Mortal Kombat Pre-Play

The past is most certainly the past, but sometimes that past is so memorable, you can't help but want to relive it. That being my case with Warner Bros first addition to the Mortal Kombat franchise. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment purchased the rights to Mortal Kombat with the recent acquisition of Midway Games, and most of its assets in July 2009.

My trip to PAX Prime this year led to my first hands on with the game since its announcement on June 10th of this year. Having been a huge Mortal Kombat fan for most of my life (yes, I even enjoyed both movies), I couldn't wait to play the newest iteration.

Simply named Mortal Kombat, no subtitle, is a kind of rebirth for the franchise. It's going back to the days of 2D plains and visceral combat. Things that shone bright in the first 3 games, the 4th went a different, but still satisfying, direction. Fatalities are back in full bloody, gory force, and a new combo system is in place, making Mortal Kombat feel much more competitive than previous entries.

One of the more notable changes in the game is the ease of performing a finishing move, or fatality, in this instance. It could have been simplified for the public demo to show off some of the more mature content, but here's hoping it's a little more challenging come release time. I chose my favorite character, Scorpion, and began to pummel my opponent. Unfortunately I forgot how to play since the last MK game I played was over a year ago.

Without knowing Scorpion's spear, teleport, or even air throw moves, I was a sitting duck. My opponent seemed to remember Sub-Zero's freeze attack right off the bat. This made things pretty difficult. Even more stressful was having Ed Boone, creator of the MK franchise, standing behind us and watching every move I made. I had to try and avoid embarrassing myself. My gaming cred was on the line.

Out of three rounds, I was able to eek out at least one win before having my ass handed to me in the decision third round. Lets just say ROQ editor Joe was pretty smug after the win. Lucky for me he didn't get directions from the exhibitor in time for the fatality. We'll see who's laughing after I buy and master the game.

Mortal Kombat is slated for a 2011 release on Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Most likely will be rated M for Mature, just the way I always wanted it, and the way it always should be.