Midway Ships Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Midway has shipped the final chapter of its Mortal Kombat franchise for Playstation 2, with a version for Xbox right around the corner.

It’s the end of the world as we know it: Midway Games has shipped the final installment of its blood-laden, stylized combat franchise Mortal Kombat: Armageddon for the Playstation 2. Both standard and premium editions are available for PS2 right now; Mortal Kombat: Armageddon will be available for Microsoft’s Xbox platform on October 16.

"Mortal Kombat: Armageddon marks a significant milestone in the franchise as it’s the final Mortal Kombat title to be released on current generation systems," said Steve Allison, Midways’s chief marketing officer, in a release. "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon also contains gameplay features that series co-creator Ed Boon and team have always wanted to implement, such as create-a-fighter and create-a-fatality modes, and the option to choose from over 60 of the most popular Mortal Kombat fighters."

(Create-a-fatality. Dang, that sounds almost wholesome.) The game also features an all-new story-driven Konquest mode, but Midway has provided no real details. The game also features a new aerial combat mode, and a new Motor Kombat racing game for up to eight players. Fans of the Mortal Kombat franchise shouldn’t get too worried about seeing the words "final installment" associated with Armageddon: it just means that future games will be released for next-generation consoles like the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, leaving the PS2 and Xbox generation behind. After all: the franchise has pulled in more than $1 billion to date: Midway isn’t exactly planning to put it to bed.

Midway plans to hype the game with a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, national television advertising, sponsorship of Total Non-Stop Action Wresting on Spike TV, and a "Scream It" video contest hostedby GameSpot.com, in which fans can make short video clips showing why they’re the Mortal Kombat franchise’s biggest fan.

Midway is also getting ready to ship Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, and Mortal Kombat Unchained for Sony’s PSP.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is rated M for "Mature" by the ESRB; the game carries a suggested retail price of $39.95.