Looks like the guys at IGN have had a chance to sit down and play the new Mortal Kombat TV Games Unit from Jakks Pacific. From their review:

Mortal Kombat literally shoves the graphics, sound, gameplay, and violent nature of the original title into a self-contained controller that cleverly mimics the classic Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet. The device utilizes thumb-pad and button layout that's in line with the arcade unit's panel, right down to the button colors and text directions labeling the controls. The side panels lack the cheesy "Johnny Cage" dragon artwork, quite possibly a legal issue Jakks may have wanted to avoid. It still would have been cool to have them on there, if only to liven up the bland red sides just begging for a sticker.

Go here for the rest of the review, along with some screenshots of this cool little handheld version of the original Mortal Kombat! Also be sure to check out the media page, complete with 23 new images and 3 new movies here.

Special thanks to forum/chatroom user DECEPTION for the heads up!

In addition to the GameSpot videos (our update within the last hour), the guys at IGN are not to be forgotten. Six videos (two of which feature Goro and Shao Kahn) and five images (four of which have the two new bosses) have been added to their site. The pictures are crisp and give us a better portrayal of the two GameCube-exclusive characters, and the videos give us a better look at Shao Kahn's Forcefield Uppercut move, as well as some really cool grab moves for both players.
The low quality .WMV (Windows Media) Videos are free to download, while you must be suscribed to IGN Insider to get the higher quality QuickTime videos. Thanks once again to MK Online reader Jab316 for the news!

The folks over at GameSpot have updated their site with new exclusive videos of Goro and Shao Kahn fighting it out in the GameCube version of MK: Deception.

Shao Kahn's fighting styles are Tai Tzu and Lui He, and his weapon is the Wrath Hammer from MK3. You can actually make out the Mortal Kombat dragon logo on it! He has his classic moves such as the soulder ram, rising knee, and green fireball from MK3. Also back are his taunts, "I rule this world", and "Bow to me", using the same MKII and MK3 voice samples by Steve Ritchie. There are some new moves for the Emperor as well, like this wacky green forcefield uppercut.

Goro's fighting styles are Shokan and Kuatan, and his weapons are Dragon Fangs –€“ four curved gauntlets that extend from his wristguards. The classic moves like fireball and stomp return, as well as a new "Ground Pound" move involves Goro hitting the ground with a fireball! The exclusive GameCube bosses were seen activating death traps, but it is not known whether they themselves are susceptible to them (although Shao Kahn was seen slipping near some spikes in the Dragon King's Arena, so chances are good that they are). It's also not known yet whether they will have Fatalities or Hara-Kiris – but from the video, it's clear that they ARE presented with the opportunity to "Finish Him!"



Also, you can read their full preview here. The videos are free to stream, or even download as GameSpot Basic member. Our thanks go to MK Online Forum/Chat member Jab316 for the tip on this update!

Everyone's favorite fighting game series, Mortal Kombat, appeared on G4TechTV's program "Icons" on an episode that was all about fighting games. They did a surprisingly good job considering they had to fit the information into thirty minutes (minus commercials), covering a wide variety of topics such as: How fighting games started, how they tied into the arcade scene, how the fighters on the powerful consoles drove away arcade business, the emergence of 3D technology being used, violence in fighting games, how certain politicians reacted, the assembly of the IDSA/ESA and the rating systems, and online play. Many people from different sectors of the gaming industry gave comments on their own perspective, including four people from the Mortal Kombat team: Ed Boon, John Tobias, Steve Beran, and Tony Goskie.



For details on the show (such as the next airing), check out its own page on the G4TechTV website here. Our thanks to MK Online forum/chat member DECEPTION for the heads up on this update!

The folks over at Jakks Pacific have sent us a super high-resolution photo of their Mortal Kombat TV Games Unit, and you can make out a lot of detail not noticable before in earlier pictures.


Check out the picture here, or if you want a super high-resolution image, click here.

The best part is that we've also been given official word on the release date: Look for it in stores as of March 2005!

Thanks to our contact at Jakks Pacific for this update.