This game was released on April 21, 2011 and is no longer available to pre-order. Any incentives that were offered are listed below.
One of the most popular fighting game franchises in the world is getting a new installment on April 21st this year. Titled simply Mortal Kombat, it is going to be a reboot of the series, retelling the events of the first three MK games.
In a future after the Armageddon, Raiden is about to be dealt a finishing blow by Shao Kahn, but manages to send a warning to his earlier self before he’s killed. Thus, Mortal Kombat 2011 will take place in an alternate timeline where Raiden is trying to understand his visions and prevent the events that would lead to the destruction of the universe.
The new MK is a 2.5D fighting game with 3D graphics and a single 2D fighting plane. It is also the most violent Mortal Kombat title yet. The developers are bringing back proper fatalities, as well as adding brutal X-ray moves. The game will feature at least 26 playable characters, and three single-player modes (Training, Story Mode and Tournament). It is also going to have a Challenge Tower with 300 different missions and mini-games.
Mortal Kombat special edition details
The game is going to be released in three different editions. The biggest and most expensive one is the Tournament Edition, which is limited to about 20,000 copies in North America. It includes the Mortal Kombat Fight Stick (an arcade-style controller with MK art), exclusive in-game Retro-Ninja skin, and MK costumes for your Xbox Live or PSN avatars.
The second special bundle is the Kollector’s Edition which contains Scorpion and Sub-zero figurines, a 110-page art book, the aforementioned Retro-Ninja costume and online avatars. It is currently priced at $99.99 at most stores.
Of course, there’s the Standard Edition as well, available for the regular price of $59.99.
Mortal Kombat pre-order bonuses
Regardless of which game edition you choose, certain retailers are offering various bonus DLCs for those who pre-order Mortal Kombat 2011 from them:
- Amazon: $10 store credit + Klassic Reptile character skin and the original fatality
- GameStop: Klassic Scorpion playable character skin and the Scorpion fatality
- Best Buy: Klassic Sub-Zero character skin and the original Sub-Zero fatality
- GAME.co.uk: Scorpion costume & fatality + Jade and Mileena original ninja outfits.
Also note that only the Playstation 3 version of the game will support stereoscopic 3D and have Kratos from God of War as a playable multiplayer character.
What’s new in Mortal Kombat 2011?
According to Ed Boon, the creative director of Mortal Kombat, a single 2D fighting plane and more violence were the two primary requests from the MK community. NetherRealm Studios intends to deliver on both accounts: the single fighting plane makes ranged attacks more effective, and the violence in the latest MK installment is unrivaled by any previous titles.
We already mentioned X-ray moves at the beginning of this article. These special attacks can be executed when your super meter (new in MK9) is fully charged, and they show bones getting crushed and internal organs being ruptured. More violence, indeed! Apparently, this was too much for Australia which banned the game and made it illegal to import. You can see some of these new moves in the gameplay trailer below:
The new Mortal Kombat will also have a different control scheme. Similarly to Tekken, there will be four attack buttons, each representing one limb. Another addition to the game, the “super meter” is charged up by performing combos and getting hit, and can be used to enhance attacks, interrupt enemy combos or perform those gory X-ray attacks we just talked about.
For the first time in the series, Mortal Kombat 9 will feature a 2 vs 2 tag team multiplayer mode with new mechanics like assist attacks and entry attacks. You can watch a preview of this mode over at GameTrailers.
Mortal Kombat 9 will be released on April 19th in North America, and April 21st in Europe. The homepage of this game can be found at MortalKombat.com – visit it to get the latest news, participate in the official forums (requires WBID), and download wallpapers and other goodies.
Check out our other upcoming fighting games and upcoming playstation 3 games.
