One of the most loved and played arcade fighter games of the 90’s will release a new installment on the 14th of April 2015 – Mortal Kombat X.
We are expecting new challengers, a rehash of an old game mode, a new non-linear, original story-line, and an antagonist that will combo the nostalgia out of us.
Finish Him – Mortal Kombat X style!
Back in 2011, when the original creators Midway Games filled for bankruptcy, Warner Brothers swooped in and bought them out of their misery – furthermore creating NetherRealm Studios. Later that year, in April, the company released Mortal Kombat ( also known as Mortal Kombat 9) for the PS3 and Xbox 360 – according to editor Jeffrey L. Wilson of PC Magazine, it was the most anticipated release of the year.
Gulping review after review, at the end of the day the tally was – extremely positive. Mortal Kombat won several Game of the Year awards for the best fighting game of 2011:
- Spike Video Game Award
- Golden Joystick Award
- Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ D.I.C.E Summit Award
Metamorphosing the player into a vicious, blood thirsty warrior that would destroy you in mere seconds, tearing your every limb apart, wasn’t that well received in Australia – not by the huge fan base that it garnered since the 90’s, but by the country’s censorship department. Australian Classification Board refused their classification, and didn’t allow the game to be sold in stores, or digitally, banning them all-together because of ” violence that exceeds strong in impact“. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service added Mortal Kombat to the prohibited items list. Warner Bros. fought the decision, trying to appeal it, but with no success – it was also banned in South Korea due to its excessive depiction of violence, blood, and gore that would come in the way of a developing young child. Alas, justice has be served in 2013 when Australia adopted the R18+ classification for video games – the ban was lifted in February of 2013, and Mortal Kombat was on shelves on 1st of May 2013.
It’s not that odd that it was banned in certain countries. The game is the living embodiment of violence. With the new added feature of energy meter, a player could harness its powers and perform counters, or deadly attacks – the most lethal one being the X-Ray move. If successfully performed the game would enter a short cinematic whereupon you could see, for example, Scorpion cracking his enemy’s skull and crushing his ribcage – auditory, and visually it’s shocking, but sweet damn if it ain’t the sweetest thing an arcade fighter lover can experience. You can watch the whole clip right here. Be advised, it’s not for the faint-hearted.
Almost every challenger has 3 fatalities available to use, and a babality – it’s like a fatality, but if the player pushes the right buttons it turns the enemy into infant. Melting faces, disembodiments, carving your name with a Katana into your arch-nemeses’ eye balls, or just simply throwing them into another hellish dimension is what makes fatalities so unique and loved – and the fact that you need to work on your button combination to get it right. If you want a dose of cruelty and despair, you can check Mortal Kombat 9’s top 15 Gruesome fatalities.
Come Over Here – Mortal Kombat X!
Like its predecessor, Mortal Kombat X will shock everyone, and it will surely be banned in some countries – looking at you South Korea.
Pinning two players against each-other, fighting to the death, performing special moves, on-time blocks, clenching counter-attacks, and of course the decisive X-Ray technique can alleviate a ton of stress from your daily problems – and it’s fun as hell!
NetherRealm Studios released in April of 2013 another arcade fighter game called Injustice: Gods Among us with almost the same game mechanics as Mortal Kombat X, the difference being some added features – some flopped, but some were overwhelmingly positive received by fans. In this new installment of violence and fun, the company wants to bring features from their other games. Like fighters being able to interact with the stage’s environment – bounce off of walls, use a tree as a pummelling mattress, or simply just helping yourself to a weapon that you found scattered on the floor.
Mortal Kombat X will also feature the awesome brutality. It will make a comeback from 1995’s Mortal Kombat 3 Ultimate Mortal Kombat – it’s a form of fatality that also lets you punch in a certain button combination to perform a sadistic game winning attack.
The Sprint Gauge, that was last seen in Mortal Kombat 4 will be up for use in the new game.
A new feature will be added called Quitality, and its designated more towards multiplayer – it will instantly kill the one who leaves the game before the match has finished. It’s a well thought strategy to make the multiplayer experience a better place, where quitters are a thing of the past.
Game modes will be back of course. The traditional Story, 1vs1, Ranked, King of the Hill, Survivor and Test your Luck will be present in the game. New modes will make their entry to the franchise. Living Towers – it’s built upon a former MK mode called ” Challenge Tower” where the play conditions will change every hour, forcing players to be focused all the time. Faction Wars will let players choose from 5 different factions – Black Dragon, Brotherhood of Shadow, Lin Kuei, Special Forces, and White Lotus – siding them in a cross-platform tournament, and every win will add points to the team that you will represent. You will earn special rewards if your faction wins the week.
Regarding the story-line, Ed Boon, the original creator of Mortal Kombat, has stated that they want to go a different way – they are tired, and the fans are tired, of the same linear story that has plagued Mortal Kombat since its inception. It will be refreshing and ” showcasing some of the game’s oldest characters including Scorpion and Sub-Zero, while introducing new challengers that represent the forces of good and evil that tie the tale together.” said Boon.
Mortal Kombat X will add 9 new challengers to the roster of fighters: Kung Jin (cousin of Kung Lao), Takahashi Takeda (son of Kenshi), and Jacqueline Briggs (Jax’s daughter), Cassie Cage, D’Vorah, Erron Black, Ferra/Tor, Kotal Kahn.
Mortal Kombat X will be released on 14th of April 2015 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The PS3 and Xbox 360 release has been pushed to mid-2015. Pre-ordering the game will add Goro as a bonus fighter. The price will most likely be 59,99$, but you can buy it now on Steam for 49,99$ – a gift for early birds.
