Extreme flooding in Chicago's Midwestern suburbs has had an impact on NetherRealm Studios figurehead and Injustice: Gods Among Us Creative Director, Ed Boon. As he tweeted recently, natural disaster was turned to archival gold as the Chicago native uncovered undamaged, classic memorabilia from the early days of Mortal Kombat!

According to the traditions of the Chinese calendar, 2012 is determined the current Year of the Dragon. If impressions are anything to go by, it was purely serendipity that made this the perfect date for the twentieth anniversary of a series so widely identified by its iconic Dragon Logo.

The origin of the Dragon Logo symbol was just one of the topics covered when Mortal Kombat Online entered in to a conversation with a man whose legacy now far exceeds his time with the Mortal Kombat franchise.

It has become tradition for Mortal Kombat Online interviews to begin with the simple question of, in their own words, who the subject is. In the case of John Tobias, introductions are hardly needed. Together with Ed Boon, Tobias is credited as being the co-creator of Mortal Kombat -- a video game dynasty that dominated arcades until their eventual demise at the turn of the millenium, and continues to rule on home consoles.

As the man responsible for creating the original characters (and premise) that have populated Mortal Kombat in its every iteration, the influence of John Tobias is felt throughout the series -- even in the latest game, which set out to reboot the franchise by rewriting its history.

Join us in returning to the original source as John Tobias discusses Mortal Kombat's origins. In Part 1, we review how the series got its start, the names and faces that nearly led it down a different path, and the impact and legacy the original games have had.

Mortal Kombat may be brand new to the PlayStation Vita this month [full story], but the reboot title officially celebrated its first anniversary at the end of April!

Adding to the continuing retrospective; Atomhawk Design have released a follow-up wave of concept resources, expanding the gallery of their contributions to the hugely successful title with images of Kintaro, The Armory, Goro's Lair, Evil Monestary and the apocalyptic vista from Sonya Blade's ending!

Computer gaming nostalgists will be able to go home again with mouse and keyboard in hand thanks to the official release of Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection for PC!

GamersGate currently have the game listed for $9.95, for a 428.81MB download file. Arcade Kollection contains versions of the original games that made the series, a perfect package for curious millineals and 2011 converts who missed the early nineties originals -- Mortal Kombat (1992), Mortal Kombat II (1993) and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1995).

System requirements:
Operating system Windows Vista (32/64 bit) / Windows 7 (32/64 bit)
Processor: 2.0+ GHZ Single Core Processor (Minimum Requirements) / 3.0 GHZ Dual Core Processor (Recommended)
Memory: 1GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 3 GB
Video Card: NVIDIA 6200+ or ATI Radeon 9600+ Video Card, Shader Model 3.0 compatible, Supporting 16:9 Aspect Ratio (Minimum Requirements) / NVIDIA 7900 GS or Equivalent (Recommended)
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c

Celebrating today's release of the Mortal Kombat: Arcade Kollection, gaming website IGN has updated with a Vignette Video featuring the three classic games of the popular fighting franchise:

UK magazine PocketGamer has released word that Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 will be released for Java-enabled mobile phones. it's apparent that a scoring system – not used since the original Mortal Kombat I – will be making its return. Check out the screenshots: The developer is listed as Electronic Arts Mobile and not Warner Bros. The article mentions that the release date is (approximately) December 1, 2010 and that they will be posting their review of the game shortly. No word as of yet whether this confirms a release in North America, or whether this port will include Puzzle Kombat (as the Nintendo DS port did) or any other extras. To read the article in its entirety, click here.

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.

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:

According to a report seen on Kotaku, all of Midway's titles on Xbox LIVE Marketplace have been removed. This also includes the sole MK title on Arcade: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. According to the article, the titles are still available on the console if the titles were already purchased, and could possibly still be downloaded if deleted. However, it is not possible to purchase them at this time. The cause of the removal is not known at this time, but it's very possible it's due to rights transfers between Midway and Warner Bros. Games.