E3 2010 Day 1: Mortal Kombat Unveiled

Patrick McCarron

Patrick McCarron

TRMK Admin, Co-founder
Staff member
The day is just starting, E3 doors are about to open. The first sign of life today was <a href="">NetherRealm Studios</a> Community Manager <a href="http://twitter.com/ninjaboy66">Rigo Cortes on Twitter</a> has been posting a few images today. The best is of the finished MK Theatre:

<center><img src="http://trmk.org/images/mk9/MortalKombat_E3_2010_D1_MK_Theatre_Rigo.jpg"></center>

Also just a few minutes ago during Sony's E3 2010 Conference they announced <a href="http://e3.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/705546/Sony-Announces-3D-Titles.html">Mortal Kombat will support the PS3's built in 3D mode</a> when it's released. Here is a picture of the logo on screen at the conference.

<center><img src="http://trmk.org/images/mk9/MortalKombat_E3_2010_D1_SonyConference.png"></center>

Sony then followed this by showing Kung Lao's second Fatality in 3D. <B>Updated:</b> Added high quality video from <a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2010-playstation-3/101544">GameTrailers</a>. Skip to 2:00 for Fatality, quick bit of gameplay at the beginning.

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<b>Update 4:10pm:</b> Also, <a href="http://twitter.com/jeffgerstmann">Jeff Gerstmann</a> from <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com">Giant Bomb</a> reports that the button configuration is classic <b>Mortal Kombat</b>, except that "High/Low" is replaced with "Front/Rear" along with standard "Block" and no "Run" buttons.

Also, in watching the above trailer, we're exposed to the game's health meters and a mysterious "power meter" of some sort. There is a "X", "Lightning Bolt", and "S" across a gold power meter. When <b>Sektor</b> shoots twin missiles at <b>Kung Lao</b>, the meter displays the word "X-Ray" and the meter drains to the "Lightning Bolt" icon. Perhaps the "X-Ray" mode is the close up bone-breaking shots we saw in the first trailer. See the below screen capture.

<center><a href="http://www.trmk.org/images/news/MK2011_SonyE3_01.jpg"><img src="http://www.trmk.org/images/news/MK2011_SonyE3_01_sm.jpg" class="newslink" width="480" height="270" /></a></center>

<B>Update 5:32pm:</b> A <a href="http://wildgunmen.com/blog/2010/06/15/e3-first-look-mortal-kombat/">blog posting</a> on the <a href="http://wildgunmen.com">Wild Gunmen</a> features a multitude of details on what is being shown in the <b>Mortal Kombat</b> theater. They detail the "super meter" along with a brief description of <b>Reptile</b> and <b>Sektor's</b> fatalities along with TONS of pictures from the videos. <b>Updated</b> Also, the select screen features 26 slots in a 4 x 7 arrangement, with 8 characters displayed. The bottom row is made up of a <b>Random Select</b> square, <b>two characters</b> and one <b>Downloadable Content</b> placeholder. Therefore, the minimum number of characters will be <b>26</b> + <b>DLC Characters</b>. This is the E3 roster from left to right. <b>Scorpion</b>, <b>Millena</b>, <b>Reptile</b>, <b>Sub-Zero</b>, <b>Kung Lao</b>, <b>Johnny Cage</b>, <b>Nightwolf</b>, and <b>Sektor</b>. Here is the detail on the "super meter".

Level one makes whatever attack you’re pulling off stronger. Fireballs become larger, and attacks like Sektor’s teleport punch add another hit to the combo.

Level two is a combo-breaker – pretty basic, same stuff we’ve seen before.

Level three is the most exciting. Currently dubbed the x-ray attack, it’s a brutal attack that goes into an x-ray mode to show you what you’re doing. Like showing fingers penetrating the skull through the eyes, or breaking someones rubs. In Johnny Cage’s case, it’s the meat sack of the pelvis rupturing after his famous ball-buster.
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<b>Update 10:56pm:</b> An <a href="http://ps3.ign.com/articles/109/1098513p1.html">interview</a> with <b>Ed Boon</b> over at <a href="http://ps3.ign.com">IGN</a> has uncovered a few more details from the game. First off, the underlying game engine continues to be a <b>"heavily modified version of the Unreal 3 engine"</b> which runs at <b>60 frames per second</b>, essentially an upgraded derivative of the engine <a href="http://www.trmk.org/games/mortal_kombat_vs_dc_universe/">Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe</a> uses.

Secondly, online is planning to be a huge component of the game. <b>Downloadable Content</b> is being promised from the start, with "new characters, new backgrounds, new fatalities" coming out after the game's release. Online play will feature "the one on one combat quick match"; however, the big focus <b>NetherRealm Studios</b> will put towards "community play, where we get eight people together, they're all playing, everybody can participate and comment, and winner stays, loser pays." This feature sounds like a virtual arcade room with up to 8 players that can view matches while two players battle, which will bring back memories of those who played MK 1-3 in the arcades.

We also learn some of the storyline that the game will feature. Essentially the game will be a total re-envisioning of the first three games in the series.

We're also talking about a new take on the series' story. "Mortal Kombat has this timeline - eighteen years of making games, and we really didn't want to just continue, like, chapter seventeen of the whole story," says Ed Boon, the co-creator of the series. "So we're kind of doing a Back to the Future type of thing, where Raiden is about to be killed by Shao Kahn, and just before he delivers the last blow, he sends a mental message to his earlier self, so the camera rewinds back to Mortal Kombat 1. The Raiden from back then gets a message and he doesn't know what's going on, but he knows something bad's going to happen, and the game spans Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 3, retelling the story with an enlightened Raiden, and he's changing the course of things, so everything you've seen happen before – Liu Kang winning, the guys turning into cybernetic ninjas, are changed around, so you might see a character become cybernetic who wasn't before, and so you see a different version [of events]."
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On the subject of the game's roster, <b>Boon</b> mentions that the team is solely focused on characters from <a href="http://www.trmk.org/games/mortal_kombat/">Mortal Kombat 1</a> through <a href="http://www.trmk.org/games/mortal_kombat_3/">Mortal Kombat 3</a>.

That's a recap of the day's events and stories. It has been quite the reveal, after so much uncertainty and silence. We will continue to keep an eye out for more stories as they come in. We'll have some more recaps and information from the show's floor along with various community thoughts and opinions.
 
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That fatality was nice. The TV's start at $2000 or less actually from Samsung, but regardless, not interested until there is content AND it's auto (no glasses). Actually I'm lying.. not interested at all given my previous experiences with PC games.
 
Umon Daisuke said:
That fatality was nice. The TV's start at $2000 or less actually from Samsung, but regardless, not interested until there is content AND it's auto (no glasses). Actually I'm lying.. not interested at all given my previous experiences with PC games.
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The cheapest one worth putting that much money into it was $3000 :(

all is well. i got a nice 46" LED @ $1000 lol
 
not bad not bad whudda looked cooler if he really had to slice thru the body bones n organs slower
 
MK was certainly shown and mentioned repeatedly during Sony's conference. Seems that Sektor's flame thrower is a standard move in the game (I haven't played any of of the game much since MKD so I don't know if it was a move in MKA as well).


Tim Static said:
all is well. i got a nice 46" LED @ $1000 lol
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Nice. My current TV's equivalent 3D iteration is $2600 basically without the glasses. Fools gold would probably describe early adopters for the most part, and it rings true of 3D. Auto stereoscopic akin the 3DS can't be far if the technology finds a place in the home theatre market.
 
The classic button layout is coming back too? That's awesome. I don't understand the use of front/rear over high/low (didn't BloodStorm label its attacks that way?), but still, it's nice not just having attacks 1-4.
 
No Run button means there's gonna be a dash mechanic. That does not bode well. I'm also curious about the bars at the bottom....
 
Brilliant fatality :D Can't see myself owning a 3D TV for a long time but it's nice that MK is supporting it anyway!!

As for the X-Ray bar at the bottom, I'd think it must be to do with the footage from the trailer where the camera shows you the bones breaking, etc. Maybe it's a kind of "klose-kombat" which you have to build up towards - a similar style mode from MK vs DC? Could be that like the Rage system from that game, you can use it for something else once it's half-filled (a better special move perhaps, as Sektor fires 2 missiles) :)
 
selectscreen.jpg
 
Can someone please quote the whole article along with the pictures? That site is so slow for me.
 
The text:

After a long wait, I got in to see the first screening on the day of the new Mortal Kombat. While the demo wasn’t playable by us, it was presented by three of the developers, who played it for us.

I took pictures with my camera, higher quality shots will be posted when we have them.

The first thing we saw was the select screen.

The characters shown were Scorpion, Mileena, Reptile, Subzero, Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, Nightwolf and Sektor.

The two guys with controllers selected Scorpion and Sub Zero and began the fight.

We’re told that they’re all fans of the old Mortal Kombat games, so this new one is going to be done very much like the old ones, on a 2D plane (but with 3D graphics – like Street Fighter 4).

True to form, the combat looks a lot faster and more fluid, like the older games. Even the levels they showed us, the living forest, the pit and Shao Khans throne (complete with Sonia Blade in chains) are based off the originals, with a new coat of paint.

Blood and combat damage appears on characters as they take a beating, and remains round-to-round until the end of the match. Yeah, I know, this was done before – but it’s looking really good, really gory here. Not the crayon-like effects seen in previous games.

At one point during the match, Subzero freezes Scorpion just before he’s about to land – he frozen in place, in the jumping animation in mid air. It draws applause.

Second match is Reptile vs. Sektor. Moves remain largely the same, and I was told button combos to pull them off will remain the same.

The new addition to the fighting game is the super meter. Similar to other fighting games with a super meter, this one has three levels.

Level one makes whatever attack you’re pulling off stronger. Fireballs become larger, and attacks like Sektor’s teleport punch add another hit to the combo.

Level two is a combo-breaker – pretty basic, same stuff we’ve seen before.

Level three is the most exciting. Currently dubbed the x-ray attack, it’s a brutal attack that goes into an x-ray mode to show you what you’re doing. Like showing fingers penetrating the skull through the eyes, or breaking someones rubs. In Johnny Cage’s case, it’s the meat sack of the pelvis rupturing after his famous ball-buster.

We were also shown tag team, 2 vs. 2 combat. It seems pretty similar to any tag team fighter – tag out at any time, throw a move while tagging in, use the super meter to do special attack. In all, it looks fun and fluid.

The game looks really good actually, and everyone has custom animations. There’s a real focus on the characters here.

Finally, we’re shown a video of the fatalities. It’s been six years since we saw proper, character specific fatalities in a Mortal Kombat game. MK vs. DC no one was killed, and Armageddon had custom fatalities. As the developers pointed out, it doesn’t feel right doing a fatality with SubZero if you can’t freeze your opponent.

The fatalities were properly gory too. Peoples heads were split open, reptile spit acid into his enemies mouth, Sektor blows someone into smaller chunks, then targets and blows up those chunks in mid-air.

This MK looks like a real return to form. Hopefully it does for the franchise what Street Fighter 4 did last year.
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Holy crap does that ever look brutal.
 
Pat, it looks like there's more than 16 characters to choose from. I don't think he took a picture of the whole screen.

And thanks guys.
 
Jinko said:
Pat, it looks like there's more than 16 characters to choose from. I don't think he took a picture of the whole screen.
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I think you're right. It looks like there's at least one more row of characters.

Also:

KungLao-Fatality-3.jpg


Must change pants.
 
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