Mortal Kombat (2011 video game)

Mortal Kombat is the title for the 9th fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series, developed by the newly named NetherRealm Studios (formerly Midway).

The game was first hinted at by developer Ed Boon in January 2009, shortly after the release of the previous game in the franchise, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

On June 18, 2009, Boon confirmed in his Twitter page that they were performing motion capture for the game.

He also revealed that the game is not related to the Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe game, and that they were again aiming for a "Mature" rating, contrarily to the "Teen" rating attained by the previous game.

Plot
The story retells the events of the original trilogy, in a new timeline where Raiden receives a message from himself in the prime future after the Battle of Armageddon has happened and Shao Kahn became the supreme leader of all the realms. Because of this plot, characters and scenarios present are the classic ones, bringing the old back to new and starting a new conflict.

Chapters
The story mode of Mortal Kombat is told in 16 chapters, with one character being playable in each chapter. The order of the chapters are listed below.


 * 1) Johnny Cage
 * 2) Sonya Blade
 * 3) Scorpion
 * 4) Cyrax
 * 5) Liu Kang
 * 6) Jax Briggs
 * 7) Smoke
 * 8) Sub-Zero
 * 9) Kitana
 * 10) Jade
 * 11) Kung Lao (Though the final fight in this chapter you play as Liu Kang)
 * 12) Kurtis Stryker
 * 13) Kabal
 * 14) Cyber Sub-Zero
 * 15) Nightwolf
 * 16) Raiden

thumb|300px|right|The Opening Cinematic to MK 9

Gameplay
The normal blows have changed a lot. Instead of having a few punches and kicks divided between high and low, there's now a button for each limb: front arm, front leg, back arm, and back leg. This combines with most martial arts techniques. The player can also execute many special moves with little effort. Also new are intro and outro animations. Each character will have a different intro and outro, depending if they decided to do a Fatality or not.

The controls also refer a lot to Mortal Kombat 3, with the clash limited to a single plane, the fastest pace of struggle. Many attacks will throw the opponent into the air, and several others that take advantage of aerial combat. The "run" button is no longer in, but there is quick dash the player can use to inflict even more damage to their opponent if they're quick in getting their combo. Also out is the infamous system "Dial-a-Kombo", which was introduced in MK3 and used pre-defined sequences of buttons to execute "ready" combos. The combos are more akin to those found in MK and MKII, consisting largely of chaining regular attacks and special moves together. In the words of Ed Boon: "You're making your own combos. We aren't programming them in as much". This brings a lot of freedom to play and with the speed of return, as it is very easy to improvise a few effective beatings.

Another welcome return are the "real" Fatalities. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon used the infamous Kreate-a-Fatality and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe used far less violent versions of the finishers. Now violence is back with great pride. This time the team began creating the game for Fatalities, an element that was before the end of the development cycle. From this process emerged ideas on how to combine fatalities, "before, Kung Lao had a fatality in which he cut a guy in half and another in which he beheaded a person, now he has one where he does both," claims Ed Boon in an interview with Giant Bomb. Surprisingly, Babalities have also returned from MK3.thumb|250px|right|Babalities are back!

One new feature that has drawn much attention and keeps very well the climate of brutality is the introduction of X-Ray Attacks. With them, the player can see the internal damage caused by the blows on the opponent. The player must wait until their special bar is full before they can use the X-Ray moves. Players can also use their special bar to execute combo breakers or to enhance their special attacks. There is also distinct damage done to the characters during the matches.

The game features three different single player modes: Story Mode, in which the player assumes the role of several different pre-designated characters and the main plot is told; a tournament ladder reminiscent of the earlier MK games which features a sub-boss, boss, and animated ending for each character; and a training mode which allows players to hone their skills with their chosen character.

Mortal Kombat (2011) also includes several mini-games, like the classic Test Your Might, and Test Your Sight, as well as the new Test Your Strike and Test Your Luck. The game also includes a massive 300 mission challenge in a new mode called The Challenge Tower.

Another new feature is the Fatality Practice Mode, where the button combinations for the Fatality are shown above, and a green square on the ground indicates the correct distance for the Fatality to work. If the player moves away from the square, it turns red, indicating that the Fatality will not be executed.

An online feature called King of the Hill, is a spectator view, in it observers are given the ability to interact directly with those currently engaged in battle.

It seems that NetherRealm Studios are going to take advantage of the PS3 custom soundtrack feature. It will allow players to listen to the music they want while playing the game.

Kombatants
The game features 28 playable fighters for Playstation 3 users, and 27 playable characters for Xbox 360, in addition to an unknown number of downloadable (DLC) characters, 3 unplayable bosses, and 2 hidden characters. Cyber Sub-Zero is unlocked upon defeating him in chapter thirteen in the Story Mode, and Quan Chi is unlocked upon completing the Story Mode.


 * 1) Scorpion
 * 2) Liu Kang
 * 3) Kung Lao
 * 4) Sub-Zero
 * 5) Sindel
 * 6) Ermac
 * 7) Reptile
 * 8) Kitana
 * 9) Johnny Cage
 * 10) Jade
 * 11) Mileena
 * 12) Nightwolf
 * 13) Cyrax
 * 14) Noob Saibot
 * 15) Smoke
 * 16) Sektor
 * 17) Sonya Blade
 * 18) Jax
 * 19) Kano
 * 20) Kurtis Stryker
 * 21) Shang Tsung
 * 22) Baraka
 * 23) Kabal
 * 24) Raiden
 * 25) Sheeva
 * 26) Quan Chi (Story Mode Unlockable)
 * 27) Kratos (PS3 exclusive)
 * 28) Cyber Sub-Zero (Story Mode Unlockable)

The following characters are non-playable bosses:
 * 1) Goro (Playable in Challenge Tower)
 * 2) Kintaro
 * 3) Shao Kahn

The following characters appear in secret battles in Arcade mode when certain requirements are met:
 * 1) MK Reptile
 * 2) MKII Smoke
 * 3) MKII Jade (in MK3 outfit)
 * 4) MKII Noob Saibot

The following characters have been confirmed as DLC characters: The following characters are rumored as DLC characters: Mentioned by Ed Boon in his Twitter
 * 1) Kenshi
 * 2) Skarlet - she was a rumored red ninja from Mortal Kombat II. She is now a new DLC playable character.
 * 3) Klassic Costumes for various characters.
 * 1) Tanya
 * 2) Frost
 * 3) Rain
 * 4) Fujin
 * 1) Cyber-Smoke
 * 2) Shinnok

Cameo Appearances
Throughout the trailers and the promotional images, numerous, unconfirmed characters were seen in the background of certain arenas.
 * Daegon, Kenshi, Reiko, Frost, and Sareena are shown fighting in the background of the Pit II stage.
 * Tanya, Kitana, Kira, Li Mei and Skarlet are shown chained in Shao Kahn's Arena.
 * A Shadow Priest, Rain, an unknown male character and occasionally Classic Noob Saibot are shown looking over Meat on The Cathedral stage.
 * Goro on his throne.
 * Shao Kahn on his throne.
 * Shang Tsung (Elder Form) on his throne.
 * Shadow Priest at the Soul Chamber.
 * A broken rock statue of Sindel's head and hand can be seen in the background of Jade's Desert stage lying in the sand
 * The rock statues of Goro, Baraka, Kano, Rain and Reiko can be seen in the background of Shang Tsung's Gardens.
 * Motaro, Skarlet, and Shinnok appear in a couple of cutscenes during Story Mode, but not as opponents or playable characters.
 * Classic Smoke sometimes peeks out behind the trees in the Living Forest.
 * The classic version of Cyrax can be seen still stuck in the sand in Jade's Desert stage, to the far left of the stage.
 * Bo' Rai Cho, Kenshi, Zombie Liu Kang, Hotaru, Li Mei, Shinnok's Giant Skull Hands and some of the MK 2011 kombatants are featured at the beginning of the Story Mode.
 * Onaga, Taven, Motaro, Frost and Shinnok are seen when Raiden sends a message to his past self.
 * Two Masked Guards, Shang Tsung (Elder Form) and many monk students are shown in The Courtyard.
 * Kenshi and Reiko were called upon to fight after the younger Sub-Zero was captured by the Lin Kuei.
 * Bo' Rai Cho's name was mentioned during Story Mode, and is seen in both Shang Tsung and Kung Lao's arcade ladder endings.
 * The NetherRealm Studios logo (Scorpion) is seen in the Subway.
 * The Great Kung Lao is featured in Kung Lao's ending.
 * Havik appeared in Noob Saibot's Arcade ending.
 * The Lin Kuei Grandmaster is murdered by his son in Sektor's ending.
 * Onaga along with Shang Tsung and Goro are mentioned in Shao Kahn's Bio (click here to see it)

Kombat Zones

 * 1) The Armory
 * 2) The Bell Tower
 * 3) The Cathedral
 * 4) The Courtyard
 * 5) Dead Pool (Stage Fatality)
 * 6) The Tower
 * 7) Goro's Lair
 * 8) The Graveyard
 * 9) Kahn's Colosseum
 * 10) Chamber of the Flame (Playstation 3 exclusive) (3 Stage Fatalities)
 * 11) The Living Forest (Stage Fatality)
 * 12) The Desert
 * 13) Hell (Stage Fatality)
 * 14) The Pit (Stage Fatality)
 * 15) The Pit Bottom
 * 16) The Rooftop
 * 17) Shang Tsung's Gardens (between Pit I, Palace Gates and Warrior Shrine)
 * 18) Shang Tsung's Flesh Pits
 * 19) Shao Kahn's Throne Room
 * 20) Soul Chamber
 * 21) The Street (Stage Fatality)
 * 22) The Subway (Stage Fatality)
 * 23) Throne Room
 * 24) Training Dojo
 * 25) Wastelands of Outworld

Achievements/Trophies
Some of the Achievements/Trophies in Mortal Kombat (2011) are:

Fatality!: Complete 1 Fatality

Tough Guy: Win 1 Online Match

Cold Fusion: Unlock Cyber Sub-Zero

Ultimate Humiliation: Perform every fighter's hidden finishing move

Quan Tease: Unlock Quan Chi

You've Got Style!: Unlock all Alternate Costumes

Humiliation!: Get a Flawless Victory in an Online Match

There Can Be Only One!: Win 10 King of the Hill matches in a row

Cyber Challenger: Complete 100 Online Matches

Undertaker: Unlock 50% in the Krypt

The Krypt Keeper: Unlock 100% in the Krypt

Tower Master: Complete all Tower missions

Where's The Arcade: Complete Arcade Ladder with one fighter

Arcade Champion: Complete Arcade Ladder with All Fighters

A complete list is given here.

Cast

 * Ronald M. Banks - Quan Chi
 * Dana Lyn Baron - Sonya Blade
 * Ed Boon - Scorpion (Get over here! and Come here! voice clips), Additional voices
 * T.C. Carson - Kratos
 * Bob Carter - Baraka, Shao Kahn
 * Tom Choi - Liu Kang
 * Richard Epcar - Raiden
 * Jin Hyong - Kung Lao, Fighter 1
 * Andrew Kishino - Shang Tsung, Sektor
 * Ken Lally - Smoke, Goro, Shinnok
 * Linda Lee - Jade
 * David Lodge - Kabal
 * Jim McCance - Endings Announcer, PD Radio Op.
 * Michael McConnohie - Ermac, Kano, Elder God
 * Matthew Mercer - Kurtis Stryker, Soldier 1
 * Jim Miller - Sub-Zero / Cyber Sub-Zero
 * Lani Minella - Sindel, Sheeva, Elder God
 * Larry Omaha - Nightwolf
 * Rhasaan Orange - Cyrax, Kintaro, SF Radio Op.
 * Jeff Pilson - Johnny Cage
 * Jamieson Price - Noob Saibot / Original Sub-Zero, In-Game Announcer
 * Gerald C. Rivers - Jax Briggs
 * Garret T. Sato - Additional Voices
 * Patrick Seitz - Scorpion, Soldier 2
 * Karen Strassman - Kitana, Mileena
 * Marz Timms - Reptile
 * Ping Wu - Additional Voices

Additional Information
Midway, along with the Mortal Kombat franchise, has now since become part of Warner Bros. Many former Midway employees are now employees of Warner Bros. It was confirmed on Ed Boon's Twitter that Chameleon and Hsu Hao will not be returning for Mortal Kombat 9. There will be many other unpopular or "clone" characters not returning along with them.

On September 27, 2010 Ed Boon updated his twitter with the message ''"Sitting @ Starbucks in LA with free wifi & some time to kill. Maybe I'll sketch out some of our last fatalities & frien--- um, fatalities." ''hinting at the inclusion of friendship fatalities in the game. It has yet to be officially announced that friendships will be featured in the game, so for now it could be some playing around with the fans on Ed's part.

Keeping the thread of the Friendships, Ed Boon updated his twitter on February 13, 2011 saying "2 fatality moves and 1 move for peace. Its all for love. L.O.V.E." Though the "move for peace" he mentions could be referring to the Babalities.

However, if Friendships are indeed in the game, they have yet to be discovered or may be downloadable content.

On December 7, 2010 a leak from the official website released several audio files from the game. Those leaked files included voice overs for some confirmed and unconfirmed characters, music for arenas, and announcer voice overs (fight, finish him, fatality, etc). Among the Announcer audio files was "Announcer Brutality," However, the Brutality finisher were never found in gameplay. Ed Boon tweeted a response to a question regarding Brutalities, stating that they were cut due to time constraints.

The MK team wanted to include a exclusive Xbox character, but since they had a contract with Sony, they couldn't.

Ed Boon responded to another tweet, stating that Single Player Endurance and Survival Modes were also cut due to time constraints.

Reception
PC Magazine called this iteration of Mortal Kombat one of the most anticipated titles of E3. The 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo showcase version received the Best Fighting Game of E3 and Best Stage Demo of E3 awards by GameSpot, and the Best Fighting Game of E3 award by GameTrailers. GameSpy called Mortal Kombat the "Fighting Game of Show" in their "Best of E3 2010". Game Informer also rated Mortal Kombat eighth in their "E3 Hot 50" calling Mortal Kombat "...the most violent game ever made..."

Many sites welcomed the return of the series to form: praising it not only for returning to the roots, but taking them to a totally new level.

Release
Mortal Kombat (2011) was released on April 19th in America and April 21st for Europe.

Mortal Kombat was available for pre-order in three different editions: "The Standard Edition," "The Kollector's Edition," and "The Tournament Edition." The Standard Edition consists of a copy of Mortal Kombat with no extras. The Kollector's Editions consists of a copy of Mortal Kombat, Sub-Zero and Scorpion bookends, an art book, and a Klassic Ninja DLC that allows you to unlock a Klassic Costume for Ermac. The Tournament Edition is the same as the Kollectors Edition but instead of bookends and an artbook, it contains a fight stick controller. In addition, PS3 owners who purchase a copy of either Mortal Kombat or Mortal Kombat: Annihilation on Blu-Ray (which is also released April 19th) will receive a code to unlock Jade's "Klassic Kostume."

The game has been denied a classification by the Australian Classification Board, due to "violence that exceeds strong in impact." Warner Bros. appealed the decision to the Classification Review Board, but they were unsuccessful, with the board determining that "the impact of the violence in Mortal Kombat is higher than strong and thus could not be accommodated within the MA15+ classification". The game is now on the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service list of prohibited items. Importing the game is illegal in Australia, with any copy found at the border being seized, and its recipient possibly receiving as much as an A$110,000.00 fine. The Australian Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor, who is looking to resolve the issue of a R18+ certificate for video games, has asked to be briefed on the Mortal Kombat decision, citing "public disquiet on the issue."

Last December, the push to introduce an adult rating for games in Australia stalled again, with censorship ministers gathered at the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) delaying their decision until new guidelines could be created to show the impact of an R18+ rating. The draft changes have now been made public, outlining the type of content that could make it as an R18+ title in Australia.

The draft guidelines, which were released by the office of the Federal Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor, show that the proposed R18+ rating for games would be applied to titles deemed to feature high impact classifiable elements. Under the proposed guidelines, an R18+ rating would allow:


 * Virtually no restrictions on themes;
 * Violence except where it "offends against the standards of morality, decency, and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults";
 * Implied sexual violence, if justified by context;
 * Realistically simulated sexual activity;
 * Virtually no restrictions on language; and
 * Drug use and nudity are permitted.

The R18+ guides are similar to those that currently exist for film in Australia, except for the caveat that game violence must not offend community standards.

The MA15+ rating for games, too, has been tweaked in the proposal. While most of the guidelines for the rating have been retained, several have been added, including:


 * Strong and realistic violence should not be very frequent;
 * Sexual activity must not be tied to rewards or incentives;
 * Interactive drug use that is detailed and realistic is not permitted; and
 * Nudity must not be related to incentives and rewards.

The proposals have already been sighted by Australia's state and territory attorneys-general, who will review the guidelines before making a decision on the introduction of an R18+ rating for games at the next SCAG meeting in early July.

Minister O'Connor--who has staunchly supported an adult rating for games--reiterated the federal government's backing in a press statement, saying that the new classification would help bring Australia into line with other comparable nations.

"This issue has been on the table for many years, without the necessary progress to make change," he said.

Australia's federal government finally released the long-awaited draft guidelines for the possible introduction of an adult rating for games in Australia yesterday, with the proposed changes outlining what type of content would be allowed under an R18+ rating Down Under. While the games industry has welcomed the proposals, another group came out today in support--the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

In a press statement, the Conference--which represents the official views of the Catholic church in Australia--outlined that while its preference would be the banning of R18+ games, it acknowledged that such an outcome was not "achievable."

"In an ideal world, the sort of material that is included in R18+ or higher classification films and computer games would never be seen in a civilized democracy. However, it is not an ideal world and, in the real world in which we live, such material unfortunately is produced and is available, sometimes legally and often illegally, within our society," the press statement said. "The preferred position of the Catholic Church is that R18+ material should not be available. But if such an outcome is not achievable then the Australian National Classification Scheme should include an R18+ classification category for computer games."

This is not the first time the Conference has come out in support of the introduction of an R18+ rating Down Under. In its submission to last year's federal government inquiry into the topic, the Catholic Bishops also stated their preference for an R18+ rating to better control game content in Australia.

Not all Christian groups are on this side, however. Vocal minority group, the Australian Christian Lobby, has lambasted the proposed guidelines, describing them as contrary to the interests of parents and children.

"Not only is this proposal contrary to the claim that the introduction of an R18+ category for computer games would protect children by merely relocating existing MA15+ games to a new R18+ category, it would inevitably open the Australian hire and sale markets to a higher level of graphically violent and sexually explicit interactive games," ACL's chief of staff Lyle Shelton said in a press statement.

The draft guidelines, which were released by the office of the Federal Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor, show that the proposed R18+ rating for games would be applied to titles deemed to feature high-impact classifiable elements. The proposals have already been sighted by Australia's state and territory attorneys-general, who will review the guidelines before making a decision on the introduction of an R18+ rating for games at the next SCAG meeting in early July. 

Demo Version
A demo version of Mortal Kombat was released on March 8 for Playstation 3 users that have PSN Plus with regular PSN users getting the demo on March 15th, with Xbox 360 not getting the content due to obligations with Sony. The demo includes Johnny Cage, Mileena, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero as selectable characters, and Living Forest and The Pit (the latter including a Stage Fatality) as arenas. The player has the option of a single-player, four character Arcade Ladder, or two player offline Versus matches. Beating the Arcade Ladder in the demo treats the player to a montage of footage from the finished game called "The Kombat Kontinues", which included moves, fatalities, and X-rays which were previously unrevealed.

Trivia

 * This is the first fighting game in the franchise to include battle intros for the characters, something that has been a mainstay in many other fighting games. However, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks had battle intros for the characters in the game's "Versus" mode, although that isn't considered as one of the fighting games, but as an adventure game.
 * This is the developers' first Mortal Kombat game to be made as Netherrealm Studios.
 * Although commonly listed as the first Mortal Kombat to have a tag team mode, this is not strictly true. Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition and Mortal Kombat Trilogy also had this feature, as well as Mortal Kombat Deception's double enemy stages.
 * However, this is the first game where two players can work together.
 * This is the first game to show all Lin Kuei cyborgs in their human forms, before the automation.
 * This is also the first game Sub-Zero has a cyborg form, as he was the only Lin Kuei ninja to not have one.
 * This is the first game where Kintaro has fatalities of his own.
 * This is the first game where every character has their own in-game voice (ex. screams, grunts, etc.).
 * The announcer voice for this game is Jamieson Price, who is also the announcer for Super Street Fighter IV, therefore both rival franchises share an aesthetic element with each other.