Mortal Kombat X’s weaponized old woman fights back

By Will Fulton May 19, 2015

STAGE BRUTALITY - Blanche Goes Ballistic (Ranked Highlight - Mortal Kombat X)

The environmental interactions specific to each level in Mortal Kombat X add a fun layer of tactical color to the game’s otherwise linear arenas. One of the funniest among these is in the Outworld Marketplace, where you can grab an old woman (apparently named Blanche) who is minding her own business near the fight and swing her like a hammer to whack your opponent down.

Maybe she’s tired of being used, or maybe she was inspired by all the butt-kicking old women in Mad Max: Fury Road, but Blanche has clearly learned a thing or two after watching all us beat each other senseless so many times, and now she’s ready to get in on the action with a nasty new brutality.

Brutalities are finishing moves like the famously gruesome Fatalities. Instead of entering a button combo after you have won the match, however, Brutalities are trickier to execute, requiring you to meet certain requirements and then use a particular move as the finishing blow. In this case you have to have used at least two environmental interactions during the match, and then grab Blanche to deliver the killing blow immediately afterwards.

If it works, instead of just hitting them passively like a weapon, Blanche will tackle your opponent to the ground and brutally pummel their face in, then stand up to wipe the blood and brains from her face. It’s a classic Mortal Kombat mix of brutal and silly.

In other Mortal Kombat X news, creator Ed Boon recently revealed that more costume packs are coming to the game, including one themed around Brazil. These follow the horror-themed costumes that recently came as DLC along with Friday the 13th‘s Jason Voorhees as a kombatant.

Mortal Kombat X has a number of additional costumes coming, including this Brazil Costume Pack! pic.twitter.com/ZoUHDJCv99

— Ed Boon (@noobde) May 18, 2015

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Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

Gaming

Mortal Kombat 1 Fatalities: how to do every character’s Fatality

Shang Tsung stealing someone's soul in Mortal Kombat 1.

What set the Mortal Kombat franchise apart when it first hit arcades was just how brutally violent the games were. It looks tame now, but the Fatalities of the original game were some of the most shocking things anyone had seen in a game up to that point, pixelated graphics and all. With Mortal Kombat 1, NetherRealm continues to churn our stomachs with some of the most disgustingly detailed ways to dismantle your opponent. Everyone loves seeing these creative ways your favorite fighter can definitively end a fight, but if you want to show off to your friends and humiliate your enemy, you have to know the specific button input to pull it off for each character. There are more that you can unlock, but here is how to perform every character's basic Fatality in Mortal Kombat 1.
How to perform all basic Fatalities
Here are all the default inputs for every character's Fatality on PlayStation and Xbox controls in alphabetical order, as well as what range you need to be at to trigger the Fatality. Once you have reduced your opponent's health to 0 and they are susceptible to a Fatality, which you will know from the announcer calling out "Finish him" or "Finish her," you will have five seconds to input the correct sequence.
Ashrah - Mid range
Down, Forward, Down, Triangle/Y
Baraka - Close range
Back, Forward, Down, Square/X
General Shao - Mid range
Back, Forward, Down, Square/X
Geras - Mid range
Forward, Down, Down, Circle/B
Havik - Close range
Down, Forward, Down, Circle/B
Johnny Cage - Close range
Forward, Back, Down, Triangle/Y
Kenshi - Close range
Forward, Down, Down, Triangle/Y
Kitana - Mid range
Down, Forward, Down, Circle/B
Kung Lao - Mid range
Down, Down, Back, Circle/B
Li Mei - Close range
Forward, Back, Forward, Cross/A
Lui Kang - Close range
Back, Forward, Down, Circle/B
Mileena - Close range
Back, Forward, Back, Square/X
Nitara - Mid range
Down, Down, Back, Square/X
Raiden - Close range
Back, Forward, Back, Triangle/Y
Rain - Close range
Down, Down, Back, Circe/B
Reiko - Mid range
Down, Down, Back, Triangle/Y
Reptile - Mid range
Forward, Back, Down, Circle/B
Scorpion - Mid range
Down, Forward, Back, RT
Shang Tsung - Close range
Back, Down, Down, Circle/B
Sindel - Mid range
Down, Back, Down, Square/X
Smoke - Any range
Back, Forward, Down, Square/X
Sub Zero - Any range
Forward, Down, Down, Triangle/Y
Tanya - Close range
Down, Back, Down, Cross/A
All Kameo Fighter Fatalities
Cyrax - Mid range
Forward, Back, Forward, RB
Darrius - Mid range
Down, Back, Forward, RB
Frost - Mid range
Back, Down, Back, RB
Goro - Close range
Back, Forward, Down, RB
Jax - Far range
Down, Forward, Down, RB
Kano Mid range
Back, Down, Forward, RB
Kung Lao - Mid range
Forward, Back, Forward, RB
Sareena - Mid range
Back, Down, Down, RB
Scorpion - Mid range
Down, Forward, Down, RB
Sektor - Mid range
Back, Forward, Back, RB
Shunjiko - Mid range
Down, Back, Down, RB
Sonya - Mid range
Back, Forward, Down, RB
Stryker - Mid range
Forward, Down, Forward, RB
Sub-Zero - Mid range
Forward, Down, Forward, RB

Gaming

Mortal Kombat 1’s story mode shares strengths and weaknesses with superhero movies

Key art for Mortal Kombat 1 shows Liu Kang.

NetherRealm Studios has perfected the cinematic fighting game story mode.

Ever since 2008’s Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, the Chicago-based studio has played a critical role in fleshing out what single-player, story-focused narratives in fighting games should look like, forever changing a genre that historically focused on multiplayer. By now, the formula for these story modes feels like it’s down to a science. They’re split into multiple chapters, each focusing on one character and featuring four fights between cinematic action and character-focused scenes.

Gaming

Mortal Kombat 1: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more

Key art for Mortal Kombat 1 shows Liu Kang.

Are you ready to test your might? After a small leak and a couple of teases on Twitter, Mortal Kombat 1 has been confirmed to be the next entry in the best-selling fighting game series of all time. Developer NetherRealm typically alternates between franchises, so many people expected their next project to be a new Injustice since Mortal Kombat 11 was their last release in 2019. That is evidently not the plan, but this also isn't the Mortal Kombat 12 that would logically follow. The series already saw something of a reboot with Mortal Kombat 9, so what's going on with Mortal Kombat 1? Choose your fighter and memorize your fatality button inputs, because we're breaking down all the gory details of Mortal Kombat 1.
Release date

Mortal Kombat 1 will be ready for kombat on September 19, 2023. However, there will also be an early access period for those who purchase either the Premium or Kollector's Edition of the game. This early access will begin on September 14 at 10 a.m. PT.
Platforms
This fighter is ditching last-gen consoles and will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and, most surprisingly, Nintendo Switch.
Trailers
Mortal Kombat 1 - Official Announce Trailer | PS5 Games