Despite the release of the game itself, the official MK: Armageddon website has continued posting new concepts on its hidden menu! In what may be the next-to-last image we see from the site, another concept from Konquest mode is now available:

In this image, Taven has climbed a large stone stairway which appears to be a shrine of some sort. At the top, an enlarged and ghostly image of his father, Argus, appears from the heavens to perhaps give guidance or advice.

There is now only one slot remaining on the official site's question mark menu. To view the page, click here.

Thanks to forum member for sending in this lead!

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon may be out in stores now, but media is still being released for the game! Today, GameSpot released six new movies from the game! The first three are over on the Playstation 2 section of the site. The first one, Gameplay Movie 7, features a bout between Shujinko and Sektor. The second video, Gameplay Movie 8, goes through the creation of a female fighter in Kreate-a-Fighter, as the game shows all of the different choices available when making said kombatant, even down to the shape and size of the eyes. The third video, Gameplay Movie 9, features a minute's worth of video from Motor Kombat, as Jax runs part of a racecourse in his tank kart.

The other three videos are over in the Xbox version of the site. All three videos appear to be of online kombat, as the two health bars show the kombatants to be "BO JACKSON" and "JUSTICE GS". Furthermore, the battles show one boss-level character versus a normal character. The first video, Gameplay Video 15 features a battle between Kintaro and Kabal. The second video, Gameplay Video 16, shows Johnny Cage and Moloch going at it. Finally, the third video, Gameplay Video 17, shows a fight between Shao Kahn and Sub-Zero.

The videos are available to stream for anyone, and can be downloaded by registered users. GameSpot subscribers have access to the high-resolution videos as well. To see the three videos in the Playstation 2 download area, click here. To see the three videos in the Xbox download area, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for letting us know about these new videos!

Sticking with the review theme, GameSpot has posted their version of the review for the newest game in the series, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! Unfortunately, GameSpot is on the very low end of the current review table, as MK: Armageddon musters a 7.0/10. While this is still classified as "Good" on GameSpot, it is below the average of both Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. The major problem cited by the reviewer is MK: Armageddon's similarity to the previous two games in the series. Other problems cited by the review include the Kreate-a-Fatality system and the reuse of older animations and sounds from the previous installments. Konquest mode however, wins praise as being the strong point of MK: Armageddon in GameSpot's view. The audio is also noted as being above average. Some major points from the review:

Strangely enough, the konquest mode, which was such a low point of MK: Deception, is one of the relative strengths of MK: Armageddon. The story focuses on a character named Taven and winds up being an unfocused mishmash, but it packs in a lot of action and throws so many unlockables at you around every corner that it winds up being fun. It spans a good six hours or so and doesn't bog you down in tutorials like Deception's konquest mode did. Even still, it's hardly a sufficient reason on its own to take the plunge on this latest MK.

Unfortunately, a lot of raw excitement at this huge selection of characters goes away as you realize many of these characters have little to distinguish them from the rest. In the last MK game, each fighter had three different fighting st

yles you could freely switch between in battle, but now most everyone's down to just two--a hand-to-hand style and a weapon-based style. This change isn't necessarily for the worse, as the prospect of having to memorize moves and combos for so many different characters would be daunting for any fighting-game fan. However, the basic moves and tactics don't differ much from one fighter to the next, and special moves include your basic assortment of projectiles and powered-up punches and kicks. But all this has always been true of Mortal Kombat's gameplay. So what is it about the fighters that makes them all seem the same? It's the game's new "kreate-a-fatality" system.

The fighting engine itself is showing some serious signs of aging, as well. It doesn't nearly offer the same fast-paced, fluid feel that's common to other fighting games these days, and it instead focuses on "dialing in" canned combos to deal damage to an opponent who leaves himself open. There's a new parrying system and air combo system, but they don't help the gameplay's awkward look or its counterintuitive feel. This MK is still recycling a lot of the same graphics and animations from 2002's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, so even when you're running the game on a wide-screen progressive-scan display, the action doesn't always looks flattering. There are a good number of amusing or painful-looking animations, as well as awkward-looking moves that cause the same old blood to start spraying. The game looks virtually the same and runs just as smoothly on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, though the Xbox version is a little cleaner. As in the last MK, some of the stages add some complexity to the action since they include deathtraps that can instantly end a round, but most of the novelty of this is gone, too. At least the game's audio has held up better than the visuals. There's not much voice work, but the full-contact hits and the gloomy music still sound good.

To view this article in full, click here.

Thanks to forum member for sending the news lead on this review!

Along with the other big media sites, IGN has wasted no time in putting up their review of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! Their four-page review is actually remarkably in-depth, going over each mode with a fine-tooth comb. For example, when discussing Konquest mode, the reviewer gives the background to the story of Konquest, and also discusses the gameplay in detail. He also talks about item collecting in that mode, and how it relates to the game as a whole. From the review:

Similar to Deception's Konquest mode, players will come across various items scattered around each level. Some of these are music tracks that will be unlocked in the Krypt, while other chests will hold alternate costumes for characters or fighter specific items, such as Kira's Knife or Hotaru's Flag. It may seem somewhat strange to see these items around without their owners, but there's a very specific reason to search out and collect these items: each one fits on a grid that unlocks secrets within the game, such as new characters for the Kombat mode. Players will need to be extremely thorough if they want to find every single item, because you'll often discover that many of them happen to be hidden or invisible until you get near them. However, because some sections of the game emphasize battles much more than exploration, you may find yourself exposing yourself to attacks as you search each inch of a stage for hidden chests or items. You'll also find that after clearing some battles, you'll immediately be pushed forward, so if you haven't spent the time exploring a place, you'll lose that opportunity until you play through the entire mode all over again (or unless you reload your game from your previous checkpoint).

In addition, the reviewer goes into a discussion about Motor Kombat, but comes away feeling that it didn't impress him as much as Mortal Kombat: Deception's side games. From the review:

When you think Armageddon, you think death and devastation. Ancient prophecies coming true, with mountains crumbling and seas boiling. Kart racing around tracks with super-deformed characters. Wait, what? Yep, Midway has included a new mini-game for Armageddon in the form of Motor Kombat., a kart racer. Players choose from one of ten characters, including Jax, Scorpion and Cyrax, and take their unique karts around one of five tracks, all of which have individual "fatality"-inducing traps. These include scalding lava, bottomless pits and being crushed by rolling boulders. As players fly around these tracks, they'll be keeping an eye out for red Koins (which they can use to unlock items in the Krypt) or green lightning bolts, which provides a speed boost to the karts. You'll also want to ride over the gold stars, which let you fire off kart-specific weapons such as Scorpion's spear or Sub-Zero's freeze ball to cause havoc to your opponents. It's decent, but not as fun as Chess Kombat or Puzzle Kombat, the two previous diversions included in Deception. In fact, you may wind up going through each track once or twice with your favorite racer and never look at this feature again.

The third and fourth page of the review take an in-depth look at the Kombat mode. The reviewer goes in-depth concerning several of the changes in the engine from Mortal Kombat: Deception, from the changes to the health bars and the AI improvements to the addition of air kombat and removal of a fighting style for each character. Again, from the review:

Regardless of the character you choose, each one has eight fights to win before they can claim victory over the other warriors. Veterans of Deadly Alliance and Deception will notice a number of new fighting mechanics within Armageddon that will make them rethink their in-game strategies. For one, the defense meter from Deception (which was relatively useless in that game) has thankfully been removed entirely. Second, along with the three combo breakers that return from Deception, players have the opportunity to parry incoming blows by hitting block and the back direction at the same time. This will spin your opponent around, giving you a second or two to unload a quick throw or combo on the defenseless fighter, even potentially juggling them in the air.

Juggling is actually an important tactic, because aerial combat, which hasn't really played a significant role in the game since MK II, makes a return in Armageddon. Not only will you find some fighters landing multiple punches or kicks on an opponent in mid-air, but you can also throw some enemies down and bounce them right back up to you to continue your weightless battle. While you won't be able to fight an entire battle in the skies, it does make those players who rely solely on jump kicks have to learn new tactics, because they will easily get sent crashing down to earth. Unlike Deadly Alliance and Deception, characters have had their fighting styles paired down from two hand to hand and one weapon style due to the sheer size of the fighters involved -- it would've been a nightmare to come up with 120 fighting styles and accurately model all of them. In Armageddon, most characters have one martial art style and a weapon, although some of the larger "monster" characters have only one available to them (Onaga and Moloch in particular are "restricted" in this manor).

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Fortunately, many of the cheap AI issues that plagued Deception and Deadly Alliance have been fixed in Armageddon. In some ways, Onaga and Moloch are no longer the cheap behemoths that they once were now that they're playable characters, and it's much easier to go through classic cheap fighters like Goro and Kintaro. The game still isn't a cakewalk, and Blaze will still give you a headache until you figure out how to best land blows on him with your particular character's attack set. But as far as wanting to throw down your controller in anger -- you aren't going to experience it in the same manner with Armageddon.

The review finishes off with a discussion of the Kreate-a-Fighter system, which the reviewer found to be very versatile and fun to use. All in all, IGN gave a score of 8.5 out of 10 to MK: Armageddon; the reviewer found it to be a strong title, with the only weaknesses being some characters left out (unnamed, but probably referring to Khameleon, among others) and weak endings.

To read the review in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for letting us know about this new review!

Game Informer, the in-house magazine of GameStop/EB Games, has posted its review of the recently shipped Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! This is the third review released by the media thus far, and unlike its counterparts, has more qualms with the game. The review explains that while MK: Armageddon is a good game in its own right, there are certain downfalls that cannot be overlooked, according to GI. The reviewer's dislikes mostly stem from the Kreate-a-Fatality system and the addition of Aerial Kombat. Also noted is the game's similarity between the other two current generation fighting games in the series. The final grade given is 8.25/10, which while a solid score, pales in comparison to the 9.5/10 Game Informer gave Mortal Kombat: Deception in 2004. From the review:

In developing such a meaty offering, something had to give. As aggressive and skill-laden as the core combat is, my favorite part of these games has been always adding insult to injury with a barbaric Fatality. The moment at which the announcer says “finish him” is unlike anything else in gaming. You have already won the match, but for some reason, this is the most intense part of the game. I always sweat bullets and fumble with the controls when it comes to entering in a Fatality sequence. Conversely, when the screen fades to black and the torture begins, you really feel like you’ve won something that you worked hard for. What you usually win is a creative and often overly brutal or comedic death sequence. Fatalities are still a prominent part of the picture, but they neither capture your imagination nor demand precise execution. You now get to customize your own Fatality on the fly. By inputting different control sequences your character will perform a specific move that is tied to the command you entered. As amusing as it is to chain a bunch of moves together, none of the moves that you perform really feel like something your character would do. You are just selecting moves from a shared pool. The Fatalities just don’t have the blood-splattering punch that they once had.

The introduction of aerial combat also falls hard on its face. Chaining together high-flying combos is certainly possible, but this mechanic just doesn’t have the polish or visceral edge like the remainder of the fray. On a positive note, you will have to adjust your attack patterns if you face an opponent who chooses to take to the air.

The Mortal Kombat series has had its ups and downs, and this sequel embodies it all. The immense roster is a glorious thing, but by altering the sacred Fatality, the action just isn’t up to the series’ standards or what fans expect.

To read Game Informer's review in full, please click here.

Thanks to forum member for the lead on this new review!