awesome!

Not many fighter slots available, but hey. This is the beginning. This game is gonna be tough. It was built for me.

it has BEGUN!

Pay attention to the fact that there are 4 locked boxes left. That means that if one is a shadow fatality and the other a revealed one, Scorpion has 3 fatalities (unless the last one is a something-else-ality).

Im betting he has 3 with the third one being his classic toasty fatality.

why is the page only half page? Is it like that for anyone else?

whoops changed back to the old one

That was kind of..... unprofessional lol

BRUTALITY is probably back!

Well, that was quick... whoops?

-cries- I didnt even get too see it :(

This is profound sadness that they remove the update so quick.

Wait, it's gone now??

Yup ): how did the renders look like anyway?
Anyone save the pics?

They were silhuettes, nothing more. Which means they looked like scorpion in shape, but were all black like a cardboard cut-out.

O.....DANGGGIIIITTT ):

News Story now updated with screen-captures showing how the site looked before it reverted back!

First reaction: bitter mockery of the idea of non-fatalities, obscured by silhouette. On the surface, the kind of haphazard illogic you sort of come to expect from MK's gimmick-of-the-week, and further evidence that WB's sagging development timeline won't change what's fundamental to the development team.

Then, however, the thought occurs that it could be one of the most cunning signs of foresight the series has ever shown. A gimmick that might actually have some lasting good, by offering the usual trappings of blood spurts and decapitation, with the adding curiosity of actually not showing the gore or violence of it. A move that might actually trick the average MK fan into cheering yet more non-violence!

Then again, if history tells us anything, the thing many fans will take away from it is the unshown act itself. A false memory that leads to calls for septic, unmotivated grime and gore in the vein of Rebirth, and what ever other slasher-esque festival of violence that MK never actually was.

Boy is it getting easy to be a cynical MK fan...!

Jesus Mick, you've become an increasingly negative individual. I don't remember you being this way back when. You've bashed practically all MK fans by lumping everyone into one category and calling us all "Tasteless Idiots", now you're bashing a MK site update?. No one has to like everything the MK team does, I know I certainly don't, but you seem to have a lot of built up animosity toward this franchise lately for whatever reason.

I don't know that it helps this thread to redirect specifics of other conversations here, or make it a conversation about me, but it's a fair point.

Unfortunately, I think MKvsDC and MK2011 represent the new generation of MK in the same way MKDA began that much more admirable era of the series. Both games represent a lot of the worst of the franchise, which I think traditionally could be attributed, to some extent, to a response to what a vocal majority of the fanbase typically requests. I think they'd be much better served getting back to telling fans what is good about the series, and creating a strong core.

I heard a prominent games commentator once describe the MK series as 'the one with,' which strikes me as an apt obversation from an outside perspective. If silhouette fatalities work their way in next to X-Ray moves, then I think we've got a couple of options to expect to become MK2011's short-lived term of reference.

If you read my previous comment, you will note a slightly underhanded, but sincere compliment for the idea. If they actually stick to their guns (unlike chunks of the MKDA+ era), they might make a positive step toward striking out some of the misconceptions that surround MK and it's application of violence. Misconceptions that led many online punters to cheer for a video clip that almost in no way represented the once strong franchise.

Don't fear criticism; don't immediately assume it's wrong because it isn't fawning agreement. I think MK has a knack for creating easily opening itself up to criticism. If ever there was a time to criticize, it's now, when the franchise should be, and is supposedly, reestablishing itself for the future.

They've done better. We should expect better.

I don't expect to pop up in every single thread to drone monotoned about the disappointment of this game, which began with it's uninspired high concept, but I think it's an (apparent) minority view worth voicing. I would not consider it uninformed or unwarranted criticism, as you might be characterizing it. EDIT: Incidentally, I think I'm pretty much on message as usual. There's just much less to cheer about, this time around. Even Armageddon had it's highlights!

Wow! Sick!

You can still access it here.

You have been a Negative Nancy about things lately, Mick, which is rather uncharacteristic of you from my recollection. I've rarely seen such doom and gloom, especially in light of our utter lack of knowledge concerning over half the cast, any real additional features, or even a clear, concise basis for the gameplay narrative and story mode.

And I'll gladly and happily disagree that there "is much less to cheer about this time around". Let me just list off some of the reasons this is the MK game I'm more excited for than any in the past decade:

Visually, I'm loving it. I was underwhelmed by MKvsDC's graphics, but the art team has truly stepped up and so far has delivered some robust character models and amazing stages, both bursting with unprecedented life and flourish. Characters in this game already move and animate with unique fluidity that ties into their personalities. It's little details, but the intros, the taunts, the assists, the win-poses, all culminate in a portrayal of almost 15 year old characters that suddenly make them seem fresh and new all over again. Seeing Kitana stare down her opponent and tell them she's going to make them "learn respect", seeing Scorpion teleport from his victory to the depths of the Netherrealm, watching Nightwolf disappear in a shamanistic white light... impressive stuff.

Further more, we're trimming the fat and excess of the past MK games. No ridiculous diversions like Motor Kombat or Puzzle Kombat, or even Konquest. It's pure fighting, and the fighting engine is getting all the love it can get. We're getting the deepest fighting engine for a MK game in years, one that promises to bring fans coming back over and over again to learn some new tricks, built and designed to apply quick and easy patches and fixes to tweak and fine-tune the game post-release until it finds it creamy center of gameplay balance. MK is on its way towards being a tournament worthy fighting game once again.

Moving past that, the oh-so-glorious return to guts and gore. While I'm not a gore-hound, practically everybody was disappointed with MKvsDC's tame finishers and Armageddon's universal kreate-a-fatality robbed its robust cast of its unique charm and personal touches. The new game brings back the heavy-hitting, the bone crunching, the slicing and dicing, the ripped limbs, the nut-shots, the neck snaps, the back cracks, the eye-gouges, the dismemberment, the streams of blood, and the hilarious excess that in its day caused a panic and single-handedly created the ESRB and caused an uproar from moms and politicians everywhere. For the first time in a long time, people are talking about MK in a good way, oohing and ahhing at the sight of Kung Lao splitting his victim in half, Mileena nibbling off their faces, and Sektor blasting them to smithereens.

With the promises of the most robust story-mode yet in a fighting game, a fully fleshed out and expansive online mode, the return of the fan-favorite Krypt extras, a cast of all our favorite MK1-3 characters, and a highly anticipated return to truly hidden and legitimate secrets, easter eggs, and extras, and it sounds to me like the MK game fans have been waiting for for a good long while; some since MK vs DC neutered the violence, some since Armageddon for the lack of unique Fatalities and a lack of story, some since MK: Deadly Alliance since the shift to 3D gameplay, some since MK4 for the shift in presentation and graphics... it's been a long time coming.

There are PLENTY of reasons to get excited for this new MK game. To me, it seems to excise all the unnecessary dribble and baggage that has plague the franchise in the name of accessibility, rushed deadlines, and pointless padding. It looks great. It looks like it plays great. And we've barely seen the meat of the game itself.

I don't blame anybody for being a skeptic after such a long lull in quality and reception, but people are excited about MK again. My friends that haven't played it since the arcade era are talking about it. The media is talking positively about it. Fighting game fans are giving it another look. It's a second (maybe third) wind for the series, a new start with a new company and the talent, time, and technique necessary to give us a truly triple-A product.

It's okay to be a cynic, but at the same time be open to something fresh yet familiar, different yet delightful. For me personality, this game is looking to scratch every itch I've ever had for this franchise, and I have every hope and expectation that it may once again rekindle fans interest in the series after a series of compromises and letdowns. This is a new beast of a game, and I'm looking forward to what other new, fresh things they bring to the table.

It's a good time to be a Mortal Kombat fan.

So the game that was one of the best things to ever happen and the game that won't be out for several months represent the worst of the franchise?



Someone else already called that.



Armageddon is nothing but highlights.

Can't help but think I already stand corrected. There's no hope.

On the subject of the thread itself as opposed to things that could stay in another thread... I agree, Mick! I also wonder if the shadow gimmick might be to address some of the censorship concerns of countries around the world. It's a shame that that might be necessary, but it might be a bit of cake and eating it too.