The official Mortal Kombat site has updated with two new images from the selectable characters currently within the new ranking system.

This stance from the hellspawn Scorpion has been seen before and is now available in render form. He wields the trademark katana that is prevalent in his fighting style within the game itself. The Emperor also has some new clothes; Shao Kahn wields his legendary mallet in what is much closer to his classic 2D Mortal Kombat attire than what we had seen in the first render revealed of the warlord. His chest is scarred with a fresh wound, but he stands defiantly over his domain awaiting would-be challengers to his iron-fisted rule.

The bottom sections of both renders are "shadowed" due to nature in which they are displayed on the official site. As always, we will keep our eyes pealed for higher resolution full renders for both of these characters.

The annual Spike TV Video Game Awards are less than a week away, and while Mortal Kombat isn't up for any awards there is still a task for the Mortal Kombat faithful! The game's official Twitter account was updated with the following status:

To help Mortal Kombat win, you must "write-in" vote for the game below the main four choices listed on the site. The competition is steep, with names such as Portal, Gears of War, Batman and Bioshock to compete with, not to mention other write-in candidates, but with the full force of the Mortal Kombat Kommunity we stand a fighting chance! Keep in mind you may vote more than once, so keep at the cause each day. Voting is currently scheduled to close Sunday December 12th at 7:00pm EST.

Click here to visit the VGA's official site and cast your vote for Mortal Kombat. Remember, you must write-in Mortal Kombat as the game you are anticipating.

Tonight, the third part of Episode 2 of the MKast has been revealed! Paulo Garcia, John Edwards, Hector Sanchez, Brian LeBaron and Hans Lo continue their sitdown discussion with the Mortal Kombat community and take a few questions via Twitter. This particular MKast deals heavily with gameplay, especially combos.

As gameplay footage from the likes of Kung Lao, Kitana, Jax and others plays in the background the developers discuss the finer points of the combo system within Mortal Kombat's fighting engine. It is revealed to be quite in depth, catering to high level players in a variety of ways. Each character will have at least two throws, one used for separation and one used for keeping the opponent close. Some characters may have additional throws that can be used within combos, as shown with Kung Lao who has a variety of options within one of his throws, confirming the presence of command throws. Combo scaling will also be present within the game and each character's combo prowess is determined by their style as a fighter. An example was given that Kitana would be a finesse character, relying on longer combos while Sub-Zero's combos would be shorter but more powerful in nature. Also mentioned again was the lack of a Konquest mode or other type of mini-game outside of the main engine. The single player experience will largely be based within the 2D fighting engine itself, presumably within a deep story mode that has been advertised.

This and previous MKasts can be found at the official Youtube channel.

Since it's countdown launch back in October [full story], the Official Mortal Kombat website has had fans anticipating the opportunity to register to discuss and reveal new details about some of their favourite characters. Today, the wait has ended!

The new official message board offers a range of standard discussion forums about the games and web content, as well as special categories dedicated to Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Mileena, Shao Kahn, and Raiden. These categories are attached to a rankings system, which will allow fans to unlock new materials on each characters' dedicated bio page through forum discussion. The preview bars will also see existing materials, such as the Scorpion and Sub-Zero vignettes already released, be made accessible from the site.

The update also brought with it revised editions of biography text supplied for each of the feature characters. Details alluding to the increasingly elaborate mythologies of each character included backstory accumulated from recent releases, as well as brand new revelations about favourites like Sub-Zero, previously known in-fiction as Tundra, and the very tournament itself, which is said to have been influenced in it's creation by Raiden.

Raiden is the God of Thunder and Protector of Earthrealm. Ageless and wise beyond measure, he leads Earthrealm's mortals in the endless battle against the forces of darkness. When Shao Kahn, Emperor of Outworld, threatened to merge his realm with Earthrealm, an overwhelmed Raiden implored the Elder Gods to give Earthrealm a fighting chance. Thus the Mortal Kombat tournament was created. For millennia Shao Kahn has been kept at bay, but nine consecutive losses to Goro have eroded hope that Earthrealm can be saved. Determined to prevent Armageddon, Raiden tirelessly quests to find a champion worthy of Mortal Kombat.

An assassin of the Lin Kuei clan, Kuai Liang commands the power of ice and cold. Unlike other members of his clan, he and his older brother, Bi-Han, were abducted as children by the Lin Kuei and trained in the techniques of assassination throughout their lives. Though his codename is Tundra, he has now assumed the mantle of Sub-Zero to honor his brother after Bi-Han's mysterious death. Sub-Zero tirelessly hunts the one who killed his brother.

Hanzo Hasashi was once a member of the Japanese Shirai Ryu ninja clan. Given the name Scorpion for his blindingly fast and deadly fighting skill, his life was blessed with glorious kombat in the name of his Grand Master. But when he, his family and his clan were brutally exterminated by Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei, Scorpion's existence became eternal torment. Resurrected by the malevolent necromancer Quan Chi, he entered the Mortal Kombat tournament to slay Sub-Zero and avenge the murders of his kin.

Emperor Shao Kahn's lust for power is matched only by his ruthlessness. Millennia ago he overthrew Onaga as ruler of Outworld and has conquered many other realms since. Eventually he turned his attention to Earthrealm. The Mortal Kombat tournament prevents him from taking the realm by force, but if Shao Kahn's champions win 10 consecutive tournaments, Earthrealm will be his. As long as his champion Shang Tsung and Prince Goro do not fail him, he will be victorious.

Shang Tsung has created many abominable creatures in his Flesh Pits, but none so twisted as Mileena. A fusion of Edenian flesh and Tarkatan blood, Mileena is both beauty and beast. This dichotomy has made her mind unstable; she is prone to fits of madness and savagery. Though she has the appearance of a mature woman, she is more child than adult--a blank slate conformed to Shao Kahn's will. Devoid of conscience or remorse, Mileena will butcher anyone to appease her beloved father.

Mortal Kombat is currently expected to be released early 2011.
Register now to begin your campaign to unlock more at themortalkombat.com!

Thanks to forum member for noticing the biography updates!

The upcoming Mortal Kombat continues to breath new life into the series as it pushes its marketing campaign into the world of prime time television. The unreleased game had a cameo appearance on The CW's new action drama series Nikita, starring Maggie Q and based of the Nikita name. The episode of appearance is #9, Dark Matter.

The show featured a short bout with two of the show's characters playing the game controlling Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The bout ends with Scorpion victorious and the winner proclaiming his victory was "killer instinct", perhaps yet another subtle nod to memorable fighting game from years past.

Click here to watch a clip from the episode on Kotaku. Thanks to forum member for the word on this story!