All of this is regulated by special attention to balance, in order to ensure you can't just soup up your character to ridiculous proportions (or pick Goro) and then waltz online and mash everyone else into paste.

Other enhancements to the series include extensive work on the backgrounds, bringing in levels from each prequel and updating them, as well as upping the interactivity and making them more multi-level. There's also an improvement to what's possible in mid-air with gravity-defying combos that'll enable you to whup an opponent's bottom without dirtying your shoes on the ground.

It all sounds rather smashing, really. Just a shame the word 'Armageddon' sounds so final... more