MKA (PS2)

My game case for MKA

MKA: Mortal Kombat Armageddon

At this point, a Mortal Kombat game has not been played since the Super NES console. Back then, I could barely make use of the controls for the fight system was a far cry from what I was accustomed to up to that point. Though an impulse purchase, I was unusually eager to take the game for a spin.

A Rather Strange Impulse

Unusually eager?

Well, having not been exposed since the 90s with only random game facts read online along with game trailers in mind, this was a rather confusing purchase. Come to think of it, I never seen a trailer for this game yet alone looked one up. I went in the store to look for a replacement phone plus some minutes but somehow walked out with a game and no phone; got the minutes though.

After glancing through the booklet and finishing up course work for the week, some time was set aside to take the game for a spin. I had my game book - a journal I use to document game intel - and memory card in hand and started to play. The intro cinematic was interesting and pretty much threw all characters of the MK universe that had been introduced up to the point into one chaotic setting.

You're introduced to a vibrating ground that's later followed up with a "battlecry" from Kintaro who is passed by a sword wielding Scorpion. Its basically a mighty clash between two massive fighting groups. Shortly after the clash, the ground rumbles and a step pyramid surfaces with what appears to be a giant torch at the top.

Like moths to a flame, they were drawn to battle.

Possibly not knowing why or not caring, everybody turns on one another and starts storming the steps of the pyramid. Last person standing, at the moment, was Shang Tsung. After the old rivalries rekindled part we are introduced to a somewhat recognizable Liu Kang.

So there's a bit of a duel between the two till Shang Tsung manages to kick him to a distance. Afterwards he is attacked by Mileena but fends her off. Being the only one left he makes his way toward the flame only to be held back by the hooked chain wielding Liu Kang.

He's not down but some how manages to get close enough to the flame he and others were seeking to grasp. It was only after reaching for this flame that it was discovered that there was more to it than originally thought.

The Round Up

The game files list

At first plugin, I pretty much just goofed around. After a week, I actually did some serious gaming. Some experimenting was done in the Create a Fighter section which yielded some interesting results.

After playing around with creating my own character I ventured into the mini game Motor Kombat. It was an interesting take on vehicular combat which made paying attention while driving a necessity. Turning too wide or missing a boost will end in an unpleasant crash.

Played around in arcade mood but wanted to do something different outside of my typical gaming. I think the game mode was called Konquest or something like that but it was a type of story mode. Instead of the lineup of characters being the focal point, this half-immortal warrior that has just awaken from a long sleep is placed dead center.

This half-immortal warrior, Taven, must travel the realms in search of answers to an ever growing list of questions. While traveling, you will run into just about all the characters from the current MK lineup. Most of the chests you'll encounter will house the much needed currency that's used to unlock items in the shop as well as Krypt.

Towards the end of the mode, you'll meet Taven's younger brother Daegon face to face in a match overseen by the fire guardian Blaze. You win but are left to face Blaze one-on-one which is said to be mandatory as per wishes set long ago. After some bumps in the road, Taven comes out the victor but soon discovers that something went terribly wrong.

Even though you aren't alerted to this snafu in the story mode, the details are revealed once you complete arcade mode with said character. A rather nice touch.

Interesting Tidbits

Unlike some past games played at the time, this game actually required you to have a game file that was only accessible via password. It was a nice touch which enabled a rather interesting progress tracker of how well I did with other custom characters. My top three-ish features that I enjoyed were: Create a Fighter, the Krypt and the Options Section.

Typically the Options Section doesn't make the list of enjoyable features but this one in particular did. Outside of adjusting volumes and such I was able to adjust the visible graphics; namely, the appearance of gore and such.

The settings could be adjusted from the standard setting to one that's more desirable. So often times the settings would be switched to zero gore and stuff. Once at this setting, death traps will automatically be disabled. From what I could tell, the areas marked in yellow were still active since all they did was send your character to another location.

The Krypt is pretty much housing grounds for bonus content. Create a Fighter is pretty much a playground in itself. Very different from other character creation modes that I was exposed to up to this point.

Every minute detail could be customized to create a unique or not so unique character. Being a fan of classic martial arts movies, I created a character modeled after them. Then I played around with creating well known characters which ranged from anime to other fighting games.