Since long ago, I was always a fan of Mortal Kombat. I played Street Fighter 2 and I thought Street Fighter was the best fighting game period, but no. I went to my computer tutor's house and he bought Mortal Kombat. He got me to play with him and when I did, at first I thought... OK... the fighters are actually real actors. The game used real photos for sprites. Then I took a go. The fighting system was different from Street Fighter. More realistic. I lost my match against my tutor, because it was my first time. Then the game said "FINISH HIM!!". I was like "What the...". Then my tutor hit some buttons and then his character punched off my character's head. Oh My God. How cool was that!!
That was in the year 1994. Mortal Kombat has gone a long way now. I got my hands on Mortal Kombat Armageddon for the PS2 and I was really pleased and touched.
I started fighting in Arcade mode and the controls were simple and fun to play. You just need to have good strategy and reflexes to be good at the game, unlike other fighting games for the PS2. The finisher system in Mortal Kombat Armageddon was different too. I did not have to remember a particular finisher key combination for each fighter. I just had to tap Front Front Front Triangle, Back Back Back Triangle, or any other button. And I needed to do that fast and with many times in succession. That way, I could perform multiple finishers on the opponent. That's right. Multiple finishers. I remembered the time when I could rip Sonya's arm off and then slap her face using the same arm, and then squish her head.
All characters from all previous Mortal Kombat versions are included in Mortal Kombat Armageddon. Even those whom I did not recognize. However, they were not sprites made from real people. They were 3D models and I could not shake off the feeling that all of them were quite of the same built, except the boss monsters. The character creation was also a good addition, though created characters had no AI and the computer could not use them.
In Mortal Kombat Armageddon, arcade Mode was my favorite mode. I used to play Arcade Mode using all the characters so as to see the endings. The endings were not so sophisticated. They just showed the winning fighter showing off some of his/her Kung Fu moves, but there were narrations telling the story of what happened when the fighter reached the top of the ziggurat and defeated Blaze. The fighter who defeated Blaze was supposed to gain an overwhelming lot of power and could do an awful lot. The narration would tell the player what the winning fighter did with that power. I really liked how some endings turned out.
The Konquest mode in Mortal Kombat Armageddon was actually an adventure game. You could run around in a 3D realm, avoid traps and then beat people up. Be careful. It might get you light-headed. Some very fun parts in konquest mode include chopping people up, uppercutting them to hell and ripping them apart. At the end of the konquest, you would be fighting Blaze, the same boss that you would find in Arcade mode. Speaking of Blaze, defeating that horrible creature is not too hard. You just have to know how to avoid his blows, mainly by somersaulting (jumping) around and then doing a jumping kick whenever possible. Every character could do this. Do not use your special powers or weapons. Even if you hit him with those, he would easily be able to punch you back, with more damage. I found that defeating Blaze was easiest using Goro. He had a move that made him spin fast with all fou r of his arms stretched.
To conclude, Mortal Kombat Armageddon is easily one of the best one-on-one fighting game for the PS2, if not the best. Easy gameplay, numerous fun stuff you can do, and having an appealing storyline.