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Amphibious
The Shadowy Usurper
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 3:40 am
Post subject: Amphibious' Review of Mortal Kombat Armageddon |
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As I stated in another topic, I felt, like many other fans, that the MKTeam cut corners in order to crank this game out in roughly a year's time. I would personally have preferred they put it off until January 2007 or later in order to fix the following:
-No character bios (the biggest disappointment)
-No images for the endings (second biggest disappointment)
-Same character skins from those in MKDA/MKD (even just new skins would be nice)
-Fighting engine still moves slowly (though aerial kombat is a nice addition)
-Not enough Motor Kombat characters and levels (could have been better with a few more of both)
-Not enough items in Kreate-a-Kombatant mode (while I admit there are a ton, there could be more)
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I found the lack of effort put into the storyline disturbing, since it was one of the better aspects of Mortal Kombat. I am a loyal MK fan because the mythology is wonderful and I enjoy buying each new installment to see how it progresses. Armageddon I found left so many loose ends and inconsistencies that it seemed like they had completely new writers for the storyline. For example, no explanation was given as to the separation of Reptile and Onaga leaving fans to guess how it occurred. Furthermore, the game seems to take place some time after MKD, considering that Sektor has already established his own clan (which he began just prior to MKDA). Next, Onaga lives on, yet there is no explanation to if he won or lost in Deception. It is as though MKD almost never happened in many respects, while in other cases it has (as seen in Scorpion's story during Konquest mode where he apparently completed his task the Elder Gods sent him out on, only to partially back-stab him by making his "revived" clan simple undead). It's these kinds of inconsistencies that really bother me.
The main part of Armageddon (arcade mode), with the lack of: a.) consistency, b.) good storyline, c.) character bios and d.) good endings makes it (overall) far from a "great" game. I'm not even going to include Motaro having two legs and Khameleon not being present, because these are minor things in comparison to the rest. Again, the fighting engine seems too slow - after witnessing the previews I was expecting a lot faster paced action such as that in MK Gold, especially with aerial kombat. However, the game still plays very slowly, and relies far too much on perfecting combos than it does going all-out and defeating your opponent. While I admit the game now prevents n00bs from picking it up and beating pros with fast-paced cheap moves, the slower pace makes it difficult for fans such as myself of the old-school engines to get into. On a positive note, the stage-fatalities are a lot better, and they made it far more difficult to knock players into them, a flaw that was predominate in the last two MK installments. Therefore, the main arcade mode of Armageddon receives a 6/10 (it was this high only due to the large amount of selectable characters).
While I do like the Kreate-a-Fatality, I have yet to perfect it so I can't say I like it more than the old-style ones, and I'd be lying if I said the next game should not include the old-style fatalities. I think it's great that players who have more skill at the game can show off with longer-stringed fatalities, while less-skilled players will have to settle for less-bloody fatalities. Having said that, it would be better if the final move (let's say 10th) would be a character-specific move, like a spine rip from Sub-Zero, or a Toasty from Scorpion. So, KaF gets a 7/10.
While there are a lack of items in the Kreate-a-Kombatant mode (though the rest is very detailed - much more than other games' create-a-fighter mode) I loved it. Only major qualm with it was that I was forced to put my character name as "Amphibius" since there's apparently no room left for an "o". -__- Nevertheless, I was able to compose a character worthy of the name, and so the KaK mode gets a 9/10 from me.
The Krypt was very well done in this game. With there being only one form of kurrency (gold koins, no longer numerous colours, some of which were hard to get in large numbers in MKDA/MKD) makes it so much easier to acquire items. Furthermore, it's a lot better now that it tells you what the items are, without you having to buy them first or find out online. While there could have been a lot more cool stuff in the Krypt (rather than koncept art and stick-figure drawings) there is quite a bit, which is satisfying enough. Plus, the one item which requires a password was genius on the MKTeam's part. With so many possible codes to input, it gives the fans reason to speculate that there are Super Unlockables yet to be found, whether there are or not. Lastly, the new layout of the Krypt is very nice, better than the Koffin setup IMO. So, the new Krypt gets a 8/10.
Motor Kombat - a very innovative, creative and fun minigame indeed. This is the kind of sidegame that should have been present in the last two installments, as it is great for replay value, easy to play, and great multiplayer fun. Having said that, it was lacking in playable levels and characters, even for a side game. So, Motor Kombat falls short of perfect, but it is indeed a blast for what it is. I give it 7/10.
Moving on to visuals, sounds and controlls: the graphics in Armageddon are great for current-generation systems, I was very impressed with the smoothness of textures and frame rate, at least on the XBox version (not having the PS2 one I cannot rate this). The sounds were also good (though there were not enough voice types, so they got very annoying over time, especially in Kreate-a-Kombatant. The control scheme was as good as it was for MKDA and MKD, especially with the XBox controller layout. Overall, graphics, controls and sound receive an 8/10.
I found Konquest to be the most enjoyable aspect of this game, which is kind of a shame considering it's primary role is a fighting game, not adventure game. This is mostly from the fact the fighting pace in Konquest is a lot faster paced and more enjoyable. I thought the gameplay of Konquest mode was fantastic (though the first day I bought the game, I had it completely freeze on me when trying to perform the ground slam move - it only froze once). The story was well conceived, the characters were excellent new additions to the cast of MK, the dialogue was great, and overall it was leagues ahead of Deception's Konquest. Indeed, by itself it makes a good stand-alone game, though if it was on its own, more levels would have made it perfect. However, considering it was simply a side game, I give it 10 out of 10 for sure.
As a side note, I couldn't help but notice there was no grandiose ending movie which seals the fate of the majority or all of the warriors. On the contrary, Armageddon simply continues to use the ending-style of all fighting MK games - each character's ending involves them being victorious, and the true ending left unknown until the next game is released. In a way, I'm happier because we don't know if the majority or all of the characters are indeed killed off as was originally expected. This may be due to the incredible uproar that idea conjured up in the MK fan community, so the MKTeam decided not to go through with it, or they simply wish to leave us guessing until the next game. If, in fact, most characters do not come back in future games, the fact there was no ending movie in Armageddon will turn out to be an even larger disappointment then the lack of character biographies. However, since we dont know what will happen, I will not rate the lack of a large ending movie, as its review is largely based off the fate of every warrior in the MK series up to this point.
Overall, Mortal Kombat Armageddon on the XBox receives 7.8 tongues out of 10.
-Amphibious
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PrimitiveReptile13
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 6:19 am
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I could not agree with you more. The endings, the characters, etc. The storyline was barely passing until Armageddon came out. Making even more loopholes it is hard to say this is the biggest MK yet. Nevertheless as a MK fan you have no reason to say that this is a great game. I enjoyed your review Amphibious.
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Scorpion53
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:01 pm
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Nice analysis, Amphibious. I enjoyed how you especially said that there were not enough items in the Kreate A Fighter Mode. There were not enough special moves, nor were there enough combos, weapon styles, or fighting styles. What about style changing combos?  I felt they could have done more to add in more of all of the above. The clothing and all was ok, but the above I have critiqued, there should have been more. Now, on Motor Kombat, the few characters they have are not enough. I say add in more characters as well as the levels. The Death Traps were nice in there, but there could have been more levels like you said. I was also disappointed in the fact that there were no images to kind of spell out the action in each ending. For example, I wanted to be able to see what would happen if Scorpion had won and not just be told. The game takes too long to load, and the aerial kombat moves do considerably less damage than the moves on the ground, well, with a majority of the characters. I did, however, enjoy the Konquest mode because it is a good change. It was made harder because the main character could actually die. I especially loved the Death Traps they had: like those infamous spinning blades in Arctika and Shao Kahn's Fortress. Those spiked boulders were pretty hard to get past the first time as well.  Other than these things I found wrong with it, the game was good.
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Highest Kreate-A-Fatality: 11 (Ultimate Fatality)
Motor Kombat: 12/12
Konquest: 100%
Recent KAF: Hellspawn
Arcade Mode: 423/14
Undefeated with Mileena
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mkninjasrule!
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:32 pm
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great review mate, will have to see if i agree with you when it arrives tomroro or possibly saturday
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Scorpion53
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Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:39 pm
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Thanks, but I was just elaborating off of what Amphibious said. He should get all the credit for any kind of review. Some of the thoughts I put in came from Amphibious. I thank you for your kudos, but it's Amphibious that gets the credit on the review of Armageddon.
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Highest Kreate-A-Fatality: 11 (Ultimate Fatality)
Motor Kombat: 12/12
Konquest: 100%
Recent KAF: Hellspawn
Arcade Mode: 423/14
Undefeated with Mileena
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SonicXtremeFatality
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2006 7:46 am
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hehe... i think he meant amphibious 
sorry 'bout the caps but... I'M SHOCKED..... i looked forward for this game about quite a year...today i will get it finally.... i thought it will be the coolest MK ever... and now ... after reading this review (  are u a pro or what? damn good ! ) i'm kinda sad....  is it really that bad ? i know u gave 7.8 but i thought it would be better........ don't wanna get disappointed
plz tell me u just had a bad day when u wrote this.... 
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Cory13
Lead Lin Kuei Assassin
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:35 am
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The only complaints I have for the incredible game is there's no bio's or unlockable endings like in MKD & MKDA. Everthing else satisfies me. I love this game and I am still debating who my favorite character is out of all 60.
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Highest Fatality: 8: Vicous Fatality
Kreate A Fighter: Scar Face
Damashi
Vorpious
Khamelon
King Jared
Cory (myself)
Ghost
Motor Kombat: 1st 5/5
Konquest: 100% (Completed 3 Times In A Row)
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mkninjasrule!
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:42 pm
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| Scorpion53 wrote: | | Thanks, but I was just elaborating off of what Amphibious said. He should get all the credit for any kind of review. Some of the thoughts I put in came from Amphibious. I thank you for your kudos, but it's Amphibious that gets the credit on the review of Armageddon. |
which is why i was saying amphibious did a great review
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Amphibious
The Shadowy Usurper
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:04 pm
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Thanks for the comments  I wouldn't call it magazine worthy or anything but yes, I did put quite a bit of effort into my review.
To answer your question SonicXtremeFatality, I was not in a bad mood when I wrote this review. I attempted to be as objective as possible while reviewing it (since I am an MK fan it may have been assumed I'd rate it higher).
Despite all the negatives, there are still positives about this game, so I wouldn't be too worried about disappointment. It still got 7.8 out of 10 from me, so it's by no means a bad or even "so-so" game.
While the game lacks in a good storyline (at least the main one does, Konquest mode has a fantastic story in my opinion), the gameplay is quite nice, and with such a huge roster (not even including Kreate-a-Kombatant), the replay value is through the roof. Furthermore, despite some shortcomings with Motor Kombat, for a "mini-game" it's really good, much better than Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat.
So, if you're still unsure, rent the game first, then decide whether to buy it or not. I bought it the day it was released on the XBox and I haven't regretted it. 
-Amph
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Scorpion53
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Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 10:31 am
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| mkninjasrule! wrote: | | Scorpion53 wrote: | | Thanks, but I was just elaborating off of what Amphibious said. He should get all the credit for any kind of review. Some of the thoughts I put in came from Amphibious. I thank you for your kudos, but it's Amphibious that gets the credit on the review of Armageddon. |
which is why i was saying amphibious did a great review |
Then next time, so people don't get confused about who you're talking to, quote the person you are talking to. This is not meant to come off harsh, but I thought you were talking to me and my elaboration of Amphibious's review.
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Highest Kreate-A-Fatality: 11 (Ultimate Fatality)
Motor Kombat: 12/12
Konquest: 100%
Recent KAF: Hellspawn
Arcade Mode: 423/14
Undefeated with Mileena
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