Perhaps it is my old age talking here – jeez, is 24 really that old – but I remember the good old days when the Mortal Kombat franchise was new and unique. I still recall dialing in my first Finisher and watching as the computer controlled player died horribly at my hands. I remember the glee I got from using Scorpion's harpoon for the first time. I got to play the next installment in the Mortal Kombat franchise while at E3, and I can only wonder "Did I really enjoy this back then?"

For fans of the Mortal Kombat series, Armageddon looks to be the ultimate amalgamation of all the previous installments. Though not every character was available in the preview, I've still been told that every single playable character from the past games will be playable in the final retail version. In a geeky sort of way that is very, very cool – a fan's dream come true – and that does tug at my nostalgic love for the past, but nostalgia will only carry a product so far, and ultimately the gameplay must be there.

I haven't played the Mortal Kombats of the current system generation, but if Armageddon is any indication, the game today is most definitely not how the original used to play. To my knowledge, the original games in the series were practically like the Street Fighter franchise but with a darker twist, plus lots of gore. I do not remember the original games being so "dial a combo" friendly. As I first got my hands on the new game, it was really frustrating to get anything to happen; I'd push buttons and maybe get a smack, but where were all the cool moves. As I dispatched enemy after enemy, I kept waiting for something to click, but it never did. Time after time I managed to takeout enemies by only doing one single hit after the next; I only learned the "dial up" combos once I got frustrated and started jamming on the controls. After my unique discovery, gameplay got a bit more interesting, but it still felt like I was playing "Simon Says" instead of really getting the sense that I was fighting someone.

Besides the typical hand-to-hand fighting, the player is also able to switch to a secondary attack style, which focuses on weapons instead of fists of furry. Much like the hand-to-hand styles, the weapon stances were also based on dialing in the right moves, but the character actions felt slower given the large, bulky nature of the weapons.

Graphically, the game looks pretty nice, and the characters all seemed to get some new skins for the Armageddon installment; though the looks were varied, it was still easy to say "Oh yeah, that is so and so." The environments were also nice, but not because they were graphical beauties like those seen in the recent Dead or Alive games, but rather because of the ways the player was able to kill someone using their surroundings. Since I didn't have the move list available to perform one of the signature finishers, I was forced to rely on killing my enemy with the environment, and they were always discovered by accident. The only real environmental kill I discovered was one where I hit the enemy into the air and the above rotating fan cut them into little pieces.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon also features the Konquest mode again - a role-playing-esque fighting game - but I was unable to get my hands on that mode and only saw video of it in action. New to the franchise, however, is the ability to create your own character, and it appears as if the player will be able to create some truly unique fighters with fighting styles tailored to what the player wants.

Ultimately, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon looks to be more of the same "dial a combo" combat of the past few iterations, and the level of excitement for the game will hinge on whether or not that appeals to your fighting desires.