Editor's note: [This was our annual April Fools joke. We will now return to our scheduled programming. Thank ]{0MBAT for the concept and cover that started it!]

Parlofoil Book Group have announced the release of a new series of novel adaptations based on the characters and properties of Mortal Kombat. Authored by New York Times Best Selling Writer James Patterson, a series of six novels will retell the story of Outworld's invasion, reimagined as a sci-fi investigative thriller.

The first novel, entitled simply Mortal Kombat, will reimagine the threat of Outworld as an interdimensional throwback to ancient Earth, where portions of the supercontinent Gondwana was teleported away before continental shift divided the Earth. It seems likely a parallel history will have evolved in Outworld, before the continent returns to the modern day.

Like the recent Rebirth movie reel, which gave way to the announcement of the upcoming live-action digital series [full story]; Sonya and Jax take centre stage in roles loosely inspired by their video game counterparts. Kano is also announced to appear in a sequel book, suggesting they will continue to appear as the novels spin-out into individual stories.

Special hardcover editions of the novel will be released April 19, two days before softcover releases go on sale globally. The special edition also includes a foreword by Stephen King!

As previously announced, four of the classic male ninjas in the upcoming Mortal Kombat will have special Klassic palette swap costumes based the early 2D games. These characters are Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Reptile and Ermac. These costumes are currently exclusive DLC content based on the location of your pre-order of the game. Amazon, Best Buy and Gamestop are all offering this deal. The army of Ermac comes as a bonus with any pre-order, while ordering from Amazon will grant Reptile, Best Buy will grant Sub-Zero and Gamestop will grant Scorpion. The team from NetheRЯealm Studios has sent out these high definition renders seen on the websites mentioned above in low or standard quality.

In 2011, Mortal Kombat will return in all it's gory glory, bringing with it the deadly finishing moves that were controversially scaled back for their 2008 crossover, Versus DC Universe.

In preparation for the elaborate bloodletting and general dismemberment, IGN has picked up the gauntlet to list their Unofficial Top Ten Best Fatalities! Featured in the list are favourites like Scorpion's Toasty Flame Breath, along with some more obscure fare you might not expect.

The rumored HD collection of the original three 2D Mortal Kombat games has once again made an appearance, this time being listed at GAME, an online merchant site for gaming in the United Kingdom. This reflects Gamestop's current listed release date for the game, currently slated for 11/16/2010.

The folks over at ScrewAttack Have put together a list of what they perceived to be the top ten worst Fatalities in MK's history. In addition to general gripes about Babalities, Frienships, etc. as well as 18 skulls and 32 ribcages in the style of the MK3 era of violence, there are specific finishers they find issue with. Here they are:

10. Tanya's Neck Breaker Fatality (MK4)

9. Kabal's Face Scare Fatality (MK3)

8. Sindel's Swan Dive Hara-Kiri (MK Deception)

7. Kenshi's Telekinetic Destroyer Fatality (MK Deadly Alliance)

6. Quan Chi's Neck Stretch Fatality (MK Deadly Alliance)

5. Raiden's Dual Electrocution Fatality (MK Deception)

4. Reptile's Chimpanzee Animality (Ultimate MK3)

3. Motaro's Head Pull Fatality (MK Trilogy)

2. Liu Kang's Cartwheel Uppercut Fatality (MK1)

1. MK vs. DC overall.

To see the video of the list in its entirety, click here.

Over on the official Mortal Kombat Twitter page, the fans were challenged to give their favorite fatality for the original Mortal Kombat arcade game, as part of what was tagged #MortalMonday. The votes are in, and today the winner was announced as part of #FatalityFriday. The winner, unsurprisingly. is Sub-Zero's spine rip!

Our friends over at TRMK have just posted a pretty amazing bombshell: according to their sources, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is in the process of developing a re-release of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3! However, this collection will have more in common with Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix than Midway Arcade Treasures. Entitled Mortal Kombat HD Kollection, the game will be a high-definition remake of the first three Mortal Kombat arcade games. From the article:

ScrewAttack has posted an in-depth article concerning the various mini-games that have been found throughout the history of the Mortal Kombat series. Since the early days of the series in the 1990's, Mortal Kombat has always included fun bonuses to entertain players. It began with the Test Your Might mini-game in MK1 and continued with in game versions of Galaga and Pong. With the evolution of the sixth-console generation, the MK team began to expand these games from simple time passers to full fledged modes of their own. Our first taste of this was in 2004's Mortal Kombat: Deception which gave us both Chess Kombat and Puzzle Kombat. Motor Kombat came with Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. The side adventure game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks had a special versus mode apart from the main game as well. From the article:

The long running ScrewAttack show on GameTrailers has posted a list of their favorite 10 fatalities from the Mortal Kombat series. The list spans from Mortal Kombat 1 through MK: Shaolin Monks release wise and features the likes of Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Liu Kang and Johnny Cage. Below is a recap of their top 10:

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.