Hot on the heels of a new Mortal Kombat movie’s viral campaign a new trailer hits for a new Mortal Kombat game. What is some what surprising is that this game looks more like traditional Mortal Kombat than ever before. There’s no gritty real world take, and the trailer features many of your favorite characters. After MK vs DC it’s nice to see that it has Fatalities as well as brutal violence through out the game. Oh, and this is “Mortal Kombat 9″ or “Mortal Kombat: Random Extra Confusing Title”, but just Mortal Kombat. BUT there are too many characters for it to be a reboot.

The trailer starts with gorgeous graphics showing off the detail behind Shao Kahn and Raiden before they go into battle. Then the actual gameplay hits and I was impressed. Mortal Kombat seems to be in the combo game, as most of the gameplay shown in the trailer involves juggles and special moves. Favorites like Johnny Cage (with a douchey new chest tattoo that says *groan* Johnny), Kung Lao, Sub Zero, and Reptile.



Perpetual damage taken through out the the match seems to be a hold over from MK vs DC, as does their up close combat system, but this time damage during these encounters is shown with X-Rays that reveal cracking ribs, broken jaws, and mangled bones. It’s a nice touch to be sure.



What really surprised me is that the game is taking the 2.5 D route rather than full 3D like MK vs DC. All of the levels shown are on straight forward 2D planes, with no room to move side to side. Again this is a great return to form. One of the biggest complaints gamers had with MK vs DC was that special attacks and projectiles were easy to dodge with a simple side step. Levels like the sky bridge, the acid pit, and the evil forrest return, as well as levels like Shang Tsung’s throne room, an arena packed with spectators and a city rooftop. They all have great detail, and one moment in the trailer featured a man being lowered into an acid pit, guaranteed carnage, even when fighters aren’t doing anything? AWESOME!



The biggest shock may be that the Mortal Kombat may feature a tag system. There were a few moments in the trailer when other characters popped on screen to attack with special moves. This could just be an ally system, but here’s hoping we can see some crazy tag team matches.



I’m incredibly excited about this Mortal Kombat game. The graphics look great, the environments look really well rendered, and the gameplay looks solid. Honestly, I didn’t think there was much wrong with MK vs DC. I felt like it was a very well balanced game, with a lot of re-playability. My friends would come over all the time and we’d smash each other all day. The only problem was that Street Fighter IV then came out and we started smashing each other with that.

This could be the first Mortal Kombat game in years to be worth of tournament play! Here’s hoping we see a group start to support the brutal killer and that it has some long life ahead of it.