Mortal Kombat Armageddon

Playing on PS2 via OpenSpy

So while everyone else is playing Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 with that new fancy rollback netcode update on PC my ass is out here playing Mortal Kombat Armageddon online on PS2 and partying like it’s 2006.

“How?” one might ask, “GameSpy shut down in 2014 and Sony’s own DNAS servers died a few years later”. Well my friend who didn’t actually ask, the answer is a really cool private server.
It’s hosted at PS2Online.com and runs on the OpenSpy software that acts as a replacement server for games that originally connected to GameSpy. Since some friends actually did ask how to set it up I’ve written this little guide. It covers both PCSX2 and real hardware.
Of course if you wanna play on real hardware your PS2 needs to be connected via ethernet, and this guide will assume you know how to plug a cable to the back of a console.

Emulator Prep (For PCSX2)

First off, you’re gonna want the PCSX2 Nightly Builds. These make PCSX2 actually a good emulator. Thankfully it’s right upfront on their site.
Of course you’ll also need the ISO for the game. I’m not sure if region matters but to be safe I’ll recommend the vanilla NTSC version. Get this wherever you get your totally legally acquired PS2 games

Open Settings>Network & HDD, enable the Ethernet checkbox and set it to whatever network adapter you’re using. You’ll have the option for Packet Capture (PCAP) based options as well as Sockets.
Personally PCAP Switched has worked best for me but your mileage may vary and I recommend jumping between em if one doesn’t work. You’ll need NPCAP installed for the PCAP options.

Tab over to Internal DNS tab and click Add to set the following shown in the image. The important part is having the DNS Address of 45.7.228.197 as this will connect you to PS2Online’s OpenSpy server. Don’t forget to enable the checkbox as well.

Configuring the PS2 and MKA

First you gotta make your in-game profile if you haven’t already. Then just go to the MK Online option in the main menu and select “Create Or Modify” when asked for a connection. This will open your Network Settings Menu.

From here proceed with the default settings until you reach the DNS setting. Set that to Manual then input the PS2Online DNS (45.7.228.197) and the secondary to 1.1.1.1 If all is well you should pass the connection test.
Save the name and settings and you are officially connected to OpenSpy, the GameSpy replacement service. Exit out back to the BIOS and start the game from in the BIOS.

Go back to the MK Online menu and select your newly made network settings. You’ll see a login screen where you make your Online Kombat account and then you’re good to go.
There’s some hidden characters and stages at the start but those can be unlocked via krypt codes.
Would I recommend playing it like this? Ehhhh, these days you can use Dolphin to play the Wii version online with way better netcode but doing it through OpenSpy does mean using custom characters and not having to play Motor Kombat in splitscreen.
It also can be played from real hardware, giving the game a sort of crossplay with people playing on PC via PCSX2. Regardless if you’re playing on real hardware or not be prepared for some real jank, and have fun!
The best part is that once you've completed this guide you are ready for basically any game that can be played on OpenSpy on PS2.