The latest issue of ToyFare magazine (Isse 95, July 2005) has some pictures of the Jazwares figures of MK Deception figures, first reported by us on our May 3rd update.

The pictures are all exclusives, as you will see Raiden, Baraka, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion in poses that are different from what are shown in our May 12 update. Furthermore, you can see Scorpion's alt costume with the skull for a head, Scorpion in his normal costume wielding a sword as well as his infamous spear, and Action Figure Express' Cold Snap Sub-Zero, complete with his Kori Blade (which will first be available for sale at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Do you live overseas, or just can't find this mag near you? Not a problem, you can order this issue here. And although we first heard about Toyfare's exclusive pics from Jazwares directly, we'd still like to thank MK Online users fraysol and Ermac-daddy for notifying us when they received the news.

The folks over at IGN have previewed MK Shaolin Monks, in addition to posting eight direct feed videos of the game! From the article:

Our gameplay demonstration began with Liu and Kung leaping heroically into an awfully disgusting pit. Turns out we were in Goro's Lair, the second to last boss stage from the original Mortal Kombat – even the piles of skeletons were intact. Before we could get to punching some ogre face, Raiden showed up and spoke briefly about duty, heroism, the plight of Earth, electricity, amperage, etcetera. The basic gist of his little speech was, "Y'all need to be pummeling some bad dudes, so...get it on!" And right about then, the combat began.

Enemies, like in most beat 'em ups, appear in waves. We fought them with normal attacks, power attacks, launching attacks, throws, an attack modifying shift button and a lock-on / block combination button. The basic action included a lot of fluid combos. It was somewhat reminiscent of Soul Calibur in that pressing any buttons in sequence without any real applied skill yielded an appreciable result. It was also super easy to transition in and out of moves and switch from blocking to fighting, unlike other games that play long animation routines and force their users to stupidly sit and wait until the combo is finished.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Also, be sure to check out the 8 videos. Here's a list of what to look for:

• 2-Player Co-op
• 2-player VS.
• Single-player 01
• Single-player 02
• Moonlit fight
• Clearing the caves
• Baraka fight pt. 1
• Baraka fight pt. 2

So definitely check out the videos page here. The videos are free to download in the WMV (Windows Media Video) format for all, or as QuickTime files for IGN Insider members. Thanks once again to MK Online chat/forum member DECEPTION for the word!

Sites like GameSpot and GameTrailers have updated with the latest trailer for Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks! It's being widely referred to as the E3 trailer, but since E3 hasn't started yet, it's more like a Pre-E3 trailer, or as I call it, a PrE3 trailer.

Long-time fans will note that unlike the other intro video which seemed to contradict some elements of the MKII storyline, the details mentioned in this video seem to go hand-in-hand with it. This time, it shows that Shang Tsung hungered for revenge after losing to Liu Kang in the Shaolin tournament. The Shaolin, having control of the tournament restored to them, awarded their champion with a medal. Then the famous battle of Baraka (and his Tarkatan hordes) attacking the Shaolin temple is depicted, and Liu Kang and Kung Lao practice fighting before venturing into Outworld.

Definitely worth a download! Check out:

• MKSM PRE3 Trailer (Quicktime) - 15.6 MB
• MKSM PRE3 Trailer (WMV) - 16.3 MB

Thanks to MK Online user DECEPTION for this news (as well as many other recent news postings here!)

On the verge of E3, Midway Games has officially begun Mortal Kombat fever with the release of the finalized box art for Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks!


Click the thumbnails for larger images.

While we have seen conceptual box art for this title previously, we have word from Midway that this is the finalized artwork for the game. Stay tuned to Mortal Kombat Online as we bring you all the latest for Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks!

The folks over at Jazwares sent over some pictures of their MK: Deception action figures. These are the full versions of the teaser images that have been released in the past. What we have are four figures from Wave 1 including: Baraka, Raiden, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero.



No joke, these look to be the coolest MK action figures ever created!