Common Sense Media Review
By Marc Saltzman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Engaging but extremely gory fight game for mature players.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 3 parent reviews
Based on 21 kid reviews
Kids say the game is fun for older players and those familiar with the franchise, offering options to turn off blood and fatalities, making it somewhat suitable for younger fans. However, many reviews caution that the graphic violence is significant, and the game is generally not recommended for children under 12, despite features aimed at reducing the gore.
- fun for older fans
- graphics concern
- graphic violence
- options to reduce
- parental discretion needed
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's It About?
MORTAL KOMBAT: ARMAGEDDON, available for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, is the first in the series to feature every character from the 14-year-old Mortal Kombat universe, totaling more than 50 3-D fighters. It's still the same 'ol 3-D fighting game: Each player picks a character and beats each other to a pulp, in a number of different environments. If you don't want to go with a preexisting character, Armageddon is the first Mortal Kombat game with a Kreate-a-Fighter mode. Fighting, which is very fast-paced, requires mastery in hand-to-hand combat, weapons, and magic -- gamers who try their luck by random \"button mashing\" won't get very far in this title.
Is It Any Good?
Midway has expanded a few of its game modes; aside from the single-player game (against the game's artificial intelligence) and a two-player mode (on the same television), Armageddon also offers a deeper Konquest game (a story-based adventure) and expanded online play for head-to-head matches over the Internet -- with faster response times than found in 2004's Mortal Kombat: Deception. Armageddon doesn't evolve the genre much, but just gives the player a lot more of the same stuff, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Also, while this game's graphics look OK (better on the Xbox than the PlayStation 2), it doesn't compare to fighting games on the Xbox 360 such as Tecmo's Dead or Alive 4.
Mortal Kombat fans can pick up Armageddon for $39.95, or they may opt for the Premium Edition ($49.95), which includes a playable of the original Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, more than 60 minutes of bonus DVD video content, a collectible metal case (with four unique box fronts in total), and an animation cell cover art autographed by franchise co–creator Ed Boon.
Online interaction: Online play with chat can create unpredictable conversations.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about fantasy fighting vs. reality. How awful would these fights be in real life? Why are they turned into a game?
Does the over-the-top, fantastical gore in this game make it more appealing?
Does creating your own fighter make this game more interesting? How about the Kreate-a-Fatality system -- does that make you feel more vested in the experience?
Game Details
- Platform : PlayStation 2
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Midway
- Release date : November 28, 2006
- Genre : Fighting
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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