Mortal Kombat Online first witnessed the opening sequence of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks at Midway's Summer Gamers Day Event earlier this month. We watched in astonishment as the end of the first Mortal Kombat tournament played out before our eyes in jaw breaking reality, and now it is your turn. With probably grabbing the most anticipated exclusive ever, TeamXbox has released the opening sequence to the public! In beautiful cinematic detail, favorite classic MK characters including Sub Zero, Scorpion, Sonya, Kano, and Johnny Cage unleash all of their moves and powers onto the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung. As the dust settles, out of the darkness comes the four armed Goro himself to finish the job. From Team Xbox:

Ok, so maybe fully rendered CG cut-scenes don't necessarily make or break a game, but having kick ass ones, certainly helps... just look at the Final Fantasy series. It's not too often that we get pumped from a cut-scene either, but after watching the extensive opening sequence to Midway's Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, the hair stood up on the back of our necks [.......] Well, die-hard Mortal Kombat fans are in for a treat when it comes to the upcoming action/adventure Shaolin Monks. First off, the game takes place right between the end of the first Mortal Kombat Tournament and the beginning of Mortal Kombat II.

The video can be downloaded over at TeamXbox by clicking here, and is available in Windows Media Format. Be warned as this video is considered a major spoiler!

Thanks to our regular news leader DECEPTION for the heads up on this exciting update!

GameSpot has just posted the seventh installment in their Official Movie series for Midway's upcoming action/adventure game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. In Official Movie 7, Shaun Himmerick and Ed Boon discuss the finishing movies in MK: Shaolin Monks. On the subject of fatalities, they promise that not only will each character have ten fatalities including ones from Mortal Kombat II, players will be guaranteed to know at least one fatality. On the subject of multalities, they describe them as fatalities that affect all enemies in a vicinity, and do match the characters's styles. (For example, Liu Kang transforms into a dragon and fries all those around him.) Brutalities are described and shown as "crazy" combos, with the characters' attacks and speed increasing in strength until enemies die in one or two hits.

The video is available to download for GameSpot Basic members, and to stream for everyone else. The video is 63.8 MB in high-res, and 29.1 MB in low-res. To see the video, click here, and scroll down to Official Movie 7

Our thanks to forum member queve for the heads-up on this new video!

Once again, Cinder of the Midway Boards has posted more concept materials from the upcoming action/adventure game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks! This time, instead of focusing on a character, Midway has posted koncept art and a sixteen second clip of music from MK:SM's rendition of one of Mortal Kombat II's classic arenas, the Wasteland.

To see the original forum thread in which these materials were posted, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member DECEPTION for the heads-up on this new media!

Cinder of the Midway Boards has come through for the fans again. This time, he's posted another character render from the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. This render features the ever-popular hellspawn ninja spectre, Scorpion!

To see the forum thread in which this render was originally posted, click here.

Our thanks to chat member ZeRo- for the heads-up on this new render!

IGN has posted two new videos on their site entitled "Legends of Kombat", in which they showcase classic MK characters appearing in Midway's upcoming Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks! The videos are narrated by John Vogel, Shaun Himmerick, Ed Boon, and Steve Beran, and intercut FMV cutscenes and gameplay footage to describe the characters. The first video features Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade (whose previously seen capture is shown, and it is revealed she can be freed during the game), and Kano (who can also be freed during the game, it is revealed). The second video showcases Sub-Zero (mainly showing the younger one, as his scar is visible), Reptile, and Shang Tsung (whose transformation from old to young is shown).

The videos are two minutes three seconds and three minutes respectively, and are available in Quicktime and Windows Media format. Low-res versions are available to everyone, with the high-res versions available only to IGN Insider members. To see the videos, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member Khaos for the heads-up on these new videos!