Menu Close

Full Kratos Mortal Kombat Unveiling

Ben-Dutka 28 Comments

There's this total bad-ass in the new Mortal Kombat . You've heard of him. He kills stuff with ungodly power.

His name is Kratos, and he will be joining the legendary MK roster next month. If you want to learn more about his involvement in the reboot, visit the PlayStation Blog : there's an interview with Mortal Kombat creative director and co-creator Ed Boon and God of War III director Stig Asmussen. Many of your most pressing questions are answered, including whether or not Kratos gets an ending (answer: yeah…kinda), and they even talk about Kratos' fatality. They had 10 ideas initially and the "final versions are in line with all the crazy deaths you've seen in God of War over the years." The brawny hero has his own stage, too, and he has all his weapons at his disposal, including the Cestus, Bow, Icarus Wings, etc. Boon says "he has more weapons in this game than any of our other characters by a factor of two." But you needn't worry; they've worked hard on the balancing, so Kratos won't be dominating every last encounter.

Anyway, this is just more incentive to throw down with some MK next month, right?

Related Game(s): Mortal Kombat

Read more →

Custom Soundtracks To Accompany Your MK Combat

Ben-Dutka 52 Comments

Custom soundtracks. It's one of the most commonly requested features, and when it comes to kicking ass in MK…

We haven't gotten a chance to check out the Mortal Kombat demo, but several readers have e-mailed us going, "hey, didja notice? Didja notice? Custom soundtracks !" Okay, that's not verbatim, but you get the idea. I've never been impressed with the music in MK and it really is a game that begs for a personal touch. It seems most who sampled the demo didn't even know the option existed so we figured we'd let you know; added incentive to nab the brutal combat game. And from what we've heard, implementing your favorite tracks doesn't hamper the audio effects, so it's quite seamless. It's easy to do, too, so get your selection ready; you'll need it to punctuate your butt-kicking.

Maybe they should make custom soundtracks a necessary feature in all games.

Related Game(s): Mortal Kombat

Read more →

Warner Bros. Secures Rights To UE3 Through 2014

John-Shepard 37 Comments

Some developers have done very well with the Unreal Engine 3, you know.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced a "long-term studio-wide license agreement with Epic Games to use the award-winning Unreal Engine 3." This software will be available for any design team working on a project set to be published by Warner, and the license is good through 2014. It will be the engine used for Batman: Arkham City (it was also used for Arkham Asylum ), and NetherReealm Studios utilized it for the new Mortal Kombat . Said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President of Production and Development at Warner:

"Unreal Engine 3 is one of the leading development tools available for today's creative teams and it is a perfect fit for both NetherRealm and Rocksteady. Mortal Kombat and Batman: Arkham City use the engine's state-of-the-art capabilities to provide the important foundation in bringing gamers the experience they are looking for."

Epic boss Mark Rein added that he's "excited" to see Rocksteady and NetherRealm taking advantage of the UE3, and there's little doubt that both games currently look pretty damn good. Really, a lot of this just comes down to developer skill, don't you think?

Read more →

Get All Nostalgic With The Mortal Kombat Fight Stick

John-Shepard 13 Comments

Ooooooooh…pweeeeetty.

Say hello to the "authentic American-style fight stick," which will come with the Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition on April 19. For $149.99, you can take home an accessory that will remind you of the early days of arcade gaming, and as they say at the PlayStation Blog , it's created by NetherRealm, the team that helped design the cabinets for the classic arcade MK experiences.

"Connected via a USB cable, the unit is big and burly with a sturdy, substantial feel and some serious heft. A thick memory foam pad cushions the bottom of the unit, enabling comfortable knee-top play (though it’ll work just fine propped on a coffee table, too). A sliding metal latch enables the top to flip open, revealing a neat internal wiring array as well as a capacious cavity that will accommodate games, accessories, and anything else you manage to cram in there. No severed body parts, please.

Mortal Kombat arcade veterans will immediately recognize the baseball-bat-shaped joystick and concave buttons — an iconic American design that Ars Technica gaming editor Ben Kuchera has cleverly dubbed the “superhero” (“because it’s a bat and a cave”). The stick itself has a tighter, springier feel compared to the looser action of ball-topped Japanese-style sticks that are widely available on the PS3. Joystick design preference can be a touchy topic with serious fighting fans: Some players will always prefer the raised buttons and looser feel of the Japanese-inspired fighting sticks, while others will appreciate the distinctive feel of this American-style stick. Like many things in life, it ultimately comes down to personal preference."

Of course, you want one. You're going to need one if you wish to be a super MK fighter. It's a requirement. You can use a silly ol' gamepad if you want, but you run the risk of being mocked by those who learned – in fact, trained – on the cabinets back in the day. There's a right way to do things…and a wrong way.

Related Game(s): Mortal Kombat

Read more →

Mortal Kombat Challenge Tower: 300 Unique Missions

Ben-Dutka 45 Comments

If you thought Mortal Kombat was all about the same ol' same ol', you thought wrong.

While it's true that NetherRealm is seeking to cater to the ardent long-time fans who wish to see a resurrection of all that made MK great, the team has implemented something quite new- the Challenge Tower. They talk about it in the video shown here; this mode features no less than 300 missions, all of which are designed to test your knowledge of the character(s) and the game's mechanics.