Mortal Kombat games used to be anything but simple... Sad, isn't it?

May 30, 2007 13:55 GMT  ·  By

Wii owners will scream with joy at the sound of this: Midway Games has rolled out "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon" for the Wii across the US. The game features an "easy" control scheme, a completely revamped Endurance Mode and a new female character: Female Khameleon.

However, the press release says that the control scheme in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon has been "completely re-tooled to take advantage of the Wii's unique Wii Remote and Nunchuk Controllers." Now. Not even playing the game I can tell you right now that the game's control scheme has been simplified to adjust to the Wiimote's limited input of command.

The same official report confirms this exact issue: "with all of the infamous super moves and fatalities executed via the Wii Remote, even the most novice gamers will be creating their own fatalities." You see? Novices performing fatalities. Let me tell you something. Back in the days when MK I and MK II were up, in order to perform a Fatality, you had to have it in your blood. The combinations were quite complex for some of the characters and you had to input 6 or 7 commands in less than three seconds to get it right and see a black background.

I used to do them blindfolded. One of Sub-Zero's fatalities in MK II is a good example: forward, forward, down + High Kick freezes the opponent, after which you must hit forward, forward, down, forward + High Punch close to the frozen enemy to uppercut him into nonexistence. Tell me, how exactly are players going to do that with the Wii? Just for being able to do these things, when us, MK II masters, used to enter the arcade, kids moved away from our path until we reached the MK II machine. We were like Moses and the water. And all that just because we could achieve double flawless victories, perform fatalities and unlock secret characters (Somoke, Jade and Noob Saibot) like it was nobody's business.

And for the last piece of confirmation that the Wii ruins some of the fighting series' best parts... "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon brings Midway's top-selling and award winning franchise to the Wii expanding the experience to a broader audience with its simple and intuitive gameplay," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "The new control scheme makes it easy for the novice player or non-gamer to pull off special moves and fatalities just like a master martial artist."

That's what Nintendo's games are all about. "Easy!" Do you want easy? Not that I'm saying you should skip Armageddon on the Wii... The game retails for around $49.95.