Deadly Alliance- was a major improvement over MK4 and the games before it. New characters were introduced as well as bringing back old favorites into a world of new fighting mechanics. There were a few dissapointments however like the lack of multiple fatalities (1 fatality per character), invisible wall damage, no background deathtraps, and very lame secret characters. Put those aside, this game was and still is a classic. Having Quan Chi and Shang Tsung team up and overtake Kahn was certainly unexpected and a very interesting storyline.
Deception-same fighting engine as DA, improved but broken as hell. The game felt dark and gritty, moreso than DA. More new characters/ arenas/ fatalities (2 per character)/ hara kiris/ death traps/ storylines/ realms. Onaga was the new big bad boss in town, and very cool in my opinion. Raiden gets pissed off, becomes dark and enraged over the foolishness of earthrealms warriors, mainly Shujinko. The new "hero". Kang returns from the grave as a zombie (wished it was his ghost form). The game featured several new modes including puzzle kombat, chess, konquest, and finally an online mode. Overall pretty good game, and a great improvement over DA.
Shaolin Monks-without a doubt, the best adventure game spinoff from any of the previous spinoff MK games. The game had it's own new engine. It included multi-directional and air combat. The storyline picked for this game going back to MKII was a great idea, but nothing in this game seemed cannon. Kung Lao and Liu Kang were the main characters (and lucky for me that they were because they were among my favorites). You also got to play as Sub-Zero and Scorpion as secret characters which was a very sweet addition to an already awesome game. The only downside was that their characters and voices were replaced by Liu Kang and Lao in the cut-scenes, but I got used to that. The Co-op mode was also new and a good move to introduce players to play as 2 characters on screen, but I never got a chance to experience that. There is also a 1 on 1 fighting mode with no AI programmed (boo). Shaolin Monks is among one of my favorite action titles of all time.
Armageddon- quantity over quality? you choose. All characters from all the MK fighting games make a return ala Trilogy style. Some new and old arenas make a return. The game seemed very familiar if you've already played Deception and Deadly Alliance. The fighting engine was the same with the switching empty hand martial arts style to a weapon style, but with alot of improvements including wake-ups, parries, air combat, and old school jumping. The fatality system had a complete make-over and became the kreate a fatality mode, which I'm sure about 90% of the fans here are dissapointed with. I enjoyed it personally but it definitely would have been better if it was more character original based. It was just one big system shared by all characters. Following Deception's mini game's tradition, they added motor kombat, konquest, kreate a fighter, and online. The absence of character bios among many other things made the game feel unfinished and rushed. The game offers more good than bad and is a must own for any MK fan regardless of it's issues. Out of all 4 games mentioned here, Armageddon is the one I keep finding myself going back to because I enjoy the fighting in this game more than the others.
