Cinder from the official Midway Boards has released a handful of new wallpapers featuring some of the characters from MK: Armageddon! Khameleon's render release has already spawned three wallpapers in the span of less than one day; the first new wallpaper features the mysterious exclusive character and a reference to the Wii version of MKA in the bottom right corner. The second wallpaper features the sub-boss of Mortal Kombat II, Kintaro. Finally, the Outworld general Reiko is showcased in the final wallpaper. All wallpapers feature the standard MKA background, character names and are sized for 1280 x 1024 resolution.

To view the thread in which the image were originally posted, click on the characters' respective names. Khameleon, Kintaro and Reiko.

Thanks to forum member for notifying us of these new releases first.

Also, forum member MINION has generously posted some alternate resolutions to these wallpapers for those who do not use the 1280 X 1024 type. The images are also enhanced a bit to remove the blur present on the original images. Click here to visit the thread. Thanks to for this contribution.

The folks from Midway have come through for the fans again! In this month's issue of Nintendo Power, the Wii version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon was mentioned. The big news to come out of the article was the inclusion of a render of the Wii-exclusive kharacter, Khameleon! Now Midway has made the render available to other websites to post in all of her glory. We have two versions of the render: one with Khameleon in front of the metal background with the MK dragon on it, and one with her in front of a fire background.

The game is on schedule for a May release.

Our thanks to for letting us know about the Nintendo Power article, and our thanks to our sources within Midway for providing us with this render!

IGN has released the third video in the "Fighter of the Wiik" tradition, celebrating the release of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon on the Wii next month. The next video is all about the main protagonist of MKA's Konquest Mode, Taven. This time around, there is commentary from MK team members Steve Beran, John Vogel, Ed Boon, and Tony Goskie. The video is very similar to the "Trading Kards" from the previous MK games, as details about Taven's storyline, design, special moves (using the Wiimote), and other concept information is provided.

To download the videos, you must be an IGN Insider member. However, anyone is free to view the videos by clicking here.

Thanks again to samus_aran3900 for getting in yet another News Lead!

GamePro has recently put up a new article listing what they felt are the 52 Most Important Video Games of All Time. As stated in the brief introduction to the article, this list isn't a list of best or worst games in terms of quality, but in terms of their impact on the video game world. In this list, Midway's classic MK title Mortal Kombat II makes an appearance, representing the MK franchise at number 38! The GamePro staff have kind words for the game and its impact on the video game community. From the article:

Arguably the best Western fighting game to date, and certainly the title that defined Mortal Kombat as a brand, this game launched a thousand imitators en route to becoming one of the most famous-and infamous-video games ever made. Its technical and artistic mastery is only matched by its gushing gore.

To view the list in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member for letting us know about this news story!

IGN has released the second video in what appears to be a new tradition, celebrating the release of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon on the Wii console. The next "Fighter Of The Wiik" the video is all about Meat. As with the last video, there is commentary from MK team members Steve Beran, John Vogel, and Ed Boon. The video is very similar to the "Trading Kards" from the previous MK games, as details about Meat's storyline, design, special moves (using the Wiimote), and other background information is provided. Also mentioned: Meat's secret cousin, Skully, who never quite made it into the games!

To download the videos, you must be an IGN Insider member. However, anyone is free to view the videos by clicking here.

Our thanks to forum member for submitting his first News Lead.

Over at CVG, an interview has been posted with Mortal Kombat co-creator and team lead, Ed Boon! In the interview, Ed discusses the upcoming Mortal Kombat fighting game for the new generation of consoles, unofficially known as Mortal Kombat 8. In the article, Ed makes it clear that the game is going to be very serious, without any of the humor of old; he also hints at some changes one might see in the game. From the article:

It suggests a more edgy style for the next Mortal Kombat game, Boon reaffirming that it'll be "a lot grittier, dirtier" than previous titles in the series.

"It's going to be a fighting game, definitely, but after that anything can go", he added, talking about the fact that he's starting from scratch for the new game.

"We're not putting any restrictions like we HAVE to keep weapons or we HAVE to keep fighting styles and stuff like that... we're going to... try to introduce as many new characters as possible, new features, new stuff like that and take advantage of the amazing presentation, graphics that all of a sudden you can do, things that are a lot more real."

He also revealed his team is "trying to take advantage" of the motion-sensing features of the PS3 controller and the hardware of the new console generation in general and "do the most we can with them".

In closing, Ed not only mentions the game won't be out until the end of 2008, he mentions that it will be a year or so before we start seeing much more of what the game has to offer.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up about this new interview!

The folks over at Microsoft have released another backwards compatibility update for the Xbox 360! While Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks were again passed over, another Midway-published title made the cut: Unreal Championship 2! Unreal Championship 2 is of note to Mortal Kombat fans as it represents the first teaming of Unreal and Mortal Kombat (prior to the announcement that MK8 will use Unreal Engine 3): everyone's favorite Thunder God, Raiden, is an unlockable character in the game!

As for the absence of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, we'll be keeping an eye out and seeing if we can get some new information. If we learn something new, we'll be sure to report it here!

To view the full backwards-compatibility list for Xbox 360, click here.

Gamespot has released a short series of new images pertaining to the Wii version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! Among these images are the standard demonstration images we have seen in the past. Four new images are present, showcasing special moves from Fujin, Frost, Ermac and Baraka. An additional two images feature Motor Kombat. One shows the driving mechanics by using the Wii controller as a steering wheel type device and the other shows Raiden using a special on Johnny Cage.

To visit Gamespot's screenshot library for the Wii version of MKA, click here.

Thanks to forum member for alerting us to these new images!

EDIT - 7:30 PM CDT - Midway has made the screenshots available for us to host here. Our thanks to our contacts at Midway for providing us with these screenshots!

The folks over at Midway have released yet another bio from Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! This time, the bio is that of the popular Tarkatan/Edenian hybrid clone, Mileena! In this bio, it shows the end result of her attempt to gain control of Kitana's army, how she found herself back in Shao Kahn's good graces, and how her backstory intertwines with Shujinko, of all people. From the bio:

Outworld was MINE! Posing as the Edenian wench Kitana, I gained command of her army and with it took control of Shao Kahn's fortress — all in the name of "peace." I had planned to continue my charade until the Edenian forces could be corrupted enough to follow me as Mileena, the true conqueror of Outworld. But my plans were foiled when the fortress was attacked — Shao Kahn had returned!

And he was not alone! As I watched the initial assault from the safety of the imperial balcony, I recognized the two warriors who aided him: Goro, Prince of the Shokan, and Shang Tsung, wretched Sorcerer of Darkness – my creator. They crushed all who defended the stronghold.

I hid in the throne room and commanded the Edenian mages to cast a defensive ward upon the main door. It was of no use. Their magic was nothing compared to the might of Shao Kahn. He shattered the door and strode in as confidently as ever.

As he stood before me, the two mages rushed to defend their princess, positioning themselves between Shao Kahn and myself. What a surprise it must have been when their own "princess" stabbed them from behind. They fell limp to the floor. Shao Kahn paused, momentarily confused. Removing my veil, I knelt before him, "Welcome home, my master."

Shao Kahn accepted my surrender and later ordered me to capture the Earthrealm warrior known as Shujinko. He was to be used as a bargaining chip to help forge an alliance with Onaga, the former ruler of Outworld.

I sent the fool an invitation, hoping to utilize his arrogance and pride by acknowledging his heroic deeds. The ruse worked; soon he was at the main gate. Reiko's men, dressed in the armor of slain Edenian soldiers, led him directly to the throne room where he was confronted by the new Dark Alliance. I did battle with him as Shao Kahn commanded, defeating him with surprising ease. He was then cast into the dungeon, where he will remain until Onaga arrives.

I do not relish serving Shao Kahn. I am destined for greater things. An entire realm was once in the palm of my hands — and I will not rest until I regain that status! Though it will be impossible to rule Outworld now that Shao Kahn has returned, there are other realms ripe for the taking. Edenia will be mine!

More bios are sure to come; as we learn of them, we'll be sure to report them here!

To view the original bio page for Mileena, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for letting us know about this new bio!

Following the release of Mortal Kombat II for the Playstation 3 via the Playstation Network service, GameSpot has released a review of the game. Overall, their review showed that the port of the game is a strong port for the most part, but shows a bit of lack of polish due to some quirks in the online play and emulation. One interesting mention in the review was that while the game itself was $4.99, it states that the download was "roughly 250 MB". This puts it at half the cost of Ultimate MK3 for Xbox Live Arcade, but over five times the size. Not having a Playstation 3, we cannot confirm that this is not a typo in the article, although it does seem very likely.

While the review does call the port an "accurate version" of the arcade version of Mortal Kombat II, it does note a couple of weird issues in online play and in the emulation. From the review:

The online mode in MK2 is really weird. Rather than set up some sort of custom two-player match that is book ended by menus and scoreboards, hooking up to another player just runs an emulated version of the arcade machine game. But instead of having a second player sitting next to you, that person is someone else in the world. So, if you wanted, you could just not hit start, not join the game, and simply watch a player play single-player. And games don't end until one player disconnects from the match. This aspect of the online play feels rushed and sloppy, especially when you consider that there's no manual or anything to tell you that you need to hit start to play. In these early hours after the game's release, expect to run into a handful of new players who have no idea how to join your game. And because there's no voice chat or other method of in-game messaging, you have no way to tell other players "Hey, hit start!" Most of them figure it out after a minute or so.

The game has an online leaderboard, but it doesn't make much sense. The scoreboard just lists a number, and it's not just a raw count of the number of wins you've scored. After playing for a few hours, we found ourselves with a score of seven points. What the heck does that even mean? The world may never know.

There are also handful of technical glitches and emulation issues. For whatever reason, the fighters don't cast shadows in the Dead Pool background in this version, though they do in the arcade version. When starting a match, the audio seems to cut out for a split second, occasionally making the announcer sound like he's saying "ound" instead of "round." Also, the fatality music cuts off and the game goes nearly silent if you do the first part of Sub-Zero's two-part fatality over and over again. In the arcade version, the music just keeps looping. None of these are absolute game breakers, but they're all disappointing.

Overall, the review notes that while overall the game seems rushed and lacks extra features such as a round-robin tournament mode like UMK3 for XBLA has, it's still worth $4.99 as it's still an accurate port of MKII with online play. In the end, it was given a rating of 7.9 out of 10.

To read the review in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member for letting us know about this new review!

The entire slipcover for the case of the Wii version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon has been revealed as Total Mortal Kombat posts the PAL version of the game! There are some notable changes for the boxart, as the back cover now features five gameplay images from the Wii version of the game along with the standard Wii tutorial image underneath the screenshot. Of special note, one of these five images features the first in-game shot of the exclusive character for the console, Khameleon! While the image is small and the details hard to see, it does appear Khameleon will retain the same colour changing properties as her male counterpart.

To view the image directly, click here.

Thanks to forum/chat member for alerting us to this.

IGN has released a new video in what could possibly become a weekly tradition leading up to the release of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon on the Wii console. Entiled "Fighter Of The Wiik", the video showcases newcomer Daegon in much the same way as the character trading kards did for other characters throughout the previous two main franchise releases. Commentary from MK team members Steve Beran, John Vogel, Ed Boon and others is featured during the video. Notes include information regarding Daegon's name, character design and the defensive nature of his special moves. Afterwards, a new segment is added with executive producer Shaun Himmerick demonstrating how to perform all four of Daegon's special moves using the Wii controller.

To download the video in its various formats, click here.

Thanks to forum member for the lead on this news story.

As previously reported in the passed few months, the arcade classic Mortal Kombat II is coming the the Sony Playstation 3 console. Today the game becomes officially available for download and play, so be sure to head over to the Playstation 3 Store and download the game for only $4.99 US dollars.

Get Over Here! Come re-live all the fatalities that made Mortal Kombat II® a beloved classic. Brought back and available for download on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, play as 1 of 12 characters as you venture through realms, such as The Dead Pool, Kombat Tomb or Kahn's Lair. Battle all of your favorite villains such as Shao Kahn or Shang Tsung and unlock hidden characters including Noob Saibot. Decide your enemies' fate with three different special endings and prepare to Finish Him!

Easy download instructions can be found on this page if you are confused about how to acquire MK2 for your PS3 console.

Thanks to forum for reminding us of this release.

IGN has once again posted more information about the Mortal Kombat franchise's upcoming appearance on Nintendo's Wii console with Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. While not much new is revealed, IGN does ask Ed Boon several detailed question and receives relatively detailed answers in return. In addition to this, there are a host of new images available in the media section. Of note, the clearest picture of the elusive and exclusive Wii addition character, Khameleon! Located in former slot of the Player 1 Kreate-a-Fighter, she seems to be wearing the same headband as her male counterpart Chameleon does during the other releases of the game. Unfortunately, no gameplay images are provided of her at this time.

Boon details a few new features for the Wii version during the course of this interview, including the Endurance mode addition as well as how to steer the carts in Motor Kombat using the Wii controller.

IGN Wii: What other gameplay modes are available in the game?

Ed Boon: Armageddon for Wii has a new mode called the endurance mode, which lets the player fight against as many opponents as he can get through with one life bar. You beat a guy, he explodes, another guy jumps on the screen and you've got to fight with however much power you have left. Every once in awhile, after every five or six opponents, you'll get a little bit of life back so you'll always have a little chance if you reach that next plateau. Other than that, we have a whole new Wii training mode that gets people accustomed to the motion gestures for their characters - they can polish up without being in an intense fighting scenario. And as everybody knows, in Armageddon we have a single-player Konquest mode, which is like an adventure mode in itself. And we also have a diversion called Motor Kombat, which is like Mario Kart meets Mortal Kombat.

IGN Wii: Tell us how the controls in Motor Kombat work.

Ed Boon: What's really cool about the entire game is any control configuration that you can think of or like - the Wii controller, the GameCube controller - they all work in all of the modes. So, for Motor Kombat, you can separate the nunchuk and use the Wii remote as a steering wheel. You have access to all of the special moves for your characters. For bumping, you can either gesture to the right or left or use buttons. That's been one of our goals - to make the game as accommodating to every single control scheme that anybody can think of, including these new Wii controls. You can also have one person using the GameCube controller, another the classic, another just the Wii remote and one more using the Wii remote and nunchuk all at the same time.

To view the interview in its entirety, click here.

Thanks to forum members and for the lead on this story.

Yet another bio has appeared on the official MK: Armageddon website today, this time in the form of Mortal Kombat: Deception's main hero, Shujinko. Shujinko's bio tells the story of his legacy after he defeated Onaga using his energy harnessing powers. A bit of new plot information is revealed, as it's now known that someone quite possibly posing as Princess Kitana requested Shujinko to come to Shao Kahn's Fortress after the defeat of Reiko's elite guard. While Shujinko is wiser to the possibility of deception this time, it seems that he was tricked all the same, as this bio seems to explain how he was imprisoned in the dungeons during MK: Armageddon's Konquest mode. Shujinko's purpose is to redeem himself in the eyes of all he has disappointed, and truly be worthy of their respect and admiration by defeating this new evil.

Onaga was defeated. I had absorbed the fighting st

yles of scores of warriors and unleashed an assault on the Dragon King, purging his soul from this existence. His body collapsed – but after a moment of horrific cracking and twisting, it was the lifeless shape of Reptile that lay before me.

For a time I was revered as a hero. The people of Outworld accepted me wholeheartedly as the defender of their realm. But their respect and gratitude were misplaced, for it was I who allowed Onaga to return. I played the role of champion to help inspire this war–ravaged land, but I did not feel worthy of their admiration.

Some time later, word came to me that Princess Kitana requested my presence at Shao Kahn's fortress. Edenian forces had flushed out Reiko's elite guard, the last remnants of the old empire, and she wished to celebrate the occasion with the "Hero of Outworld" at her side.

What gave me pause was that when Kitana and I parted ways after the fall of Onaga, she had expressed a desire to help Liu Kang's disembodied spirit. Therefore, I thought she had left for Earthrealm. Perhaps she had completed her quest and returned sooner than expected — or quite possibly this invitation had not come from Kitana at all!

I am not as naïve as I once was. I have had much experience with deception. It could be that a new threat is emerging in my adopted home. If I were to uncover a plot to destabilize the realm and fend off a potential coup, I truly would have earned the respect of the people of Outworld — and redeemed myself in my own eyes.

To see the bio on the official site, click here.

Thanks to forum member for sending in this newslead first.

IGN has released their own version of a hands-on preview of Mortal Kombat's first trip into "next generation" gaming, as they cover MK: Armageddon for the Wii. While not much new is revealed, IGN gives early positive previews for the game, citing it to be very sound and responsive, offering little to no criticism. The actual mechanics for performing special moves using the Wiimote is explained in some detail.

That being true, Armageddon is fundamentally changed on Wii because of the remote-enhanced control scheme and it is, at the very least, worth exploring. Now that we've had some time with it, we're our skepticism about the product has melted away. A new gesture-based system replaces D-Pad/analog stick and button presses altogether. Maneuvers are now done by holding the B-trigger, quickly making a gesture, and then releasing. Simple. And you know what? It actually works. Midway has kept the gestures easy so that anybody can pick them up - accessibility was a primary goal for the developer, which ultimately wants even novice players to pull off fatalities. So, to throw a fireball, you might merely hold B-trigger, and make a motion from the right to the left and back again. Or, a swiping motion up and then down again. Or an underhanded half-circle. Or an over-handed half-circle. And it's really not much more complicated than that.

More importantly, IGN has posted a wealth of new gameplay videos, including a must-see Wii controller tutorial. In this video, instructions on how to perform the special moves are given. The movements correspond to the realistic actions the characters would make. For example, Scorpion's spear is performed by moving away and the towards an opponent. His summon hellfire is performed by moving the controller up and then down. Finally, his backflip kick is performed by making a lower half-circle motion towards your opponent. All moves require that you hold the B button down to execute them, so no unwanted mistakes occur.

To view the rest of the preview, click here. To go directly to the videos section, click here. The tutorial is located on page two, following the six new gameplay videos also posted.

Thanks to forum member for submitting this story.