The early nineties was arguably a golden age for video games and their multimedia tie-ins, when mainstream organizations were enthusiastic to fully exploit a now sturdy market and its growing legion of fans. From this heady brew arose a British behemoth called GamesMaster: a much-loved gaming show with a penchant for kombat that has returned anew in 2021! Watch the first episode right here:

GamesMaster first broadcast in 1992 - the same year Mortal Kombat debuted to hysteria around the world. It's no surprise, then, that the series remained a perennial favourite for the show, which featured an entire dedicated Mortal Kombat episode for its revamped third series premier in late '93, and followed the feature film in the following years.

Watch: GamesMaster Series 8 Episode 1 | GamesMaster Mortal Kombat Special

A twenty-three year drought between episodes has been ended thanks to Channel 4's E4 and Facebook sponsor Meta Quest, who're preying upon gamers' nostalgia with a well rounded reinvention of the original's various game show and magazine article formats. The first episode features modern contests, like a Super Mario 3D World speedrun, with a trio of new hosts, and Sir Trevor McDonald as the new head in charge - the titular GamesMaster.

Keeping the MK tradition alive is a brutal battle between brothers, Ryan "Ketchup" Neal and Jake "Mustard" Neal, whose showdown for sibling supremacy in the final segment comes with the promise of the coveted Golden Joystick, and the threat of impending death. Hey, no problem. This is the nineties!

Mortal Kombat 11 provides their arena, which means the competition pros who were synonymous with Sektor and Cyrax in the past had to make do with Rain and Frost. The result was an exciting three round bout that put on a pulse pounding (games)master class with one very "cool combo" and an exciting finish.

[Related Article: MK30: The Creation of Scorpion's Mortal Kombat Spear]

What were your favourite video game shows on television in decades of yore? Share your nostalgia with us in the comments below and keep the dream alive in the Mortal Kombat 11 forum. Or go back to the past for the latest in retro in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum!