Team Xbox has posted a two page preview of Midway's upcoming action/adventure/fighting game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. Not much new ground is tread in this preview; however, it does give a good summary of what has been seen of the game so far. From the article:

Regardless, the Mortal Kombat series has continued to thrive since its inception back in 1992, seeing a few spin-offs from the classic fighting genre. For those of you that remember Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero or Mortal Kombat Special Forces, the idea of another MK spin-off might not get you all tingly inside, don’t get too pessimistic just yet. The folks at Paradox Development are planning to wipe all the skepticism aside with their upcoming action/adventure Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. Paradox has had plenty of time to perfect their combat mechanics thanks to work on the Backyard Wrestling series, but this time they have the entire Mortal Kombat mythology to work with in order to develop a solid storyline. Speaking of the storyline, Shaolin Monks is based right smack in the middle of the MKII time period, which should certainly please the longtime fans of the series.

Liu Kang and Kung Lao are the focus of Shaolin Monks as you’ll control either one (or both) in an attempt to save Earth realm from Shang Tsung’s latest invasion with his minions of Outworld. Due to the time period and the various settings, you can expect to see a host of classic Mortal Kombat II characters such as Sub-Zero, Baraka, Goro, Reptile, and Johnny Cage, not to mention Outworld locations like the Pit, the Portal, and many more. Shaolin Monks not only plans to bring forth an action-packed single-player experience, but you’ll also have a chance to team up with a bud for some co-op brawling. Actually, a lot of the gameplay revolves around the use of cooperative play as both heroes will team up for impressive combos and fatalities.

The preview also goes in-depth about the game's fighting engine. From the article:

Unlike the fighting games which used specific direction + button combos to pull off special moves, Shaolin Monks adds a modifier button that is combined with the standard attack functions. Regular attacks and combos are plentiful and upgradeable through progression of the game, plus the whole co-op experience adds another layer of combos when Liu Kang and Kung Lao team up. In our short time with the game we noticed a number of classic moves, such as Liu Kang’s flying kick or Kung Lao’s hat toss, but the team at Paradox ensures us that the scope of attacks will be mind-boggling in the final product. The co-op attacks are just plain nasty as you’ll be able to continuously juggle foes, as they bounce helplessly from player to player, before finishing them with one final blow.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member CAMK for the heads-up on this news story!