MikeYawney
on - last edited on
Mortal Kombat is one of those games that holds a special place in my heart. I still remember crowding around the Mortal Kombat cabinet in the arcade (dating myself now) watching, waiting, and hoping to catch a glimpse of a Fatality - those ever so secret over the top finishing moves that only true Mortal Kombat players could pull off. After all, you had to know the secret combo to execute a Fatality!
Over the years the franchise became watered down as it moved from arcade to console. First Nintendo pulled the blood and replaced it with sweat, then the finishing moves were made less dramatic and more family friendly. The Fatalities never did recover. Sure Midway introduced "Stage Fatalities" but they lacked the sizzle of the original killer combos. Then the franchise went 3D and...well...the rest is history. Mortal Kombat lost it's hard core fan base.
Warner Bros is now stepping in to revive the franchise, and if what I saw at E3 is any indication, the series may make the comeback it deserves.
First off let's address the issue of Fatalities. They're back, and so is the blood and gore the franchise has became famous for. Warner Bros showed off a montage of Fatalities behind closed doors and let's just say some were quite uncomfortable to watch. Kung Lao throws his blade-edged hat into the ground to create a makeshift table saw which he drags his victims across. Johnny cage meanwhile has perfected not only his infamous uppercut which knocks his victims head off, but he now rips his opponents torso in two. The gore is over the top and the blood flows freely. Warner Bros says it wants the game to have a Mature rating and from what I was shown there is no doubt it will receive just that.
The entire game looks slick. Warner Bros. says it has taken some of the best elements from the previous games and mixed them together for the upcoming version. It has the atmospheres of Mortal Kombat 2 and the speed of Mortal Kombat 3. All the characters now have their own animations, even Scorpion and Sub-Zero behave differently, a first for the series. Characters also get bloodied and bruised and their clothing gets ripped as the battles advance. Oh, and blood from one character can get splattered onto another.
Warner bros. has a few other tricks up its sleeve. To add to the gore it is introducing what is currently known as X-Ray Mode (name will change). Build up your "Super Meter" and you can go in for a devastating attack where the camera zooms in to show an X-Ray of the area you just hit. X-Ray mode will show shattering bones, busted spines and teeth as they got knocked out.
Finally Warner Bros revealed a new tag team mode. In this mode you fight with two different characters. They can jump in and out of a fight on the fly, plus you can pull off combos using moves from both characters. Nice.
The game is still in the early stages as it's not set to be released until spring 2011, but I must admit, what I did see makes me excited to play Mortal Kombat once again!
Are you looking forward to another Mortal Kombat title or do you feel the franchise is dead?
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