Mortal Kombat News & Community Hub

Many fans will remember that a while back, we reported on the upcoming movie Press Start, a parody of video games (including Mortal Kombat) and also featuring icons John Turk, Daniel Pesina, and Carlos Pesina. The movie will be released this Tuesday on September 25th!

The DVD is packed with special features, including three audio commentary tracks (one from the filmmakers, one from the cast, and one from the composer, Jake Kaufman). There's also a nifty "making of" as well as three "Bonus Level" cartoons, three "Dial V for Vile" videos, and more.

If you happen to be in the vicinity of Champaign, IL, they'll be premiering Press Start at The Virginia Theatre on Wednesday, October 3 at 7:00 pm . The event is sponsored by videogame developer Volition, Inc. – the creators of such games as Red Faction, The Punisher, and Saints Row! There will also be Press Start DVD's and T-shirts for sale.

To order the DVD directly, be sure to visit the Press Start home page starting Tuesday, September 25th. Congratulations to Dark Maze Studios for their hard work and dedication to this project!

Yahoo! recently posted an article in regards to the top ten most controversial video games of all time. Listed amongst such franchises such as Doom, Grand Theft Auto, and the never-released Night Trap was none other than everyone's favorite franchise, Mortal Kombat. From the article:

[INDENT]Don't let the bad grammar fool you: Midway knew exactly what it was doing when it unleashed this brutal challenger to Capcom's coin-op champ Street Fighter back in 1992. Thanks to incredibly lifelike graphics made possible through digitizing human actors, Mortal Kombat quickly became a breakout hit, but its sheer brutality and chilling "Fatalities" made it an easy target for anti-violence crusaders. Along with Night Trap, Mortal Kombat was singled out as a prime example of inexcusable game violence during heated Congressional hearings in 1993, the result of which led to the formation of the ESRB ratings system. Not a flawless victory.[/INDENT]
One should note that while the article faults MK for helping implement the ESRB ratings system, one cannot deny its place in history for this and it is precisely this type of self-regulation of the video game industry which actually prevented other games from being pulled from the shelves altogether.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Source MKOnline

The folks over at CVG recently got a chance to interview Mortal Kombat co-creator and project manager Ed Boon and discussed the latest incarnation of MK - MK Armageddon for the Nintendo Wii - as well as the next-generation of MK to come. From the interview:
[INDENT]Q: So how have you found working with the Wii hardware in general? Has it been easier than you expected?

A: It definitely has its challenges. Our goal was for simplicity, so we really wanted to have... When I say 'go left-right on the controller', you'll be amazed how many go from like this to this (waves Wii Remote around) and the goal was to try to accept the whole range of people's interpretations of what left-right is. The hardware that's inside of here, programming that and making it universal, that's probably the biggest challenge.

Q: There's been a lot of speculation about what you're doing for the next Mortal Kombat game...

A: The only thing I can say at the moment is we are going to do a reset, we're going to throw everything from the previous Mortal Kombats, we're going to start from scratch and try to introduce as many new characters as possible, new features, new stuff like that and take advantage of the amazing presentation, graphics that all of a sudden you can do, things that are a lot more real.

It'll be a lot more realistic-looking, a lot grittier, dirtier, we're not going to joke around in this one, it's not going to be like jokes - it's going to be a real serious Mortal Kombat.

It's going to be a fighting game, definitely, but after that anything can go. We're not putting any restrictions like we HAVE to keep weapons or we HAVE to keep fighting styles and stuff like that.[/INDENT]To read the article in its entirety, click here

The folks over at Midway are publishing a book featuring their artwork, including some never-before-seen art from Mortal Kombat! There will also be some artwork from their other hits such as Area 51, Psi-Ops, Gauntlet, The Suffering,Stranglehold, and other games which haven't been released yet. Check out the cover and these preview images:
You can order the book from Amazon.com by going here

Source MKOnline

Midway has posted another bio from the most recent console release, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! Following the most recent bio, Nitara, this bio features the demon slayer Ashrah. These two characters have become well connected, and this bio basically tells Ashrah's side of what was learned in Nitara's bio.

ASHRAH

After slaying countless demons with the kriss I discovered in the Netherrealm, my soul was no longer corrupt and I transcended that hell. I emerged in an unfamiliar realm at the feet of celestial beings who glowed with blinding light. They explained to me that the kriss is a tool, able to transform its finder into a warrior powerful enough to purify the world. I am their chosen one, the ascending demon they were searching for.

Awestruck by their celestial beauty, I surrendered myself to the beings’ will. My purpose in the cosmos was never more clear: I would do what they asked of me and consume the darkness, bringing peace to the realms. By doing so I would also achieve absolute purification - I would join them as an angel of light!

The celestials had brought me here, a realm of darkness known as Vaeternus, to begin my crusade against a cunning vampire race. The vile creatures feed off the blood of their prey and spread their corruption unhindered throughout the realms. Seductive and powerful is their dark magic, but it would not save them from the purity of my holy kriss.

And so I hunted them. With each vampire I "pacified" the sword crackled with holy light. I felt as though the blade and I were both growing stronger. Our strength was not enough, however, as one female vampire bested me and escaped to Edenia. Slaying her has become my focus. If I can gain power enough to defeat Nitara, nothing will prevent my ascension!


Page not found - Mortal Kombat: Armageddon


Syncopations

The folks over at IGN have made it to the Games Convention 2007 in Leipzig, Germany, where they got to check out Ultimate Mortal Kombat on the Nintendo DS. From the article, apparently written by the world's #1 Stryker fan: [INDENT]The DS lends itself nicely to the Mortal Kombat game. The controls are responsive and precise and we didn't find it difficult to string out any combination of Stryker's fearsome moves. Since this is the same Mortal Kombat game you've been playing for years, touch controls and the second screen don't come into play. Even with the low resolution screen, this port of the arcade version makes Stryker look almost as good as he originally did on the big screen.[/INDENT]
To read the article in its entirety, click here.