Press Start, a feature-length comedy movie featuring videogame themes; and featuring two former Mortal Kombat actors; has released the first episode of “Press Start: Bonus Levels." “Press Start: Bonus Levels” is a new series of web cartoons that explain more of the characters' backstories than the creators could fit into the movie itself. They even hint at many surprises for videogame fans out there. New episodes are posted the last Friday of every month and can be found at PressStartMovie.com.

Here is the synopsis of the first episode, Beer Comes A New Challenger:

The premiere episode finds irate ninja Lin-Ku at a bar, fuming over an unexpected turn of events at a recent fighting tournament.

Read the entire press release, and check out the production's blog for even more information on the progress of the movie.

In the grandest of traditions, TRMK will be in Los Angeles, CA next week for its sixth year of live show-floor coverage of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. This year's show should be a good one as Midway will be showing off the closing chapter of the Mortal Kombat universe on current generation consoles, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Mortal Kombat: Unchained, the PSP adaptation of Mortal Kombat: Deception.

Also, don't forget to check out our parent network site Realm Media Networks as we will be covering all of the next-generation console news and games with live updates and impressions.

We're extremely excitied about this year's show. Check back for more details on the specific features we will be using. While you're waiting, check out our coverage from last year. E3 coverage starts next week from May 9th - May 12th.

Midway announced their E3 2006 lineup today in a press release. Included in the list of games is both Mortal Kombat: Unchained for the Sony PSP and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon for the Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox. In addition, the tentative release dates were reiterated with Unchained hitting in September 2006 and Armageddon in October 2006. Here are the blurbs on these two games.

Mortal Kombat(R): Armageddon(TM) (PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, Xbox(R); October 2006) -- Introducing Mortal Kombat: Armageddon -- the latest chapter in Midway's best-selling, award-winning, videogame fighting franchise. With the most complete Mortal Kombat roster ever, including every character from the Mortal Kombat fighting universe, revolutionary Create-A-Fighter and Create-A-Fatality modes, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon promises to be the most complete, intensely lethal, fighting experience ever!

Mortal Kombat(R): Unchained(TM) (PSP system; September 2006) -- Mortal Kombat(R): Unchained(TM) takes the Mortal Kombat franchise to new heights with an innovative fighting system tailored for wireless functionality, unparalleled depth and brutally intense action that will appeal to long-time Mortal Kombat fans, as well as new gamers.

Don't forget that we will feature live in-depth coverage of the builds on display at Midway's booth at E3. Check back next week for the blowout of information you can expect from TRMK.

Midway offered the folks over at GameSpot a sneak preview of the E3 build of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. The two-paged hands-on preview touches almost every aspect you would want to know about the game. The preview also reveals that the "new game mode" that the MK Team was promising in place of the Kombat Chess and Puzzle Battle modes was not revealed in the E3 demo.

As if the one-on-one combat didn't offer enough ways to murder your opponent, the team is packing the backgrounds in the game will all manner of deadly elements. Besides having the opportunity to check out newly made-over classic stages such as Goro's Lair from the original MK, the subway from MK3, and the wastelands from MK II, we were able to see the various death traps and weapons that are being tossed into the mix. The old stages seem to be getting some of the cooler updates at the moment; a catapult in the wasteland stage is fatal fun when you're able to launch a foe at a wall. At the same time, some of the familiar hazards from the old stages are getting a nice refresh, such as the train in the subway stage.

In addition to the hands-on, GameSpot also features a video interview with Mortal Kombat co-creator, Ed Boon. Boon details what to expect with Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Mortal Kombat: Unchained for the Sony PSP and the future direction of the Mortal Kombat franchise.

Thanks Hydro and zeke009

GameSpot has begun to post up some of their E3 2006 pre-show coverage. Included in their update are four new gameplay videos of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. The videos feature some of the new stage danger traps, like the Subway train, and good looks at some of the gameplay changes.

Thanks to JRF for the tip!

The official Mortal Kombat Armageddon website, MKArmageddon.com, has updated with a new high quality render of Goro's Lair from the upcoming game.


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Be sure to check back to MKArmageddon.com on Wednesday May 10th, 2006 as they promise to release new "Kontent" up on the website. Also don't forget to check back here for the latest information from the E3 show floor on both Mortal Kombat: Unchained for the Sony PSP and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

Thanks to forum member satinsoven.

Welcome to TRMK's sixth year of live E3 show coverage. In the TRMK tradition, we managed to sneak into the show early and gather some information and photos of the Midway booth at E3 this year.

This year it seems they have stepped up the promotion of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and placed four playable Xbox kiosks running the game out in the lobby of the West Hall just outside of Midway's booth location. They also have a large row of eight kiosks inside of Midway's booth in West Hall.









We also got an exclusive first look at how the new Fatality system looks. Take a look at this placard and the other two special move cards.





There was also a sighting of a large poster of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon off on the side of the building which you can see from Interstate 110. Reportedly the file for this banner image was 20 gigabytes.



Be sure to check back tomorrow for even more information live from the show floor!

The official Mortal Kombat: Armageddon website, MKArmageddon.com, has updated with their special E3 Kontent. Included with the new update is two high quality renders of the Lumber Mill and Battle Arena stages from the upcoming game.

They also released their E3 2006 Mortal Kombat Armageddon trailer.

So head on over to MKArmageddon.com and we will have local mirrors and YouTube streams available on here later today.

While E3 continues on its last day, the TRMK staff continues to compile information and videos on the two Mortal Kombat titles here at E3, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Mortal Kombat: Unchained.

We will be filing reports on Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Mortal Kombat: Unchained either later tonight or the next few days. We will also have some extensive video from the game, featuring stage death traps, Konquest Intro, Create a Fatality and more. As soon as we can get all of the video footage edited and uploaded we will provide the links.

Also check out our other sites, including our Gears of War Realm site which will have in-game video footage and exclusive hands on impressions of the game's multiplayer mode in the next few days. Make sure you also visit our parent network site, RealmMedia.com, for more game impressions and overall coverage of the next generation of consoles. Throughout the next couple of days numerous impressions and images will be published, so check back frequently.

With the create a fatality system turning fatalities into another "combo", the MK Team's creativity in killing your opponent is now focused on the death traps located in numerous, if not all stages. In this clip, we highlight a few of the brutal stage death traps featured in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.


Click the above image to play the video. If the video does not appear for you, open this link in QuickTime 7. Check back later for more of our continuing coverage of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon at E3 2006.

In Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, the Create a Fatality feature is as easy as customizing your Whopper hamburger. In this E3 2006 video clip, we show off a few fatalities that will make you beg for more. The longest we saw performed at the show was a massive 10 move fatality. The time counter gets shorter after every move. And at 10, it is nearly impossible to pull off another move in time. In this video, the longest we caught was a 7 move fatality. Check 'em out.


Click the above image to play the video. If the video does not appear for you, install QuickTime 7. Check back later for more of our continuing coverage of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon at E3 2006.

One of the most unique and recent additions to the current generation of Mortal Kombat games is Konquest Mode. Not only is Konquest Mode a walkthrough tutorial on how to play, but it also is a full fledged fighting adventure game. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon takes this gameplay mode to a whole new level, incorporating techniques and mechanics from the successful Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. In this E3 2006 video clip, we present the Konquest Mode intro along with the game's first fighting mechanics tutorial. Konquest is much more interactive and both looks and feels significantly improved over its predecessor in Mortal Kombat: Deception.


Click the above image to play the video. If the video does not appear for you, install QuickTime 7. Check back later for more of our continuing coverage of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon at E3 2006.

Midway's first 3D Mortal Kombat fighting game for the Sony PSP, Mortal Kombat: Unchained, is an updated version of the featured added GameCube version of Mortal Kombat: Deception. In addition to the selectable Goro and Shao Kahn, Jax makes a comeback to the series. The game also features ad-hoc wireless WiFi modes in order to play one-on-one matches.

Midway had a small Sony PSP bar in the back of their booth, featuring two Unchained units. Below are a few images we snapped of the game. As you can see, the majority of the images are of loading screens because that's what you will be looking at most of the time, as the loading time for Unchained is considerably long. Hopefully that is not what Midway is calling their new Endurance Mode feature.




Check back later for more extended coverage of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and Mortal Kombat: Unchained at E3 2006.

Not only is Mortal Kombat: Armageddon the most important title for Midway in 2006, it is also a feature title for current-generation consoles. While Midway pimped Armageddon extremely hard this year with 12 total stations in their own booth, Microsoft and Sony both featured multiple stations in their own respective booths. Suffice it to say, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon was everywhere.




Check back later for more of our extended coverage of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon at E3 2006.

In a press release, Midway announced that several of their games featured at this year's E3 have been nominated for several critics awards. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon was nominated 4 times in the category for Best Fighting Game at 1up.com, GameSpot, GameTrailers and IGN. Unfortunately, Armageddon didn't take home any awards this year, losing out to Street Fighter Alpha Anthology, Tekken: Dark Resurrection and Virtua Fighter 5.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon still has a chance at winning an award when the Game Critics Awards, a panel of prestigious videogame journalists, announce their selections on May 31st.

John Turk, palette-swap ninjas and Shang Tsung from Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, has lent his voice talents to the cast of Press Start, in this month's episode of the Press Start: Bonus Levels. Bonus Levels is a monthly online animated short from the creators of Press Start.

In "Poker, Mon", it's poker night at Count Nefarious Vile's lair, but Captain Psychodrive brings entirely the wrong kind of deck. Turk voices two of the villainous guests.

Press Start tells the story of a suburban youth in a videogame world who discovers his adventurous, if berserk, destiny when he's recruited by an ill-tempered ninja and a tough-as-nails space soldier to save the world from a tyrannical, but comically insecure, sorcerer. Both Carlos and Daniel Pesina from Mortal Kombat fame, are heavily involved in the production.