User:Subzerosmokerain/Mortal Kombat Articles

Always include an excerpt of the article in this page.

=interesting stuff I found from ripten= http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/top-10-old-school-mortal-kombat-characters/3

http://www.ripten.com/2011/09/28/four-weird-things-inspired-by-video-games/ =random reception= http://features.metacritic.com/features/2010/best-and-worst-movies-based-on-videogames/

I needed to find a spot to put it for now. like wise this

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/10/12/mortal-kombat-settling-into-kozy-li-l-online-nook.aspx

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=269255

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/112/1127358p1.html

http://www.incgamers.com/News/25547/mortal-kombat-site-live

http://www.techday.co.nz/gameconsole/news/official-mortal-kombat-website-is-now-live/18236/2/

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/66188

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101824-New-Mortal-Kombat-Might-Have-DLC-Combat-Fatalities

more info

http://a1.gamesradar.com/f/best-of-e3-06-xbox/a-20060519181133574062

http://a1.gamesradar.com/f/is-this-the-most-elaborate-gaming-hoax-of-all-time/a-2010080395712304064

http://a1.gamesradar.com/f/big-games-that-hardly-anyone-cares-about-anymore/a-20100108161159348081

Rain is one of the most pathetic fighting game characters http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/05/the_9_most_pathetic_fighting_game_characters.php?page=2

replacement link for deadlink on MK9 page
http://www.oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=20438

galaga bug
http://willnicholes.com/galaga.htm

http://www.lycos.com/info/galaga--boss-galaga.html

=Crossovers that need to happen= http://www.gamesradar.com/f/crossover-games-that-need-to-happen/a-2010081310452645035

=Mortal Mini games= http://screwattack.com/blogs/The-Diary-of-ScrewAttacks-Madman/Mortal-Monday-Mortal-Mini-games

=Info about Praga khan= http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2010/07/praga_khan_of_lords_of_acid_on.php?page=4

=5 simple steps to make MK better= http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9026219

=Awesome bio of the first MK and MKII and a lot of other stuff= http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/mortal-kombat/Content?oid=885383

=GamePro review of MKG= http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/1522/mortal-kombat-goes-for-the-gold/

=Reception about some MK action figures= http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-most-horrifically-crap-toys-based-on-games/a-20100430141145407023

=Brief reception about Litefoot= http://www.ktka.com/news/2010/may/07/oldest-haskell-graduate-returns/

=Reception on MK film soundtrack= http://www.hippopress.com/100513/CVR.html

=Most controversial video games= http://videogames.virginmedia.com/features/article/06-05-2010-1085.html

=SF influenced MK?= http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/significant-events-in-the-street-fighter-series-history-1954009.html

=EGM April 1993 issue= It states on page 74 that on December 12, 1992 gave a concert in Japan and Sega of Japan sent a Sonic mascot to get a picture with him and got him to play some Sonic 2 for the first time. The title is "Moonwalking Hedgehogs!".

=MK2 for gameboy review= http://retro.nintendolife.com/reviews/2010/04/mortal_kombat_ii_retro =MK2 play as goro?= http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/108637/download-digest-boom-boom-fatality/

=many reviews of MKSM= http://directory.google.com/Top/Games/Video_Games/Fighting/Mortal_Kombat_Series/Mortal_Kombat_-_Shaolin_Monks/Reviews_and_Previews/Xbox/

=webarchive of shujinko bio= http://web.archive.org/web/20080524045120/http://mkarmageddon.com/assets/bios/bio_shujinko.html

=10 moments when you wanted to yell MORTAL KOMBAT!= http://gamingbolt.com/2010/03/07/10-moments-where-you-have-felt-like-shouting-mortal-kombat/

=Herman Sanchez interview= http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/mortal-kombat-deception/568508p3.html

=MK DVD review= http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20100312192834/Article/index_html

=Bad Ads about MK II ad= http://www.gamezone.com/news/03_06_10_10_00AM.htm

=MKvsDC bio thing= http://games.softpedia.com/get/Trailer/Mortal-Kombat-vs-DC-Universe-E3-2008-Trailer.shtml

=Hornbuckle info= http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/mortalkombatarmageddon/show_msgs.php?topic_id=m-1-29996147&pid=931479

=Nimbus screens= http://www.trmk.org/forums/showthread.php/5842-And-now-for-something-completely-different?p=65207&viewfull=1

=TIME= Too violent for kids http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979298-1,00.html

=MSNBC= http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10547481/ns/technology_and_science-clicked/ http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/24/1906875.aspx

=Sub-Zero fighting a guy who can picnic on Pluto= http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/alttext/2008/05/alttext_0528 =MK vs SF regurgitation= http://www.gamezone.com/news/01_30_10_09_18AM.htm

No Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter? First off, I’m pretty sure that the universe would implode and regurgitate itself if this mash-up ever happened. Secondly, the two control schemes are completely incompatible and no rightful fan of either series will tolerate a compromise. Besides, we all know that Scorpion would stab Ryu in the throat and incinerate the corpse.

=2005 killing related to Mortal Kombat= http://kotaku.com/gaming/crime/kids-kill-teen-with-mortal-kombat-moves-034678.php

http://web.archive.org/web/20050304051353/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7242_1263268,001800080000.htm

=CNN Interview (GameTap) with Ed Boon=

=MKO Stuff about MK8 in 2006=

=MKA release stuff from techtree= http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=75007&cat_id=585

=The golden years of video game movies= http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9726659/ns/entertainment-movies/

“Mortal Kombat” (1995) Years before there was a “Grand Theft Auto” to kick around, politicians, church groups and the media had "Mortal Kombat."

The martial arts fighting game boasted a high punch-to-blood-spillage ratio. Each punch and kick yielded buckets of blood which in early 1990s PC graphics technology looked more silly than frightening.

Infamy came with “Mortal Kombat’s” signature finishing moves. Players who had memorized certain key strokes combinations could execute a special finishing move like, say, ripping out the skull and spinal column of the vanquished and hoisting the gore on high like the Stanley Cup.

Stories on how “Mortal Kombat” was corrupting America's youth led the local news. Pundits pontificated. Politicians bloviated. And across the country, kittens and puppies cried for no reason.

Naturally, Hollywood stepped in.

1995's “Mortal Kombat” did more to end the controversy surrounding the game than all the media hand-wringing ever could.

Let's start with Christopher Lambert wearing a Chinese conical hat and talking like Wolfgang Puck. The techno soundtrack sounded like it was pilfered from a disco in Monaco. Or how about the fighting? Pillow fights on “Blossom” have been more intense.

Fighters like “Scorpion,” “Johnny Cage” and “Sonya Blade,” evoked dread in the game. In the film they evoked the names of spin instructors.

Yet the tale about a group of warriors enlisted to battle to the death to save the world struck a chord among filmgoers. It grossed $125 million worldwide. The actors went on to star in Cinemax late night erotic thrillers. And director Paul W. S. Anderson established himself as king fan boy. His other credits include “Alien vs. Predator” and “Resident Evil.”

Video game moment: Bad guy Shang Tsung uses the game's key phrase, “Finish Him!” several times throughout the film. Shadowy organization: An evil empire in a parallel realm For the fan boys: Heroine Sonya Blade is captured by Shang Tsung and made to wear a mini-skirt.

=Too Violent for Kids?= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979298,00.html

=Bloodstorm= http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2006/12/might_have_been_bloodstorm.php

=MK2 Goldmine= http://www.huguesjohnson.com/scans/mk2-behind-scenes/

= MK vs DC review= http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/video_games/20081201_Video-game_review_Mortal_Kombat_vs_DC_Universe.html?text=reg&c=y

=Jack Thompson article= http://www.gamespot.com/news/6160576.htm

=Making of first MK movie... in french= http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x52xat_making-of-mortal-kombat_shortfilms

=Lin Kuei= http://www.learn-chinese-martial-arts.com/ninjas-martial-arts.html

= Descirption of Babality = http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UjAJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DzcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3997,8591763&dq=kung+lao+mortal+kombat&hl=en

=About the Live Tour at the Radio City Music Hall= http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/1995/09/14/1995-09-14__kombat__gears_down__the_mar.html

=Christian Peacemaker Teams protest Mortal Kombat BNET= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20000107/ai_n11738736/?tag=content;col1 ''A group of 20 people calling themselves Christian peacemakers marched on city hall on Thursday to protest a $2 million grant Chicago gave to the maker of the gory video game Mortal Kombat.

The group of Mennonites, Quakers, Methodists, Roman Catholics and members of the Church of the Brethren want Mayor Richard Daley to cancel a grant aimed at inducing Midway Games Inc. to stay in the city.

"Public money should not be going to companies that sell violent war toys for children," said Erin Kindy, a spokeswoman for the group.

Most of the demonstrators were from the Chicago area, but some said they traveled from as far as Vancouver, Canada.

An attorney for Midway said no one was available to comment.

Mortal Kombat includes characters who tear organs from their rivals. The game and its maker are included in a lawsuit filed against movie and game makers by the parents of three students killed in a 1997 shooting spree at a Paducah, Ky., high school.''

[]

''On New Year's Day, 1999, members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) will gather at Toys “R” Us to Ring in the New Year and Ring Out Mortal Kombat. Participants will conduct a mock funeral procession and a memorial service to highlight the growing evidence that violent toys contribute to real violence in our culture such as the school shootings in Jonesboro, Arkansas and other U.S. communities. Bearing bells, participants will sing out against the toys that teach our children to kill and alert customers to the violent content within the store. In the spirit of New Year’s Resolutions, the group will challenge Toys “R” Us to become violence-free in the new millennium and, as a first step, invite the store to remove all video and computer games containing violence from their shelves.''

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/march6/8.21.html

''Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a ministry often associated with ethnic reconciliation across the world, has joined the campaign against media violence in America.The Chicago-based group opposes the decision of the Chicago Planning Department to give a $2.2 million economic development grant to Midway, the firm that manufacturesMortal Kombat. Protesters in downtown Chicago wore royal robes and sang Christmas carols with rewritten lyrics during a demonstration in January. Dressed to represent the wise men from the Epiphany story, the protesters had traveled from as far as Vancouver bearing "Games for sharing, dolls for caring, never for violent play."Denouncing guns, tanks, Power Rangers, and graphic video games, CPT protesters outside a Toys R Us store drew strange looks and large crowds with their message against violent entertainment.In theMortal Kombat video game, players may decapitate or rip out the hearts of their opponents. The makers of two other violent video games,Quake andDoom, were sued last year in connection with a 1997 school shooting in Paducah, Kentucky.Educators, child psychologists, and profamily groups have heavily criticizedMortal Kombat and other violent games and toys for their content and suspected role in promoting violent acts. "Our goal is violence reduction, whoever it is linked to," says Mervin Stoltzfus, CPT director. "Games that focus on killing raise kids who think it is OK to kill."The organization's position on violent games and toys is backed by experts, including psychiatrist Thomas Radecki and Arnold Goldstein, director of the Center for Research and Aggression at the University of Syracuse. "Playing with war toys legitimizes and makes violent behavior acceptable," Goldstein says.A survey by the American Medical Association (AMA) also suggests that parents are increasingly concerned with violent toys and media. In 1997, before recent school shootings, 81 percent of parents interviewed told the AMA that television shows and computer games for children needed higher standards of violence regulation. The CPT protest included a visit to City Hall. Demonstrators presented a statement against violent toys to representatives of Mayor Richard Daley before marching to Toys R Us.A city official said Midway received the grant so the company, which has operated in Chicago for more than 50 years, could expand its operations. The city says that without the grant Midway would have relocated, leaving about 700 local workers pressed for new employment."Public money should not be going to companies that sell violent war toys for children," CPT member Erin Kindy told the Associated Press.CPT grew out of Mennonite efforts to promote international peace in troubled areas around the world. Quakers, Methodists, Roman Catholics, and other Christians have joined to promote peace in the United States and Canada."There's an increase in the willingness to look at violence and do something about it," Stoltzfus says. For instance, Mennonites have asked CPT to help congregations denounce violence in Western media and culture.CPT has published a pamphlet that includes tips for planning a protest, sample leaflets, and educational resources about violent toys. Peace organizations and churches from Kansas to Canada have begun to use CPT methods of protest.The Mennonite Central Committee has also sponsored The Games Project, which is dedicated to rating violence and horror in video games, as well as recommending games that promote education, creativity, tenacity, and skill."If there were just 500 congregations across the country that were willing to make [protests against violent toys] a ministry focus, we would see tremendous and significant change in toy manufacturing and sales," Stoltzfus tells CT.''

=Wired.com= http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/10/10-of-the-most-creative-video-game-deaths-ever/

10: Sub-Zero’s Winter Wonderland. I know this is the first one that popped in your little gamer heads. Mortal Kombat featured a multitude of great finishing moves that could only be pulled off with extreme finger dexterity, the most popular being Sub-Zero’s ripping out of the spine. However, my favorite was Sub-Zero simply making a snowman. You had lost, and instead of brutally killing you, your opponent makes a snowman - adding insult to injury.

Read More http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/10/10-of-the-most-creative-video-game-deaths-ever/#ixzz0eQ26AoXu

=OXM Podcast thread in forums.midway.com= http://forums.midway.com/mortal_kombat_vs_dc_universe/b10806/28738105/r28738602/

Podcast list http://www.oxmonline.com/podcast

It might 151 or 123.

=Destructoid= http://www.destructoid.com/e3-08-mortal-kombat-vs-dc-universe-is-surprisingly-solid-95846.phtml#ext

=GameSpy= http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/mortal-kombat-next-gen/901961p1.html

=CraveOnline= http://www.craveonline.com/gaming/article/mortal-kombat-vs-dc-universe-ed-boon-interview-71211

Mortal Kombat Co-creator Ed Boon and Senior designer John Edwards. by Craveonline Oct 08, 2008

On the surface, it would seem like even the tough Mortal Kombat characters would be no match for comic book superheroes. In order to make Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe, the game’s creators have devised a story where the worlds collide in a supernatural event, leveling the playing field. Now you can watch Subzero freeze Superman or Batman wail on little Sonya. Senior designer John Edwards and Mortal Kombat Co-creator Ed Boon answered fanboy questions about the upcoming game.

Crave Online: What can you do with Mortal Kombat on the new systems?

Ed Boon: One of the big things about this game is we're not only adding the DC Universe characters to this but we're also rebooting the whole fighting mechanic that we've had. We've done it a few times. This is really Mortal Kombat 8 when you think about it. If you were to describe what it is, it's a little bit more 2D orientated focus and with our fighting, also very focused on special moves. These characters obviously have things, signature attacks. Flash is super fast. Scorpion has always had this kind of spear move. He's had this flame move here since the beginning of Mortal Kombat and he's also had this leg slam. So with these characters, that's really the showcase of this game, these special moves. But on top of it, we've added a lot of layers to it. So some of these moves that you can do, there's almost pro versions of it. John could show you a move where Flash pops the guy up in the air and then he lands down, but if you get the timing right, you can do a more enhanced version of it where he zips over to the other side and nails him too. Those are moves the more fighting game aficionado guys will pick up on.

Crave Online: But you have to know how to do it each time, it’s not a combo?

Ed Boon: Exactly and there's timing involved with it too. So our goal really hasn't been so everybody can do the cool version of it. It's kind of like the cool people can do the cool version of it. We really don't want it to come up every single time. We want it to be a tough thing to do.

Crave Online: Does that make it more of a learned skill vs memorizing buttons?

Ed Boon: Yeah, exactly. That's kind of like the focus of our fighting. Before, we've had some pretty long combos that you really have to memorize a button sequence. Now our combos are more short, more like three hits, three or four hits and then we've added these elaborate fighting modes. This is Klose Kombat. You're building up this meter to try to get to the point where you can do a super. When you win, whoever's on top is the one who inflicts damage on the other guy. Flash has a lot of really cool moves here where he dashes three times, sends the guy spinning and you get a free hit in there. There's a number of teleport related moves where you can come up with different combos.

Crave Online: What's the decision that pounding the ground is certain strength, projectile is certain strength?

John Edwards: It's just gameplay balance. Obviously a projectile is easier to hit someone with because the range of it. In general they do less damage than a move that's hard to land on someone like a certain throw. Basically it's all classic fighting game balance. The harder a move is to land on somebody, usually the more powerful it is. That's the general rule but obviously there are variants within that as well. That's pretty much the rule I follow to start off with. If it's easy to hit somebody with, it probably should not be the one that does the most damage as well.

Crave Online: Do health bars go slower to allow more extensive fighting?

Ed Boon: Definitely there's a good amount of hits you've got to hit to get the guy, but because there are so many, like you just saw seven hits is 18% damage. In previous games you would have done 40% damage. So it's a lot less combo crazy and a lot more player specific moves. It's almost like a boxing game. He's trying to counter my offensive moves with defensive ones. He can grab me in the air.

Crave Online: How much fun thinking of words to spell with K instead of C?

Ed Boon: What's really weird is what we usually do is we put something in the game and we spell it how it should be. Then someone on the team will always say, "Shouldn't that be spelled with a K?" "Oh, you're right, you're right." Then we correct it like that. We don't try to do it but somebody will point it out at some point in the game.

Crave Online: Are the environments interactive?

John Edwards: They are. A lot of them have breakables in them. They all have some sort of a background transition whether it's bust the guys through the wall Test Your Might thing or a freefall level.

Crave Online: What can you break in Metropolis?

John Edwards: Any of the walls, you can actually bust through in any direction and basically go on. Bust through one wall, you come out the other side. You bust through the next wall, oh, there's LexCorp. You bust through, hey, it's the Daily Planet. It's this roundabout way of showing off all these things.

Crave Online: Is there a corresponding MK character for each DC one?

Ed Boon: It's interesting you said that because a lot of people asked, "How did you choose which characters to pick?" A lot of it was based on that. We were saying, "What is the equivalent of a Batman in our universe?" That's Subzero. What is the equivalent of a Scorpion? It was like our Flash. A lot of our decisions were based on counterparts basically.

Crave Online: Why is Batman like Subzero?

Ed Boon: They're both dark, mysterious, brooding characters. Masks, you don't know who they are. You can almost think of Subzero as our version of Batman.

Crave Online: Have you come up with any new fatalities?

Ed Boon: Well, the DC heroes perform brutalities. The DC villains and all the Mortal Kombat characters perform fatalities. Superman's a really good example of these characters that can string together moves. He grabs him, throws him out and attacks him. Those are all separate moves that he strung together. If you're a really good player, you can really show off with all the abilities.

Crave Online: Do you have to reign in DC characters, like Superman should be immortal?

Ed Boon: The storyline actually takes care of a lot of that. The fact that the worlds have merged, a lot of people don't know but Superman's not only weak to kryptonite. He's also susceptible to magic and all the MK characters come from a magical universe. So that kind of fixes itself. Then also the worlds merging together, it's causing all kinds of weird things with the characters. Some of the weaker characters, the human characters like Sonya, are becoming more powerful. Superman is becoming less powerful. So it's kind of a nice way to balance everything out. Obviously if Superman was full strength, no one could touch him. So we are taking some liberties, but not really liberties because it is written into the story. I think once the story is revealed, they'll actually understand how Superman can be getting beaten up by Sonya.

Crave Online: Also, because it's awesome.

Ed Boon: Well, there you go. Short answer, because it's awesome. I'll have to remember that for the next interview. "How can you beat up Superman?" "Because it's awesome." And, done.

Crave Online: Is this a standalone story?

John Edwards: As far as I know, it's completely noncanon so it is a standalone story basically. Even for the MK side also. We're not counting it at part of the official Mortal Kombat lore. I'm sure DC's not counting it as part of the official DC lore as well.

Crave Online: Again, it’s just awesome.

John Edwards: Yes, exactly.

Crave Online: What can you say about the Mortal Kombat side?

John Edwards: Basically, we wanted to try to introduce the iconic characters, the Subzeros, the Scorpions, Sonya, the main characters in Mortal Kombat and give them some of their classic abilities but then also add all this new stuff on top of it. So it's not just like oh, there's Sonya, she has the same old stuff she's always had. There's Subzero, he has the same old stuff. We are trying to actually introduce new elements to those characters, kind of reinvent them as well into the theme of the DC universe.

Crave Online: Do the Mortal Kombat characters have new powers?

John Edwards: Yeah, they're all still based on their theme basically. Subzero, obviously his stuff's all going to involve ice to some degree, but he does have a new teleport where he actually freezes himself into a puddle and pops out the other side. We definitely add new moves for all the MK characters as well to keep up with all the newness of the DC side.

Crave Online: What art did you base the DC characters on?

John Edwards: I think with DC, they wanted us to MK-ize some of their characters, so you see some of the modifications like Flash doesn't normally have these protective kind of armor gloves on. We added those things within some of the Mortal Kombat traditional features while also making them maintain their look of the DC characters. You wanted this guy to look like Flash. In terms of artists, Alex Ross is a big comic book artist. He always did a kind of realistic look. Some of our stuff was trying to focus in on that as opposed to the line art drawings of some of the other artists. He's also a good friend to some of the artists on our team so that's had a lot of input.

Crave Online: How do you perform fatalities and brutalities?

Ed Boon: Brutalities and fatalities are both performed kind of like the traditional way where at the end of the round, you have to do a secret combo that we don't document and do it within a certain distance. Basically, you get this big finishing move show. For the Mortal Kombat characters and the DC villains, it's a fatality. For the DC heroes, it's a brutality.

Crave Online: But brutality still kills you, right?

Ed Boon: No, that's the whole point. The DC heroes don't kill, so brutality beats the crap out of them.

Crave Online: Now that the characters look photorealistic, how hard is it to portray spine ripping?

Ed Boon: This is going to be a T rated game so we're actually not going to rip out spines and do the crazy stuff. We're going to have some of the classic fatalities from the game but not the ones that were crazy brutal.

Crave Online: Was that a decision for DC fans?

Ed Boon: I don't think DC would've been good with Superman tearing off people's arms and stuff. We knew that going into it.

Crave Online: How involved were DC in coming up with brutalities?

John Edwards: They had input on anything the DC side of the game, so even super moves, normal attacks and stuff. We copied some builds over to them, they look at them and go, "Flash really wouldn’t do this, Superman really wouldn't do this." They have their hands in pretty much anything relating to the DC characters which is fine.

Crave Online: Did they give you any fantastic ideas?

John Edwards: They've given us some ideas, yeah. They'll be for fatalities and brutalities that we reveal later on. They definitely have a big hand inside that. Crave Online: Is this a new engine for a Mortal Kombat game?

John Edwards: We're using the Unreal 3 engine although it has been highly modified. Obviously Unreal 3 is a first person shooter game. This is not Gear of War, it's not Unreal Tournament. It's a fighting game and we ran at 60 frames per second, so we had to do a lot of under the hood management to get it to fit what we wanted to do.

Crave Online: That's still easier than starting from scratch?

John Edwards: It is, it is. A lot of the rendering stuff that Unreal engine does is really good so we just try to take those things, build upon them, change them in the ways we want to without actually having to rewrite it all from scratch. So it does take quite a bit of time. If the engine is good to work with in the first place, which it is. If it's not, then it's a complete miss but in this case it's actually been a fairly smooth transition.

Crave Online: Why should we root for Mortal Kombat or DC?

John Edwards: I guess maybe you should root for both of them equally. I don't want to hang the DC guys out there to dry. I guess just the attachment of some people say, "Hey, I really want to beat up Batman. I've always want to do that. I really like Subzero." So he's going to feel more inclined to fight against Batman. The guys who may not be as familiar with Mortal Kombat characters but find the game through the DC side will be the exact opposite. "I'm Superman, I really want to tear apart all these MK characters."

=GamePro=

Ed Boon talks Mortal Kombat secrets, MK vs. DC, and the future of M-rated fighters
By Sid Shuman November 17, 2008 11:56 AM PST In a rare interview, Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon talks about the successes (and trials) of his upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, long-standing rumors surrounding the legendary fighting series, and what may become of Mortal Kombat 8...and the third MK movie!

GamePro editor Sid Shuman geeks out with Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon

GP: For a Teen-rated game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a pretty damned violent. How has the development team had to work with the ESRB to earn that Teen rating you were after?

Ed Boon: Multiple submissions. We submitted [MK vs. DC to the ESRB] at least three times. We even submitted once or twice, unofficially, to see what the ESRB thought stood out. We wanted to keep as much of the feel of Mortal Kombat as possible, without watering it down.

GP: Looking back at the older MK games, it's hard to imagine that they're still considered Mature-rated titles. Look at a game like Castle Crashers, which is quite violent yet still earned a Teen rating. Has there been a shift in opinion on game violence since the 90s?

Ed Boon: To me, Sub-Zero's spine rip fatality [in the original MK] was the only one that really stood out. Even Kano's heart rip fatality...there was no mark left on the opponent's body. By today's standards, it might have been a little different. [In MK vs. DC], we're breaking people's necks and it's still a Teen-rated game. We're pretty happy with where it ended up.

Click for more PS3 screens of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe GP: The most widely circulated video for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe shows the Joker's gunshot fatality. That's a pretty intense scene for a Teen-rated game. Did that particular fatality cause any issues in earning a Teen rating?

Ed Boon: Well, we have to work with four major ratings boards across the world, including several based in Europe. Normally, [Europeans] are more sensitive to violence than Americans are. But with MK vs. DC, they let everything go. They let us do everything. In the US version, we had to tone back some of those more violent [fatalities]. It's often very subtle things, such as how quickly the victim reacts or how long the camera stays on the scene in question. But Kano still has a fatality where he throws knives which stick into the victim's chests. For those kinds of things, we got the okay.

GP: What ended up being the most controversial fatality in MK vs. DC?

Ed Boon: The Joker's fatality was up there. Deathstroke's is pretty brutal; in an earlier version, we focused a little too much on the victim. So we shifted the camera away at the critical moment. Those were the two that stood out. We had a few things we thought we'd be flagged on for sure. In the opening cinema of the Story mode, you see someone get decapitated -- even though it's just a shadow on the wall. But the ESRB said it was fine!

GP: What has the reaction been to MK vs. DC, from the loyal, old-school MK fans?

Ed Boon: To be blunt, the initial reaction was pretty negative. I would say at least 70% negative, 30% positive. [I think the fans felt that,] "you're messing with my baby!" And DC is known to be a little more of a boy scout, clean-cut label -- Marvel is even a little more edgy than DC. We have Superman, Wonderwoman, The Flash...they aren't exactly known killers. Batman's darker, but still.

So we made the announcement for MK vs. DC, posted a quick teaser video, and gave no information. So everybody assumed that a Teen rating meant no blood and no fatalities - I think [some fans] filled in the gaps in their head, even though there's a ton of blood and fatalities in the final game. Add that to internet discussion, and the whole thing took on a life of its own.

But once we started releasing gameplay videos, and lettings folks play the game at E3, Leipzig, and Comicon...we saw a complete turnaround. It seems to me that the feedback is about 90% positive now.

GP: MK vs. DC is a fun game -- I think I personally prefer it to the PS2 and Xbox games. It feels more like Mortal Kombat to me.

Ed Boon: Exactly. It's more focused on a 2D strategy; ducking is easier, jumping is easier. Aerial strategies play a big part, too. I think people are used to that in Mortal Kombat, jumping over a projectile to kick their opponent.

GP: There must have been a few MK or DC characters you wished you could have included but didn't. Who were they?

Ed Boon: From the MK side, Kung Lao and Reptile. From the DC side, we had a lot of debates. Some people wanted Lobo in the game -- but I don't even know who that is! At one point, a staff member wanted Aquaman in the game, and now he feels it would have been a mistake. [laughs] We also considered the Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, and so on. But we looked at the game as a "greatest hits" lineup for both MK and DC. Deathstroke isn't as well known but he's darker and looks like a ninja, so he's in. And the original reason I wanted (the 1940's-era hero) Captain Marvel in the game was to include a special move where you could turn into Billy Batson [Captain Marvel's underage alter-ego]. But then we thought, "boy, if Superman was beating up on a little kid..." [laughter]. To me, Captain Marvel is one of the nice surprises in the game.

GP: Did you ever think of using Dr. Manhattan or Rorschach from Watchmen? I understand DC owns the rights to Watchmen...

Ed Boon: I remember that it came up. There were characters who DC deemed off-limits...they said, "no, you can't use these certain characters." DC also said things like, "your Batman can't look like the Dark Knight movie, and you can't make your Joker look like Heath Ledger." So there were certain things that DC wanted to keep separate from the movies.

GP: What do you think of the Watchmen movie coming out in 2009? Did you see the trailer?

Ed Boon: Yeah, I saw it...you know what, I'm not very familiar with Watchmen! There were a couple of guys on our team who call it the greatest graphic novel of all time. But the trailer certainly sparked my curiosity about it.

GP: We've heard reports of a super-mature, redesigned Mortal Kombat 8 that was underway before MK vs. DC came into existence. Is MK8 still gestating? Will you re-visit that idea down the line?

Ed Boon: Absolutely. I don't think we've seen the last Mature-rated Mortal Kombat game. I do think that MK vs. DC is a potential opportunity for a new series - I'd love to do MK vs. Marvel, or even MK vs. Street Fighter though that would be a tough one. Or MK vs. Tekken or Dead or Alive...to me, those would be great ideas.

Over the past few years, I think fighting games have alienated a lot of players. Some of the more technical fighters have excluded 90% of players who can't master the timing and feel. With MK vs. DC, we're back to a simpler approach to fighting games. We have extra layers to the gameplay, to allow expert players to show off. But I feel that MK vs. DC will do a great job of satisfying both camps.

GP: Here's a dream question I've always wanted to ask you: What is the best Mortal Kombat rip-off you've ever played?

Ed Boon: That's a really good question! I don't know if it's a real Mortal Kombat rip-off, though it did have finishing moves, but I'd say Killer Instinct.

GP: What about the worst Mortal Kombat rip-off?

Ed Boon: Ugh...this game called Tattoo Assassins. There's a diarrhea special move, for god's sake. That was painful.

GP: Any chance we'll see a more definitive collection of the classic Mortal Kombat games, perhaps released as DLC? I'd love to have an online-enabled version of Mortal Kombat 4...

Ed Boon: Umm...probably. There's always talk of some sort of compilation. But some of the games are harder to convert: Mortal Kombat 4 was developed on proprietary 3D hardware that used four-sided polygons and not the typical triangles. All of these things, at a hardware level, are more difficult to emulate. I think that's a big reason we haven't seen an MK4 version widely available, though there is a PC version.

GP: And whatever happened to that third Mortal Kombat movie?

Ed Boon: I've been sent like five scripts so far, and we've gone back and forth with them. I know that it's in some kind of production, though they haven't shot yet. The script exists, I've read it and commented upon it. It's kind of just...plodding along.

GP: Let's talk about online play in MK vs. DC. Will it be primarily one-on-one versus fights? What about matchmaking?

Ed Boon: For online, our main focus are the game lobbies. We touched on this concept in the last two games: it's a lobby where you see a list of people inside the rooms. To me, the whole magic of the arcades was trying to beat the guy who kept winning. Our online interface in MK vs. DC tries to mimic that: you go to the Outworld room, the Netherrealm room, and so forth. You can challenge other players, and when you win the game will highlight the winning streak. When you see those winning streaks, you want to take down the other player. It's trying to tap into the public announcement of wins, let players show off in front of others.

GP: The Mortal Kombat games tend to reinvent the wheel every few years. Moving into the future of the series, do you think you'll settle into a more iterative, steady-improvement development schedule similar to games like Tekken? Or will you continue to reinvent the series frequently?

Ed Boon: My gut feeling is that we'll probably do it more often than we have. MK1, MK2, and MK3 were a group: each one added a little bit more to the previous one. MK4 used 3D hardware, but we were afraid to move away from the 2D gameplay...and I think MK4 had the least identity of all the games.

And then with MK: Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon, we wiped the slate clean and came up with the multiple fighting styles, new graphics and gameplay. I liked how those turned out, but maybe three games under that gameplay style was maybe a bit much. I can see expanding on the MK vs. DC style, but I don't know if I'd want to do it as many times. I think there's a novelty to MK vs. DC where people will say, "Woah, 2D style! I feel like haven't played this before."

Out of our competitors, my favorite fighting series is Tekken. When I pick ip [a new Tekken game] and play as Hwoarang or Jin Kazama, I feel like my character gained a few new moves but overall retained the same strategy. Prettier graphics, but the same basic gameplay. It's the same thing with Virtua Fighter -- I feel like I've played them all before. Coincidentally, their sales aren't nearly as big as they were back in the days of Tekken 3. I think that's something all fighting games, especially ones with multiple sequels, need to do: add something dramatically different.

GP: Obviously the video game industry has moved away from the arcade model. But with Mortal Kombat being one of the biggest arcade series ever, do you ever miss the heat that would surround an arcade release for a new Mortal Kombat game?

Ed Boon: Totally. We got a lot of excitement and valuable data out of testing in the arcade. You bring an arcade board to an arcade, you see people crowded around your game, and you get instant reactions. What are the players having trouble with? So the first night you can [head back to the office] and zone in on perfecting the gameplay.

These days, it's all about the QA department. But you don't get the general public's reaction to the game, and that was a huge thing. And then there was the overall excitement of [an arcade release], watching players go to the change machine, putting their quarter up on the screen, talking about it...to me, that was an exciting atmosphere.

GP: Any word from John Tobias? (note: Tobias and Boon were the core creators of the original Mortal Kombat; Tobias later left the studio after MK 3)

Ed Boon: Yes! I've been talking to him a lot lately. He drew the comic book for our MK vs. DC special edition box. I called him up sometime in August and asked him if he was interested in drawing our comic. John is a comic book artist now, he's huge and he's drawn Superman and Batman. When I asked him [to draw the MK vs. DC comic], John said "that would be a dream come true!" So we all kind of got back together. We still have lunch every couple of months or so. John is actually doing graphic novels now, he's going to release one in November. I don't think he wants me to say the name, but he'll be announcing it pretty soon.

GP: What about Dan "Toasty" Forden?

Ed Boon: Dan is still with Midway. He's the head of the "Central Groups," a group of artists and animators inside Midway who help all the teams with all their games.

GP: What games are you looking forward to playing this fall?

Ed Boon: Gears of War 2! And I'm intrigued by Little Big Planet, everyone is talking about it. And easily my number one game will be the new Guitar Hero: World Tour.

=Computer And Video Games=

Ed Boon talks Mortal Kombat
Stuart Bishop 23-Apr-2007 Interview: Mortal Kombat creator and industry legend grilled We recently got the chance to go hands-on with the Wii version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon and, after wrestling with the Wii Remote, took in several deep breaths in preparation for leaping into a chat with Ed Boon, Mortal Kombat's creator and industry legend...

So how have you found working with the Wii hardware in general? Has it been easier than you expected?

Ed Boon: 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.

Can you tell us more about the whole accessibility direction you've taken for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon on Wii?

Ed Boon: Mortal Kombat's been around since 1992 - I can't believe how long it's been. And since the beginning, one of the things that's separated us from other fighting games is the crazy moves we've put in it, like fireballs and all the magic moves, so to speak. And they've always been something that we've hid in the game and made it somewhat of a challenge to get. When we did that, it's a great feature because it's a level of skill you have to get to, but there were certain people who just couldn't get there, they just could not get the whole combination of the two.

So, we really wanted to make those moves more accessible, because the Wii player is more of a casual player - more people who might not have been playing videogames since the 1990s and whatnot. Our goal was to make it so as many people as possible could pick up the controller and go left-right with the thing to throw Scorpion's spear, or to go up-down and make somebody teleport. That was really the whole goal of the Wii Remote, to make more people be able to do moves that they couldn't do before.

Do you expect the hardcore Mortal Kombat fan who has a Wii to pick this version of Armageddon up even if they have it already on another platform?

Ed Boon: Well, we're hoping so. We didn't want to restrict the controls to be only Wii Remote, so we included the Classic controller as well as the GameCube controller as it's something that some people are also more used to. In addition we've added the Chameleon character who is exclusive only to the Wii, we've added the Endurance mode which is only for the Wii version, and we've added a new feature where you can make your character lay down and there's a whole set of attacks associated with that.

So we added more layers for people who might have already played Armageddon.

Is this Wii Remote system something you'd build on for future Mortal Kombat games on the platform?

Ed Boon: Yeah, for the Wii the controls are the unique feature of that system. In reality, Armageddon already existed, and we put the controls on a game that existed. But if we were to start from scratch and knew that we had these controls, we'd probably have been more ambitious with it, with the fighting mechanics, and integrate it even more into the basic fighting.

The Mortal Kombat series has been around for many years. How do you stay motivated and keep your passion for the series going?

Ed Boon: With Mortal Kombat we really haven't been afraid to introduce something new or to kind of like do a reset where we say 'OK, let's start all over'. Deadly Alliance was nothing like Mortal Kombat 4, and it was nothing like Mortal Kombat 3, it was just a complete reset. We feel that periodically we have to do that. Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 3 were like the 2D games and then 4 was like the combination of 3D and 2D, and then Deadly Alliance was the multiple fighting styles.

I think for the next generation of Mortal Kombat games we're going to do that again, we're just going to reset, throw everything out and just start from scratch. I think that's one of the reasons why we've managed to sell even though we're on Mortal Kombat 8, in a sense - the fact that we're willing to add something dramatically new and different into the game.

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

Ed Boon: 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.

So when are you going to start talking about the new Mortal Kombat game in full?

Ed Boon: It's probably not going to come out until then end of 2008, so I would imagine we probably wouldn't start talking about it until the beginning of 2008 maybe. So maybe another year or something like that. There's a lot of work, there's a lot of work that we're doing. The next-gen systems are so much work, it's overwhelming.

How will the power on tap will benefit the next game beyond visuals?

Ed Boon: There's just the visuals, the audio, the controller inputs. The PlayStation 3 controller has the motion sensor and whatnot and obviously the Wii, there's motions in there. We're just trying take advantage of all that, do the most we can with them.

Can we expect to see any more Mortal Kombat games released for download on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network?

Ed Boon: I would be surprised if we didn't do that. There's a lot of previous Mortal Kombat games to draw from that I would be surprised if we didn't do future downloadable versions - even exclusive versions that people never saw or something.

So there's a lot in the Mortal Kombat vault that's never seen the light of day?

Ed Boon: There's stuff that we had on the cutting room floor, like characters that we never used or something like that, and to add them into the mix could be a cool thing.

Has there ever been a point during the years you've been involved with Mortal Kombat where you've just wanted to throw it aside and work on something different?

Ed Boon: You know, we did actually. It was five years between Mortal Kombat 4 and Mortal Kombat 5 and we were doing arcade games at that time, and we did this third-person arcade game and then we went back to Mortal Kombat. But - I don't know if you can call this a problem, you know - the problem or cool thing is that the last few iterations in particular have sold really well, so then the company wants another one; but we also want to try new stuff. It's a weird balance between the two.

What do you reckon of Sony discontinuing the 20Gb PS3 in North America?

Ed Boon: I guess it doesn't surprise me. When I first heard there was a version that only had 20Gb my first reaction was 'That's gonna fill up right away'. With the downloadable games, all of the content they want to display - like TV shows - that stuff takes up room and 20Gb... It didn't surprise me. I would have thought 100Gb would have been the minimum they would have started with.

What's been the most exciting development in the games industry for you personally in the years you've been involved with it?

Ed Boon: You know, I started off doing pinball machines in 1986 and... I think just getting into videogames, like when I started moving pixels around the screen and stuff like that, that to me was the most exciting part.

As great as the Mortal Kombat games were, they really became like a monster - while we were working on Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal Kombat 1 was doing really well, and then when we released Mortal Kombat 2 we started Mortal Kombat 3 and then repeated that for 15 years with the exception of that one break we had for five years. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=162494

Ed Boon Interview
Mike Jackson 19-Apr-2008 Interview: MK co-creator calls for Street Fighter collaboration

33 CommentsMidway's Gamers' Day event was in a swish Las Vegas Hotel, the tunes were pumping and the drinks were flowing, but there was no time for rest for Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon.

His new game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, had just been announced and everyone and their mothers wanted a chat with Mr. Boon about the new venture.

Getting within a five meter radius of Boon was like scrumming at the front of a Rolling Stones gig, but we fought off the lions and got in there for an interesting chat about the new game, the state of the fighting game genre, oh... and his wishes for a Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat game.

Yeah, now you're interested...

How did the DC Universe collaboration come about?

Ed Boon: I've always been a big fan of other fighting games. I play all of the big fighting games in the genre - Tekken, Virtua Fighter, Street Fighter and so on. I've always wanted to cross over with another series.

When I was a kid I remember buying the Spiderman vs. Superman comics and that was the coolest thing to me because they never originally existed in the same world. There's a novelty to that.

So, we actually pursued some crossing with some of these other fighting games but it never really panned out. So when this was presented to us by one of our marketing people, it was something we had seen done before with Capcom and Marvel, and we thought that it would be cool to do a really dark, sinister version of that. So not like a cartoony vibrant approach, our approach was like a dark Batman Begins-style flavour.

It's interesting that you say you pursued crossing over with other fighting games...

Boon: Yeah, but I think the underlying thing that was always a problem was that it was always our competition. If we were to do a Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat game, who's going to develop it, and who's going to own the rights to it? It's that kind of issue.

So the proposals were put together but it couldn't be worked out...?

Boon: Yeah. I did a couple of write-ups and whatnot on it, and sometimes we'd get really close to it but issues like our representative for the other company left the company for some reason, and that reset the whole thing back to beginning.

That's such a shame, because a Street Fighter vs. Capcom game would be cool, we'd love to see it...

Boon: Me too. I still want to see it happen.

Maybe after Street Fighter 4 passes by you guys could sort something out...

Boon: Maybe.

So how will the game handle the crossover with DC. I mean, for example, Batman doesn't kill people, does he?

Boon: Exactly. There are a number of constraints that we've had to work around. For instance, Superman is invincible. Why would he even fight Sub-Zero when he can move at the speed of light.

Fortunately, the Mortal Kombat games are based on the supernatural, magic and all that stuff, and that's one of Superman's weaknesses. So we have characters from our MK world that have these super powers and that goes some way to explain why there would be any kind of a match at all between Superman and Sub-Zero.

The storyline will underline that whole theme, as well as why these two universes are merging, the magic and powers involved, and how this basically weakens Superman a little and heightens the strengths of the other characters.

So what is the story with MK fighters facing off with Batman and crew?

Boon: Basically, both sides, the MK characters and the DC characters, think that the other side are the bad guys - the invaders. So there's sort of a confusion involved there, and they slowly start to figure out what's going on, and who's actually good. Then it becomes a battle between good and evil.

Sounds cool. Before Midway whisks you away from us, we wanted to get your opinion on the general state of the fighting genre at the moment. It's becoming an overlooked genre, somewhat...

Boon: I absolutely agree with you. Like I said I buy every big fighting game out there, and as much as I love those games, the reality is that they basically feel very similar to the previous versions in the series.

They make incremental new features but I think the public is starting to take on the feeling that they've seen and played Tekken before so why should I buy Tekken 5. As good a games as they are, they're not offering that new feature that's dramatically different.

I think that, every few years, we do that with Mortal Kombat. We're resetting it and re-doing it right now - changing everything so that people say "Oh, what's new about this game? I want to check this out."

We see sales numbers, and we see them going lower and lower, and that's why I feel that the genre is going down.

So where can the fighting genre go from here? How can it be fixed?

Boon: I'm really excited about Street Fighter 4. From what I'm told, it's the same moves but a different interpretation. I really hope they add enough new stuff that it keeps you interested and so that it doesn't feel like, after a few days, that you've already seen and done it.

I think that's why fighting series' don't hold people's interest that long. Because people realise that they've played, for example, Heihachi from Tekken in four or five different versions, and don't want to carry on doing that.

I think that, going forward, online play needs to be a necessity, to keep the arcade feel that people love. You have to play against another person, not the computer. That's the magic of the game - one person against another. You against me. I just beat you so now you want to get back in there and beat me. That's what it's all about.

So it's safe to assume that MK vs. DCU will have online play?

Boon: Absolutely. It has online, it has dual storylines - we tell the story from the perspective of the MK guys and from the DC guys. It has new fighting mechanics, transition combat, freefall combat - so you're actually punching and kicking as you fall to a new area. So it's going to be a completely different feel. It's not going to feel anything like MK Armageddon.

Sounds great, we're looking forward to seeing it. Thanks for your time.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=187314

=Zikkir.com=

15 of the Most Memorable Lines in Video Game History
Posted by Renato Leon | 26 September 2009, 4:53 am

''12) “FINISH HIM!!!” – Mortal Kombat

''Despite filling me with bloodlust for most of my adolescence, I did not grow up and murder a whole bunch of people by playing Mortal Kombat too much. Instead the only thing that’s stuck with me has been this line, telling me to do a Fatality that was way too damn hard to execute on the shitty Genesis controller. http://zikkir.com/game/212?wscr=1280x1024

=Gaming Target=

Mortal Kombat II
Written by Adam Woolcott on April 16, 2007 Final Scores: 7.0

''For those of us who started playing games before Sony knew what a PlayStation was, Mortal Kombat II was a high-point of a legendary era, when arcades were in their final boom before the obscurity they enjoy(?) now. Back in these days without widespread Internet access, the game was something of a legend, as rumors of all sorts of weird things cropped up, an indication of just how popular the game was with its audience. In those days, there were rumors of hidden secret characters, added fatalities, Nudealities, Beastialities (which came around in Mortal Kombat 3, along with Brutalities), and all of that was part of the mystique of the game. Now in our more connected age, this legend of the old days has made an appearance on PlayStation 3's store, sure to bring memories back to those wilder, more barbaric days. And whaddya know? It's exactly how you remember it...good and bad.

''The PS3 version of Mortal Kombat II is a direct conversion from the original arcade game, handled by the Xbox Live Arcade retro experts Digital Eclipse, which shouldn't surprise anyone since they've handled all of Midway's XBLA titles thus far (and Midway Arcade Treasures 2, where MK II last appeared in emulated form). However Midway hasn't involved themselves much with the game, licensing it out to Sony Online Entertainment, likely because of their experience with Sony's PlayStation Network. The pedigree at Digital Eclipse means the port is top-notch, effectively arcade-perfect, complete with all the characters, moves, fatalities, friendships, sound effects (TOASTY!), and the like. You'd think this would be a no-brainer with PS3's hardware, but half-assed ports can still happen. Sure the digitized graphics are a bit cheesy today (and lets be honest, they were cheesy in the 1990's too, but cheaper than actually designing character sprites), but they actually hold up well and the game runs very smoothly. The PS3 controller with its SNES styled d-pad is very effective, compared to the sketchy d-pad from the Xbox 360. Still if you have the Hori Virtua Fighter stick, that's the best way to go.

''Of course, being based on the arcade game means all the things that made Mortal Kombat II a multiplayer heavy title are still here. If you play it solo, and perhaps only remember the slightly dumbed-down SNES/Genesis conversions from 1994, you'll be surprised at how fast you get annihilated by the cheap, cheesy AI that either blocks or anticipates your every move. It was quite a shock to get completely destroyed in just a few rounds by damn near psychic opponents, even though this exact thing happened when the game came out. And you thought AI was getting worse in modern times! Though there are a few difficulty levels, even the easiest setting is decidedly un-fun unless you out-cheese the cheese. Of course the reason for this is obvious, as the idea was to suck quarters (or in some places, 50 cents) out of you constantly back in those days and that's how it was done. In short, unless you have friends to play locally or over the PSN, this might be $5 dollars better saved for something that's more accessible to a solo player.

''That said, if you did buy Mortal Kombat II for competitive play, it's the best 5 bucks you can spend right now on PS3. Obviously offline head-to-head is perfect, and can provide hours of entertainment (especially if you have two skilled players who know the moves and don't rely on cheese), but online works well too. It has unavoidable fighting game lag but since old-school Mortal Kombat isn't always about absolute precision it can be dealt with. There's also plenty of annoying griefers who quit rather than accept defeat, but that's a fixture of online games so most people are used to it. Unfortunately (or fortunately, in the case of the idiots there to ruin things) there's no voice chat so it feels a bit robotic and cold, but it's still better than dealing with 1993-era Artificial Intelligence.

''Bottom Line ''Mortal Kombat II has aged well technologically, and as long as you're getting the game for competitive play, it's a must buy, as the online play will keep fanatics of the game happy for a while, lack of voice chat or not. And playing with friends never gets old, especially older gamers who grew up on this stuff. Trying to get through the single-player ladder, however is an exercise in frustration and futility, and only absolute masters have a chance to even see an ending. Thus, spend the $15 more and get Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection instead and avoid this throwback to the days when AI was designed to break not just your spirit, but your piggy bank as well. In short, multiplayer: hot, single-player: not. http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=6811

=Independent Film Channel=

The Claustrophobic Cinema of Paul (W.S.) Anderson
''In a 1992 article at the Independent, Anderson said, "I get very angry when I go to Leicester Square and all the movies are American." Three years later, he went to Hollywood, never to return to his native England. His big break came with the adaptation of "Mortal Kombat," an incredibly bloody video game that Anderson played at arcades while he was in college. It was a self-consciously silly film -- he said he wanted to make it a cross between "Enter the Dragon" and "Jason and the Argonauts." It reflects the hand-made, amateur ethos of that combination, maintaining a jokey, self-reflexive tone not unlike "Big Trouble in Little China." (The 2006 Impact Pictures-produced "D.O.A.:Dead or Alive" has a similar spirit). The main set is a labyrinthine, fantastical underground lair, where the tournament's fighters wander with bemused nonchalance, even when they stumble upon a Ray Harryhausen-esque six-armed behemoth planning their demise. Here, Anderson utilizes his constricted set as a genre playground, mutating to throw fighters together or supply the material for a clunky bon mot from the dry-witted Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) or the gun-toting Bridgette Wilson. It made over $120 million worldwide. ''

http://www.ifc.com/news/2009/09/paul-w-s-anderson.php

=GameSpot=

Best of Games
http://www.gamespot.com/search.html?qs=best%2Bof%2B2002&tag=relatedsearch;3#feature

This search has links under it for Best of 2001, best of 2003, best of 2004, best of 2005, and best of 2006. Find out which MK games were released each year and find reception for them. Remember to click features since the awards are only under features.

=4llmania.com=

Retronomicon 09.16.09: Mortal Kombat II
http://www.411mania.com/games/columns/116257/Retronomicon-09.16.09:-Mortal-Kombat-II.htm Posted by Lee Price on 09.16.2009 The Background

The original Mortal Kombat had hit arcades in 1992 by Ed Boon and John Tobias and became a massive hit almost immediately. Not so much due to its gameplay, which was in most respects inferior to that of its main competitor, Street Fighter II, but for its massive gore content. This of course got parents up in arms and Rev Lovejoy's wife could often be found screaming "Won't somebody please think of the children" rather than displaying any actual parenting nous and preventing her kid from playing the game. But that's neither here nor there.

What was both here and there in 1993 was a desire for a sequel. But not just any sequel would do. The game had to look better, play better and most importantly bleed a whole lot more. There were quarters to be gained and household markets that could be capitalized on thanks to the power of the 16-Bit consoles, but a sub-standard sequel would mean the series possibly dying out and having its head ripped off before it even really hit the ground.

So Boon and Tobias, alongside the guys at Midway, got together to create one of the most important games in history. Mortal Kombat II is a game that smashed through the barriers that Mortal Kombat had started to attack, and it was a damned fine game to boot.

Mortal Kombat II is the very definition of the mantra "bigger is better" and it pulls it off superbly. Everything from the character models to the fighting system is just more juiced up and flows much better than the original ever did. While It forgoes some of the bloodsport-esque feeling of the original, the removal of the chopping mini-game still particularly grates, Mortal Kombat II stepped up gameplay-wise to become a genuine competitor to Street Fighter II.

The story was a similar affair to that of the first game. Having defeated the threat of Shang Tsung in the first Outworld tournament, everything is shiny and happy for Liu Kang and company. Shang Tsung, on the other hand, has a bit of a problem in that he has to report his loss, and the death of the behemoth Goro, to evil overlord Shao Kahn.

Kahn reacts badly to the news, but Shang Tsung begs for him to spare his life, informing the boss man that the call for Mortal Kombat can't be refused. So Shao Kahn shows mercy and restores Shang Tsung's youth, but this time he's going to put in an appearance himself to make sure that everything goes according to plan. So the invitation is sent and Mortal Kombat II is ready to go.

While nothing spectacular, the story serves its purpose. It at least puts a slightly different slant on the whole "group of warriors meet to smack each others heads in until the game who smacks hardest is left standing" story that most fighters go with. Plus it fits the slightly bleak level settings that the game creates and helps create clear hero's and villains. So in this respect the storyline works as it should, setting up the antagonists, Shao Kahn and his Outworld cronies, providing suitable protagonists, Liu Kang and his earthly friends, and then having them kick the holy hell out of each other!

And kicking the holy hell out of your opponent is what Mortal Kombat II is all about. Possibly the weakest area of the first game was its fighting system, which lacked both the complexity and subtlety of Street Fighter. Mortal Kombat II goes a short way to remedying that in some respects.

While all the fighters still share pretty much the same basic move set, with a couple of moves being added here and there to build on top of the basics from the first game, everything has an ebb and flow which just feels smoother than it did in Mortal Kombat. Everything just moves quicker and this helps the game no end as it is no longer a bit of a slog to get to the end of the fighter, the pace is kept fast and furious to the point where you don't really notice that outside of special moves everybody has the same attacks. You're too busy trying to avoid that lethal uppercut.

On top of that the game has a more realistic feel, if that's possible, than most fighters. Ed Boon is known to have attempted to incorporate physical effects such as gravity in the game and this accounts for the game feeling much more natural than its predecessor.

The special moves themselves make a welcome return. Everybody loves Scorpion's spear move and I'm sure many a reader has, in their youth or in Todd Vote's case yesterday, done the infamous spear fling and uttered the immortal "Get Over Here" line. But outside of him each character has specific specials that go a long way to setting them apart from each other. While most are pretty generic projectiles and standard fighter fare, there are fun little touches, such as Kung Lao physically removing his hat to launch it across the screen, or Shang Tsung's ability to morph into any character in the game.

Of course you'd expect the main effort to have gone into the most controversial aspect of the series. I am, of course, talking about the fatalities and Midway do not disappoint in this respect. Each character has an additional fatality to add onto the sole one from the first game, or in the new character's cases to go hand in hand with each other. This is an especially good thing for Liu Kang because to say his cartwheeling kick thing was an anti-climax would be an understatement. Thankfully Midway make up for it by introducing his Dragon Fatality, which pretty much became the standard bearer for all future fatalities in the series.

This isn't all Midway did though as they added other finishing moves in the form of Babalities and Friendships. Babalities are exactly what they sound like, as the opposing character is turned into an infantile version of themselves, probably eliminating their threat for 20 years or so. Friendships are much more fun though, as each character has a specific one, such as Johnny Cage giving you a signed photo, which is better than a punch to the crotch no matter how you look at it. This, in addition to a couple more stage fatalities, gave the player much more variety when it came to the time to "FINISH HIM".

The game's overall tone is much more fun-based than it was previously too. Its probably pretty well known that the idea for Mortal Kombat came from the Van Damme film Bloodsport, and the original game had a very serious feel to it in that that respect, almost treating itself life a legitimate tournament, at least in the gaming universe. Mortal Kombat II takes a more humorous slant on proceedings however. The Babalities and Friendships are a clear sign that the game had developed a sense of humor that was slightly lacking before and this slightly more jovial frame suits the game well.

Mortal Kombat II also had a much fuller character roster than its previous incarnation. The loss of Sonya and Kano is made up by the introduction of Baraka, Kitana, Mileena, Jax, and Kung-Lao, as well as introducing Reptile as a fully playable character bringing the playable roster up to twelve fighters. Not only does this give the player more variety, it also provides ample opportunity to include even more fatalities which is a plus no matter which way you look at it. In addition they also kept up the tradition of secret characters that was started with Reptile, expanding on this with the introduction of Noob Saibot, Smoke and Jade, all of whom would later become series regulars.

Of course the game lost the legendary Goro, to be replaced by the equally powerful, but for some reason not as cool, Kintaro. This of course meant that the playable Goro legend of the first game was no more and it may have been just me but I was never that bothered about playing as Kintaro. He just didn't have the same allure as Goro had. Shao Kahn, on the other hand, is a much more convincing final enemy than Shang Tsung's frail old man was. Kahn looks like a brick shit house and he acts like it too, which makes him all the more intimidating as a final boss prospect.

Graphically the game is much improved from the original. While still using the digitized graphics that made Mortal Kombat stand out, the sequel didn't stick so rigidly to this premise. Hand drawn animations were utilized for some areas, such as the fatalities. This, coupled with improved technology when it came to motion capture gave the game a much chunkier and fleshed out feel than the original and helped the characters blend in to the setting much more than they had in the first game. The character models actually looked like they belonged in Mortal Kombat II, which was a big plus.

The backgrounds were also much more detailed than those of the original. Special mention should go to the forest stage, which would see intermittent appearances from both Smoke and Jade as they would peek their heads around a tree to observe the action. Touches like this gave the game a much better feel than it had before, as well as adding to the slightly more humorous tone present throughout.

The game was also an audio revelation, being the first to use the Williams DCS soundboard, and to good effect. The voices were much clearer and better defined, from Shao Kahn demanding you "FINISH HIM" to the infamous "Whoopsie" line, everything sounded much better, especially in the arcades, and helped set Mortal Kombat II aside from the grunts and groans offered by its competition. The music was also a particular standout, with dark and brooding oriental themes that lent themselves well to the overall feel of the game. All of this combined made the Mortal Kombat II arcade machine stand out from all of those around it, as well as providing problems for the home conversions.

Probably the two most prominent conversions would be those received by SNES and Genesis owners and each game had its flaws. The SNES version had superior graphics and sounds effects thanks to the hardware, however the Genesis had the advantage in the gore stakes Nintendo didn't allow the inclusion of blood in the SNES version. Both games play well though, but the true connoisseur should plump for either the SEGA 32X or Saturn versions of the game, both being much more faithful arcade ports.

Overall Mortal Kombat II stands head and shoulders above the original game and deservedly is one of the only true competitors to Street Fighter's crown. It achieves this by being one of the few fighting games of the era that tried to be different, the gore, graphics and gameplay all setting it apart Street Fighter and providing the consumer with an alternative rather than a carbon copy. While perhaps lacking a little in depth, Mortal Kombat II is fun, and at the end of the day that is what gaming is all about.

The Aftermath

Mortal Kombat II was a revelation in the arcades, just like its predecessor, attracting many a blood thirsty youth from the grip of their parents so they could slice somebody in half with a hat. While perhaps never garnering the same respect as Street Fighter, you would have been hard pressed to find an arcade that didn't have this game on its release.

The series itself probably peaked with MKII. Mortal Kombat 3 was fun but felt a little bloated in places, and the best MK action to be had after MKII was probably Ultimate Mortal Kombat on the Genesis and Saturn, or Mortal Kombat Trilogy on the PS1, which provided a good send off for the 2D era of MK.

The series has made numerous forays into the 3D arena, with mixed results which have meant it has never stood up to the 3D powerhouses such as Tekken or Virtua Fighter. There have also been platformers involving Jax and Sub-Zero but the less said about them the better.

Mortal Kombat's popularity was such that their have even bee two movies made from the franchise. The first is a fun little romp through the MK world, camp and corny but a great laugh nonetheless and fitting with the tone of Mortal Kombat II perfectly. The second isn't. It just isn't.

The Mortal Kombat name still perseveres however, but it would be hard to argue that the series ever reached the same plateau as Mortal Kombat II.

=PCAction=

Top 12 male characters in gaming (Translated from German)
9. Scorpion (Mortal Kombat series) ''Scorpion rising straight out of hell from our Top 12th. The same goes well with his mask outfit, as the tragic father-son conflict that has marked his biography. However, it is not entirely clear whether a yellow jacket fits into a fiery avenger from the eternal depths very well. Regardless square 9 Get over here!

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcaction.de%2FSpecial-Die-12-coolsten-maennlichen-Gaming-Charaktere%2FNews%2Farticle%2Fview%2F2508%2F

=Guiness World Records=

Likeness of Ed Boon and John Tobias in MK
''The severed heads seen in the Pit stage of Mortal Kombat are likenesses of developer Midway's staff, and include lookalikes of the creators of the game, Ed Boon and John Tobias.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/sports/ssxtricky/news.html?sid=6185294&mode=news =Gamesradar=

Top 7 mistakes by nintendo
4 - Censorship and the unshakable "kiddy" image

If you're trying to sell video games to kids in the '80s, the last thing you want to be seen as is "uncool." But for a while there it seemed like Nintendo was going out of its way to look and act like a parent desperately trying to protect his children from the outside world yet also appear hip and "with it." Initial censorship, like removing overt religious icons or scenarios from Japanese games, made sense. Scantily clad women would often receive a few extra strands of clothing, that's nothing too crazy either. But the constant badgering of third parties to remove references to Hitler or words such as "devil," "death" or "hell," had to be grating. Even more so when Nintendo's main rival, Sega, didn't seem to really mind a lot of the same content. Sega also left the precious blood in the first home port of Mortal Kombat - Nintendo saw fit to force publisher Acclaim to replace the blood with sweat.

With this one act, the thought that Nintendo was a little too family friendly came out into the open for all the playgrounds and college dorms to see. We can't rip off someone's head in the Super NES Mortal Kombat? Fine. See you at Matt's house. He has a Genesis.

Once Mortal Kombat II came to the SNES, the blood was a go, due to the verbal and sales thrashing Nintendo received. But this problem isn't about lost sales, it's about perception. After this point, it wasn't "cool" to like Nintendo anymore. All the fanatics of the '80s were ga-ga over Sonic the Hedgehog, and all the mushroom-eating plumbers in the world couldn't make the company seem as edgy as Sega. To top it all off, once the videogame violence topic hit congress, Nintendo brought its own version of MK to prove how "safe" its version was compared to Sega's uncensored Kombat. Essentially, Nintendo was tattling on Sega. If there's a better way to simultaneously look like an asshat and make the other guy appear cool as hell, we'd love to hear it.

Nintendo, once the epitome of cool, was surpassed by Sega, then by Sony and astonishingly fast by Microsoft (the Xbox went from non-issue to major player in about a month). And whenever it tried to cover this image up with the "in your face" ads of the "Play It Loud" era, kids across the country were smart enough to tell the difference between real cool and real stupid.

http://www.gamesradar.com/wii/f/the-top-7-nintendo-mistakes/a-2007040911262588028/g-20060308165433320026/p-4

=MIT Press=

“From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games.”
Edited by Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins

Table of Contents and Sample Chapters

Many parents worry about the influence of video games on their children's lives. The game console may help to prepare children for participation in the digital world, but at the same time it socializes boys into misogyny and excludes girls from all but the most objectified positions. The new "girls' games" movement has addressed these concerns. Although many people associate video games mainly with boys, the girls games' movement has emerged from an unusual alliance between feminist activists (who want to change the "gendering" of digital technology) and industry leaders (who want to create a girls' market for their games).

The contributors to From Barbie to Mortal Kombat explore how assumptions about gender, games, and technology shape the design, development, and marketing of games as industry seeks to build the girl market. They describe and analyze the games currently on the market and propose tactical approaches for avoiding the stereotypes that dominate most toy store aisles. The lively mix of perspectives and voices includes those of media and technology scholars, educators, psychologists, developers of today's leading games, industry insiders, and girl gamers.

Contributors: Aurora, Dorothy Bennett, Stephanie Bergman, Cornelia Brunner, Mary Bryson, Lee McEnany Caraher, Justine Cassell, Suzanne de Castell, Nikki Douglas, Theresa Duncan, Monica Gesue, Michelle Goulet, Patricia Greenfield, Margaret Honey, Henry Jenkins, Cal Jones, Yasmin Kafai, Heather Kelley, Marsha Kinder, Brenda Laurel, Nancie Martin, Aliza Sherman, Kaveri Subrahmanyam.

About the Editors

Henry Jenkins is Provost's Professor of Communication, Journalism and Cinematic Arts at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California. He is the coeditor of From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games (MIT Press, 1998).

http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?tid=3929&ttype=2

=Expressbuzz=

Marvel vs Capcom 2 is furious, freneticand fun
''Anand Ramachandran First Published : 05 Sep 2009 11:16:00 PM ISTLast Updated : 04 Sep 2009 02:01:50 PM IST

''In a year that has already seen two of the finest 2-D fighters ever in BlazBlue and Street Fighter 4, the re-release of Capcom’s old classic Marvel vs Capcom 2 could easily have passed without much notice.

''But, thanks to a brilliant fighting system that rewards the hardcore without being too harsh on n00bs, charmingly arcadey presentation that is retro in the most wonderful way, and a diverse and awesome 52 character roster, Marvel vs Capcom 2 takes its rightful place among the top fighters available today.

''MvC 2 was a much loved game in its arcade and Dreamcast avatars, and thankfully, most the good stuff remains unchanged in the new version (available for download from XBOX Live in India). The arenas have been modified to fit the widescreen ratio, and this actually opens up a little more space for fighting, impacting the tactics ever so slightly. The sprites remain unchanged, and look great even today. It’s not quite Next-Gen visual pwnage, but it’s stylish and pacy and rather trippy. The character portraits which appear on the victory screen and the team selection menus are all immaculately drawn and hand-painted, looking terrific.

''The fighting system itself is superbly designed and balanced. Every character is viable, and, if you invest the time to master each one’s individual moves, you’ll be rewarded with an incredibly satisfying gaming experience. MvC 2 doesn’t confuse you with a bewildering array of moves like the Mortal Kombat series for instance. Each character has anywhere between eight to ten moves, including specials, all of which are easy to learn. The challenge is in the execution and timing — winning in MvC 2 is about intelligent team composition, control of arena space, mastering the timing of combos, assists and hypers.

''All fights in MvC 2 are tag-team, and you can tag a team-mate into play at any time. This is especially useful if one of your characters is taking a pounding — swapping him out for a teammate will restore some health, and the teammate may be better suited for a particular opponent. Smartly tagging your characters in and out is crucial to success. Also, depending on your combo-meter level, you can perform devastating double-team or triple-team hyper combos that deal serious damage. But, unless you time them well, your combos can be blocked or dodged, so desperate hyper-comboing isn’t a guarantee of success. A critical tactic you must master is to focus on a weak opponent and knock him out. It’s all very tactical and skill-based, and it’s extremely satisfying to win fights after implementing a well-thought out strategy, combined with old-fashioned butt-kicking.

''The character roster is also complete awesomeness — Spidey, Iron-Man, Hulk, Cap, Logan, Doom, Iceman and more from Marvel duke it out with Ken, Ryu, Zangief, Abel, Dhalsim and many other Capcom faves. Sights such as the tiny ServeBot growing to humongous proportions and flattening the Hulk with a cartoon hammer are incredibly funny (unless you’re the one playing Hulk), and the move combinations are virtually endless. Every character has some great specials, and these are great fun when combined with two or more characters to create maximum carnage on screen.

''With 52 characters in the roster, you can probably spend forever playing this game, even in single player. Add a smooth online experience, Marvel vs Capcom 2 is probably the best value for money 2-D fighter available in the market.

[]

=Joystiq=

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 top spot in PSN August sales
''Another month over, another month of PSN sales to look at. Unsurprisingly, the biggest release of the month -- Marvel vs. Capcom 2 -- took the top spot for downloads. The starchy multiplayer matches of Fat Princess took the crown as the biggest PSN exclusive of the month and will likely keep that position once new classes are introduced. Here's the Top 10:

''1.Marvel vs. Capcom 2 ''2.Fat Princess ''3.Battlefield 1943 ''4.Final Fantasy VII (PS3/PSP) ''5.Crystal Defenders ''6.Mortal Kombat II ''7.Shatter ''8.Wolfenstein 3D ''9.Worms ''10.Metal Gear Solid (PS3/PSP) ''We're glad to see that Shatter finally made it into the top downloads chart, considering it's both cheap and awesome. Mortal Kombat II keeps its relentless hold on the PSN charts, and Square Enix's first PS3 game, Crystal Defenders, makes a rather strong debut. Perhaps Square should consider bringing its other downloadable games to PSN?

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/04/marvel-vs-capcom-2-takes-top-spot-in-psn-sales-for-august/

=CNET Networks=

Home Reviews Xbox Games Midway Games Inc. xbox games Mortal Kombat: Deception (Xbox)
''GameSpot editors' review ''Reviewed by: Greg Kasavin ''Reviewed on: 10/04/2004 ''Released on: 10/04/2004 ''Originally published on GameSpot: Mortal Kombat: Deception (Xbox) Review

''The latest in Midway's influential and long-running fighting game series, Mortal Kombat: Deception, picks up where 2002's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance left off by featuring lots of new and returning fighters, a variety of surprising new modes of play, and, perhaps best of all, the ability to play online. The strangest part about Deception is how it includes several completely off-the-wall modes, the likes of which you'd never expect from a fighting game. These include the single-player konquest mode, which is a story-driven adventure; puzzle kombat, a competitive Tetris-style puzzle game that's an unabashed homage to Capcom's Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo; and chess kombat, which is inspired by the classic computer game Archon. The konquest mode is disappointingly bland, while these other two modes are at least amusing. However, the core one-on-one fighting action--whether you play it offline or online--is easily the best part of the game. Like its predecessor, the fighting in Mortal Kombat: Deception is gory, intense, and quite complex, meaning it captures much of what's made MK an institution among fighting games.

''This wouldn't be an MK sequel without some inexplicable character roster updates. Kung Lao's gone, and Ermac's back in. Huh?

''The fighting system in Deception hasn't changed much from that of Deadly Alliance. Once again, the main twist that distinguishes this game from other 3D fighting games is that each character may freely switch between three different martial arts styles during battle--one of which is always a weapon-based style of some sort. Characters each possess a handful of unique special moves, as well as a bunch of different chain combos, some of which involve switching between different martial arts styles in midcombo. The sheer variety of different martial arts featured in MK: Deception is quite impressive, and the overall look and feel of the action is clearly inspired by kung fu movies--to good effect. Whereas many fighting games take their cues from anime and aim for action that looks more stylish than downright painful, MK: Deception goes for the hard-hitting staccato rhythms of Hong Kong action cinema and doesn't skimp on sheer graphic violence. The results don't always look perfectly fluid or natural--especially since many of the characters actually look rather stiff--but the fighting in MK: Deception nevertheless features a ton of painful-looking moves that cause the opponent on the receiving end to reel backwards, oftentimes gushing blood. The fighting action is ridiculously over-the-top, and, as a result, it's actually often quite funny.

''There's a good, responsive feel to the action, and there's decent variety within the roster of selectable characters. In MK tradition, the fighters here aren't drastically different from one another. Though their special moves and combos are unique, it's not difficult to learn how to play as the different characters once you've grasped the basic game mechanics. A dozen fighters are initially available, and a dozen more are silhouetted on the character select screen, practically taunting you to unlock them. The typical match unfolds as your average best-two-out-of-three-rounds fighting game battle, but MK: Deception does have a few twists. For one thing, it's now possible to execute combo breakers (in a nod to the fighting game Killer Instinct) that let you instantly disrupt the opponent when you're on the receiving end of a string of attacks. Combo breakers are actually really easy to perform, but the catch is that you can use these only a few times during a match, and they cause no damage to the opponent. So they introduce a welcome bit of strategy to a match. Should you use your breakers right away or try to save them to turn the tables at the end of a match? MK: Deception makes a few other tweaks to Deadly Alliance's gameplay, such as eliminating the powerful impaling moves from that game and adding (back) a whole bunch of uppercut attacks--MK standbys that seemed noticeably absent from Deadly Alliance. Deception also adds a fairly useless graphical threat indicator, which (among other things) flashes red when you're susceptible to taking extra damage from a counterattack. In practice, it's just not possible to glance at this small row of flashing lights while concentrating on match action.

''Mortal Kombat's particular brand of so-gory-it's-funny action is in full effect here.

''A much more noticeable, and welcome, addition is in how most of the battle arenas in MK: Deception feature death traps that may instantly end a round, either for a satisfying finish or a surprise comeback. For example, Mortal Kombat's classic "pit" stage returns (and MKII's acid-filled "dead pool" level is in here too), but this time, you don't need to wait until the end of a match to knock your enemy onto the spikes below. Now, if you just get him or her near the edge of the elevated platform, you can uppercut the poor sap to certain death. Should you die in this fashion, you only lose the round and not the match, which is something that's inexplicable but makes obvious sense from a gameplay standpoint. It's a like a much messier version of Virtua Fighter's ring-outs.

''Most of the death traps are tucked away into the recesses of a level and sometimes require you to smash your opponent (or get smashed yourself) through a lower level before the deadly portions of it are exposed. These dangerous areas are also conveniently indicated by a red border, so you'll know when you're in a troublesome spot. A few of the levels--including one in which the edge of the level keeps collapsing, making it more and more likely that someone ends up falling--are definitely a little too prone to deaths-by-death trap. But the fact that these elements of the stages make you have to be mindful of where you're fighting mostly just help to make the combat more interesting. Plus, the death trap-related fatalities are pretty entertaining. So death traps actually turn out to be a much more fun addition to the game than you might expect. However, if you really don't like them, for some reason, you can disable death traps in the game both in offline and online play.

''Of course, this wouldn't be Mortal Kombat without a whole bunch of fatalities, and, fortunately, Deception's got plenty of them.

''Deadly Alliance had just one fatality per fighter, but Deception has two. And most of these are barbaric and really gross, meaning they're excellent. In fact, it's fair to say that MK: Deception packs in some of the best, most brutal fatalities in the series to date. Another new addition to the series is the hara-kiri, or self-fatality. Basically, players who've lost a match have the ability to punch in a command to perform a self-fatality. These are pretty amusing, much like most all the other fatalities in the game. As a result, the losing player is given a sort of fatality advantage. Whereas the winning player must be in the proper position to execute a fatality, you can pull off a hara-kiri as quickly as you can punch in the command. So, in practice, you won't have much opportunity to pull off a fatality against someone who's memorized the hara-kiri maneuvers. Regardless, it doesn't really matter either way, because--as in past MK games--fatalities are just for show. And they put on a great show indeed.

''Beware of traps. Many of the fighting arenas in Deception are every bit as dangerous as the opponents you'll face in them.

''The standard fighting mode is playable versus the computer or against another player. When you play against the computer, you'll fight your way past a number of combatants until you finally square off against a typically overpowered Mortal Kombat boss. Each character has a fairly elaborate ending, should you win the bout, so fans of the MK mythos should enjoy the arcade mode if not for this reason, then because the enemy artificial intelligence is actually pretty fun to play against. It's susceptible to some tricks and patterns, and at higher levels of difficulty it fights pretty cheaply, but mostly it's a good way to practice your skills, master some combos, and maybe see a fatality or hara-kiri you've never seen before.

''Online play is a major attraction in MK: Deception. You can play puzzle kombat or chess kombat online, but the regular one-on-one fighting is where the real action is. It's easy to get into a match, and we experienced surprisingly smooth, lag-free gameplay in each of the different online modes, which is impressive considering this is the first-ever online-enabled 3D fighting game to hit consoles. Furthermore, the game's very timing-intensive, which would make lag not just noticeable but quite detrimental. Interestingly, you have access to all of your unlocked characters while playing online. Some of the game's hidden characters seem noticeably stronger than average, so the play balance--especially with the death trap-filled environments--is a little suspect. On the other hand, it's not like you're dropping quarters into a machine each time you play. At any rate, like pretty much any fighting game, MK: Deception is at its best when you're playing a similarly skilled opponent. And the presence of online play means you should be able to find ready and willing competition 'round the clock. It's a huge deal and a major milestone for 3D fighting games.

''Soon enough, you'll be tempted to gain access to the game's variety of hidden characters, alternate outfits, and additional battle arenas. So, unfortunately, you'll have to stop playing the arcade mode and switch over to the aforementioned konquest mode.

''Konquest mode is definitely the weak point of MK: Deception. It's a surprisingly long and drawn-out third-person-perspective adventure game in which you, as an aspiring martial artist named Shujinko, will get to visit many of Mortal Kombat's multidimensional locales to meet many of its characters. Konquest mode also serves as a tutorial, since it'll initially walk you through the basics of combat and teach you most of the different characters' various moves and combos. This all might sound great in theory, but in practice, konquest mode is ugly and dull. Shujinko's journey is just a series of very repetitive point-A-to-point-B fetch quests and combat training exercises that are punctuated only rarely by an actual good, old-fashioned fight. Shujinko ages during the course of konquest mode, and there are a few other nice touches, like how you can just go ahead and punch anybody for any reason at any time while running around. However, these don't save konquest mode from being disappointing. The whole thing just looks and feels awkward, and the lousy voice acting and poor graphics will probably keep you from getting into the long-winded and utterly predictable storyline. Diehard MK fans will find some pleasant cameo appearances in konquest mode, but it's still a chore.

''Konquest mode is lame, but you'll need to play it to unlock most of the game's best-kept secrets.

''Yet you need to play konquest mode to access most of the good, unlockable features in the game. You'll run across vast fields while collecting "koins" and opening treasure chests that contain still more koins. Occasionally, you'll discover a key of some sort. Koins and keys are used in Deception's krypt, which, much like the krypt in Deadly Alliance, is basically where you unlock all the game's hidden content by cashing in your earnings. You earn koins while playing the other modes (though, unfortunately, you don't earn koins while playing online), but keys may only be found in konquest mode, and only with keys can you unlock the game's best extras--including the hidden characters--and so on. To make matters worse, many of the keys are well hidden. Once you finish the story in konquest mode, there's still a bunch of extra stuff waiting to be discovered, so you'll need to go back in and comb through all the areas you've already visited for more secrets. It's an unnecessarily painstaking process, and it threatens to drag down the entire experience of MK: Deception. On the plus side, it'll make you relish Deception's unlockable content that much more--and many of the unlockables are worth the hassle.

''Fortunately, the puzzle kombat and chess kombat modes are much more successful than konquest mode, though they're a little gimmicky in their own rights. Each lets you play against the computer, another player on the same system, or another player online. The computer ramps up in difficulty quite a bit as you defeat successive opponents in puzzle kombat, but it rarely strikes a good balance, since early opponents are nearly incompetent, while later opponents are extremely tough. The gameplay itself is reminiscent of any number of competitive puzzle games. Consequently, you'll see pairs of colored blocks dropping from the top of the screen, both in your playing field and in your opponent's. The pairs of blocks must be arranged so that similar-colored blocks end up being adjacent to one another. Occasionally, special-colored icons fall instead of blocks, and if you match these up with blocks of like colors, all adjacent, colored blocks will shatter, clearing part of your playing field and causing an equivalent number of blocks to fall into your opponent's playing field. This, of course, serves as a perfect abstract model for deadly combat.

''Puzzle Kombat is a spitting image of Capcom's classic puzzle battle game, right on down to the superdeformed characters you'll see duking it out onscreen.

''It's possible to pull off combos as blocks shatter and others fall into place, but, really, the main strategy in puzzle kombat is to try to shatter large numbers of blocks at once. This way you can often fill the opponent's field in one move, thus winning the round. Each selectable character in puzzle kombat has his or her own special move that may occasionally be used either to assist you or hinder your opponent. This is nice for variety, but puzzle kombat is still a fairly slow-paced mode that isn't quite as well executed as the games that inspired it. The action speeds up when you've graduated to later stages against the computer, but, unfortunately, when playing against a human opponent, puzzle kombat feels a bit sluggish. It will invariably take a good several minutes before a round gets interesting.

''Chess kombat is also rather deliberate, but you might expect this, since it's essentially a turn-based strategy game like chess--except when two pieces meet on the map, you and your opponent must fight it out. You start by choosing characters to represent each of your pieces, and once the game's started, the object is to defeat the opponent's leader. The best way to do this is to occupy a couple of glowing points on the map that cause all of your units to gain a health boost. Typically, both players will occupy one of these points in the first couple of turns, and then you'll both spend the rest of the match fighting over them. You can cast a few single-use spells to aid you or hamper your opponent, but chess kombat will basically boil down to a lot of fights between you and your opponent's "grunts," which are like pawns in chess. So if you're playing chess kombat against someone of substantially greater or lesser skill, then it'll be easy for the more-skilled player to gain the upper hand and then quickly win. However, against a similarly skilled opponent, chess kombat often becomes a drawn-out stalemate.

''So while puzzle kombat and chess kombat are refreshingly different types of modes to include in a fighting game, don't expect them to take too much of your attention away from the actual fighting here.

''The Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions of MK: Deception are roughly identical in that they offer the same features and content, in addition to presenting similarly good visuals. The PlayStation 2's stock gamepad is generally better suited for fighting games than either the large or small Xbox controllers, but Deception's controls map well to both versions of the game. The Xbox version predictably looks a little cleaner, but both run at the same smooth frame rate, and both look approximately identical. Between-match loading times are noticeable in both versions of the game, so in the end, the Xbox version just barely edges out the PS2 version.

''More specifically, MK: Deception retains its predecessor's great looks--occasional warts and all. As mentioned, the konquest mode really looks quite bad, but during battle, you'll be treated to some smoothly animated, colorful, good-looking fighters. Most moves in the game cause their recipients to gush blood, which spurts and splatters in superexaggerated fashion and gives Deception that signature MK touch. In addition, the various fighting arenas in the game mostly look great, and their sadistic death traps are sure to make series' fans smile. The game's perfectly smooth frame rate also does a lot to both help the visuals look good and make the flow of the action feel as fluid as possible. Meanwhile, Deception's audio is punctuated by the sorts of battle cries, screams, thuds, cracks, slams, and bass-heavy ambient music that has always been the hallmark of Mortal Kombat--which has always been one of the best-sounding fighting game series. A sinister-sounding announcer rounds out the excellent audio presentation.

''MK fans, rejoice. This game's for you.

''All told, MK: Deception is an outstanding, fully featured game. And it's one that's naturally best suited to series' fans--especially those who liked 2002's similar Deadly Alliance. It's these players who'll be most likely to appreciate the game's peculiar emphasis on story and unlockable extras. But make no mistake: The best, most fully developed part of Deception is its fighting system. Like any great fighting game, this one carefully strikes the balance of delivering fast-paced, visceral thrills and rewarding lots of practice and complex tactics. As such, any fighting game fan should be rightfully attracted by the prospect of Deception's online play, which works as advertised and truly does make a big difference, because it provides access to live competition all the time. Not all of Deception's modes and features are flat-out great, but the game's absolutely got it where it counts.

http://reviews.cnet.com/xbox-games/mortal-kombat-deception-xbox/4505-9582_7-31151773.html http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/mortalkombatdeception/review.html

=Shacknews=

The Rogues Gallery: Controversial Video Games
Game: Mortal Kombat Platform: GB, Game Gear, Sega Genesis/CD, SNES... ah heck, everything at one point or another. Developer/Publisher: Midway Games Year released: 1992 (original)

"MMMOOOORRTAAALLLL KOOOMMMBAAAAT!" Remember that commercial? Just curious. Mortal Kombat was created by Midway Games in only five and a half months as a competitor for the hugely popular Street Fighter II, and in its own way, it succeeded. Mortal Kombat quickly became infamous for its brutal 'Fatalities', which a player could perform after beating his or her opponent in a best-of-three match scenario. Ripping out hearts, knocking off heads, pulling out a head with an attached spleen... yeah, MK was gory all right, and was pretty realistic looking due to its use of digitized actors. Did you know that originally, Jean-Claude Van Damme was going to play Johnny Cage? And did you know that if said event would have come to fruition, Mr. Van Damme might have something to be recognized for in the year 2005? Like, you know, besides Bloodsport? But of course, Street Fighter was an awesome movie, so he's got that goin' for him.

Mortal Kombat can be credited with the creation of the ESRB ratings system, which was quickly initiated upon the game's release. The effectiveness of the system can be argued until we're all blue in the face, but for a while, it did seem to help keep the kiddies away from decapitations and Scorpion Spears.

The reason for the rampant gore and realistic graphics was, as previously stated, to lure crowds away from the cartoony graphics of Street Fighter II. While it was in arcades, there wasn't really much people could do about it. Just cover little Johnny's eyes and quickly walk in the opposite direction. But when the Kombat came home, the crap really hit the fan.

September 13th, 1993, "Mortal Monday", is a day that will live in awesomeness... if you were a Sega Genesis or Game Gear owner. This was the fateful day that Mortal Kombat came to consoles, and much to the dismay of Game Boy and Super NES owners everywhere, their versions were heavily edited. Sweat replaced blood, and cheesy fatalities such as Sub-Zero freezing his opponent then shattering them into tiny ice cubes replaced the much cooler rip-off-the-head-with-spleen fatality, probably the most popular fatality in arcades. Needless to say, the Sega Genesis version was the best-selling version of the popular arcade game by far, and even though Nintendo stuck by their decision, it wouldn't last long.

After the near riots by Nintendo fans around the globe, Midway, Acclaim and Nintendo all wised up and opted to release Mortal Kombat II with all the blood and gore intact, which caused the powerful Super NES hardware to put forth the arguably best version of the hard-hitting sequel.

Mortal Kombat wasn't left unscathed by the ratings system it inspired, however. Beginning with Mortal Kombat II and all the way until Mortal Kombat 4, Friendships and Babalities were introduced, a sort of minor acquiescence to the US Congressional Investigation for Violence in Videogames. It was MK4 that finally brought the series back to the dark roots that inspired it, and no Friendships or Babalities were mercifully present.

http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=23

=The Sentinel (Pennsylvania)=

Sentinel Lunchtime Blog (Movies): Virtual reality takes dystopian view
By Naomi Creason, Sentinel Reporter, September 2, 2009

Last updated: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 12:53 PM EDT

Some of the worst films to date come out of this genre — “Super Mario Bros.,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Wing Commander,” “Hitman” and “Max Payne” all hail from video games. http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2009/09/02/opinion/lunchtime_blog/doc4a9e8ae4e38a6861727253.txt

=George S. Clinton= His musical inventiveness and versatility in both orchestral and popular idioms have allowed him to contribute memorable scores to such diverse films as the hit comedy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and its blockbuster sequels and the hit martial arts fantasy Mortal Kombat and its sequel. http://www.soundtrack.net/composers/database/?id=365

=GameSpy= http://search.gamespy.com/products?so=exact&sort=relevance&ns=true&minscorelimit=0&maxscorelimit=5&query=Mortal+Kombat&developerSearch=&platformSearch=-1&publisherSearch=&genreSearch=-1&minReleaseDate=&maxReleaseDate=&esrbSearch=-1&minScoreSearch=&maxScoreSearch=&x=0&y=0 =GameRankings=

Search for reviews of MK games on Game rankings
http://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html?search=mortal+kombat&numrev=3&site= Muhahaha. Definitely taking advantage of this.

=Gainesville Sun=

Pay attention, hipsters, these are your new trends
''As terrifying as that sounds, the real horror was their enthusiasm for “Mortal Kombat” tournaments on something called a Wii console. I can’t be sure what that is, but I assume it’s some kind of murderous fight to the death involving Ikea furniture and poor spelling.'' http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090813/COLUMNISTS/908129936/1145/entertainment?Title=Pay-attention-hipsters-these-are-your-new-trends

=KentuckyKernel=

Vick’s actions extend beyond the gridiron
He drowned, electrocuted, hung and shot animals ceremoniously in killings that remind one of the old Mortal Kombat video games. http://kykernel.com/2009/08/26/vick%E2%80%99s-actions-extend-beyond-the-gridiron/comment-page-1/

=Examiner.com=

Mortal Kombat trivializes death
''I think we can all agree that in general, video games tend to trivialize the importance of death. Mortal Kombat fighters plunge into pools of acid and come back unharmed...'' http://www.examiner.com/x-5839-Pittsburgh-Video-Game-Examiner~y2009m8d14-Top-6-video-game-deaths

Game Gear: Mortal Kombat review
''On a secret island, the best warriors the Earth has to offer are battling it out to save their realm. In the first edition of the Mortal Kombat tournament, the story centers around seven of these warriors and their attempt defeat the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung. As this quick description doesn't even remotely do justice to the game's expansive and engrossing story, so be sure to take a look into Gavok's Mortal Kombat Plot Canon Guide for more...

''What's it all about? ''Well, it's MK...it's a one on one fighter that pits you against opponents in a fight to the death. You'll slug it out across two rounds, kill your opponent then move on to the next in an attempt to make it to Shang Tsung and defeat him. Lost in the conversion are five of the original seven backgrounds, multiple music pieces, the bonus games, all of the voice, the combos, poor'ole Kano and a host of other things. Control is now handled through the three buttons on the Game Gear, with the Start button being Block. Using the Punch or Kick button in combination with a direction you can perform sweeps, uppercuts and other slightly advanced attacks.

''Graphics - Impressive. The characters are large and incredibly colorful(this version of the game *looks* better than the Genesis version), and the backgrounds(all *two* of them) are well done. The animation, on the other hand, is incredibly choppy...you'd think you were playing an EA title or something(no joke). Still, it's amazing just how good the game looks here on the GG hardware.

''Sound - Pretty standard GG-fare. There are about three full musical pieces, then about three little quips for stuff like the round's end, etc. Sound effects are pretty sparse, and the few that are there are used over and over and over for various moves. All in all, it's not too bad...it's just too little.

''Control - Weird...and slow. As the game only runs at about a forth of the original's speed, your controller input must be done just as slowly. No quickly tapping Back, Back plus Punch for Scorpion's spear...now it's more like Back.....Back......Punch. Takes some getting used to, to say the least. Now for the weirdness: When an attack is blocked, it kind of just goes through the opponent...but allows you to attack immediately afterward; so now, you can run up to someone and almost perform chain-like attacks because of this. It's really odd. Also, nifty stuff like the hopping punch/kick are completely gone...as are any combos(think Super Nintendo MK1{shiver} and you'll get the picture).

''AI - Vicious and throw-happy. The AI comes after you and just never seems to let up. Thanks to the weird way attacks are "blocked", the AI can just run a seriously long chain of attacks on your character. If you block too much, they'll just forgo that all together and throw you...it's wonderful.

''Replay value - Moderate. If you can put up with all the newfound quirks in the classic MK gameplay, and the choppy animation then it's not a bad way to spend some time with the GG. If you can't though...well...

''Tips for better gaming experiences: To enable blood in the game, at the third and final "Codes" screen press 2, 1, 2, Down, Up. If done correctly, you'll hear a sound and then see the text "Now Entering Kombat".

''The AI can be unbelievably vicious at times, just like it always has been in the MK series. Here in the GG version of MK, though, the AI has one fatal flaw that will allow you to win pretty much every single time: The Corner Jump Kick loop.

''To exploit this flaw just move your way into either corner of the screen, wait for the opponent to get close enough, jump backwards, kick. They will fall for this almost every time. You can(and I have) go all the way through the game using this method(even Goro will fall for it).

''Rating: 70(out of 100) - Like Virtua Fighter on the 32X, this game is just an amazing technical achievement for the hardware...sadly, unlike VF 32X this one just doesn't retain the gameplay of the original nearly as well as one would hope. What was once a solid fighter with some tight control has become a pretty choppy, and loose game with some flashy graphics. Oddly enough, despite all its shortcomings, its still just got enough of that classic MK flavor left to make it worth some time.'' http://www.examiner.com/x-4413-Dallas-Classic-Game-Examiner~y2009m9d1-Game-Gear-Mortal-Kombat-review

=Thinkdigits=

KOF an underdog compared to MK?
''The King of Fighters series has always been the underdog when going up against popular arcade games such as Street Fighter, Tekken, Dead or Alive and Mortal Kombat. This could be chalked up to the unique three-man team scenario it employs, rather than a simple one-on-one. In gameplay, this means that instead of spending all your time and effort to perfect a single character’s fighting style, you need to triple that effort and learn to use three different characters.'' http://www.thinkdigit.com/Gaming/Review-King-of-Fighters-XII_3367.html

=XboxKings=

An overview of Mortal Kombat's history like we haven't seen one of those before
http://www.xboxkings.com/index.php?site=news_comments&newsID=1180

=Destructoid=

Mortal Kombat 1: Playing on the defense.
''There are certain games and franchises that it's popular for gamers to despise. Final Fantasy VII, Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, Madden, Dynasty Warriors, etc. On occasion someone will champion these games and a decent dialogue could open but there is one franchise that, no matter who attempts to champion it, continues to be shat on time after time. I speak, of course, Mortal Kombat. It's popular to hate it and hasn't been good since (insert last game this person actually PLAYED in the franchise) and it was always just about the fatalities anyway.

''Yet despite this, Mortal Kombat was once shoulder to shoulder with other franchises and remains the ONLY western developed fighting game franchise to have actually become a franchise. How can something so popular be so bad? So I think it's time that I, like Sub-Zero's ending to MK vs DC, take up the mantle of justice. That's right, I'm going to take on both the criticisms as well as why Mortal Kombat is a franchise that deserves at least your begrudging respect in a two part C-blog. Why two parts? Because it's far too in depth of a topic to be limited to one blog.

''While the criticisms are far too many to list here, I'll be taking on five of the most common complaints that I've noticed.

"It hasn't been good since ________"

''This is, by far, the most common. This statement relies on a certain level of respect for previous iterations in the franchise as high watermarks. The deception within this statement is 100% reliant upon retro goggles. I'm the first to admit MKII is among my favorite of the MK games, but I didn't get there instantly. In fact, unlike other fighting games like Soul Edge, I had to let MK warm up to me. Anyone who says they were instantly hooked by MK is more often lying. Hell, with the arcade machines being balls hard, getting past the third match was a huge hurdle. Most only heard stories of valiance in the face of Goro and Shang Tsung, never experienced them until it hit the home machines. So what, then, made the older ones special?

''Simple, you gave them a chance. Every character in MK 1-3 had the same kick and punch range, because they all had the same attacks. This system forced a reliance solely on the special moves to change up your attack pattern. A few characters had additional range with Back+HP (Baraka, Kitana) but all in all, every character only had their super moves to differentiate them. So how, then, were these the better ones? I mean Capcom constantly tries to force new variants into the Shoto characters and with MK 1-3, everyone was more identical than Shoto characters. So the arguement goes than the best MK games were the ones that were the most generic and special move dependant? Okay ... and yet this exact same arguement is lobbied AGAINST every Japanese fighting game that does the same.

"I hate Dial-A-Combo systems"

''This one is tricky to react directly against. Why? Because despite being a buzzword used directly against MK and other games, fuck all if anyone has a clear idea of what it is. To some, it's the ability to attack again immediately after the first attack connects. To others it's when the game does additional hits as part of the move, ala Hurrican Kick or Ike's Super Smash. To others still, it's a preset combo sequence planned out in a certain way. So we're going to attack the third mentioned issue.

''I could almost see this arguement, if the people making these claims weren't familiar with move buffering or attack timing. Allow me to explain. Ever since Super Street Fighter II, it's been an eastern standard to allow players to start commands on the next attack while the animation of the first attack is going on. The largest offender is, of course, Killer Instinct but eastern examples like Soul Calibur II and Street Fighter IV exists as well. SUPPOSEDLY the difference is that these combos are not set out FOR you but rather happen naturally. Which is exactly why 10-hit combos are explained in detail in the Pause menu in Tekken, because they were natural and not planned in the game code at all ... idiots.

''Hate to attack you there but quite honestly, I don't see a difference between Sub-Zero's Ice Sword juggle combo (2 hits) and Law's Rainbow Flip combo (2 hits). Yes, MK has predesigned combo sequences, but that's not all it has by a longshot. You can still get in with a weak attack and follow through with a special attack that can chain into a standard attack. Another example I've heard from a personal friend of mind is the "deception" attack in MK vs. DC like Joker or Lui Kang have. QCB+? did a variety of attacks meant to perplex and confuse your opponent. This move is an unforgivable sin for Mortal Kombat and yet he, favoring Soul Calibur, conveniently forgot this is the exact same command for the Angel Step "deception" attack for Cassandra. Basically the combo system of the 3D Mortal Kombats are rich and while they do have preset sequences, comboing other ways in MK games is fully supported.

"All it ever had was the gore."

''This one annoys me the absolute most. It's like saying all Street Fighter has is the fireballs or all BlazBlue has is cat girl going for it. Yes, Mortal Kombat had gore and yes, that was a feature. Hell, it was so comically done, claiming that was the main reason it got popular is even funnier than watching three heads pop off your opponent. If Gore was all MK had going for it, where are the clones that tried the same route? Where is Way of the Warrior now? What about Kasumi Ninja? What of Eternal Champions (which, to be fair, is an awesome game ... especially on Sega CD)? Or how about the ultimate in Gore focused fighting games, Time Killers where players could chop off arms and legs and heads mid match. If gore was all MK needed to reach it's popularity, why didn't BioFreaks and Wargods, two much more violent franchises from Midway themseves, catch on at all? And why is the highest rated MK in a long time rated T?

''Simple answer? Because MK was always more than the gore. The Fatalities were the treat for beating your opponent. Well done, here's a cookie ... on fire ... being thrown off a bridge and into a spiked pit. The blood splats and bones flying were, simply put, icing on a fairly in-depth fighting game system. That's why, of all the gorefighter clones, only Weaponlord (look it up) had any kind of depth. The clones, as well as gamers, mistook the gore as the secret ingredient instead of the icing. The evidence of this point is found even within the MK franchise itself. With MK II came Friendships and Babalities, which were more popular among my friends than the fatalities. Mainly because they were MUCH bigger accomplishments and as such, bigger bragging rights.

"All the Ninjas are the same and Palette Swaps suck."

''Of the many, many complaints, this one has the most validity. I won't argue that using these palette swaps to boost a roster count seems lazy. So instead I'll pull a Republican tactic and divert attention away from the original target while calling Street Fighter a socialist. Let's turn back the clock to when MK first came out. Not only were fighting games fairly new, but beat'em ups were large and in charge. Even RPGs were coming into their own. But the hardware? Still a TON of storage limitations and creating all new characters were excessively labor intensive. So let's take a franchise like Street Fighter II, the Golden Child. Obviously Street Fighter would never do something as lame as a palette swap but a head swap is an entirely different thing. It wasn't even until Super Street Fighter II that Ken and Ryu finally started becoming different characters -- just in time to introduce yet another Shoto character. But this was happening in other genres as well.

''Red Slime was obviously different from Blue Slime in Dragon Quest just as the Blue Octorock in Zelda was a tougher bastard than a Red Octorock could ever hope to be. But this was the 16-bit era, obviously we left this far behind. Not really. In brawlers like Final Fight, you KNEW Poison was a badass THING when she had pink hair. But later on? Green Hair made her tougher. Fact of the matter is hardware limitations forced the palette swap characters but it was the special moves that pushed MK characters away from each other. Sure, Sub-Zero and Scorpion looked the same, but only an idiot would argue that they played the same. While the franchises first foray into the 3D realm would be a disaster, once fighting styles were introduced into the franchise, none of the palette swap characters could ever be mistaken again.

"_________ mode sucks, thus MK _______ sucks."

''Like Tekken and Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat is one of the few series to put so much effort into modes in addition to Versus and Arcade. Which is why it's really frustrating that people have begun mistaking the secondary mode for the main mode. Mortal Kombat, to be fair, only started toying with this idea in their fifth iteration. Before that, the experiments were side stories (MK Mythologies, Special Forces). One was OKAY, the other was an unplayable mess.

''Despite this, MK was constantly trying to figure out ways to make the single-player important too. One of their first attempts was Konquest Mode. This elaborate RPG style quest was simplistic and yet somehow convoluted, taking you through an entire lifespan of a new character. At the end of this quest, it's revealed that you are responsible for setting the grand evil free. This character would then join the main roster as an old man for use in Arcade and Versus mode. This, at the time, simply wasn't done. Fighting games had a story, yes, but rarely ever explained why X fought Z. While Konquest was contrived, it also set a tone for licensed fighting games. Dragonball did their story mode similar to Konquest, then so did Naruto games, so on and so forth. Konquest wasn't the best MK had to offer, but aside from unlocking characters, it wasn't forced on you either. Arcade mode was ALWAYS there.

''Which brings up to the other modes. Puzzle, Kart Racing, Chess ... suddenly fun little side things were being compared to fully fleshed out competitors. This is 100% unique to Mortal Kombat. Their gem puzzle game was compared directly to Puzzle Fighter, Panel De Pon, and Puyo Pop. Kart Racing was being compared to Mario Kart, Jak Extreme Racing, and Crash Nitro Kart. Chess's AI was being compared to the AI in Chessmaster. To let you know how absurd of a scenario this was, nobody EVER docked Rival Schools points in a review just because their Home Run Derby mode wasn't as good as MLB 97 from EA Sports. The reason? It's a [*******] retarded thing to do. Of COURSE MK Kart wasn't as good as Mario Kart. You know why? Because MK was a fighting game first, a Kart Racer sometime way down the road. There was more attention paid to the bruising system in MK than the entire Kart Racing mode. It was MEANT as a "haha" thing, not an entire game. Of course Midway couldn't compete with Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo Edition. But you know what? Midway didn't want $40 for that mode by itself. It was a bonus. It was something Midway threw in for fun while mocking the state of the game industry at the time. And if you were one of the people who said MK sucks because of these bonuses, just die in a fire.

''Well, there it was, the top five complaints I've noticed and how all of them are beyond retarded. You may disagree. Go ahead, leave a comment. My next Blog post will be all about what MK has done to deserve it's place in the industry, and your hearts.''

http://www.destructoid.com/mortal-kombat-1-playing-on-the-defense--144490.phtml

Mortal Kombat 2: Completely offensive
In my first C Blog, I explained why a lot of the complaints lobbied against the MK franchise were either invalid or unfairly lobbied against MK despite being a problem across the entire fighting genre. But last time, I was playing the defense, limiting my entire arguement to a long paragraphed "nu uh." But here I am, with my health dramatically low, and some bastard corner jabbing me.

If I want to win this arguement, I have to go on the offensive. And I'll show you many reasons why the MK franchise deserves your respect. "Mortal Monday"

When MK hit the scene, it was an instant phenominon. The arcades erupted with activity and everyone wanted to face down old man Shang Tsung. Of course this game hit just as old Kung Fu movies started rising back into popularity thanks to hip hop artists Wu Tang Clan and cult movie status of Big Trouble in Little China. The former was obviously a MAJOR influence on MK. We all knew MK would have to hit the home consoles eventually and all waited with baited breath. But Midway/Acclaim didn't want to make the wait a mystery, they wanted it to be an event.

The comic ads were the first to hit, four months in advance. We were given the name Mortal Monday and a date but no details. Soon after, stores started getting their promotional material. Posters of the MK logo started going up. I remember the first such poster I saw was in front of Suncoast Records. Soon after, Blockbuster. We all had dates and saw the prices for the first time. As per usual, SNES screenshots were used as promotional during the time. All of this was very strange to the gaming community. And then came the preorder bonuses. You could get a box of swag, or a poster, or even a CD based on where you preordered. And finally, the day came. For the first time ever, I saw a line for a game release when I went to my local Blockbuster to get my copy.

Why was this a big deal? Simple. Before Mortal Monday, the closest to a release date we EVER received in the states was "Coming this Winter." Books, Music, Movies, all of them proudly declared their release dates. Games? Not so much. But here Acclaim not only advertised a release date for a game, but turned it into a national event. They made retail partner programs to allow preordering for the game, they made trinkets and doodads to give away to early supporters, they made DAMN sure the date they advertised had copies on retail shelves. In essence, before Mortal Monday, the concept of a game launch as an event was something we only heard about in Nintendo Power or Gamepro (with incredibly exaggerated stories). It's hard to imagine a game industry where Emergence Day didn't happen or 9-9-99 wasn't plastered all over gaming mags, but without Mortal Monday, that's what we would have.

"Growing Up"

While Nintendo was trying to push even more trading cards with "Power Play" tips and Captain N comic books, Sega was making a push towards the aging gamer. Much like Looney Tunes, gaming had it's roots in adult consumers first, then somewhere along the lines, was considered a kids thing. While Nintendo had rules like "No gore, no God, no sex," Sega was pushing that line daily. By partnering with EA, Sega further focused on the adult consumer. The industry was facing a harsh truth. While Arcades provided overly violent games to those who desired them, Nintendo helming the home market would make sure titles like Splatterhouse stayed far from many peoples hands. Worse yet, if you've never played a Final Fight with Poison, you're deprived.

Mortal Kombat dropped in the middle of this atmosphere, old guard versus the new. While Sega was playing hosts to many objectionable games, Nintendo would later tell congress titles like Night Trap have no place in society. Whether as a well timed hit or a calculated move, Mortal Kombat found itself at the forefront of the culture police wars that would eventually birth the ERSB. For the first time ever, the concept that a videogame may not be appropriate for your child entered the nations lexicon. Initially, the blood in MK would be locked away on home consoles. Well, at least half. You see, Nintendo did their culture police thing and forced Midway to make the blood, only accessable with a code, grey, leading to the "Sweat" mythology.

Obviously ethics and morals are for sale. Did Nintendo really care that your child could play a bloody MK game? Fuck no. Their image as family friendly was more important than the reality. Take, as the counter point, Contra 3: Alien Wars. Giant pulsing oozing bleeding monsters were the norm, not the exception. Nintendo didn't care that violent games could be purchased on their consoles. Nintendo only cared that people THOUGHT they couldn't be. But any companies moral stances fall in the face of one truth, money. When MK on Genesis was regarded as the version to own and Nintendo became the "kiddy konsole" as a result of the sweat mode, their ethics and morals bent over for Mortal Kombat II quicker than a prom queen for Johnny Footballhero. While the stigma of MK stuck to Nintendo, even to this day (even when they refused to censor Cube's version of BMX XXX), Nintendo has since played host to a whole lot of games that would have been censored to hell and back before MK.

Meanwhile the industry as a whole, seeing what MK could get away with, was revitalized in the concept of providing entertainment for the kind of people who enjoy films like Nightmare on Elms Street. Over the top violence and gore and even nudity were finding their way back into the games industry. Why? Because MK had proven that games weren't just for kids. While the maturity of Mature games content can be argued, it had a right to exist. A right Mortal Kombat helped fight for and won.

"Uniquely Western"

When you watch a movie like Karate Kid, Bloodsport, or even Big Trouble in Little China, there is a uniquely Western feel to the film. It goes beyond the actors or location. It's essentially a mirror held up to Eastern culture with a caption, "This is what we think of you." It's not racist or xenophobic, it's just an opinion based upon the popular culture that finds it's way to us. Eastern cultures do the exact same thing. Take a look at christian myth (Eva) or the rock industry (Beck) as viewed through anime eyes. Hell, even look at Street Fighter with T. Hawk and Deejay or Ken. So you have a Western Developer looking at classic kung fu movies, contemporary action flicks, and trying to fit Eastern mythology into a digital Kumate. The idea of dark magics guiding the hands of myths and legends into a knock down, drag out battle for the fate of the earth (realm).

As time marched on, the frachise grew, but still retained it's Western flavor. It drew heavily from Eastern myths, fair enough, but kept it's voice as a Western deved game. In a genre that was rapidly exploding onto the scene, most Western companies were saying "What are the Japanese doing here?" As MK II exploded into popular culture, other developers, including Naughty Dog, started following the Western approach to fighting games but not quite "getting it." In a way, this leaves Mortal Kombat as the only uniquely western fighting game franchise and among the few who actually got it right.

"Brutal in a way most are afraid to go."

This is a uniquely East vs. West concept in game design. This is also where I expect the most "Stupid Noob" comments. Take a look for a moment at Japanese games. How much time is dedicated to the "knock backs" or "damage sequences." Even within other fighting games like BlazBlue and Tekken. Taking damage is almost a very floaty affair. The emphasis is not really taking a hit, but recovering from that hit. Rolls, getting up, recoveries, etc. Mortal Kombat did very little to get your ass out of the fire. You'll watch someone get punched in the face and just take it as blood sprays out. This is without the fatalities. Let's ignore them for the time being.

This was the 2D games, now look at the 3D ones. People get slammed through pillars, dropped with an overhead kick, doublefist uppercuted, and worse. While the second 3D MK game added things like bruising or cut clothing, it wasn't as readily apparent as in the most recent release, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. You might win a fight, but Sonya's pretty face would have huge welts and bruises, her eye would be cut, clothes torn. Scorpion could take it much worse with literally chunks having fallen off of him a while ago, a gaping hole in his chest, portions of his skull exposed. And then watch the hits these people take. Mortal Kombat shows a brutality shown in only a few other fighting games, one of which being UFC. Despite being T, the last Mortal Kombat is more brutal than the last M rated Japanese fighting game. It's a brutality that, even if you don't enjoy it, you should at least respect it.

"Finish Him"

Before Mortal Kombat, winning was enough. The only thing that was counted was your health and your time. What Mortal Kombat, with it's fatalities, introduced to fighting game culture was an element of humiliating your opponent. This was further pushed with the addition of Friendships and Babalities which were tougher to pull off. Of course this was followed by Brutalities, Animalities, etc, but still, ending a round spectacularly became a HUGE addition to fighting game culture.

This has, in turn, effected not only fighting games at the time, but fighting games in the current day. Soul Calibur IV recently introduced elaborate finishers that end the round instantly. Street Fighter IV put a HUGE emphasis on ending rounds with super moves. BlazBlue's uberpowerful Astral Heat attacks are essentially just there to humiliate your opponent. So on and so forth. This all stems from those two magical words. Finish Him. Without that, would we even see the overkills and ultimate combos and even deathblows so common in todays fighting games?

"Kombat has changed."

Why do people love SF IV? Most people thing of it as a "what if Street Fighter II was made in 2008?" That works. For a lot of fighting game engines, the switch to 3D, or even the enhancement of said engines, is a fairly easy thing to do. Street Fighters solution was "3D just doesn't work." Of course it took them three EX games to figure this out and the regretable ommission of Skullmania from future games, but they figured it out. Now step back and let this thought cross your mind: what if Capcom DIDN'T give up on 3D? After all, look at Dreamcast. Capcom was all about trying to find a way to make that shit work. They gave up. Decided their fighting systems couldn't work and rather than trying to reinvent themselves, they tossed in the towel and walked away.

Now look at Midway's reaction to the 3D failures. Wargods was deemed a disaster and lessons were learned in time for MK4. MK4 dropped and the old face of Mortal Kombat simply didn't work in 3D. People hated the weapons and the old style of kombat trying to force it's way into 3D. MK5 came along and fixed the issues of 4 by creating fighting styles with characters. The ability to combo and adapt was greatly increased but it still felt too stiff. Taking these criticisms to heart, the gameplay was further balanced and expanded upon for MK6. MAJOR changes to their system were put in place here. Then people demanded another MK Trilogy style release and Midway decided to finalize it's current storyline. But the complaints of only so many fatalities weighed heavily on the team and so they made even the fatalities combo mechanic. MK7 shipped and felt worlds apart from the first 3D MK. But something was missing. It lost some of the old flavor of MK 1-3. So when the opportunity arrived to do MK vs DC, it felt like coming home but offered a huge variety of 3D aspects to the core gameplay.

Every step of the way, Midway took the advice of what was going wrong and made changes. Rarely will you see a game company make so drastic of changes to their core gameplay on account of the fanbase. The MK of today is an entirely different beast from when it hit the scene oh so many years ago. And looking on the horizon, it looks like drastic changes are indeed in the cards, once again, for Mortal Kombat.

"Shaolin Monks, you should HAVE this game."

There was a period where bringing back beat'em ups wasn't the "in" thing to do. They were archiac and many had subscribed to the idea that the only place this genre could go was where Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, and God of War was going. Nowadays, people have given up on this thought process but it was once believed that Onimusha was where Final Fight had gone. Thankfully, nobody bothered to convince Midway and they created Shaolin Monks.

To describe this greatness, imagine the following: Streets of Rage + Mortal Kombat Universe + High Production Values. That's what Shaolin Monks was. A very slickly produced brawler that delivered everything an MK Universe fan could ever hope for. While Castle Crashers was deadset on recreating the genre, Shaolin Monks actually evolved it. Got a second controller and a friend nearby? By christ, PLAY THIS GAME.

Those are the cases for MK's right to exist, even today. You may even get an urge to go back and play some of the earlier games. If this has helped change your opinion of MK, in the slightest, don't worry. The chance to delve back in has been better than ever. In fact, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is one of the best MK games in years. At least give it a rental.

http://www.destructoid.com/mortal-kombat-2-completely-offensive-145503.phtml =Gamefaqs=

MKvsDC data
''Genre:Action > Fighting > 3D

Developer:Midway

ESRB Rating:T

Release Data

Title Company Product ID Release Date Region

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Midway BLUS-30246 11/16/08 US

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Kollector's Edition) Midway BLUS-30247 11/16/08 US

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Midway 11/20/08 AU

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Midway BLES-00441 11/21/08 EU

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Special Edition) Midway 11/21/08 EU

Credits

Quan Chi (voice) Ron Banks

Sonya Blade (voice) Dana Lyn Baron

Darkseid/Dark Kahn (voice) Perry Brown

Liu Kang (voice) Tom Choi

Captain Marvel (voice) Kevin Delaney

Raiden/The Joker (voice) Richard Epcar

Batman (voice) Dave Gazzana

Shang Tsung (voice) James Kyson Lee

Kano/Ganthet/Newscaster (voice) Michael McConnohie

Catwoman (voice) P.J. Mattson

Sub-Zero (voice) Jim Miller

Green Lantern (voice) Josh Phillips

Wonder Woman (voice) Tara Platt

Scorpion/Deathstroke/Shao Kahn/Dark Kahn (voice) Patrick Seitz

Superman/Guardian #3/Batcave Computer (voice) Christopher Corey Smith

Jax/Baraka (voice) Dan Washington

Kitana/Sonya Blade (voice) S.G. Willie

Announcer (voice) Herman Sanchez

Story Alexander Barrentine

Story Justin Gray

Story Jon Greenberg

Story Jimmy Palmiotti

Story John Vogel

Art Director Steve Beran

Lex Luthor (voice) Joe J Thomas

Shazam (voice) Joe J Thomas

Guardian 1 (voice) Joe J Thomas''

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps3/data/943566.html

=NextGen Player=

Interview with the voice of Shang Tsung in MKvsDC
http://www.nextgenplayer.com/2009/08/interview-with-james-kyson-lee-star-of.html

=USA today=

Mortal Kombat search of USA today
http://content.usatoday.com/topics/more+stories/Culture/Video+Games/Fighting/Mortal+Kombat/1

Megan Fox liked mortal kombat
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/08/play-transformers-with-megan-fox-on-xbox-live/1

Who knew?

MMA game is a sales knockout, with rival on the way
''And the resulting gashes can be seen in replays — much more realistic than the Mature-rated Mortal Kombat video-game violence that led to congressional hearings in the 1990s.

Back then, however, Mortal Kombat "was hardly indicative of what most would consider acceptable mainstream entertainment," Steinberg says.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2009-08-03-mma-games_N.htm

Lawmakers attack violent video games
Posted 7/6/2004 12:26 AM By Nick Wadhams, Associated Press

Mortal Kombat, with its calls for a player to "finish" opponents in myriad gruesome ways; http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-07-06-vidgame-panic_x.htm

=Congoo=

Congoo Search of Mortal Kombat
http://www.congoo.com/newssearch?query=mortal+kombat&submit=Congoo+Search

=411 Mania=

411 games fact or fiction
Posted by Drew Robbins on 06.29.2009

4.) Laurence Kasanoff, the producer of the hilariously bad, yet still awesome, Mortal Kombat Movies, is suing Midway over the rights to Mortal Kombat. That's ridiculous, but the BEST part is that he claims he made Mortal Kombat the brand it is today. This is the most outlandish thing you have ever heard.

''Ramon Aranda: FACT - Umm listen up Kasanoff...you were tapped to make the movies because the franchise was already pretty damn big. That was the point of making the movie. Seriously, this lawsuit is absolutely ridiculous and I guarantee you it will go nowhere. Kasanoff should be ashamed of himself!''

''Todd Vote: FACT - 100% fact. It's one thing for him to have the stones to sue Midway over MK, but to do so on the grounds that he practically made the series is preposterous. I agree with Ramon, the lawsuit will go nowhere. How could it? The guy hasn't got a leg to stand on. If he retains any rights to the franchise after this lawsuit, then I will have lost faith in our judicial system.''

''Score: 3 for 4. I'd also like to throw in, as a connoisseur of bad movies, I actually prefer the movies.''

http://www.411mania.com/games/columns/108648/411-Games-Fact-or-Fiction-6.29.09:-Modern-Warfare-2,-Mortal-Kombat,-Wii-Sports-Resort,-Uncharted-2.htm

Top 5 Games
Posted by Todd Vote on 08.27.2009

''This week we take a look at some of our best moments in gaming. From finding out that the princess is not in another castle, to finally pulling off our first fatality. Come on in to see our greatest moments in gaming. Plus Target Terror makes an unexpected return.''

''Baraka wins. Flawless victory. Friendship. Friendship? Again? - Everyone remembers their first fatality, babality, animality, spatial abnormality or bowel irregularity. However this particular win was a real pinnacle of my arcade gaming. The scene is Lazer Quest, Guildford, 1994. Mortal Kombat II has been in arcades for ages, and nobody at the local laser tag place could touch Judgechild (not his real name) at either laser tag or MKII. And didn't he know it. Cocky little bar steward had Liu Kang down to a science, but on this one occasion I had the measure of him, and of course when I heard the famous words "FINISH HIM!", there was only one thing to be done.''

''2.My first fatality - Yes, MK love here. My first fatality was Sub-Zero's. I remember going giddy when I pulled Johnny Cage's head and spine off. Seeing something so gory and violent performed by my own hands (hey, they pressed the buttons didn't they?) felt so satisfying and cool on a level that can not be replicated. brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?''

''4.Finally being competitive at the arcade (MK/KI) - Yeah, I remember when I first seen these games, it was amazing how people already knew how to do every little thing on these games. Needless to say, it lead to more quarters and ass whoopins than I care to count. Then I figured it out. Magazines always had cheat sheets in them. This was my "Superman II going back to the diner moment". I got super good, and went back to the arcade to show what I had learned.''

''3.My First Finisher (Mortal Kombat) - Like Armando, I was fairly excited to pull of my first fatality. Unlike Armando, my first time was with Scorpion... Yes, I do realize how weird that just sounded, but it doesn't change the fact that my fatality cherry was broken with the now classic flaming skull fatality. Hold block, and push up, up. Toasty! indeed.''

http://www.411mania.com/games/columns/114496/411-Games-Top-5-08.27.09:-Week-26-- -The-//My-Crowning-Moments//-Edition-.htm

Approach of MK (not helpful yet)
Posted by Todd Vote on 08.25.2009

'' I enjoy the realistic approach of Virtua Fighter just as much as the balls to the wall approach taken by others like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat.

http://www.411mania.com/games/reviews/114265/King-of-Fighters-XII-(Xbox-360)-Rev iew.htm

= Wilson v. Midway Games, Inc. = http://www.davis.ca/en/blog/Video-Game-Law/2002/01/01/First-Amendment-Protection-Accorded-To-Video-Games

PDF of court case
http://www.unc.edu/~dlthomas/Videogames/Midway%20Games.pdf

= Pesina v. Midway Mfg. Co. =

Word doc. of court report
http://anorien.net/dtan/Seminar%207/Case%20-%20Pesina%201996.doc

=Threshold v. Midway Games=

Pdf of court report
http://cdn3.libsyn.com/gamepolitics/Midway-Kasanoff-complaint.pdf?nvb=20090626042608&nva=20090627043608&t=04b6c534567b0d6bcb03e =Midway Manufacturing co vs Publications International ltd.= http://www.davis.ca/en/blog/Video-Game-Law/1994/01/01/JUST-THE-FACTS-PLEASE

http://www.welshkatz.com/?t=21&lc=20&format=xml&p=830

http://www.patentarcade.com/2005/08/case-midway-v-publs-intl-ndill-1994.html

=Midway Mfg. Co. v. Artic Int'l= http://www.patentarcade.com/2005/05/case-midway-v-artic-intl-c-7th-cir.html

= 64. Midway Manufacturing Company v. Strohon 26 PTCJ 165 (ND Ill. 1983) =

No sources.

=Bandai America Incorporated v. Bally Midway Mfg Co Bandai America Incorporated=

http://openjurist.org/775/f2d/70

= Ahn v. Midway = http://www.davis.ca/en/blog/Video-Game-Law/1997/05/28/MODELS-FOR-MORTAL-KOMBAT =Mortal Kombat Japanese names=

Mortal Kombat 1 on the Mega drive's Japanese name
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/genesis/image/563332.html?box=2952

Mortal Kombat 2 on the Mega Drive's Japanese name
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/32x/image/918266.html?box=2927

I could use this to make the pages appear more official.

=Gamasutra=

Interview: Capcom 'Would Welcome' Return Of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat Brand Rivalry by Leigh Alexander
''Now that Mortal Kombat is likely poised to shoot for a reintroduction to the present era, too, it's a good time to recall the old days. "Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat really were the Coke and Pepsi for that era," says Kramer. "Basically it came down to what do you prefer: the kind of precision and depth of Street Fighter and the idea of the fighting engine, or did you like the gore and comedy and sort of over-the-top nature of Mortal Kombat?"

"Do you love the precision of leaping forward with a flying kick and then going into a dragon punch? Or do you just want to pull out somebody's spine?"

Capcom has perhaps become the Japanese publisher best known for Westernizing successfully, adapting core brands and new designs for North American audiences far more quickly than some of its Eastern rivals. But it's actually Mortal Kombat that's historically succeeded most at matching Western tastes, Kramer points out.

"One of the things they did really well with Mortal Kombat is they established really outlandish, kind of ridiculous characters that had these crazy movesets... I think Mortal Kombat had a really great foothold in North America because the attitude and essence of that game is geared very much toward American sensibilities, sense of humor, and love of all things over-the-top and super-violent," Kramer adds. "So that definitely was a built-in appeal to teenage boys."''

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=24847

=GameSpot=

When Two Tribes Go to War: A History of Video Game Controversy ...
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6090892/p-4.html

Review of MKT
http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/mortalkombattrilogy/review.html

Review of MKM:SZ
http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/mortalkombatms/review.html

=Answers.com=

List of best-selling franchises
''39 Mortal Kombat |1992 |26 million [42] Mortal Kombat is a series of fighting games created originally by the Midway Manufacturing Company. It is noted for its digitized sprites (which differentiated it from its contemporaries' hand-drawn sprites), and its high levels of blood and gore, including, most notably, its graphic fatality killing moves. ''

http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-best-selling-video-game-franchises

Official Nintendo Magazine
[42] ^ a b "Mortal Kombat: Ed Boon Interview". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-10-23. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/news_060707_mortal.html

_____________________________________________________________________

Mortal Kombat: Ed Boon Interview

[06/07/2007 17:30]

''Massive interview with the creator of Mortal Kombat We recently went behind the scenes at the offices of Midway and you can read all about it in Issue 19 of Official Nintendo Magazine. The feature includes an interview with Ed Boon, the creator of the Mortal Kombat series. He had so much to say about the groundbreaking beat-'em up series that we couldn't possibly fit it all in the magazine so here is the full, undedited interview...

''ONM: It's been 15 years since the first Mortal Kombat game appeared and, as far as we can tell, the series is all you've worked on since you created it (aside from a stint on The Grid, we believe). What do you think it is about the series that made it last so long, and haven't you ever wanted to work on something else?

''Ed Boon: I think the main reason this series has lasted 15 years is that it remained different from our competition. Each sequel was also different enough from the previous game and offered something new that we had not done before with Mortal Kombat. When Mortal Kombat first came out it, there was no fighting game out there like it and that remains the case today. Over the years as we've introduced numerous sequels, each one added something new to the series hadn't been seen before. It's this newness that has kept the game fresh and kept players interested in seeing each new version. While I love working on Mortal Kombat and am very proud of the fact that we've sold over 26 million copies over the years, I would definitely like to try other game genres as well.

''To be fair, we did take an MK break between MK4 and Deadly Alliance and during this time, we developed an incredibly fun arcade game called The Grid. It was a futuristic game show similar to The Running Man. The premise was very simple; several players were put in an arena that had various insane guns and weapons scattered about. Then it was just a free for all frag-fest and the one with the most kills after two minutes was the winner - it was fast paced, the weapons were insane and it was a blast to play. Unfortunately, this was strictly an arcade game and at the time, the arcade market was dying. In retrospect, I wish we had done The Grid about three years earlier. It was probably the most fun our team had making a game together.

''ONM: It seems weird that much is known about the MK series, but very little is known about the people who make it. Even though it's technically an internal Midway team, do you see yourselves as working for Midway or as an offshoot of the company that works solely on MK games? How much freedom from the powers above do you have when it comes to creating a new MK game?

''EB: Mortal Kombat definitely consumes the majority of my time and effort, but I see certainly myself as mainly working for Midway. There are usually at least two or three different Mortal Kombat projects at some stage of development and part of my job is to try to maintain a certain overall level of quality to the games. I've been with Midway for over 20 years now and they realize how much energy I need to put into my job and give me a lot of creative freedom with the games. I suppose if the games were no longer successful then they might pull in the reins on us a bit more but so far things are working out pretty good for over 15 years of MK.

''ONM: How much has the team working on the Mortal Kombat games changed over the years? Are there many people from the original MK team, like Carlos Pesina and Dan Forden, left working with you now? And what does it take to make it onto Team MK anyway?

''EB: Mortal Kombat started out with four people in 1991; I was the only programmer, John Tobias and John Vogel were the only two artists, and Dan Forden was the only sound designer. That was it. We developed the first Mortal Kombat in ten months from beginning to end and the home versions went on to sell more than six million copies. You can imagine what that was like for just four guys to experience. After that, we started a roller-coaster ride that we're still riding. The only guy from the original team who is no longer working on Mortal Kombat is John Tobias. It's scary to think this has been going on for over 15 years.

''When we started working on Mortal Kombat II, Tony Goskie joined the MK team and created some of the most memorable, imaginative, scary and downright sick backgrounds, and he really raised the graphics bar for arcade games. Two more artists joined the MK team for Mortal Kombat 3, including Steve Beran who is now one of the art directors on our team. I was still the only programmer for MKII and 3 but by MK4, the team was too big for me to lead and also be the only programmer. Todd Allen and Mike Boon joined on as programmers for MK4 and by then our team was more than twice its original size. After that we made The Grid, and then we regrouped to begin working on a reinvention (or reboot, as I like to think) of Mortal Kombat that was going to debut on the newest generation of hardware that was out at the time, the PlayStation2, Xbox and the GameCube. That game was Deadly Alliance. This required an enormous amount of work and our team quickly grew to over 25 people.

''By this time there were so many people that we added a producer to the team, John Podlasek. Luis Mangubat was one of the key artists who helped define the look of another big Midway title called NFL BLITZ and he joined our team to work on Deadly Alliance. In addition, Carlos Pesina, who played Raiden in all of the 2D MK games, joined the development team as an animator and as our martial arts expert in MKDA. Each of the following games was bigger than the last and we started adding some rather big mini-games like Puzzle Kombat, Chess Kombat, Konquest mode and Motor Kombat. By the time we began working on Armageddon, we had more than 30 people on the core team and over 50 people working on the game at any given time. Shaun Himmerick joined the MK team also as a producer for Shaolin Monks, MK Unchained and now for the Wii version of Armageddon. Even with all those people, each project takes about two years to complete which is a long way to go from just four guys working for ten months…

''ONM: When it comes to starting work on a MK game, how do you go about approaching things? Do you start off looking back at the last game and working out how to improve it, or is each game taken as its own entity?

''EB: There are quite a number of things taken into consideration when starting a new MK game. The amount of time we have, the hardware the game will run on, the feature set we feel will be the selling point and what we feel worked (and didn't work) with the previous game. Usually, by the time we start a new game we have an idea of the basic features we would like to add and we try experimenting with those ideas to see if they are solid or not. If the game is on the same hardware as the previous version we usually don't try a reboot where everything is reinvented. Instead, we try thinking of a new feature that can be added that will change the fighting mechanic enough to keep things interesting. With Deadly Alliance we added the multiple fighting styles. With Deception we added the Breaker move and with Armageddon we added the Parry move and Air Kombat.

''ONM: Has having your own internal motion-capture department made things easier when working on each game? Were you a little sad when the game moved from digitised versions of real people into computer rendered characters, seeing as that was a big part of what set the game apart from its rivals?

''EB: Having our own internal motion-capture studio was instrumental in us making this game - I can't imagine what things would have been like if we could not motion capture at a moment's notice. The reason it was set up was because Midway had a number of titles (MK included) that needed to use motion captured animations. Using another company's motion studio just didn't make sense on a number of levels so (out of necessity) we decided to have one built in our studio.

''We weren't sad when MK moved away from the digitized images and went into 3D. When the first three games came out, digitised graphics were state of the art; nobody had seen anything like it and it helped us stand out from the crowd. After a few years, 3D hardware systems were emerging like the PlayStation and Sega Saturn and state of the art had a new definition. This allowed us to present our characters in 3D and the digitized look actually was considered 'retro', which was hard to believe. So, us leaving digitised images was really an easy decision to make.

''ONM: ONM: Has fan feedback played much of a part in how you've evolved the series over the years? rivals?

''EB: Most of the ideas come from the team. For example, not many people know that Dan Forden (MK Sound designer, composer and the 'Toasty!' Man) invented the Babality move. In addition, over the years we have always listened to the players to see what they like and don't like in our games.

''Fans have had a dramatic impact on the design of the MK games but haven't had a direct impact on a particular feature's implementation. For example, for years there was a rumor that Mortal Kombat had a feature called an Animality where you could turn your character into an animal and kill your opponent. Of course it didn't really exist but we thought it would be fun to actually do since there were so many people who insisted that they saw it in the older games. So for MK3 we added the Animality feature. Unfortunately, there were a number of obstacles that greatly hindered our implementation of that feature, the first one being memory limitations. MK3 had even more characters than MKII and we were running very low on memory. Since we had so little memory remaining for the "animal images & animations" we had to reduce those images to four-colour graphics which were much cruder than the 256 colour images of the characters. We also had very few frames we could put in the Animalities, which also hurt the overall experience of performing an Animality. Finally there was time which we didn't have much of, so we couldn't spend the amount of hours we wanted to make the Animality sequence as cool as it should have been.

''ONM: How big a step was it taking the MK series from 2D into 3D and how did it alter your approach to making it? Considering that MK's main competition, Street Fighter, tried and failed to move into 3D, are you happy with how things turned out with the series (particularly the games from Deadly Alliance onwards)?

''EB: Taking the step to 3D was sort of a gradual process for MK. Mortal Kombat 4 was the first of the MK games that had 3D aspects to it but it was pretty subtle. The game play was still very similar to the original 2D games. It wasn't until Deadly Alliance that MK really took the plunge into 3D. Looking back now, I think we made certain decisions about the 3D gameplay in Deadly Alliance just because the other games did. Jumping, for instance was something we reduced but then re-instated in MK Armageddon. While I personally am never fully happy with the games, considering that to date we've sold over 4 million copies of Deadly Alliance, I'm happy with that. I'm very proud of the fact that MK is still going strong long after many of our competitors have faded away.

''ONM: Was it a hard decision moving away from the arcade roots of Mortal Kombat and focusing purely on console development and, more importantly, was it your decision or that of Midway? Are you sad we won't see Mortal Kombat in the arcades any more?

''EB: The decision to leave arcades was kind of made for us; the arcade market was drying up and it didn't make much business sense to release the game in a format that didn't have an audience. So we kind of saw the writing on the wall and knew there were new consoles coming out in the home. Introducing Mortal Kombat 5 on the home consoles made a lot more sense than in the coin-op market. I do miss the arcades with the spectacle and all the social interaction though. Online is filling that gap, but I think it can do so much better which is what we'd like to explore in future games.

''ONM: Has you been surprised by the change in attitudes to games like Mortal Kombat where, back in the day, it was heralded as being the root of all evil and was censored on some home consoles and yet now, it's accepted without much argument and appears uncut on almost every format known to man? Would you put that down to the game's success, or more how society has evolved over the years? Sorry if that sounds a bit deep…

''EB: I'm not surprised in the change - it's really just a sign of the times. Plus I've always felt that the uproar was much more of a reaction to the lack of a ratings system, which is a legitimate concern. Once a ratings system was in place the big objections stopped. Mortal Kombat II was rated M (for Mature) and didn't receive nearly the amount of backlash than the first game did. I don't think the game's success makes it more acceptable… quite the opposite. I think the game's early success made it more of a target for the people who objected because the game was getting so much exposure. If the game wasn't as big or had failed it wouldn't have gotten on the news…

''ONM: ONM: What was the thinking behind the new Kreate-A-Fatality options within MK: Armageddon?

''EB: We changed the fatality system for a number of reasons. First, we wanted to try something different as we were doing fatalities the same for so many years and it was getting repetitive. We also wanted fatalities to be more interactive where the player participated more instead of just triggering the beginning and then just watching the show. Whenever we make a drastic change like that we are concerned about the reaction of players. In retrospect, I wish we had more time to have done character specific fatalities but with 65 characters, it's a massive job to create a good variety of animations for each character.

''ONM: Did you enjoy working on MK: Armageddon for the Wii, given that you had to try and incorporate a completely new control system? Why didn't you consider just sticking to the GameCube controller, seeing as it works with the console?

''EB: The Wii's controls are what many people are talking about when it comes to innovation and a potential new experience that the other game systems can't offer. That potential was made available to us and it was definitely a breath of fresh air.

''Some people wanted us to make players punch and kick with motions but that would have gotten very tiring very fast, especially if you wanted to player more than just a few matches; plus, you wouldn't have the kind of precise control you need for combos and juggling. Special moves and fatalities seemed like the best actions to tie to Wii motions as those were big events. I don't think any of us ever considered simply porting Armageddon to the Wii and NOT using the motion controls. That would be a sin, right?

''ONM: Were you disappointed that you weren't able to incorporate online play into the Wii version of Armageddon, even though it was in the other versions? What was the reason for dropping it?

''EB: Yes, we were disappointed. Deception and Armageddon's online fighting is the best in the business. Like you said, online was in the other versions and we tried to explore every possible avenue to make it happen but could not. Unfortunately, there simply wasn't an online infrastructure for us to hook into to let people link up and fight. If there was, we would have been all over it.

''Some people wanted us to make players punch and kick with motions but that would have gotten very tiring very fast, especially if you wanted to player more than just a few matches; plus, you wouldn't have the kind of precise control you need for combos and juggling. Special moves and fatalities seemed like the best actions to tie to Wii motions as those were big events. I don't think any of us ever considered simply porting Armageddon to the Wii and NOT using the motion controls. That would be a sin, right?

''ONM: Have you been at all surprised at how well the Wii has managed to do around the world?

''EB: To be honest, yes I am surprised at the level of just how well the Wii has caught on. I thought it would be big, but I didn't know it would be THAT big. I would almost guess that even Nintendo didn't expect this kind of global success for their system. You have to give them credit though, when everyone else was touting power, polygons, pushing pixels and pretty pictures (that's about all the P-words I can fit into a sentence), Nintendo was presenting their system for people who DON'T play a lot of video games and probably don't understand all of the technical statistics. The people who just want a fun experience. I think us bringing a fighting game to the Wii came from identifying that the system didn't have much choice with the genre and also the opportunity to do something cool with the Wii controls. I would be surprised if we didn't see another fighting game appear on the Wii… maybe not something super-technical like Virtua Fighter, but something should come out.

''ONM: You've been quoted as saying that Mortal Kombat as we know it is now over and you're planning to totally reinvent the series for next-gen… what kind of 'changes' do you have in mind? Is it a case of starting over from scratch? We've heard rumblings of a darker, more serious tone, although you can't get much more serious than ripping people to pieces with your bare hands…

''EB: I feel it's time for a Mortal Kombat reboot. I'm a huge fan of some of our fighting-game competition but it's getting to the point where the novelty of the new entries wears off faster with each version, even though there are improvements over the previous versions. The reason is that they basically feel like the same game they were five years ago. Our team recognizes this and reboots the series every few years. Deadly Alliance was a reboot and this next MK game will also be. Theoretically, I'd like to change everything - the fighting system, the graphics, the presentation, the sounds, the animations… everything. Yes, we will probably make the game more serious as well.

''ONM: What are the reasons behind wanting to reinvent the series? Is it because you feel the universe has become too big and unmanageable, or are there other motives behind it?

''EB: Some of the reasons are precisely the ones you mentioned. While I don't think the universe has become unmanageable, it's becoming harder to concentrate hard on each individual character when there are so many in the line up. The reboot theory I mentioned before is also another reason we want to reinvent the series.

''ONM: With the Wii focusing very much on classic games and MKII and UMK3 already being 're-released' on other formats, are there any plans to bring MK to the Virtual Console? If we're honest, much of our youth was spent playing MKII in the arcade and on the SNES…

''EB: I certainly can't speak officially for Midway, but I would be surprised if we didn't release one of the classic MK games for the Virtual Console. I definitely would like to see those games available for the Virtual Console, as those were the games that laid the foundation for what MK is today.

''ONM: There's a rumour going around that there are plans to revive Mortal Kombat as a movie franchise… is this true? And if so, what kind of input are you having on it and are you going to 'be' the voice of Scorpion again?

''EB: Yes, it's true. I have read a couple of versions of the script for the third movie, but don't know where they are with regards to actual production. We've had a couple of conversations about the story and characters as well. It would be great if we could do a reboot to the MK movies as well, as it's been a long time since the last one. I hope I can be the voice of Scorpion again as I was for the first two movies…

''ONM: Finally, and it's probably a question you've been asked a million times but… well, why spell everything with a K? Has it become something of a joke around the office?

''EB: The reason we spelled Kombat with a K was simply to be different than what people were expecting. I know that sounds like a pretty boring answer to your question, but that's the truth. I suppose it might be more interesting to think the K stands for KILL or something but that wasn't the intention. Although… okay, the reason we spelled Kombat with a K was because K stands for 'kill'. Kill is a reference to the whole 'FINISH HIM!' sequence where you are supposed to perform a Fatality on your opponent. See? This was all part of our master plan when we started making the game… are you buying any of this?

http://web.archive.org/web/20071023152817/http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/news_060707_mortal.html

Sales of Mortal Kombat.

=CNN=

'Mortal Kombat' uses battle plan
http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/mortalkombat/index.html

=The Register=

Blood on the Carpet Ad for MKSM condones violence
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/22/outlaw_mortal_asa/ =Entertainment Weekly=

Entertainment Weekly Review of Mortal Kombat the movie
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,300064,00.html

Entertainment Weekly Review of Mortal Kombat Annihilation
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,290585,00.html

Entertainment Weekly Review of Mortal Kombat 1
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308246,00.html

=The Deseret News=

Mortal kombat alarms parents, health officials
By Jason N. Swensen, Staff Writer Published: Monday, Sept. 20, 1993 12:00 a.m. MDT

'' Two hooded warriors face off in the center of a crowded arena. Blows are exchanged and the weaker man begins to stagger. A noble judge orders the victor to "finish him." An uppercut to the chin separates the defeated fighter's head and wiggling spinal cord from his limp body.

''- A scantily clad woman ducks her opponent's punches but can't avoid his kick to the head, lifting her off the ground. Before she can recover, her adversary shoves his hand into her chest and rips out her heart. The killer raises the beating trophy above his head as the crowd cheers its approval.- The pit match has extended into the second round. The pudgy man is a skilled fighter - but no match for his opponent's lethal arsenal of magical weapons. A volley of electric rays knocks him into a hole where he's impaled by a row of metallic stakes.

''Clips from a martial arts B-movie? Maybe, but almost any 13-year-old will recognize these scenarios as battles waged in "Mortal Kombat," a popular arcade game released by Sega last week for its Genesis home entertainment system. Nintendo also markets a softened version of "Mortal Kombat" for the Super-NES, sans the blood and gratuitous gore. The object of the game is simple. Beat up your opponent, then kill him - or her.

''The violent theme permeating "Mortal Kombat" has alarmed many parents and child-health officials.

''"This new game is providing children with an instruction manual in violence," said clinical psychologist Victor B. Cline, an authority on the influence of the media upon children. "When a child repeatedly plays this type of interactive game, he or she is certain to become desensitized to the pain that a victim of violence suffers. Read about the acts of violence in the newspaper committed by children and you begin to realize the consequences. Parents who allow their children to play a video game like "Mortal Kombat" are guilty of child abuse."

''Sega acknowledges that "Mortal Kombat" is not for everyone. In May, the Redwood City, Calif.-based company established a content-rating system to alert parents to video games not suitable for young children.

''" `Mortal Kombat' was designed for adults and adolescents in their mid-teens who would have some concept of what is real and what is only a game," said Ellen Van Buskirk, director of Sega-Genesis marketing services. "Fighting games make up only 10 percent of our market - but there is a significant demand for them. Our rating system allows parents to make an informative decision about what they buy for their children."

''But are the parents doing the buying? No, according to local sales. Most toy stores in the Salt Lake Valley received their first shipment of "Mortal Kombat" Monday morning and were sold out by late afternoon - after the kids got out of school. An employee at Fashion Place Mall's Kay-Bee Toy & Hobby Shop received close to 200 calls Monday, mostly from children, to check on the availability of `Mortal Kombat.'

''"Around half of our `Mortal Kombat' games have been purchased by adults, but the rest have been bought by children and teenagers," said Murray Toys-R-Us manager Randy Rushton.

''To many kids, the controversy surrounding last week's release of "Mortal Kombat" has been met with surprised amusement.

''"I've seen some of the stories on television about the dangers of the game and I think it's kind of funny," said Sean, a Cottonwood High sophomore. "I think `Mortal Kombat' is fun, but I don't think I'll buy it. It costs almost $80!"''

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Zh0PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4oQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5164,2456754&dq=mortal+kombat

http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/310667/MORTAL-KOMBATapos-ALARMS-PARENTS-HEALTH-OFFICIALS.html

THEY PROGRAM THE BEST INCARNATIONS OF GAMES THEY PLAYED AS KIDS
By Stephen Lynch, Orange County Register Published: Tuesday, April 19, 1994 12:00 a.m. MDT

''When John Tobias was 12, he was playing Defender and Robotron, in a cruder era for the videogame industry.

''At 24, he's one of the main designers of the most popular videogame franchise in the United States: Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II.Tobias and partner Ed Boon, 29, were the main forces behind Mortal Kombat, a game they put together in 10 months in 1991-92 and which remains the top-rated video arcade game in the United States, according to Video Games and Computer Entertainment magazine.

''From their offices at Bally's Midway Entertainment in Chicago, Boon and Tobias tackle what both say is their dream: programming the best incarnations of the games they played as kids.

''Their latest accomplishment, Mortal Kombat II, has earned an estimated $100 million for Midway, according to Video Games and Computer Entertainment. Boon says he was floored.

''"The game got way more play than any of us anticipated," he said. "It was incredible."

''In 1991, Tobias, who draws most of the game's graphics, and Boon, who programs much of the game, were given an almost-impossible task by Midway: Come up with a combat game for release within a year.

''Although both say the company just wanted to get out a new game in a certain time frame, Midway officials may have been motivated by Streetfighter, a popular combat game from the Japanese firm Capcom that had just been introduced.

''Tobias recruited martial-artist friends, who came to Midway's video studio to film fighting moves in costume. The images were than transferred frame by frame into a computer, making for extremely realistic graphics.

''Recordings of Boon and Tobias grunting and yelling were added for sound, helping to make Mortal Kombat the most realistic video game ever. The game was ready for test play in five months.

''"It opened a million doors for what can be done," Boon said of the digitalized graphics.

''Tobias says he was trying to make the best martial-arts game ever, the climax of the games he played as a kid.

''"Karate Champ (1984) had really crude graphics," Tobias said of one of his early favorites. "But it was the first one that incorporated that whole martial-arts theme.

''"Especially now with advanced graphics, you're able to put people into an environment."

''Much of the game's appeal also came from hidden moves and characters Tobias and Boon added. The two admit to being swamped with letters and calls asking for gaming secrets, moves they keep well hidden.

''"They get really mad when you won't tell them," Boon said, but he adds that many of the secrets already have been figured out.

''Boon and Tobias have updated the game three times since it was released in October. The current version, 3.1, was made in January. Each update is only a matter of changing the main chip inside the games, but it brings even the most experienced players back for more tricks. Tobias says some hidden opponents and moves in the latest version haven't been found.

''As for controversy over the game's content, Bally's Midway has a "no comment" on the subject, a policy to which Tobias and Boon adhere.

''Betty Hallock, a writer for Video Games and Computer Entertainment, says the Beverly Hills-based publication is devoting up to 20 pages in five issues to secrets on Kombat II.

''"Players want to know all the moves," said Hallock, 23. "Especially the fatality moves."

''Even when Boon and Tobias visit arcades to watch kids playing their creations, they're careful.

''"We try not to ever do secret moves," Boon says. "They're always looking at your hands."

''Tobias says much of the interest in the game's cast of characters, which includes fighters based on many famous kung fu artists, stems from the constant newness of the game. With the chance to play any of 12 characters, fans who learn one fighter's moves have 11 others to learn. The chance to play a friend also keeps the game fresh.

''"Playing a human opponent, there's never a set path," Tobias says. "There's an endless string of combos and an ongoing discovery process."

Although there is a movie based on the video-game characters in the works and the popularity of the second game is increasing, Boon says the designers are not necessarily planning a Mortal Kombat III.

http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/350164/THEY-PROGRAM-THE-BEST-INCARNATIONS-OF-GAMES-THEY-PLAYED-AS-KIDS.html

Monsters brawl: Two-fisted action tales and mayhem still create controversy (2006 articel)
By Lou Kesten Associated Press Published: Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006 1:20 p.m. MDT

''In the original "Mortal Kombat," published way back in 1992, there was a fighter called Sub-Zero who had an inelegant yet effective signature move: At the climax of a battle, he would rip out his opponent's head and spine.

''That got the attention of Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who led Senate hearings into video games and their pernicious effect on America's youth. The hearings led eventually to the establishment of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, an industry panel that evaluates the levels of violence, sex and profanity in games and advises parents on which games are appropriate for which age groups.

''Lieberman remains one of the video-game industry's most persistent critics, but "Mortal Kombat" is no longer the flashpoint of the game violence debate. Its brand of mano-a-mano brawling is seen as kind of old-fashioned today, now that the likes of "Grand Theft Auto" are serving up the indiscriminate slaughter of innocent civilians.

''— "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon" (Midway, for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, $39.99): "Mortal Kombat" has survived its initial notoriety to become one of the most prolific franchises in the fighting genre. "Armageddon" is the culmination of the series, bringing back dozens of the most popular brawlers in its 15-year run. The essence remains the same: Two fighters enter, one fighter leaves, usually after executing a baroque finishing move (or "Fatality") that leaves his disemboweled opponent writhing on the floor. Besides the 62 classic characters, you can also create your own fighters with their own Fatalities. "Armageddon" includes a new "Konquest" mode, a desultory effort to provide some sort of story line for all the mayhem, as well as a ridiculous kart-racing game. True fans will ignore those distractions and get right to the beatdowns. While "MK" is showing its age, it's still a lot of fun to get together with your loved ones and pound each other senseless. Two stars.''

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,650201676,00.html

Steer Kids away from Mortal Kombat
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1992 12:00 a.m. MST

''I have become alarmed by a new video game that is drawing a lot of attention among kids, mine included, and which is suddenly the rage and is available in numerous arcades and fast food, gas stations and grocery stores around the Salt Lake valley.

''This game is called "Mortal Kombat." Unlike the cartoons of most video games, Mortal Kombat uses real life, computerized, photographic quality players, which are engaged in karate-type fighting, not just to a victory, but to death.The game is played before an imaginary crowd in the background and a "noble" judge, who calls on the apparent victor at the end of the game to "finish him." Then the real-life vanquisher grabs the face of his opponent and rips his dying opponent's head right off the body in full photographic realism.

''Other scenes show the body of the opponent being hurled into a pit where it is impaled on huge spikes, among other realistic impaled heads, arms and other body parts.

''The scenes in this game are more violent and more graphic than any R-rated movie I have ever seen or heard of. The movies, however, have restrictions on who can see them or participate. I do not know of any such rules for video games in the public marketplace.

Children of any age watch, fascinated, as they see a man's bloody head and spine torn from his body and raised in triumph as the crowd cheers approval. I have heard teenagers playing and watching the game express feelings of sickness and revulsion, but they keep watching.

''What will the repetition of watching such actions do for our children? We have read about the recent murders of two small girls in Roy and Ogden by teenagers, with the suggestion by the police that the second murder was simply a "copycat" of the first. Couldn't it happen again when kids become mesmerized by the thrill of murder on the screen? Do we want to find out?

''I don't know the agencies to contact who might control such games being released to the public, but I can call on parents throughout this valley to urge the store owners and distributors who provide this corruption to our children to remove such games from their stores.

''If any such store owners are decent and concerned about the children they are influencing with their products, I call on them to voluntarily remove such games and ban them from their premises.

''I am not opposed to all games, but I feel that there is a community responsibility to set standards of decency and then to adhere to those standards.

''James W. Petty

Sandy 

http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/259907/STEER-KIDS-FROM-MORTAL-KOMBAT.html

An article that describes Babalities and friendships!!!!!!!!!!!
By Malcolm Mayhew, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Published: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 1994 12:00 a.m. MDT

''If you thought "mortal madness" came and went with last year's release of the home version of the violent martial arts arcade game "Mortal Kombat," think again.

''The madness is back: The home version of "Mortal Kombat II," the much more violent descendant of "Mortal Kombat I," has hit stores. Boosted by a $10 million marketing blitz - which includes television and movie theater commercials - 2 million copies of the home game - for both Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo systems - were sent out worldwide."Mortal Kombat I" became a center of controversy when it was released last year; at the time, it was the most violent game to ever be released on a home game system. In one option, a player could decapitate an opponent.

''"Mortal Kombat II" has even more creatively violent options. The game has been rated by its manufacturer, Acclaim Entertainment, as inappropriate for kids under 17 - meaning anyone under 17 should be under adult supervision while playing it. The Sega Genesis version of "Mortal Kom-bat II" comes with an "MA-17" rating; Nintendo used a similar advi-sory sticker.

''"These stickers are just advising parents and kids that the stuff in `Mortal Kombat' may not be appropriate for kids under 17," said Allyne Mills, director of public relations for Acclaim Entertainment. "In no way do these ratings affect who can and can't buy this at retail stores."

''In the same vein, "Mortal Kom-bat I" attempted to regulate who could play it by offering a toned-down version of the game for Super Nintendo. Players could tap into the violent version of the game only by entering a special "blood code."

''Since "Mortal Kombat II" has been rated inappropriate for kids under 17, there's not a bloodless version of the game, or a blood code. "It just made things a lot easier," said Mills. "No one needs a code now."

''That bloody action, along with crisp, lifelike graphics - created by videotaping live actors and storing their digital images - is the key to "Mortal Kombat's" appeal.

''"That's what's so great about it," said 15-year-old Ryan Gillskie of Burleson, Texas, who said he has played MK ever since it was released three years ago. "Before `Mortal Kombat,' video game graphics were terrible looking, completely unrealistic. Then you have this game that comes out that has these great graphics. Plus, you can rip off someone's head and see all this blood - and it looks real!"

''This is what worried some parents and government officials. Especially disturbing to them are the bloody "finishing moves" or "Fa-tali-ties."

''When one fighter beats another, the words "Finish Him" flash on the screen. "Mortal Kombat I" winners could pick and choose among ripping off the loser's head, burning him into a pile of ash or electrocuting him. With "MKII," winners have more options, including ripping off various limbs, eating the losers or draining them of their souls.

''For the past year, kids have flocked around the arcade version of "Mortal Kombat II," which has crisper graphics, more moves and faster characters than the first installment. Players pass along notes describing how to perform each of the "Fatalities," in addition to finding hidden characters and performing other special moves, like "Babalities" and "Friendship" maneuvers, the two bloodless finishing moves. (Use a "Babality," and your opponent turns into a baby. "Friendship" maneuvers include giving opponents a present or a bouquet of flowers, instead of killing them.)

''Most of these features are included in the home versions of "MKII" for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. The hand-held versions, for Nintendo's portable Game Boy and Sega's Game Gear players, contain most of the moves but not all 12 characters.

''More than 5 million copies of Acclaim's home version of MKI have been sold, making it the largest-selling home video game of all time. But the arcade version's popularity has taken a drastic dive.

''At the Tilt game room at Fort Worth's Hulen Mall, the game is barely used.

''"Kids just don't play it that much anymore," said assistant manager Brandon Theum. "The graphics aren't as good and the characters are too slow."

''Robert Ross, manager of Putt-Putt Golf and Games in nearby Arlington, disagrees. "Some kids still play it," he said. "When their parents let 'em."

''So will "Mortal Kombat II's" buzz die, now that it's available for home kombatters?

''"Doubt it," said Sean Harms, 21, of Fort Worth. "Sure, I'm going to buy the home version of it, but it's impossible to completely reproduce every little thing. And those little things are what make the arcade game so special."

''If the buzz does die, chances are it will be revitalized next year, when New Line Cinema plans to release "Mortal Kombat - The Movie," a full-length feature film based on the two games and characters. The movie is being filmed in Thailand and is set for release in mid-1995.

''The big question: Will there be a "Mortal Kombat III"?

''"It's very much like the movie industry. We like to keep people guessing," said Mills.

http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/375461/NEW-MORTAL-KOMBATapos-IS-GORIER-THAN-1ST-ONE.html

Personal Opinion of MK1
http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/315099/SEGAaposS-KOMBATapos-IS-VILE-ABUSIVE.html

MKDA review
http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/957006/Latest-aposMortal-Kombatapos-is-fun-game-for-mature-players.html

Pick of the flicks
http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/599349/Pick-of-the-Flicks.html

http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/605024/Pick-of-the-flicks.html Seems usable, no author though.

Review of Mortal Kombat the movie
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700001225,00.html

Review of MKA
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700001226,00.html

The deseret news review of Mortal Kombat he movie 'a lame game indeed'
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8kkSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XPMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5661,2753732&dq=mortal+kombat

Movie Soundtrack
http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/457781/OF-3-RECENT-MOVIE-SOUNDTRACKS-MORTAL-KOMBATapos-FARES-THE-BEST.html

=Fort Worth Star-Telegram MK search (Need Java-script)= http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ST&p_theme=st&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=Mortal%20Kombat%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Mortal%20Kombat)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no =Chicago Tribune(Unreproducable)=

Chicago Tribune review of Mortal Kombat the movie(Abstract)
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/21102721.html?dids=21102721:21102721&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+20%2C+1995&author=Chauncey+Hollingsworth.+Special+to+the+Tribune.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=KINDA+KRUMMY+WITHOUT+A+PLOT%2C+RELENTLESS+ACTION+OF+THE+VIDEO+GAME+MAKES+NO+SENSE+IN+MOVIE+%60MORTAL+KOMBAT'&pqatl=google

Mortal Kombat 2(Abstract)
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24130063.html?dids=24130063:24130063&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+16%2C+1994&author=Chip+%26+Jonathan+Carter%2C+(copyright)+1994+Tribune+Media+Services+Inc.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=KOMBAT+II+HAS+THE+GORE+AND+A+SERMON&pqatl=google

SPECIAL CODES AND A HIDDEN GAME FOR MORTAL KOMBAT III
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/17221376.html?dids=17221376:17221376&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+29%2C+1996&author=Chip+%26+Jonathan+Carter.+Copyright+1996+Tribune+Media+Services+Inc.&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=SPECIAL+CODES+AND+A+HIDDEN+GAME+FOR+MORTAL+KOMBAT+III&pqatl=google

=LA Times(Unreproducable)=

Los Angeles Times Nintendo's Looser Stance on Violence Means a Bloody Mortal Kombat II(Abstract)
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59602542.html?dids=59602542:59602542&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+09%2C+1994&author=DENISE+GELLENE&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Nintendo's+Looser+Stance+on+Violence+Means+a+Bloody+Mortal+Kombat+II&pqatl=google

`Kombat' Set to Battle New Terrain-and Critics(Abstract)
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/21420792.html?dids=21420792:21420792&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+24%2C+1995&author=CHRIS+RIEMENSCHNEIDER&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=%60Kombat'+Set+to+Battle+New+Terrain-and+Critics&pqatl=google

The Mortals Behind Kombat; Creators Bask in Success as Arcade Hit Takes On a Life of Its Own
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/21575187.html?dids=21575187:21575187&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+18%2C+1995&author=CHUCK+CRISAFULLI&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=The+Mortals+Behind+Kombat%3B+Creators+Bask+in+Success+as+Arcade+Hit+Takes+On+a+Life+of+Its+Own&pqatl=google =New York Times=

TECHNOLOGY; Mortal Apathy?
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/08/business/technology-mortal-apathy.html

Video Violence: It's Hot! It's Mortal! It's Kombat!; Teen-Agers Eagerly Await Electronic Carnage While Adults Debate Message Being Sent
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/16/nyregion/video-violence-it-s-hot-it-s-mortal-it-s-kombat-teen-agers-eagerly-await.html?scp=16&sq=mortal%20kombat&st=cse

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm(cast)
http://tv.nytimes.com/show/158037/Mortal-Kombat-Defenders-of-the-Realm/cast

FILM REVIEW; Into the Vortex to Save the Earth
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/19/movies/film-review-into-the-vortex-to-save-the-earth.html

Mortal Kombat movie(cast)
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/134992/Mortal-Kombat/cast

The actor Lord Rayden is Jaxx... :( I thought I had a reliable source.

POP REVIEW; Heroes in Outworld, Fighting to Save the Earth
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/16/arts/pop-review-heroes-in-outworld-fighting-to-save-the-earth.html?scp=24&sq=mortal%20kombat&st=cse

Mortal Kombat Conquest (cast)
http://tv.nytimes.com/show/158036/Mortal-Kombat-Conquest/cast

Mortal Kombat Defenders of the Realm (cast)
http://tv.nytimes.com/show/158037/Mortal-Kombat-Defenders-of-the-Realm/cast

=The Independent=

Merchants of menace
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/merchants-of-menace-1577127.html =Tucson Weekly=

Unfavorable Review of Mortal Kombat
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/05-22-97/feat.htm

=UGO.com=

Top 11 Mortal Kombat Characters
''What makes a fighting game, at the end of the day, is the characters – if players are going to invest themselves emotionally in beating the crap out of their foes, they need to have an on-screen avatar that speaks to them. Eschewing the ethnic stereotypes of other fighting games, Mortal Kombat's warriors draw from science fiction and fantasy to create one of the largest and most bizarre casts in videogame history. In this feature, we spotlight eleven of our favorites from the many incarnations of the series.''

http://www.ugo.com/games/mortal-kombat-characters/?cur=main

History of Mortal Kombat
''The arcade industry had been in a bit of a slump in the late 1980s – the rise of home systems like the NES had made quarter-munchers less alluring to kids who could simply play games at home. Arcade manufacturers responded by pumping up the tech of their machines to deliver better graphics and faster gameplay, but that was merely a stopgap measure. Something needed to be done to make the coinop relevant again, and in 1991 Japanese company Capcom did so with the release of Street Fighter II. The insanely popular one-on-one brawler turned the arcade into a social place for gaming, where players could duel against each other in a mano a mano clash for supremacy. Its success inspired dozens of other fighters, but the most notable is 1992's Midway release, Mortal Kombat. Learn about the franchise from the days of yore to the latest model in this feature.''

http://www.ugo.com/games/mortal-kombat-history/?cur=main

=The Guardian=

Deadly Alliance Review two stars
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2003/feb/13/games.onlinesupplement

Say's Killer instinct tried to burgeon off of MK's and SF's success
''Killer Instinct (SNES, 1995) Killer Instinct was an eminently forgettable (though much-hyped at the time) SNES beat-em-up that aimed to cash in on the burgeoning popularity of the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat series. It borrowed heavily from both franchises, but failed to make anything like the same impact. One interesting aspect of the game which allows us to retrieve briefly from the dustbin of gaming history was its soundtrack, curiously released as a CD and bundled along with the game cartridge. While it may not have the iconic status of some of Street Fighter's more memorable themes, the investment in the composition of a proper soundtrack lead to some fantastic pieces. Dated and cheesy, sure, but this example in particular, The Instinct, even when rendered through the SNES's sound card, is a real cut above you're average 16-bit offering.''http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2009/jul/31/best-game-soundtracks Not particularly MK's and SF but more than likely the fighting game franchise in general. I'll keep this review of KI in mind though...

=Other=

Mortal Kombat 9 will be the true Mature return to form
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2008/07/29/mortal-kombat-9-will-be-the-true-mature-return-to-form.htm

Kerri Hoskins Story
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xBMVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cAMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5991,1464188&dq=mortal+kombat

Techtree India Review of MKSM
http://www.techtree.com/India/Reviews/Mortal_Kombat_Shaolin_Monks_PS2/551-70790-540-1.html

Business week MK search
http://search.businessweek.com/Search?searchTerm=mortal+kombat&resultsPerPage=20

Business Week MKII it'll rip your skin off
http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1994/b33558.arc.htm

VIDEO GAMES: IS ALL THAT GORE REALLY CHILD'S PLAY?
http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1993/b332324.arc.htm

Comparing MKM and MKSf to SC: Legends saying that they are failed attempts
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/nov2007/id20071128_163334.htm

I could definitely put that under the reception for them.

Violence Dominates Splinter Cell and Mortal Kombat
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/12/03/hln.game.splinter.kombat/

Most successful fighting game franchise
http://gamers.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/010908_leipzig.aspx

MK9 speculation
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/696732/Mortal-Kombat-9-To-Take-The-Franchise-Back-To-Its-Bloody-Roots.html

MK: Devastation article from 19-03-08
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Mortal-Kombat-Franchise-Less-Dead-Than-You-d-Think-10024.html

=IGN.com=

Armageddon Relics locations
http://faqs.ign.com/articles/738/738696p1.html

Top 10 worst arcade-to-console game conversions
More to bash on MK. http://www.fark.com/geek/archives/index.2006-07-02.shtml http://pc.ign.com/articles/715/715301p1.html

Plenty of Armageddon reviews
http://www.gamestats.com/objects/845/845775/

Search of a whole lot of reviews of Mortal Kombat games
http://search.gamestats.com/products?domain=on&query=Mortal+kombat

=Other cont.=

This has the instruction booklets for Mortal Kombat 1, 2, Trilogy, MKSF, MKDA, MKD, and MKA
http://www.replacementdocs.com/download.php

Mortal Kombat articles site
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/_/search/Search.aspx?SearchBy=0&By=0&Word=mortal+kombat&page=0

Video where Raiden says that amulet it created by elders gods
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD6QBqIyHOA&feature=related

Mortal Kombat Death
http://www.destructoid.com/violence-and-games-the-mortal-kombat-murder-60449.phtml

http://www.mahalo.com/mortal-kombat-death

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_11476185

http://www.greeleytribune.com/assets/pdf/GR351121219.PDF (Link says that Heather Trujillo stated that they were playing "Mortal Combat" on second page)

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22956070-663,00.html

How in the world is this related to Mortal Kombat? This could've been Tekken or Street Fighter that they imitated. Simply because it's the game that has fatalities makes it the bad influence? Must look more into this.

Critics zap video games: senators urge government action to curb video-game violence.
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Critics+zap+video+games%3a+senators+urge+government+action+to+curb...-a016809718

Yeah, more than one article that says the exact same thing.

=Wired.com=

July 29, 1994
So that's when Kohl and Lieberman started the creation of the ESRB. Learn something new everyday. http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/07/dayintech_0729/

MK2 on PSN
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2007/04/mortal_kombat_i/

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23756

http://www.destructoid.com/top-ten-selling-psn-games-revealed-for-april-133617.phtml

=Other cont.=

An introduction to the ESRB
Graphically sophisticated games like Mortal Kombat and Doom allowed detailed and realistic depictions of violence http://www.examiner.com/x-13677-Knoxville-Video-Gaming-Lifestyle-Examiner~y2009m8d8-An-introduction-to-the-ESRB Hmm.... could try to put that under Reception...

Top ten in May in PSN
'' Due to the additions of numerous PSOne classics, almost all regularly charting titles – Flower, Wheel Of Fortune, Worms and Linger In Shadows all did not make the list. The holdover titles from May are Zen Pinball, and the apparently everlasting Mortal Kombat II. It’s fascinating to see that, despite the PlayStation Network’s firm stance that it brings more experimental games to the forefront, all but one of the Top 10 relies on gameplay perfected over 10 years ago.'' http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=24524 Heh. Pretty ironic. May be important under reception...

52 Most important games of all Time
''38. Mortal Kombat II Arguably the best Western fighting game to date, and certainly the title that defined Mortal Kombat as a brand, this game launched a thousand imitators en route to becoming one of the most famous -- and infamous -- video games ever made. Its technical and artistic mastery is only matched by its gushing gore.''http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/110048/the-52-most-important-video-games-of-all-time-page-2-of-8/


 * 1) 38? Sounds about right. SFII outranked it but I guess it's rated more on gameplay than controversy. I should be grateful it got a mention but this is from a list from April 25, 2007, maybe I could still put this under reception for the MK series and also MKII. Strange, I never really liked MK II though.

=Reviews by some guy=

Mortal Kombat Perfect Story??????
''Storytelling: Mortal Kombat

''No, I am not kidding. Say what you want about the gameplay or the game itself. But if there is one thing that Mortal Kombat tries very hard to do it is trying to make a point that it has a story. It might start off the very tired premise of a tournament, but we've had main characters get killed off, we've had story development, closure on some characters and ongoing sagas with others. Name another fighting game that had the balls to kill off its main character like they killed off Liu Kang? Do you see Street Fighter ever killing off Ryu or Virtua Fighter deciding Akira needs to be dead? You won't. Mortal Kombat has been about taking chances as far as their story goes and making sure that every character, even joke characters like Noob Saibot, Jade, and Smoke fit into the story somehow. Of course with a roster that big a the game does tend to get a bit bloated under it's own pressure, but I'd rather have a fighting game with too MUCH story rather than one with little to no story at all.''

''And if you want an example of a fighting game that doesn't even try for a story, look at current Game of the Year Street Fighter IV. It's a great game that has NO story of its own. You only get a 30 second movie explaining the beginning and end of every character and it doesn't have any weight on the game at all. They fully expect a comic book, anime, or movie to tie up the loose and explain the story rather than take the time to explain it in game to make the overall product a bit better.''

''So yes, in terms of a fighting game story I think the perfect fighting game should get the Mortal Kombat treatment, it's not the best story in the world but they at least take the time flesh out every character and make sure they have some sort of place in the universe. Hell, I even though MK vs. DC while not a great game actually had a pretty damn solid story and it made a lot more sense to me than any of the Marvel vs. Capcom games did.''

Yeah, I said it. http://www.411mania.com/games/columns/110490/Working-Title-07.17.09:-The-Perfect-Fighting-Game-(Round-2).htm

Okay, i'm an MK fan and I find this hard to swallow. The article says that Story and Fatalities are it's only claim to fame? Okay, that sounds reasonable.

Best Weapons: MK4
Weapons of Choice: Optional (Mortal Kombat 4) ''There is no set game you can pull this system from because so many games use it. Off of the top of my head I can't think of more than one fighting game that doesn't have at least one character that uses a weapon in conjunction with their moves. But you don't want to go all out like Samurai Showdown and Soul Calibur because then it limits the character into using the weapon full time rather than being creative with mixing it up. If I honestly HAD to pick a game to pull a style from it would be Mortal Kombat, with Mortal Kombat 4 being the one in question. I haven't exactly kept up with my MK games so I don't know if this system is in the newer games but I fully remember being able to pull out a weapon with a character and use it until it was knocked out of your hand or dropped. The use of the weapon unlocked some new attacks and moves, but it didn't necessarily make you any better than you would've been without said weapon. I think this flexibility will allow people to throw a bit more jazz into their game and mix it up a bit on both fronts.''

''So now that we've gotten the Combat System of Soul Calibur, the Fighting System of Street Fighter, the Counter and Combo system of Dead Or Alive and now the Weapons System of Mortal Kombat 4. We have actually got a pretty decent looking come in the works…if not quite possibly the ugliest smash up of styles ever…but still looking fun to play.''

''But that was the little things, we haven't even gotten into stuff like what type of characters, what type of storyline, final boss, or even the move set. A lot of that stuff is actually going to get covered next week when I focus on the aesthetics of the game so that leaves the last ‘background' thing to be covered are is the move set.''

''Now this is a bit tricky considering games are pretty much won and lost depending on the move set they have. You can have games like Evil Zone where the move set is completely comprised of one button. Or you can have games that have over complicated move sets that will more often have you screaming and resorting to basic punches and kicks to get the job done rather than even trying to do the moves like Guilty Gear and now BlazBlue. So who has that comfortable medium between complicated moves and simple moves? Who has that sweet spot where you do have the characters that have pick up and play appeal but then you have the ‘high tier' guys that require a little bit of work to get them flowing just right. So what is the ideal move set for a fighting game?'' http://www.411mania.com/games/columns/109745/Working-Title-07.10.09:-Working-Perfection---Fighting-Game.htm |

Well, these reviews might be useful, i'll just have to pick out the foul language, and put the sentences that compliment MK. They don't have the typical "rush and wail on them" combos like Mortal Kombat does,

This phrase from that link isn't very favorbale, but it'll be helpful to bash on MK.

Get Over Here and please be my valentine
http://www.pwnordie.com/nicksmith/photo/1031660