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.