He made a surprise appearance in yesterday's IGN Inside the X-Ray behind-the-scenes featurette [full story], but today, it's official: Liu Kang is back!

Described on the Official Mortal Kombat website as "The Returning Champion" -- MK's iconic four-time big hero is a surprisingly late entrant into the new game. He's looking much healthier, though, after suffering a lethal broken neck in the opening scene from Deadly Alliance, before being resurrected as a zombie for Deception and Armageddon.

The time travel premise of Mortal Kombat means Liu Kang is, theoretically, in his element, enjoying the success that comes from entering and winning the Mortal Kombat tournament. There can be no guarantees, however, that Liu is still the chosen champion to represent the Shaolin order and all of humanity. A recently revealed blurb from the Official Mortal Kombat Strategy Guide gave us a strong indication that the existing canon could possibly expect some lasting changes.

Fortunately, much like his spinal column, Liu Kang's history remains in tact. The Official website offers a brief blurb alluding to his extensive training as a Shaolin fighting monk, including recognition from Raiden and his special training with Bo' Rai Cho.

Orphaned at a very young age, Liu Kang was raised by Shaolin monks, who taught him the way of the spiritual warrior. They soon recognized his potential as a contender for the Mortal Kombat tournament and rigorously trained him for this task. Raiden, too, understood that Liu Kang was Earthrealm's best hope for freedom and introduced him to Master Bo' Rai Cho to further his development. Once fully trained, Liu Kang bested all challengers and earned the high honor of representing the Shaolin in the Mortal Kombat tournament. He and Raiden then embarked on their fateful journey to Shang Tsung's island to compete in this pivotal kontest.

The update also includes a new Dead Pool site background.
You can find it, as well as the official Kombat Chat message boards, on TheMortalKombat.com. To learn more about Liu Kang, be sure to join the message board and get talking. Discussion supports character rankings, and has already seen a blockbuster release of Mileena materials!

Mortal Kombat has a release date of April 19 and will be available in standard and kollector's special editions. For more on PAL versions, be sure to follow that story. You can also get a first-hand glimpse of some of Liu Kang's spectacular kung fu by watching Inside the X-Ray!

IGN have launched a special featurette taking players inside the practical and stylistic development of Mortal Kombat's exciting new special feature, X-Ray attacks!

The featurette includes sitdown talking heads from inside NetherRealm Studios, with first-hand discussion about the inspiration and intent behind the new attacks from Lead Designer, John Edwards; Director of Art, Steve Beran; and Art Designer, Carlos Pesina. They take us inside the development process, from conceptual stages, to the practicalities of CG model building, motion capture, animation, and the finished product.

Amongst the bone breaking, internal organ bursting mayhem are glimpses of various characters confirmed, but yet to be seen: CG resources reveal skeletal components for Baraka and Goro, the latter seen administering his X-Ray special along with previous confirmation, Ermac, in a previously unseen stage. Also seen for the first time in 2011 form, Mortal Kombat's traditional champion, Liu Kang. Appearing as a victim in some sequences, MK3 alumnist, Stryker. Also glimpsed by eagle-eyed viewers, Jade!

The video demonstrates some of the variation available during X-Ray attacks, as discussed in the Official UK Xbox Magazine's recent preview of the game, which praised the multi-faceted special system for it's potential complexity. The demonstrated X-Ray attacks show off a variety of hand and kick strikes, chops, grapple slams, weapon attacks, combo segues, and variations on specials.

Highlights include: Kitana's fans driven into an opponent's skull or eye sockets; Scorpion stomping on a fallen opponent; Goro lifting an opponent with one set of arms, while the other set crushes their skull, before flicking them in the air for a slam that smashes their head on the floor and cracks the skull further. Ermac features a similar motion, using telekinesis to raise his oppoent in the air, and drive them head-first into the ground, following into an elbow drop. Cyrax opts for an aerial fixed piledriver, for another devastating skull blow.

Each act of violence strikes with the certainty of a game leaving behind it's brush with PG [in Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe], to return to the smashmouth, hyperstylized Kombat fans want, know, and love.

You can find the full video embedded above, or at IGN.com. The article also lists the US April 19 release date along with April 30 for the UK, and December 31 for Germany and Australia. The latter may simply be a place holder for an undetermined 2011 date. For more information about the PAL European release, which includes exclusive Ermac DLC, follow our story.

January 26, 2011 -- The Official UK Xbox Magazine has a brand new Mortal Kombat preview online, featuring six unseen screenshots that show-off both fighters' dynamic move stances, as well as the material repercussions delt to their state of dress!

The preview, free to read at OXM.co.uk, makes cultural note of some of the proportionate peculiarities of of MK's fighting femme fatales, but is mostly generous in it's assessment of the series' latest installment. Of particular interest, the specials bar that controls players' access to upgraded special moves, combo breakers, and the already trademark X-Ray attacks, which show more complexity than a mere brute force body blow.

More interesting is what happens at the second stage. Hit the trigger at that point while you're being wailed on and you'll be able to stop any offensive combination dead. Given that the combo system is more accessible and flexible than it was in previous games, this is likely to come in handy.

Finally, once it's topped up, you get access to those miniature fatalities that are the X-Ray moves. While they won't finish your opponent off, they're satisfying, showstopper attacks that look like they cause genuine, medically accurate harm.

They're by no means an instant win button, though. X-Ray moves come in different flavours. Some must be pulled off while in close proximity to your opponent while others, such as Sektor's rocket attack, are projectiles that can connect from a distance.

This glowing emphasis on Mortal Kombat's revised fighting engine comes on the back of announcement that the game will be included in the line-up of the 2011 Evo Championship!
A feat rarely glimpsed by the long running American franchise; including in the pro Evo tournament circuit indicates the ultimate compliment to NetherRealm Studios' efforts to inject depth into the mechanics of the game.

OXM don't appear to be any more clued in to the mysterious time warping storyline of the game, which was connected to an unfortunate turn of events at the end of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, during early announcements by NetherRealm Studios. The recent reveal of the Official Prima Strategy Guide [full story] did, however, reiterate Raiden's intent to meddle in events set during the first tournament and beyond, with suggestion the series canon may incur permanent changes.

There has been no word about the inclusion of a Microsoft system exclusive, which would play counterpart to Sony's inclusion of Kratos as a bonus character [full story]. Read the full Xbox preview article at OXM.co.uk. Mortal Kombat will be released April 19 for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Both consoles offer standard and kollector's special editions of the game.

Thanks to for word on this preview. If you think you have MK news for Mortal Kombat Online, be sure to let us know using the submission form. You can also follow MKO on Twitter for updates direct to your person, @MK_Online!

Despite it's long and successful history, one achievement has eluded the Mortal Kombat series; a truly tournament-viable game for players to enjoy for years. Despite the nostalgia associated with classics such as Mortal Kombat II and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, the series was only ever to maintain itself on the tournament scene with sporadic appearances at less known events. Today, the drought officially ends and the upcoming Mortal Kombat, which has promised to breath new life into the series, has been added to the Evo 2011 lineup!

During E3, we heard the first rumblings of a game designed with high level gameplay in mind. Series co-creator and project lead Ed Boon stated that while Mortal Kombat has always appealed to the casual player and would continue to do so, the team for the first time was taking aim at a different audience; high level players. Throughout the months since, the community has been witness to some of the most impressive looking Mortal Kombat footage in its history. Fully abandoning the polarizing dial-up combo system, the game features everything required of a true masterpiece in the genre. Special attention has been paid to the engine this time around, from the team answering questions in-depth on the and promising patches post-release if any problems exist.

The Evo Championship Series is perhaps the world's best known fighting game competition and the game's inclusion in it assures of it in many others as well. We would like to congratulate the Mortal Kombat team for this achievement! Shoryuken's live podcast Wakeup SRK featuring Mr. Wizard, Evo organizer, confirmed the list as follows:

Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Super Street Fighter IV
Tekken 6
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
Mortal Kombat 9

As it stands, Mortal Kombat will feature only the single player mode. PS3 exclusive character Kratos will likely not be allowed. In addition, when asked about censoring Mortal Kombat's gore and fatalities, it was revealed that would likely be done.

Mortal Kombat making the lineup this year is a great victory for Netherrealm Studios, as a goal of the development team was to reach out to hardcore fighting game players more than they ever had before. However, this victory is only one in what will need to be a long battle. Mortal Kombat will need a tournament following to maintain its place on the Evo lineup in the years to come, and the Mortal Kombat community will need to step up and prove that we can support a tournament-viable game by attending this tournament. The more that show up specifically for Mortal Kombat, the higher the chance the game and its sequels return for Evo each year as other series, such as Street Figther and Tekken, do. So don't take this lightly; support Mortal Kombat by attending tournament events if possible and spread the word Mortal Kombat has arrived on the scene!

As reported in a previous story; gaming retailer GameStop have updated their listings to include the upcoming April 1st release of the Official Mortal Kombat Strategy Guide. Available in two editions, the guide is published by Prima Games, a division of Random House known for the quality of their work on thousands of well known strategy books, including guides for many of the majority of previous MK titles.

You can currently pre-order standard and collector's editions of the guide through GameStop's online store, at a price of $19.99 and $29.99, respectively. Details about the contents of the guide, and what separates the two versions, remains largely unspecified. Descriptions for the game, however, do make interesting references to the nature of Mortal Kombat and it's plot, implying the canon of the games may be in store for some changes.

After centuries of Mortal Kombat, Emperor Shao Kahn has finally defeated Raiden and his allies. Faced with extinction, Raiden has one last chance. To undo the Emperor's victory, he must strike Shao Kahn where he is vulnerable...The Past.

Making a big return to mature presentation and classic 2D fighting engine

Captivating storyline that rewrites the history of the Mortal Kombat Tournament

State-of-the art technology showcasing stunning 3D environments and characters

Re-invigorating the franchise with new multiplayer components

First fighting game to be displayed in Stereoscopic 3D

Update Feb. 15: An updated listing on Amazon.com elaborates on the contents of Kollector's Edition versions of the guide, promising a variety of enticing bonuses pertaining to cross-media items, including behind the scenes spotlights, and a track from the Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors album [full story].

• All content from regular edition book
• Exclusive theme song from Teenage Riot Records
• Behind the Music - Exclusive interviews with the theme song artists
• Tournament caliber strategy for the serious tournament players
• Inside NetherRealm Studio feature
• Massive concept art section
• Laminated move reference cards for all characters
• Character histories with Fatality gallery and warrior evolution
• Embossed Hardcover with special foil logo

Mortal Kombat will be available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. with an expected US release date of April 19. You can already pre-order the game in standard and kollector's editions through most major retailers, including GameStop, who are offering an exclusive pre-order bonus of "Klassic" Scorpion outfit and fatality [full story].

Thanks to and for the word on the strategy guide!