Back in 2008, a series of audio releases from the MK team referred to as MKasts were released to hype up the then in development Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The events were typically between 25 to 30 minutes long and discussed various aspects of the upcoming game, including gameplay, storyline and the release schedule for information. These events were hosted by Hans Lo and Hector Sanchez and regularly featured various guests, including Ed Boon.

Today, Hector announced on his Twitter that the MKasts would be returning and that recording of the first could take place later this week. Here are his two relevant responses about the MKasts:

hecterrific: If we can get to 85,000 fans on our Facebook page, I'll raffle a couple of t-shirts off to followers on our next MKast

hecterrific: lol hopefully we record it this week. anything you want us to talk about in particular?

His Twitter account can be found here, and since he has protected his tweets you must request to follow him to view. If you would like a sample of what MKast is all about, you can find them in our news archive. This is the link to the very first MKast. You can find all nine by searching our News Archive. Once available, we will make them available and give summaries of important information as we've done in the past.

Thanks to forum members Casselman and Tyrant-Cenobite for the word on this!

Though E3 has wrapped up this year, immediately afterward a couple of new interviews appeared with series co-creator Ed Boon. Though nothing groundbreaking is revealed in these interviews, each have interesting tidbits that are of note. Beginning with Giant Bomb, Ed talked a bit about the reasoning behind returning to 2D gameplay, fatalities and made a few quirky comments about everyone's favorite love-to-hate character, Stryker. A few pieces from the interview:

GB: It seems like there is definitely a lot of hardcore fighting game fans out there and maybe some new players getting in, do you think that the new game can kind of strike that balance of old and new in terms of attracting players?

EB: I think this is the first Mortal Kombat that we are actively targeting the more hardcore people as well the casual guys. So I think 2D combat makes it more accessible. I do feel that we have put layers in though in terms of the general fighting, really enhancing the combos, giving the player as big of a palette of special moves and catering to the hardcore guys more. So I'm really looking forward to see what they're going to do with that game.

GB: Speaking of stuff from the past, it seems the roster is deliberately taken from the first three games the series.

EB: Yeah I think there's 26 boxes total, with the question mark and the DLC, which is going to be a big thing in downloadable content. Like if you were to ask someone okay what's your favorite character from MK1, 2 and 3, chances are if someone said, "Oh, Nightwolf" or someone like that it's probably going to be in the game. I don't think it's going to be a big secret when we see characters unveiled, but we have some surprises as well as DLC coming too.

GB: Cool. So if I were to say, "Boy, it sure would be cool if Stryker was in the new Mortal Kombat," you would say?

EB: Yeah, it would be cool if Stryker was in the new Mortal Kombat.

The end of this particular interview also reveals Ed was awarded with a Guinness world record for the longest running US voice actor (for the role of Scorpion) at the E3 show this year. He took over the crown from Mario's voice actor when it was determined Mario was not voiced until Super Mario 64. Congratulations to Ed for the prestigious award and may many more years of voicing Scorpion await you! You can watch the rest of the video by clicking here.

Another interview was conducted by Destructoid, in which Ed covered the subjects of his former partner John Tobias, his new relationship with WB Games and some of his first on camera thoughts of the MK: Rebirth pitch:

Destructoid: That was my next question, the fan made trailer, what did you think about that?

EB: I thought it was awesome. It turns out that there was a director who was just really into Mortal Kombat and said, "I'm going to take this approach to making it, I'm going to get this thing made, put it out there and get everybody excited. ... You know how long in comic books they have alternate universes, Batman, Superman, this is the exact same kind of category. Just another universe of Mortal Kombat, another imaging of it and I thought he did a really great job. It's a lot contemporary, it's like Se7en, Saw, like the really dark kind of stuff and it just had such personality everybody who sees it just wants to see that movie.

To watch the interview in its entirety, click here.

Thanks to forum members SubMan799 and MENTHOL for word on these interviews!

E3 came to a close on June 17th, but as the media left the floor and the fans tuned away from their streams, Mortal Kombat was the game on everyone's mind. After winning Gamespot's Fan Choice award during Day 2, the game was chosen to close out the site's coverage of the event. Ed Boon narrated over the gameplay featured as designers Paulo Garcia and John Edwards took control of several of the game's revealed characters to showcase gameplay mechanics, special moves and fatalities. We've compiled some screenshots from the over 10 minute video:

There is much, much more contained in the video and it is definitely worth the watch. All 8 of the confirmed characters show off multiple fatalities, their array of special moves, fighting styles and custom intros.

In a bit of technical news, the game is confirmed to have a 3D option exclusively for the Playstation 3 console for fans of the high definition 3D experience. This was covered on 411mania and confirmed by the MK team as well. Thanks to forum member TheManWithTheGoldenGun for the word on this.

In the last week we've learned much of the upcoming entry to the series. To follow E3, we have compiled a useful list of facts that are current and up-to-date as of June 17th, 2010.

Gameplay

• Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Mileena, Nightwolf, Reptile, Scorpion, Sektor and Sub-Zero are playable. Raiden and Shao Kahn are heavily implied to be in the game in some form. Around 26 characters will make the playable roster. A DLC option can be clearly seen in the lower right hand corner of the select screen.
• Each character will have unique punches and kicks; no character will share animations. This includes poses, styles, X-ray moves and anything else in the entire game.
• Dial-up combos are not present in the game. Combos are created entirely by the player.
• The super meter is a new feature of the game and has three levels. Level one empowers characters special moves, allowing for more powerful and dramatic abilities. The second tier allows for the use of breakers. The third allows access to powerful X-ray moves, which do devastating damage internally.
• Each character will have at least two fatalities. Other -alities are said to be not likely, though not entirely ruled out.
• Classic arenas return remade. So far, Shang Tsung's Throne Room, The Living Forest, Kahn's Arena, The Pit II, Dead Pool, Rooftop and The Street have been seen. Pit II and Dead Pool both have stage fatalities.
• Tag team co-op mode is available offline and online.
• Online play will be available in single and tag kombat. Spectator mode will be a part of the game and influence the earning of achievements.

Movesets

Johnny Cage

• Specials: Shadow Kick, Green Bolt (straight and curved)
• Fatalities: Head Uppercut and Torso Rip
• Fight intro - Shadow kicks into screen and martial arts warm up
• Tag exit - Slit throat taunt

Kung Lao

• Specials: Hat Throw (Vertical and Horizontal), Tornado Spin, Flying Kick, Teleport
• Fatalities: Hat Buzzsaw, Hat Decapitation and Body Split
• Fight intro - Teleports and adjusts hat
• Tag exit - Classic hat taunt

Mileena

• Specials: Teleport Kick, Sai Toss, Rolling Thunder
• Fatalities: Head Rip/Eat
• Tag exit - Rolls away in a puff of pink smoke

Nightwolf

• Specials: Rhino Charge, Hatchet Uppercut, Lightning Bolt, Reflector Shield, Spirit Arrow (Triple)
• Fatalities: Hatchet Throw
• Tag exit - Summons a moonbeam and disappears

Reptile

• Specials: Invisibility, Forceball, Acid Spit, Lizard Dash, Slide
• Fatalities: Acid Bath
• Fight intro - Appears from invisibility and snarls

Scorpion

• Specials: Spear, Teleport Punch, Leg Tackle, Hellfire
• Fatalities: Katana Assault
• Fight intro - Bursts through ground on fire

Sektor

• Specials: Teleport Uppercut, Straight Missile, Homing Missile, Upward Missile, Flamethrower
• Fatalities: Missile Barrage
• Fight Intro - Teleport and Flamethrower taunt

Sub-Zero

• Specials: Freeze Ball (Ice Stream), Ground Freeze (Ice Spike), Slide
• Fatalities: Spine Rip and Shatter
• Fight intro - Materializes as ice, bursts the ice shell

Story

• The game takes place in the world of Mortal Kombat 1 through Mortal Kombat 3, but is a sequel to MK: Armageddon as well. Raiden is defeated by Shao Kahn post-Armageddon, but is able to send a message back to himself in a previous time period to prevent the chaos from ensuing in the future. Raiden will attempt to alter the past to avoid the inevitable destruction.
• No new characters have been confirmed, though not completely denied.
• Ed Boon has hinted that events you may know could change in the new timeline, as examples he used a character that wasn't a cyborg before becoming a cyborg and Liu Kang not winning the tournaments.

Thank you to everyone who followed MK Online during E3 and those of you that sent in newsleads during this week. We still have more than half a year to go until the game's release, and as new information develops we will continue to bring you the most reliable and accurate coverage you've come to expect.

As the second of three days at E3 rolled on, new information about the upcoming Mortal Kombat game surfaced in the form of new interviews and video. Firstly, G4 conducted an interview with Ed Boon in which he talked at great length about the gameplay, specifically the combo system, of the game, which he confirmed would be about in Spring 2011 for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360. A small transcript from the interview:

Ed Boon: "... Our goal with the fighting system was to create something that's a deeper fighting engine. And so in doing that we really wanted to open the doors for players to create their own combos. In some of the previous games we had combos that were strung together with button sequences; they're more pre-programmed into the game. But this one we're really trying to - our goal is to say let's just open a big palette and see what players paint, you know, so that in combination with our tag team, we can have characters jumping in and out of the fight, in mid combo, it creates just an unbelievable array of special moves and combos that you can string together, you know, just using your imagination. That's actually the most exciting part about our fighting mechanic. In designing the characters we really focused in on individuality. We really wanted every character to feel completely different from any other character in the game. And so, they have their own way that they walk, they punch, nobody's sharing animations and so when you're playing a character, you're learning it, you really feel connected to it..."

To watch the rest of the video, click here.

Screw Attack posted a video previewing several of the games fatalities. It begins with the classic stage fatality in The Pit. Following this, Mileena ripped the head off of Kung Lao and drank blood from it, drenching her own body in it, before slamming the head into the ground and going into a win pose. A montage follows, in which several fatalities are seen including Johnny Cage's head uppercut, Nightwolf's hatchet throw, Reptile acid bath, Kung Lao's hat toss decapitation and many more. The "Finish Him" text seems to pay homage to the older games as well, specifically Mortal Kombat II. To watch the entire video, click here.

On a closing note, Mortal Kombat won the Gamespot People's Choice award this year. MK team member Hans Lo posted the following image via his Twitter page:

Congratulations to the MK team for this accomplishment! If you missed our coverage of Day 1 at E3, be sure to click here to check it out. One final day of E3 still awaits!

Day 1 of E3 has come to a close and the amount of information pouring in is staggering to say the least. Late today, major gaming outlets Gamespot and IGN posted their first looks at the game as well as some crucial interviews with series co-creator and project lead Ed Boon.

Starting with Gamespot, a summary of their first day in the field reveals a plethora of interesting tidbits. These range from the expected number of playable characters, details on a few unseen fatalities and explanation of the new power bar feature in the game.

According to Boon, this reinvigorated Mortal Kombat will focus on providing deep mechanics for veterans, an accessible combo system for all newcomers, and a strong return to the mature-rated violence and fatalities the series is best known for. Boon says the team is aiming for a dark and gritty look, and in terms of story, the new game will take place after the events of Mortal Kombat Armageddon but will have some time travel elements in place. Thus all of the characters you'll see will be classic ones from the first three games, with many of the locations also hailing from early in the series. In the E3 demo that we managed to get hands-on behind closed doors, there were eight playable characters: Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Mileena, Johnny Cage, Sektor, Nightwolf, Reptile, and Kung Lao, with Boon saying he's aiming for roughly 26 characters overall in the final game.

Probably one of the biggest changes (at least for anyone who hasn't played the game in many years) is the addition of a multi-level power bar that can be used for several different purposes. Performing souped-up versions of your regular special moves takes up one section of the bar, and this is done by simply holding down the block button as you input the command. For example, Sub-Zero's ground freeze will normally only have an area of effect directly in front of the frosty ninja, but power it up and the frozen area will extend across the entire screen.

This summary features several more interesting findings, be sure to read it by clicking here.

IGN covers similar points in their interview with Ed Boon. Among some of the most interesting findings include learning that the game is indeed a retelling of the first three Mortal Kombat games, but that it is not a "reboot" in the true sense of the word. The opening of the trailer showed Raiden and Shao Kahn locked in combat, and apparently Kahn wins this battle. However, Raiden is able to send a message to himself in an earlier time period, namely the first MK game, telling him what will become of the world in the future. This allows Raiden a degree of omnipotence and enlightenment, and he changes things accordingly to prevent the future of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon from coming to pass.

Boon: "Mortal Kombat has this timeline - eighteen years of making games, and we really didn't want to just continue, like, chapter seventeen of the whole story," says Ed Boon, the co-creator of the series. "So we're kind of doing a Back to the Future type of thing, where Raiden is about to be killed by Shao Kahn, and just before he delivers the last blow, he sends a mental message to his earlier self, so the camera rewinds back to Mortal Kombat 1. The Raiden from back then gets a message and he doesn't know what's going on, but he knows something bad's going to happen, and the game spans Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 3, retelling the story with an enlightened Raiden, and he's changing the course of things, so everything you've seen happen before – Liu Kang winning, the guys turning into cybernetic ninjas, are changed around, so you might see a character become cybernetic who wasn't before, and so you see a different version [of events]."

The super meter is mentioned once again as well. There will be three levels on the bar. The first level allows for more dramatic specials to be used, such as larger fireballs or the previously mentioned ground freeze. The second will grant access to breakers, something we have seen in Mortal Kombat games since MK: Deception. Finally, the third and highest tier on the super meter grants access to what is being referred to as "X-ray moves" at this time, though that name could change in time. This appears to be a Klose Kombat type system, the way we saw in MK vs. DC Universe, but made a little more special through the use this new meter and the "x-ray effect" into the skeletons of the combatants. Ed is asked about new characters as well as alternate finishers like Friendships, but declines to confirm either way on either subject, though he hints strongly there will be none of the more lighthearted finishers due to the seriousness level of this game.

Boon: "Certainly this Mortal Kombat game we're taking a little bit more seriously, so we're probably not going to have a friendship move and whatnot," says Ed, "but if we were to do something like that we're definitely not going to do

cument it. That's what I think was part of the fun of the old games. 'You turned the guy into a baby!' What? Or, 'you pulled out a rainbow'! What the? It's such an odd thing. We really want these events – if they happen – to be almost rumors. That's a big part of what Mortal Kombat was. The question mark about - what else is in this game?"

You can find the remainder of IGN's interview here.

E3 has just begun, stay tuned tomorrow for several promised gameplay hands-on exclusives!

Though this week is typically reserved for E3, gaming magazine legend EGM has revealed their cover art for the upcoming Issue #239 and it features the upcoming entry in the Mortal Kombat series as the cover story!

One of Mortal Kombat's poster boys, Sub-Zero, stands menacingly in a classically themed attire as the Mortal Kombat dragon logo rests in the background. Accompanying this is the blood-spattered text Mortal Kombat: Remaking a Legend. This issue of EGM is also cleverly titled "The Komeback Issue". These clues seem to hint that the upcoming game titled simply Mortal Kombat will be a remake or reboot of the series, rather than a continuation of any existing storyline. Though there appears to be no exact release date announced yet, Summer 2010 is listed and we will be keeping a close one on this developing story to bring you news of the game's appearance inside the magazine.

As always, we ask that when this magazine hits the shelves you go and purchase it. MK Online will not provide scans and we do not permit users to post them on our forums due to copyright. The cost of the magazine is $6.99 US/CAN.

Thanks to forum member Mick-Lucifer for word on this story!

Update: June 24: We have learned that the issue featuring Mortal Kombat on the cover will be going on sell officially June 29, 2010. The image featured will be one of two covers apparently, the other will feature the thunder god Raiden. You can visit EGM's online magazine, EGMi, by clicking here. It is free to register and there is a small preview of the Mortal Kombat article.

It's that time of year again and the E3 Expo is once again in full swing! Lasting officially 3 days from June 15th through the 17th, E3 is one of the largest events of the year for the video game industry in which upcoming projects and games are showcased. Though MK Online is not able to be present for live coverage this year, we are still committed to bringing you the best coverage possible from around the internet through trusted gaming media sites. By rounding up the information for you in one convenient location, all the sights from E3 related to the new Mortal Kombat game due out in 2011 will be easy to see. As the event begins with news conferences today, we bring you these images from the Mortal Kombat advertisement banner at the show. Credit goes to GameKyo.com for these images. Also below is a screen of Mortal Kombat's booth this year, with an elaborate castle theme. Image was captured from a Gametrailers feature.

As the event rolls on this week, check back for the latest and most up-to-date coverage from Mortal Kombat's appearance at E3 this year.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that the websites for the new Mortal Kombat reboot game and Netherrealm Studios are online, a new teaser trailer for the new Mortal Kombat game has been released!

Available in HD, the trailer starts out with a prerendered confrontation between Shao Kahn and Raiden in Kahn's Arena, before going into in-game fighting footage.

As can be expected from a reboot, the characters seen are all returning characters, including Sub-Zero, Sektor (using the same binary effects as seen in MK Armageddon), Nightwolf, Johnny Cage (now sporting his name tattooed across his chest), Mileena (wearing something similar to her MK Deception garb), Kung Lao (wearing his MKII outfit), and Reptile (looking like a cross between his MKII and MKSM appearances). Returning arenas shown include the aforementioned Kahn's Arena, the Dead Pool, and the Pit. In addition to the standard 2D kombat the game is returning to (complete with complex air juggles), a tag-team mode similar to Capcom's VS. games is seen. The trailer also includes a glimpse of a possible new gameplay/game effect feature, where an attacked kombatant is seen up-close, with the skin and muscle cut away to show the punishing effects of the blows on the victim.

The trailer ends with a glimpse of two fatalities. The first shows Cage falling to his death in the Pit, while the second shows Kung Lao using his hat on Sub-Zero in a particularly gruesome way, highlighting Ed Boon's previous comments about how the game is pushing the envelope on the gore front.

• Mortal Kombat - Teaser Trailer

If this trailer is any indication, this Mortal Kombat reboot is bringing the game back to its original roots, and we look forward to bringing you more about the game as we look ahead to its 2011 release.

Our thanks to Jason Leyanna of Realm of Gaming for the heads-up regarding this new trailer!

Two new official websites were unveiled for the upcoming entry in the Mortal Kombat franchise. The first is the website of the development studios, indeed called NetherRealm Studios as previously reported. The website currently features an anime-splash type logo featuring a silhouette of Scorpion. This will apparently be the MK team's official website. Currently, the site is bare except for the link to the official page for the upcoming game itself, titled at this point simply Mortal Kombat. This page seems to be under construction as well, featuring only the official Facebook profile of the game. Recently uploaded appears to be the logo of the game.

These two websites will likely be the site of several image and video releases over the coming months, as we have typically seen in the past, so we suggest keeping your eyes on them. We will of course report on any further activity on these two websites as it becomes available.

For years the next Mortal Kombat movie has been in “development hell”, however this might no longer be the case. Earlier this afternoon, TRMK reported of a dark viral video posted on YouTube simply called “Mortal Kombat” under the user account of MortalKombatRebirth.

It’s yet to be officially confirmed by anyone whether this is some sort of teaser for an upcoming film or the next game. As well, WB Games has yet to make any kind of official statement. From TRMK:

We're hearing that this video is not anything seen before by those involved with creating Mortal Kombat 9 at WB Games. So if it is created by WB as a viral marketing clip, it was done with very few people involved or in the know. We're still waiting for an official comment at this time though.

It does appear to star Michael Jai White from the Spawn movie and more recently The Dark Knight. So it's either a very clever work of fakery or something more serious is being created.

TRMK is also reporting that this might be nothing more than just a rejected pitch for an R-Rated flick to Warner Brothers. Only time will tell, but if this in indeed a taste of what’s to come for the reboot of the film series, Mortal Kombat fans everywhere definitely have something to talk about for weeks to come. Let us know your thoughts in the forum.

Update 6/8: Actress Jeri Ryan, who played Sonya Blade in the Rebirth clip, confirmed via her Twitter account that this was a demo reel developed to sell the director's reboot vision of Mortal Kombat to WB. She says she has no knowledge of WB's reaction at this time. Thanks to forum member EnKompassedDra9on for bringing this to our attention.

Update 6/9: Crave Online has posted an exclusive interview with Matt Mullins, the actor who portrays Johnny Cage in the short film. From the article:

It has been really cool to see all of the buzz about the short. The truth is, the short is about showing a vision of what the next Mortal Kombat movie can be. I think it is a very well thought out concept that pays homage to the video game and its fans. The attention to detail and the little elements added will set this film apart from all the other films.

Thanks to Ed Boon's twitter post for the update!

Update 6/10: Collider has obtained an exclusive interview with the director of the short film, Kevin Tancharoen. Among several of the details revealed here, some include the plan to balance the series's mysticism and special powers with the real world and that the writer of Rebirth was Oren Uziel, a name revealed several months ago as the intended writer of the next Mortal Kombat movie. There is an audio transcript of the interview at the link above for further details.

Second update 6/10: On his Twitter, Ed Boon has finally stated his opinion of the video:

• A million people asked me what I thought of the MK Rebirth video. Personally I thought it was awesome. Super high production quality!
• But I was just as surprised to see it as everyone else. I had no idea it was being made until it showed up on the internets. All 3 internets
• Its TOTALLY different & probably crosses the line. But as a "re-imagining" and as a film piece on its own, u can't deny its well put 2gether

With the release of the teaser trailer for the new game, it's unknown what will happen with the "Rebirth" concept. However, Ed's comments indicate that while he liked it, the chances of it making to theaters are very very slim. If more surfaces, we'll keep you up to date.

Update: 6/14: IGN conducted an interview with the actor who plays Jax, Michael Jai White. Among other things, we learn that the film pitch was made about a month ago and was unintentionally leaked out. Another tidbit from the interview:

IGN: The character of Jax in the game was a little different from the version in the short. Can you talk about the decisions to ground it more in reality and change your character to be a police captain?

MJW: Well, I mean I think it goes along with the game to some degree. Now we played with some ideas on how to show that I still have those kinds of bionic arms --- robotic arms, with when my arm laying on the table to show reverberations. That Jax still has the metal arms. Now whether this is post-special forces, Jax is now captain of this force. But he's still a badass fighter, he's still has got the arms. It just wasn't much time to show that in the short.

Thanks goes to Casselman for this update.