Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	2006 (2006)
Products	Fighting video game

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, released in 2006, represents the seventh primary entry in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series, succeeding 2004's Mortal Kombat: Deception. The game debuted on the PS2 and Xbox platforms in October 2006, with a subsequent launch for the Wii in North America in May 2007. Notably, the Xbox edition did not see a release in PAL markets. Serving as the chronological finale to the original Mortal Kombat saga, it includes nearly every fighter from prior installments. Players choose combatants to engage in battles centered around Taven’s quest to overcome his malevolent brother Daegon amid the climactic Armageddon conflict that determines the destiny of the Mortal Kombat realm.

The gameplay builds upon mechanics introduced in Deadly Alliance and Deception, maintaining multiple fighting styles per character. Departing from fixed Fatalities, this title allows players to assemble custom Fatalities by inputting sequences of moves. A new addition is "Kreate a Fighter," a feature enabling players to design personalized characters. The narrative-driven Konquest mode returns with Taven as the central figure. Replacing the previous game's "Puzzle Kombat" mini-game is "Motor Kombat," a whimsical racing segment inspired by titles such as Mario Kart.

While praised for its vast character selection and engaging Konquest mode, the game was critiqued for recycling its engine from earlier titles and for similar combat styles shared across fighters. The custom Fatality mechanic received a mixed response from critics.

Armageddon represents the last Mortal Kombat release on sixth-generation consoles and marks the series’ inaugural appearance on seventh-generation hardware through its Wii edition. The franchise’s subsequent release, the crossover Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, launched exclusively on seventh-generation systems. Later, NetherRealm Studios rebooted the main storyline with the 2011 Mortal Kombat, their first production.

Fighting system

Every character is equipped with two distinct fighting styles—one focusing on hand-to-hand combat and another involving weaponry—unlike the three-style setup found in Deadly Alliance and Deception. Certain bosses, such as Onaga, possess only a single fighting style. Fighters like Smoke and Mokap utilize two unarmed combat styles rather than incorporating a weapon-based style. The game introduces the Air Kombat combo mechanic, reminiscent of the Marvel vs. Capcom Air Combo system and initially featured in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. Additionally, it incorporates a Parry system influenced by the combo breaker mechanics from Killer Instinct.

A notable innovation is the custom Fatality system, which replaces traditional character-specific Fatalities with player-created sequences of inputs. Players must enter consecutive commands within progressively shorter timeframes while avoiding repeated moves. There are 11 tiers of Fatalities ranging from simple to "Ultimate," with higher-level executions awarding greater amounts of koins, the game’s currency.

Konquest

Konquest mode combines elements from both Deception and the adventure spin-off Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. It follows brothers Taven and Daegon, who were placed into suspended animation by their parents—Delia, a sorceress, and Argus, an Edenian guardian deity—to avert a predicted disaster involving Mortal Kombat warriors. Upon awakening, players control Taven as he embarks on his journey, while Daegon acts as an adversary allied with villains such as Shinnok and the Red Dragon Clan to eliminate Taven and Blaze in their bid for godhood.

The mode features weaponry akin to that seen in Shaolin Monks and offers collectible relics associated with each fighter (excluding Taven, Chameleon, the two player-created characters exclusive to the PS2 version, and Khameleon on Wii). Successfully completing Konquest unlocks alternate costumes, various rewards, and arcade mode access for Taven; additional characters Meat, Daegon, and Blaze become playable after gathering enough relics.

Kreate-a-Fighter

Armageddon includes a roster exceeding 60 characters alongside an extensive creation system that enables players to craft their own fighters. During development, 14 different character archetypes were planned—ranging from Humans and Tarkatans to Mercenaries, Black Dragon operatives, Ninjas, and Retro Ninjas—offering potentially thousands of distinct combinations. After launch, only one default model per gender was accessible (Sorcerer for males, Tarkatan for females), with additional class outfits unlockable individually.

Users personalize their fighters by choosing stances, victory animations, and mapping named moves to controller buttons. Weapon options include swords and axes. While many moves and costumes must be purchased using in-game Koins earned through other gameplay modes, some are available free from the start. Custom-created characters can feature unique storylines; completing single-player mode with a custom fighter triggers a player-crafted ending, which is limited to roughly a dozen lines.

These user-designed fighters are compatible with multiplayer modes and online play via PlayStation 2’s online capabilities or Xbox Live. Although Xbox Live support ended on April 15, 2010, it has since been restored through the third-party service Insignia. The game’s ending text incorporates the player’s input as the biography of their created character.

Motor Kombat

The mini-game within Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is titled "Motor Kombat." Ed Boon compared it to Mario Kart in an interview with Official Xbox Magazine (September 2006). Each competitor pilots a customized go-kart equipped with unique special abilities, maintaining the exaggerated cartoonish style seen in Deception's "Puzzle Kombat" mode. The game features fatalities based on style as well as environmental hazards. The vehicles are designed to reflect the personalities of their drivers; for instance, Baraka’s kart sports blade-like bumpers, while Scorpion’s vehicle references his iconic "Toasty" Fatality.

Motor Kombat supports online matches and accommodates up to four local players (two on PS2) through split-screen functionality. Competitors can knock each other into various death traps such as rolling pins, crushers, icy caverns with stalagmites, and bottomless pits. The playable lineup includes Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Bo' Rai Cho, Jax, Baraka, Raiden, Kitana, Mileena, Cyrax, and Johnny Cage.

Plot

In the realm of Edenia, the sorceress Delia foresees an ultimate Mortal Kombat tournament that threatens all worlds. To contain this event, her husband Argus—an Elder God—constructs a pyramid arena and entombs their sons Taven and Daegon in dormant caverns. Delia commands her Elemental Blaze to awaken their dragons prior to the battle.

Orin, Taven’s dragon, rouses him in Earthrealm and informs him he must face Daegon to succeed Argus as Elder God by defeating Blaze. After clashing with Black Dragon members and enigmatic red-clad warriors, Taven discovers Argus’s message but realizes their weapons have vanished. Captured aboard a Tekunin warship by Sektor, Taven escapes after defeating him.

At his mother’s mountain temple, Taven battles Lin Kuei assassins including Frost and Grand Master Sub-Zero to retrieve armor for himself and Daegon. Alongside Sub-Zero, he fends off Dark Lin-Kuei attackers Smoke and Noob Saibot. Sub-Zero reveals that the red warriors belong to the Red Dragon clan headquartered at Charred Mountain.

Taven encounters Fujin at a portal who warns him to return to Edenia but Taven defeats him and advances toward the Red Dragon fortress. There he meets an older Daegon leading the clan who intends to kill Taven to reach Blaze first. After liberating Daegon’s dragon Caro—who admits awakening Daegon prematurely caused Argus and Delia’s deaths—Caro remains behind to destroy the stronghold while Taven pursues Daegon into the Netherrealm.

Within the Netherrealm, Taven survives an ambush by Drahmin and assists Shinnok in reclaiming his Spire by defeating Havik, Sheeva, and Kintaro. Shinnok reveals Daegon has returned to Earthrealm and transports Taven there but secretly conspires with Daegon against rivals.

Back at Orin’s cave, Taven finds his dragon gravely injured by Quan Chi but escapes through an open portal leading to Shao Kahn’s palace in Outworld. He defeats Mileena and rescues Shujinko before confronting Goro and Reiko en route to a gathering of Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, Onaga, and Shao Kahn plotting to seize the tournament prize. Raiden reveals a pact with Shao Kahn ensuring Earthrealm’s independence but is ultimately defeated by Taven.

Through Quan Chi’s portal to Edenia, Taven overcomes Scorpion but faces Daegon once more. Their fight is interrupted by Blaze who exposes corruption in the competition and reveals they have fought in the wrong place. Transported to a crater edge, Taven kills Daegon but hesitates until Blaze explains that only one brother defeating Blaze will either end or alter Armageddon—resulting in either total destruction of all warriors or stripping them of their powers.

Taven ascends the pyramid summit where he defeats Blaze and ascends as an Elder God. Unexpectedly, neither apocalyptic outcome occurs; instead, fighters’ powers are amplified. Taven pledges to find another solution to prevent Armageddon.

• This conclusion was later declared non-canonical in Mortal Kombat (2011), where Taven dies and Shao Kahn gains godlike abilities after defeating Blaze. Raiden survives only by warning his past self about Shao Kahn’s threat.

Characters

The PS2 and Xbox editions of Armageddon boast a roster of 62 fighters plus two slots for user-created characters—the largest cast in Mortal Kombat history at that time. Only two newcomers join the franchise: Daegon and Taven. Sareena makes her debut as a playable character on non-portable platforms while Meat appears officially for the first time as a selectable fighter. The Wii version adds Khameleon, expanding the roster to 63.

Characters shown in bold indicate either redesigned returning combatants or brand-new entrants. Other models are reused from previous titles such as Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Shaolin Monks.

Ashrah Baraka Blaze Bo' Rai Cho Chameleon Cyrax Daegon Dairou Darrius Drahmin Ermac Frost Fujin Goro Havik Hotaru

Hsu Hao Jade Jarek Jax Johnny Cage Kabal Kai Kano Kenshi Khameleon Kintaro Kira Kitana Kobra Kung Lao Li Mei

Liu Kang Mavado Meat Mileena Mokap Moloch Motaro Nightwolf Nitara Noob Saibot Onaga Quan Chi Raiden Rain Reiko Reptile

Sareena Scorpion Sektor Shang Tsung Shao Kahn Sheeva Shinnok Shujinko Sindel Smoke Sonya Blade Stryker Sub-Zero Tanya Taven

Development

Armageddon incorporates every playable character from the six mainline fighting installments of the franchise along with their enhanced versions—excluding adventure-focused titles like Special Forces and Shaolin Monks. Khameleon, originally a secret character exclusive to the N64 iteration of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, was omitted from PS2 and Xbox versions but later added into the Wii roster due to popular demand among fans.

The "Krypt" mode contains an unused concept video featuring Ermac's biography from MK: Deception, which was intended as part of a series of animated character bios; however, only 17 characters ultimately received official still-image biographies.

Release

The PS2 edition debuted on October 9, 2006; the Xbox version followed on October 16. The Wii release occurred on May 29, 2007 in North America. Notably, no Xbox version was distributed in PAL territories. Later on September 29, 2008, it was included in the Mortal Kombat Kollection compilation for PS2.

A North American "Premium" edition for PS2 featured a steelbook case alongside a 60-minute bonus DVD containing a documentary titled History of Fatalities plus new character videos; it also included an Ed Boon-autographed animation cel of the cover art and an arcade-perfect port of UMK3. Four distinct package designs were released with some exclusivity tied to specific retailers.

The Wii version introduced motion-based controls compatible with both classic Wii remotes and GameCube controllers. It added new modes such as Endurance Mode and Wii Remote Training Mode along with updated menus; Khameleon was included as a playable character but online multiplayer was not supported.

Reception

Overall reception for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon was positive with particular acclaim directed at its extensive character lineup. IGN praised the inclusion of "62 total warriors" as a significant accomplishment, while Game Informer remarked that "nothing quite compares to what Midway has assembled here." Additionally, GameSpot highlighted improvements made in Konquest mode relative to earlier entries.

Opinions on Kreate-A-Fatality were divided; while GameSpot considered it "a disappointing substitute," IGN welcomed it for adding gameplay variety. Similarly, Kreate-A-Fighter received favorable remarks from some critics; for example,GameSpy described it as "the most comprehensive character creation tool since City of Heroes."

Criticism focused on the game engine remaining largely unchanged from prior 3D Mortal Kombat titles—with PSM calling it uninspired—and although many gameplay issues from Mortal Kombat: Deception were resolved new glitches appeared within Air Kombat and Parry mechanics. Furthermore,Eurogamer noted that numerous characters were clones which diminished variety despite the large roster.

The title achieved significant industry accolades including Best Fighting Game at the 2006 Spike Video Game Awards and Best PS2 Fighting Game awarded by IGN. It was also honored as "Xbox Game of the Year" by Official Xbox Magazine and featured among Gaming Target's list "52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2006." Moreover,the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated it for Fighting Game of the Year during their 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.

External links

• Official site
• Mortal Kombat: Armageddon profile on MobyGames