Late last month a French game site Jeuxvideo posted a questionable hands on review of an early version of Mortal Kombat (2011). In the review they discuss the presence of a the classic Test Your Might and Test Your Sight mini-games along with two new ones: Test Your Strike and Test Your Luck.

Well it turns out their information was correct. IGN just posted a video that takes a look at the Challenge Tower and Test Your Luck features of Mortal Kombat (2011).

The Challenge Tower looks to be quite interesting, it is made of over 300 different missions. Like there is a mode where Sub-Zero teaming up with Scorpion to battle Shao Kahn when there is limited damage settings enabled. The video also shows Stryker and Johnny Cage fighting off zombies in the Graveyard, as well as Stryker in some grenade throwing mini-game.

Test Your Luck is new feature that pits you against random ever changing unique game variables like the fighters not having arms, sticky floors and upside down fighting. Imagine if they took the Kombat Kodes from Mortal Kombat 3 and made them crazier and random.

Enough talking about the video, you can watch it below courtesy of IGN:


I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we have in store for us. This is already shaping up to be the best Mortal Kombat game yet. What do you guys think?

It's been rumored for a long while, and the PlayStation blog just confirmed it, a Mortal Kombat (2011) demo will be available on the PlayStation Network for PlayStation Plus members on March 8th, 2011. Yes that's next week! PlayStation Plus is a premium version of the PlayStation Network that costs $18 for 3 Months, or $50 for a year. After one week it will be available for non-Plus subscribers and eventually will be available for Xbox 360 users.



It's likely this version is also the same version that will be available at the Mortal Kombat Truck Tour that is starting to tour the country today. It's already known that the PAX East Demo is different which leads us to believe that this is similar to the version going on tour. We'll known soon enough though.

There was a lot of great Mortal Kombat news this weekend, in addition to that we had to manage a server move to increase the reliability of our site for the upcoming release of Mortal Kombat (2011). We had updated fans via our Twitter and Facebook Pages, but figured the front page deserved an update as well.

Mortal Kombat Demo

Tomorrow, the Mortal Kombat (2011) demo will be released for PlayStation Plus members. Usually the PlayStation Store updates in the afternoons on Tuesdays. So keep an eye out for the demo starting around 2pm Central Time. The PlayStation blog has a great article on the demo where they even have been covering questions in the comments. According to the demo there is a great "teaser" video that showcases some of the cool things to expect in the full version of the game. We've updated the Mortal Kombat (2011) Game Page with the characters and some of the moves from the Truck Tour reports, and will finalize the list once we get the demo in-hand on Tuesday.

Mortal Kombat Truck Tour Begins

On Thursday the Mortal Kombat Truck Tour kicked off in Los Angeles. Gamers who showed up got their hands on the demo version of the game early along with the ability to play competitively against other fans. Also of special note T-Shirts are being handed out to those who can show their pre-order receipts, so be sure to bring that with.

We got sent more truck event pictures by WB/Netherrealm as well as from our friend Dan Amrich aka One Of Swords which are below.





Click to Enlarge

Also TRMK Forum regular DCP even got interviewed at the Truck Tour by Mahalo Games in this video feature on the event:

GDC Coverage Recap

This weekend NetherRealm studios brought Mortal Kombat (2011) to GDC to show to select media outlets who were at the show. While their thoughts on the game are embargoed until later this week, a few sites posted interviews. The most interesting was GameSpot posted a great video of Ed Boon detailing the game's new modes which we embedded below.



Ed also stopped by the GameSpot On the Spot show for further discussion of the game where he was presented with a belated birthday cake as well as a funny skit mocking the banning of Mortal Kombat in Australia.

One of my favorite writers, Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica, had a positive hands-on experience with the Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition stick at GDC as well.

Xbox 360 Achievements Leak

Like every game before it, the achievements for Mortal Kombat (2011) has leaked before release of the game over at Xbox 360 Achievements. The non-secret achievements are fairly spoiler-free, and look to be quite reasonable as well. If you want to see the spoiler-filled secret achievement descriptions then head over to my post in the forum for all the juicy details.

Waiting until April 19th and expecting to walk into a store and picking up a Mortal Kombat (2011): Tournament Edition arcade stick might not be a successful plan to acquire the most coveted version of the game. Retailers are running extremely low on the limited edition, including GameStop selling out of their entire allocation.

If you have held out this long, you might have just lucked out with Buy.com now stocking both the Xbox 360 Edition and Playstation 3 Edition for the lowest price we have ever seen of $134.99 with free shipping.

Here's a recap of where you can purchase your Mortal Kombat (2011): Tournament Edition online and what stores feature bonuses for pre-ordering.

Mortal Kombat (2011): Tournament Edition
	Xbox 360	Playstation 3
	SOLD OUT!	SOLD OUT!
Bonus:	none	none
	$149.99	$149.99
Bonus:	Reptile	Reptile
	SOLD OUT!	SOLD OUT!
Bonus:	Scorpion	Scorpion
	$149.96	$149.96
Bonus:	Mileena	Mileena
	SOLD OUT!	SOLD OUT!
Bonus:	Not Available with TE

UPDATE 3/8: Both Buy.com and Amazon.com have sold out of their Tournament Edition allocations.

Update 3/22: BestBuy.com has also sold out. Walmart.com and Amazon.com (back in stock) is your last chance to pre-order your Tournament Edition stick!

The highly anticipated Mortal Kombat (2011) Playstation 3 demo has been released amongst the privileged Playstation Network Plus users. Around 4:15pm CST, the demo began seeding to those who have been eagerly awaiting its arrival.

We have been live streaming the demo during periods of the night at our Forum Chat Room. If we're not playing right this moment, you can view the archives of our sessions at our TRMK Live Channel on Justin.tv.

We've also noticed that Dan "Toasty" Forden delivers his classic line in the Living Forest and The Pit stages after a few uppercuts. Perhaps there's something hidden in the demo?

We will continue to play and capture videos from the demo, so keep it turned here for comprehensive coverage of the PSN Demo. So far the reaction from those watching our stream has been unbelievably positive! We cannot wait until we have the complete game soon. There's much more to come!

It's not quite Mortal Monday but NetherRealm Studios sent us some new Mortal Kombat (2011) renders for the fans out there. This time we get a look at the Shaolin Monk Kung Lao and the God of Thunder Raiden.



Don't forget that in two days PAX East 2011 kicks off, and we're hearing those who are attending are getting a special build that is vasty different than yesterday's demo. If you are attending PAX East, be sure to check out the PAX East Fan Meetup Thread in the forums for info on on the "fan kommunity meetup" which is being organized by our friends at Ninja School Dropouts.

An early Fatality Friday is upon us, as GameSpot posted a new Raiden Vignette video for Mortal Kombat (2011) today. In this video we get our first look at both X-ray and Fatality moves on what appears to be a new level with a pathway next to a water feature. Also, we get a quick glimpse of Sheeva on the roster of evil.



Anyone care to take a guess as to what level is in the vignette?

The Mortal Kombat (2011) road show continues today landing at PAX East in Boston and at SXSW in Austin, Texas. The second truck tour city stop is in Austin offering people the chance of trying out this week's demo build, while PAX East is offering up the GDC '11 build from a few weeks back.

TRMK Forum member, Osu 16 Bit, is in Boston at PAX East and is tweeting @osu16bit details on the build that is there. Some of the details include descriptions of unseen fatalities, playable roster characters including Kitana, Liu Kang, Ermac, Noob, Kano, Nightwolf, Sonya and Jax. You can follow him for instant updates.

You can discuss the latest findings from either city stop at our Mortal Kombat Truck Tour & PAX East forum.

A Fatality Friday update is upon us today, the featured video is a Mortal Kombat (2011) environment bio for the epic reinvisioning of Shao Kahn's Coliseum from Mortal Kombat II. Here is a transcript of the video.

To entertain the denizens of Outworld--and remind them of his brutality--Shao Kahn presides over fighting exhibitions in this enormous Coliseum. The emperor’s throne is positioned at the very center of the structure: the ideal vantage point from which to savor the blood and fear of the kombatants. For these tournaments are no mere sport. Enemies of the empire are routinely cast into the arena to fight for their very lives. The victors are celebrated; the victims have their remains scattered among the spectators, who show their displeasure by hurling the severed heads to the arena floor.

To continue to be amongst the first to get the latest Mortal Kombat news be sure to follow TRMK on Facebook and Twitter.

It wasn't a surprise, as the recent promotional videos from the game had a M Rating shown before them, but Mortal Kombat (2011) has finally officially received a M for Mature rating by the ESRB. The rating description included below doesn't reveal anything new, other than the game may contain an F-bomb or during game play. We're personally betting that takes place when Fatalities are occurring and not story mode.

This is a fighting game in which players engage in one-on-one battles against characters from the fantasy-based Mortal Kombat universe. Players compete in a series of combative rounds in order to advance to different matches throughout the game. Players use swords, guns, chains, spikes, and supernatural attacks (e.g., fire, ice, lightning) to defeat a cast of human-like characters. After an opponent is defeated at the end of a match, players have the option to perform finishing moves called 'Fatalities.' Many of these finishing moves depict over-the-top instances of violence: impalement, bone-crushing body snaps, execution-style gunshots to the head; large blood-splatter effects occur during these sequences, staining characters' bodies and the ground. Several of these exaggerated finishing moves depict characters getting dismembered, ripped or sliced in half, stabbed, set on fire, or set to explode. During the course of the game, female characters sometimes wear revealing outfits that expose large amounts of cleavage; one female fighter is depicted partially nude, covered by a costume of thin cloth strips. Language such as 'f**k' occasionally appears in the dialogue.

Sounds good to us, only 37 more days until we get our hands on Mortal Kombat (2011), so don't forget to pre-order and secure your bonus outfits before it's too late!

With the release of Mortal Kombat (2011) only a month away, we've started to see the signs of Warner Bros putting out new licensed merchandise to tie in with the game's coming release. Our reader, David Knox, shared these new poster finds with us on our Facebook Page.

  

David said he found them for sale at Walmart, which we have confirmed as well, but we've since gotten reports that the posters can be purchased at FYE stores as well. They can also be purchased online over at Poster Revolution.

In further merchandise news, this weekend at the Austin SXSW Mortal Kombat Truck tour stop our friend pebkac sent us some pictures of some new Mortal Kombat T-Shirts that they have on display at the show. Thanks to those we also found some other possible "officially licensed" shirts that are also available online.

  


  

The people at the show said these shirts are official products and should be available for purchase soon. We just can't find them in stores at this time, but have found them both at MyTeeSpot and The Cultural Exchange for online purchase. I have personally gotten one shirt from MyTeeSpot fairly quickly, so I can vouch for them. So keep an eye out at your favorite T-Shirt shop for MK shirts to show up and let us know what you find!

Merely 34 days away, Mortal Kombat (2011) is gaining traction and garnering a ton of positive feedback from the Playstation 3 demo and the PAX East build. This latest edition of the Mortal Kombat series trying desperately to gain the attention of the hardcore tournament fighter segement and has made the gameplay the most robust in series history.

With all of this new depth in gameplay, the difficulty to master increases. What better way to level the playing field than with Prima Games' Official Mortal Kombat Strategy Guide Kollector's Edition? The highlights from the Kollector's Edition are the laminated move cards and the tournament caliber strategy section. Here are the final list of features in the Offical Kollector's Edition Strategy Guide currently on pre-order at GameStop for $34.99 or right now you can get it on sale at Amazon for $20.21.

• All content from regular edition book


• Exclusive theme song from Teenage Riot Records


• Behind the Music - Exclusive interviews with the theme song artists


• Tournament caliber strategy for the serious tournament players


• Inside NetherRealm Studio feature


• Massive concept art section


• Laminated move reference cards for all characters


• Character histories with Fatality gallery and warrior evolution


• Embossed Hardcover with special foil logo

Sounds like a great deal, but if you still want all of the character's moves in print you can order the Standard Edition Strategy Guide from GameStop for $19.99 or on sale at Amazon for $11.75.

And for those that just want a comprehensive reference online, we will still offer our own Mortal Kombat (2011) Moves Guide in our Mortal Kombat (2011) Game Guide.

UPDATE: Added Amazon.com killer sale prices!

Eurogamer just posted up a new Raiden Gameplay Trailer that also has a bit of segments from the still mysterious Story Mode. We see that Raiden has retained most of his classic moves as well as introducing few new tricks like teleporting lighting attacks. We also get another good look at the revamped Courtyard stage. There also appears to be a mysterious Gray ninja in the background of the cinematic scene, who could that be?

You can head over to Eurogamer to watch it or watch the YouTube copy embedded below.



Thanks to MS3 in the TRMK Forums for finding this!

Also don't forget to check out Game Trailers TV Tonight for a new Mortal Kombat Kharacter Reveal. Who do you think it is?

G4TV's The Feed got the first video look at the upcoming Mortal Kombat Web Series. In the clip the actress Jeri Ryan who is playing Sonya Blade talks about the creation of the series. It's mostly behind the scenes bits, but quite a few set pieces are clearly visible.



The production value behind this web series looks quite great so far, and we hope it's successful and results in further projects with the cast.

It's also now less than an hour away before the GameTrailers TV episode which is going to reveal a new character for Mortal Kombat (2011). Stay tuned!

As promised, the newest GameTrailers TV episode is on right now. From the intro segment it appears that Spike TV is set to unveil Kabal as the newest Mortal Kombat (2011) Character.

The entire episode is up on GameTrailers TV. For now you'll need to skip to the fourth chapter to see the Kabal reveal.

Here is a direct screenshot taken from a TiVo rip of mine to show Kabal's new character detail. As you can see his skin is now showing the most damage we've seen yet in his various incarnations. Other parts of his outfit have also got visual upgrades that I think look great. He's identifiable yet not an exact copy of previous incarnations.



Also here's a quick recap of what was shown during the clip:

• Kabal's got similar moves as before


• Kabal's got a devistating X-Ray move where he uses the hooks


• Re-imagined Soul Chamber stage shown for the first time


• Kabal's air splice Fatality was also shown

Also during Kabal's Fatality is a stage we can't identify. It seems to be filled with dead bodies on the ground, but the background can't be seen because of the Fatality darkness.



Any ideas what stage that maybe be? Could this be the first look at Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits?

This weekend, the Mortal Kombat Truck Tour rolls through the Dallas, Texas area. A new stop was added recently for Today, Friday the 18th in Southlake at the GameStop in Southlake Town Square off HWY 114 from 5pm to 9pm.

But the big news is that Tomorrow, Saturday the 19th the Plano, Texas truck tour stop at Best Buy at US-75 and Parker Road will go on from 11am - 4pm. TRMK will be there at the event and will be live streaming from the Mortal Kombat Truck Tour over on our TRMK Live Channel at Justin.tv.

Afterwards at 4:00pm, everyone is invited to join TRMK at The Allen Wickers - A Public House for a Kommunity Member Meet-up. Come by and share a beverage with fellow TRMK readers and other Mortal Kombat fans and discuss what you thought of the truck tour and your impressions of Mortal Kombat (2011) so far. We will also have a few items to giveaway including.

• Official Mortal Kombat Strategy Guide - Kollector's Edition by Prima Games (mailed after release)


• Mortal Kombat (2011) Posters


• Autographed Vintage Strategy Guide from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance by Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon


• Autographed Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Scorpion vs. Batman poster by Ed Boon

You can view more details about the event on our Facebook Event page. Allen Wickers is located at 2301 N. Central Expwy Ste. 195, Plano, TX, 75075, directly across US-75, merely two minutes away from the Best Buy Plano Truck Tour Stop. Come join us for a beverage, all ages welcome, and celebrate Mortal Kombat (2011) and TRMK.

On Saturday the Mortal Kombat Truck Tour rolled through Plano, Texas and brought a special passenger, the Mortal Kombat (2011) Tournament Edition Arcade Stick. The version on the truck was labeled a prototype and was lacking a few finishing details that will be on the final retail edition. However, from what we noticed, it was extremely well-built and made of melamine-laminated MDF. The stick is being manufactured by PDP and designed in close conjunction with NetherRealm Studios. We were able to get our hands-on the sturdy arcade stick and filed this video preview of the prototype Xbox 360 version.




While this was the Xbox 360 version of the Tournament Edition arcade stick, the truck tour trailer was only equipped with Playstation 3 consoles. We did try to see what would happen if we plugged in the Xbox 360 controller to the Playstation 3. The controller's guide button lit up and the screen displayed an unknown USB device connected error message. So, we were unable to see how the game played with the arcade stick, but NetherRealm Studios has said all along that Mortal Kombat (2011) has been designed specifically for using the arcade stick.





The build quality was great and the size was very wide. The attention to detail was prevalent even in this prototype version. For example, there is a dragon pattern etched throughout the gold piano hinge that really looked amazing. It was a heavy and stout arcade stick that had a decent amount of stiffness in the bat-top stick handle. Those who have pre-ordered the Tournament Edition will definitely not be disappointed with their purchase.

GameSpot just posted Warner Bros's first official Mortal Kombat (2011) TV commercial. It includes the first time seeing the older Shang Tsung in-battle as well as a new Reptile theme from the Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired By Warriors album. You can see it embedded below:



Then there is also this GameStop TV spot that started making the rounds this morning to promote gamers to pre-order the game from them. This is their second promotional video for the game, the first was the hilarious Gamestop WE KARE video.



Since the game is due out soon, I have a feeling these wont be the last of the ads we'll be seeing for the game. Thanks to Kilmansky for the heads up on the new commercial.

Ever since WB Games Chicago was renamed NetherRealm Studios back in June of 2010, their studio website at www.netherrealm.com had nothing on it but their logo. When compared to other WB Games studios, like SnowBlind it felt really lacking. But the void was acceptable because they were in the middle of putting together Mortal Kombat (2011). Now that the game is all but done, they finally have a proper home.

Below is a thumbnail of their newly website.


The new www.netherrealm.com allows them to post things like news and updates, the story behind the studio, their current job openings, photos of the studio, and their list of games which is sure to grow. I'm sure with the news function alone there will be plenty of reason to return to this website for some of the latest happenings after Mortal Kombat (2011) is released.

After viewing our hands-on video preview of the Mortal Kombat (2011): Tournament Edition arcade stick, Mortal Kombat fans might be seriously considering pre-ordering their own if they haven't already. If you are one of those who haven't pulled the trigger yet, and are getting an itchy trigger finger, there are only a limited number of retailers with stock remaining. As of publishing, there are two places that still have stock, Walmart.com and a surprise reappearance at Amazon.com. BestBuy.com has fallen into the sold out category earlier this evening.

Here's a recap of where you can purchase your Mortal Kombat (2011): Tournament Edition online and what stores feature bonuses for pre-ordering.

Mortal Kombat (2011): Tournament Edition
	Xbox 360	Playstation 3
	SOLD OUT!	SOLD OUT!
Bonus:	none	none
	SOLD OUT!	SOLD OUT!
Bonus:	Reptile	Reptile
	SOLD OUT!	SOLD OUT!
Bonus:	Scorpion	Scorpion
	$149.96	SOLD OUT!
Bonus:	Mileena	Mileena
	SOLD OUT!	SOLD OUT!
Bonus:	Not Available with TE
	$149.99	$149.99
Bonus:	None	None
	$149.96	$149.96
Bonus:	None	None

Also, it should be noted that there might be retailers that may have stock on hand on the release date, April 19th, to the general public. So if you miss out on the online pre-orders, there still may be a slim chance you can come across ones sitting on the shelf. However, you may not want to chance that from happening and secure your Tournament Edition today!

Also, as a side note, PDP Gaming, manufacturers of the arcade stick, are offering the Tournament Edition Arcade Stick for Xbox 360 for $129.99. However, a huge caveat is that the price is for the arcade stick ONLY. Playstation 3 units are not available on the PDP site either. So, it might not be such a great deal, but might end up being a complete last resort.

Updated 4/5/2011: Updated the grid above. Amazon.com sold out of their second set of TE's and Wal-mart has sold out of the PS3 Tournament Edition. Luckily both Sears.com and Frys.com has added the Tournament Edition to their websites so we added it above.

It also appears PDP has reduced the price on the Tournament Edition Arcade Stick for Xbox 360 that doesn't come with a game to $129.99.

GameSpot has posted the first Kratos Gameplay Trailer from Mortal Kombat (2011). This is similar to the Extended Kombat Kontinues demo teaser trailer that was seen in the European Tournament builds of the game, just in glorious high quality video.



Thanks to buffduffdan on the Forums for the heads up!

The PlayStation Blog sat down with both Ed Boon and The Stig to discuss Kratos being included in Mortal Kombat (2011).



Sorry that was a joke, Ed Boon didn't sit down with The Stig from Top Gear, though that would be a funny one way conversation. Instead he sat down with God of War III director Stig Asmussen to discuss the creative process involved behind putting Kratos into the game.



Not only is the article a good read, but they have a video there as well interviewing both Ed and Stig. Especially don't miss the great little "FAQ" area at the end of the article where they answer common Kratos questions like if Kratos has an ending, Kratos's Stage Details as well if he can take part in Test Your Might. Also "Friendships" are also mentioned in passing?

So what are you waiting for? Go read the article!

GameStop has posted a second video in their new WE KARE campaign video following up the first one that debuted last week. Included is more Scorpion Classic Skin gameplay footage that plays while the host describes "Karpal Thumbel Syndrome" pains associated with excessive button mashing in fighting games. While not as funny as the first video, it's still just as charming. Keep your ears open for a special cameo that you surely can't miss!



Also be sure to enter GameStop's We Kare Contest over on the GameStop Facebook Page. One of the prizes is a life sized Scorpion figurine!

Thanks to Outlander from the TRMK Forums for the tip.

To stay up to date on news like this about the upcoming Mortal Kombat (2011) be sure to follow @TRMK on Twitter and like our Facebook Page.

Thanks to TRMK Forums member Killer Ryno for letting us know that IGN posted a video where they take a look at Kratos in Mortal Kombat (2011). The footage isn't new, it's the same from yesterday's Ed Boon and Stig Asmussen video. Regardless of that, the video is still a good watch the IGN team does is break it down and note where Kratos gets his various moves from. This is a great education for you Mortal Kombat fans who never got to play God of War.



To stay up to date on news like this about the upcoming Mortal Kombat (2011) be sure to follow @TRMK on Twitter and like our Facebook Page.

It's Fatality Friday again and indeed we are treated to a new Mortal Kombat (2011) fatality. This time it is Raiden's fatality and it is in the GameStop Mortal Kombat Widget and on the Mortal Kombat Facebook Page. Here is a preview of said fatality below:



To see the full "uncensored" version, you'll need to have pre-ordered with GameStop and enter the code into the widget.

Keep in mind the following article may contain minor character spoilers, but as an effort to calm the confusion around DLC in the community it is necessary in this story.

Over the weekend two articles surfaced discussing DLC in the upcoming Mortal Kombat (2011). First an inaccurate article from the May 2011 issue of GamePro surfaced. The article said that DLC was going to be: a new female warrior dressed in red named Skarlett along with the blind warrior Kenshi and the four armed end boss from Mortal Kombat 2: Kintaro. Immediately after the news surfaced, it was said to be wrong by NetherRealm's Executive Producer Shaun Himmerick. We immediately chalked it up as an April Fools Day prank by GamePro, despite being in the May issue, and decided to do some research.

Well then earlier today CVG published an interview with Mortal Kombat's Senior Producer Hans Lo. In the interview Hans confirms that both Scarlet (with a c and one t) and Kenshi will be coming "pretty soon" as DLC. Here is what Hans told CVG:

"[The two we're adding] are Kenshi, who players will recognise from previous MK games, and more excitingly we're adding Scarlet. Anyone who knows the history of Mortal Kombat will tell you that back in the days of the arcade - when they did just palette swap characters to come up with multiple fighters in the game - there was a glitch in one of the old arcade machines that caused the Jade/Katana/Milena female ninja to glitch and turn red. People always thought it was a hidden unlockable character and it wasn't, it was purely a programming glitch. They've always speculated and in fact it was the fans who named her Scarlet to begin with. She's no longer a glitch - she's an actual character, and she'll be coming pretty soon post-launch." - Hans Lo to CVG

The article then goes on to mention that Kintaro is "planned" but doesn't go into detail. At that moment many Mortal Kombat fan sites jumped on board saying the CVG just confirmed the entire GamePro story, despite CVG not calling Kintaro DLC. That's when NetherRealm's Producer Hector Sanchez made the following statement on Twitter:

"I get sad when I see articles that post incorrect information. :( #tigerbloodnotforsale #trustNRS" - Hector Sanchez on Twitter

His "#tigerbloodnotforsale" mention the key thing to look at there. What does this mean?

Well our interpretation of his statement is that Kintaro is in the game already you wont have to pay or download a character that is on the disc already! Also we've personally read some of the files contained within the Mortal Kombat (2011) Demo and Kintaro is actually part of the big 300th Challenge Tower battle amongst other mentions of him that are larger spoilers. Will he be a playable character when the game ships on April 19th? That's yet to be seen.

The clear message here is that NetherRealm Studios is not looking to sell you an unlock code for a character that is on the game disc already, that's why we should "Trust NRS" like Hector said. Whatever they are "planning" for us is clearly going to be in the best interests of the fans.

Also of note, Hector responded to our question about the spelling of the new female character's name. GamePro called her "Skarlett" and CVG called her "Scarlet" and thusly confused the community. Hector said that her name has not been "decided yet" and that she is just "Lady in Red, for now". So there you have it, she should be called Lady in Red until an official statement or reveal comes from NetherRealm studios on this new warrior.

To stay up to date on news like this about the upcoming Mortal Kombat (2011) be sure to follow @TRMK on Twitter and like our Facebook Page.

As many of you know, the entire Mortal Kombat (2011) character select screen leaked out yesterday. This screen had been circulating for weeks and someone decided against better judgement and leaked it to the entire community. We decided a while ago not to run this screenshot as it contains character spoilers for the full game and many people would like to avoid those.

If you really want to see the picture, you can continue onto our Full Character Select Screen Spoiler Thread to see the select screen image and also discuss the story with your fellow fans. At TRMK we've been trying hard to keep our news and forums spoiler free to avoid ruining the game for others. Still we know fans like to talk about the latest leaks so we setup a dedicated Mortal Kombat Spoiler Forum for all such discussions.

Also beware that many other gaming outlets are now running this screenshot as well as news, so surf wisely if you want to avoid these spoilers.

Update 12:00pm: Well the leakers never stop as now they leaked the entire roster versus images ripped from right from the demo. Again please keep spoiler discussions discussion in the related thread and refrain from using them as your avatar, etc.

Next week Tuesday the first new Mortal Kombat music soundtrack in over 10 years, Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired By The Warriors, will be released. If you are on the fence, you can now actually preview the entire soundtrack on Amazon.com. Those looking to pre-order can order the physical CD on Amazon for $13.32 or the Amazon MP3 Album for $9.49.

To celebrate this we are going to have a small contest. We have over 10 Mortal Kombat Music Promo Cards from the Mortal Kombat Truck Tour. Each card has a code for three free songs from the upcoming soundtrack.

You can see some of the cards below:


To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this story by 12 Noon Central Time on April 1st, 2011 telling us your favorite song from the album.

The randomly selected winners will have the unique code and song download instructions sent to them via Private Message. Please do not enter if you got the free songs already from the Truck Tour, this contest is intended for those no lucky enough to make the Truck Tour themselves. Only one entry will be counted per person.

Here is the full details on the album from the press release:

MORTAL KOMBAT: SONGS INSPIRED BY THE WARRIORS
TURNS THE VOLUME UP ON APRIL 5

Soundtrack Executive Produced by JFK of MSTRKRFT/Death From Above 1979

Burbank, CA (March 24, 2011) - WaterTower Music and Teenage Riot Records have unveiled the details of the album Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors. This collection of electronic music inspired by the upcoming Mortal Kombat game is being executive produced by JFK (of the DJ/ production duo MSTRKRFT and Death From Above 1979) and is set for release April 5th.

JFK has assembled a spectacular group of DJs and producers to continue the tradition of weaving electronic music into the Mortal Kombat aesthetic. He enthusiastically describes the project, saying "It's always exciting to have the opportunity to write music for something outside of the traditional means, especially when it is for a project like Mortal Kombat that has had such pop cultural significance for so long. It’s a great step forward for the ways that video games can interact with music across unique genres and mediums."

That same excitement has been echoed by the artists who are contributing to the project. "I've been a Mortal Kombat fan since Mortal Kombat 2 came out on Sega Genesis. This was completely a passion project for me, and I'm so honored to be a part of the Mortal Kombat legacy!" declares glitch-step wunderkind Skrillex, who contributes “Reptile’s Theme” to the project.

Celebrated producer Harvard Bass, who recorded “Helado (Sub-Zero’s Theme)” for the collection, adds emphatically "When I found out I was going to work on music for Mortal Kombat, I almost lost it. I've been a huge fan of the game and it was a privilege to be a part of video game history." And DJ and producer Congorock says “Mortal Kombat has shocked me since the first time I played it…for the album I went for something more atmospheric and less clubby, but still it feels like a dream coming true.”

MORTAL KOMBAT: SONGS INSPIRED BY THE WARRIORS TRACK LISTING:

1. Deathstalker (Scorpion's Theme) - JFK of MSTRKRFT
2. Mileena's Theme - Tokimonsta
3. Helado (Sub-Zero's Theme) - Harvard Bass
4. Liu Kang's Theme - Congorock
5. Goro's Theme - Bird Peterson
6. Reptile's Theme - Skrillex
7. Raiden's Theme - 9th Wonder
8. Johnny Cage's Theme - LA Riots
9. Baraka's Theme - Run DMT
10. Kung Lao's Theme - Felix Cartal
11. Kano's Theme - Them Jeans
12. Shao Kahn's Theme - Sound Of Stereo

Thanks to forum member fraysol for the press release and pebkac for a bunch of the codes we're giving away.

Update 4/1/2011: The contest is now closed, and winners are being contacted now. We posted up the results of the favorite song poll in the the contest comments.

T-Shirt designer WinterArtwork Illustrations has a custom Scorpion inspired T-Shirt available on TeeFury.com for $10 and is available for TODAY ONLY. The shirt features a great parody of a Scorpion themed restaurant with the famous "Get Over Here" catch phrase. The shirt is a follow up to the Frosty Treats shirt that he designed last year.

Also be sure to follow the instructions on TeeFury.com for a chance to win a set of Toasty BBQ sticker packs.

If you like the shirt design, the artist also made available some free wallpapers to dress up your computer and mobile devices. Click the image below to download them!



Tell us would you eat at Scorpion's "Toasty BBQ Shack?"

Update 4/1/2011: WinterArtwork Illustrations tells us this was their most successful t-shirt yet, so because of that it's been made available over at RedBubble for $24 and you get your choice of T-Shirt colors. They also sent word that their Frosty Treats shirt is available at Split Reason for $19 each.

Italian gaming news site Multiplayer has a new Tag Team gameplay video from Mortal Kombat (2011). This new video features the tag-team combo of Kitana and Jade vs Mileena and Sindel.



I always thought I'd combo up Kitana and Mileena, but the pairing of Kitana and Jade seems more appealing to me now. What character combo are you most looking forward to using?

TerryMasters over at Classic MK just obtained what could possibly be one of the rarest Mortal Kombat games ever. When buying a rare networked version of NBA Jam he also got a free bonus Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 Wolf-Unit board included in his box. While inspecting the board he saw some writing of "TR2" on the EEPROMs that made him wonder if this was maybe the super rare WaveNET version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3? Well when that board powered up it appeared to actually be a prototype Mortal Kombat Trilogy arcade board!



He doesn't show us much at this point, but is promising more stuff to come. But you can see the attract mode video now has Raiden as well as the Pit 1 background added into it. So this is either the best April Fools joke ever, or a glimpse into the rarest arcade version of Mortal Kombat to make it into the hands of the public. If you are like me and can't wait to see more, keep an eye on TerryMaster's YouTube for new videos as he releases them!

Updated 4/1/2011: Earlier today TerryMasters uploaded a new video showing MAME running the dumped ROMs which you can see below.



In the video he attached a URL to a set of ROMs that no one was able to get to work. After some further investigation I found the files were not ROMs afterall, but rather RAR files. I renamed them a bit and uncovered the video it contained that looks like the following:



So yeah it wound up being the most elaborate April Fools joke yet in the Mortal Kombat community and we applaud TerryMasters for his efforts. Very well done, even if it is a bit disappointing to not be real.

MovieWeb has a great new interview with the Mortal Kombat web series director Kevin Tancharoen.


Kevin Tancharoen with Jeri Ryan (Sonya)

In the interview it is revealed that the first episode of the series will be debuting before Mortal Kombat (2011)'s release on April 19th, 2011, as we predicted. Following that then we'll get one new episode every week for a total of ten episodes. The interview also covers how the clip accidentally leaked last year, his hopes to go beyond a web series with this concept, and his plans also include Raiden, Cyrax and Sektor as characters in the series.

Thanks to @BungleNoMore for the news lead.

To stay up to date on news like this about the upcoming Mortal Kombat (2011) be sure to follow @TRMK on Twitter and like our Facebook Page.