Mortal Kombat is making the rounds today as coverage of Gamescom in Cologne, Germany has gotten under way! German fansite MKUniverse is covering the event and are reporting that the two characters alluded to by Ed Boon are the Princess of Edenia, Kitana and the yellow cyborg Cyrax. The two arenas mentioned by Ed are both from Mortal Kombat 3: The Bell Tower and Jade's Desert.

Undoubtedly more news will surface throughout the day, but these much anticipated confirmations have made their presence known fairly early on.

Update #1: An image bundle has been released by Netherrealm Studios showing us six high resolution images including the newly announced characters Kitana and Cyrax as well as the newly re-imagined Bell Tower and Jade's Desert arenas. An additional community-exclusive image of Scorpion using his spear on Johnny Cage is also available.

Update #2: Also IGN has published a Hands-On article of the game which describes one of Cyrax's fatalities. "Cyrax takes his saw blades and sheers the opponent's body into five pieces that stay together, finishing him up with a body-shattering kick."
Also described is the previously seen Stage Fatality. "The Pit II – a recreation of the same stage in Mortal Kombat II – gives winners the opportunity to uppercut the losers off the ledge onto spikes below, but the twist is much more grotesque, with endtrails shoved up out of the body and sticking to the spires." You can view the article in it's entirety right here.

Update #3: Game Informer has just posted an online Article stating that the game is "Built For Post-Launch Balancing". The article states that the game has been designed to accomodate future tweaks and to fix inevitable exploits over looked during development. Their full Interview Transcript with Ed Boon will be available on their site next week.

Update #4: Kotaku has just posted their impressions for the game. The article talks about how Cyrax and Kitana play aswell as listing Kitana's fatality and Cyrax's second. Kitana's fatality comprises of chopping the arms of her opponent then severing their head. Cyrax's on the other hand has a "more powerful net that he can throw at opponents, one that passes through their bodies like a razor wire mesh, slices off limbs and head and, in general, fucking them right up." You can view the article in full right here .

Update #5: Spanish gaming site Meristation has posted a hands on preview of the game as well. New tidbits such as the return of the Krypt are alluded to and new details regarding the difficulty system of the game are revealed, including that currently the AI is set on the same level. Upping the difficulty increases the amount of damage done to your character. Thanks to MK Online forum member Shinomune for providing translation. MK Universe.de has posted their interview with Ed Boon as well. Click here to check it out.

Update #6: A new Ed Boon video interview, one from GameSpot . The most exciting piece of information seems to be the mention of a new challenge mode in single player, although the full details haven't been officially announced yet. To watch the GameSpot interview, click here.

Update #7: Another Ed Boon interview from GamesCom is up, this one from GamerLiveTV. They mostly discuss video game violence as well as the fact that MK (2011) is a return to the first three MK games. Check it out here.

Update #8: The folks over at MKUniverse.LU have posted an interview with both Hans Lo and Ed Boon. They ask about multi-tiered stages, the return of Dan "Toasty" Forden, Test Your Might, and more. You can watch part 1 of the interview here. (Part 2 should be available soon.)

Update #9: Another Ed Boon interview from GamesCon 2010, this one from GameTrailers. Not a whole of new information at this point, but check it out here.

As the event has come to a close, this likely concludes coverage of Gamescom 2010. We will keep an eye out for any additional material that may surface in the coming days, however.