Mortal Kombat: Armageddon [Wii]

The most anticipated port yet for the Nintendo Wii, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon has been promising a new take on fighting games seemingly since before the console even launched. It's finally here, and the changes are as skull-shattering as we had hoped -- rejuvenating a franchise in dire need of a makeover.

If you're befuddled by fighting-game button memorization, the Wii version of MK: Armageddon is for you. Pulling off the most devastating maneuvers is simply a matter of holding the B (trigger) button on the Wii remote, and making some short motion gestures. For Raiden's tackle attack, just move the remote back, then forward. For Sub-Zero's famous freeze toss, merely perform a half-circle motion. It's not 100% accurate, but it's nearly 100 percent more fun than typical fighting-game controls. That, of course, makes it worth a look from even the most seasoned fighting-game fanatics.

The four regular attacks are oddly mapped to directions on the d-pad. This isn't very conducive to combos and requires some sliding of your right hand during play, but it works well enough. It's worth mentioning that you'll probably need to drop the difficulty level one full grade from where you'd normally play, but again, it's so much fun you really won't mind. And if you do mind, just plug in a GameCube or Wii Classic controller and play it old-school.

For the rest of the game, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon treads smartly on the motion-control path. It uses it only where it would be an asset to the game, and never where it would detract from your enjoyment. Driving in the clever, four-player supporting Motor Kombat kart game? Of course you'll motion-control steer. Navigating every single little menu? You'll be glad to use the nunchuk's control stick for those instances.

The unique Wii control is rarely used in the Konquest mode, which is probably best since that would've been flail overkill as enemy numbers are high. However, it proves a big boon (not to be confused with Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon) to Armageddon's Fatality creation system. While we still miss exclusive (and more creative/brutal) Fatalities for each character, exploring with stabs, swoops, and other remote movements to execute multiple killing blows is reason enough to play through Arcade mode over and over. Speaking of modes, a survival-like Endurance mode has been added to the Wii version.