Mortal Kombat™: Armageddon™ for PlayStation 2

There are MK fans out there that remember the early days right? I was in third grade when I first learned of this game, the corner store by my school had it and as soon as we were dismissed there were two lines for this arcade one on each players side. The music was eerie, the game play was slow yet realistic and the fatalities made kids act them out as they watched. Although there were only seven playable characters, each one with a unique background that some how came together like a Guy Richie movie, made the story of Mortal Kombat all the more real. MKA is a different story however. In a tournament of mortal fighters fighting to the death no one has died; magical powers, cartoonish characters and flying combat replaced the once winner take all feel of every fight. The fatalities, once a reward for beating your adversary and entering the right code is now a repetition of cookie cutter moves that all combatants share. The story has blurred, the gameplay is cleaner and faster but mundane and all the characters just reminds you that this is a game not....MORTAL KOMBAT!!!! I bought this game to see how the great tournament would come to an end, who would be the final champion, but even that is left unanswered, not since the original MK has there been a definite champion. The fighting was faster and easier to maneuver but lost a complete sense of realism. The once "man to man hand to hand just like my daddy taught me" kombat has turned into pick up whatever you can use to win weapons match. It works is Soul Calibur series, but in MK the weapons are awkward looking, mis-sized and yes once again unrealistic looking. This game does have some positives though, it's nice to see updated versions of some of the old fighters, beautifully designed backgrounds (also some updated versions of old favorites) and really fun motorkombat.