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‘Mortal Kombat 11’ is even gorier and crazier than we expected

Mortal Kombat 11 – Official Story Prologue Trailer

NetherRealm Studios fully unveiled Mortal Kombat 11 during a livestream event on Thursday, January 17, and the fighting game is shaping up to be the wackiest, goriest, and more intense game the series has seen in years — or maybe ever.

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Set immediately after the events of Mortal Kombat X, Mortal Kombat 11 will feature the return of the sinister Dark Raiden. In the prologue, which was presented during the event, Raiden decapitates Shinnok, telling him of a “fate worse than death,” but Shinnok is then joined by a bald woman capable of controlling time. We know the story will involve time traveling, with older characters meeting up with their younger selves, but details are otherwise being kept under wraps — even Sonya Blade voice actress Ronda Rousey doesn’t know what happens.

Mortal Kombat 11 will see both new and old characters battle it out. Returning fighters include Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Sonya Blade, Baraka, and Skarlet while the time-controlling Geras is a newcomer. During a teaser at the end of the presentation, we see Geras construct a large hammer out of dirt and bounce enemies off a wall he erects in the middle of the arena.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It wouldn’t be Mortal Kombat without gore, and Mortal Kombat 11 kicks it up with even crazier Fatality moves. Baraka’s is particularly brutal, as he pulls off Scorpion’s entire face, rips his brain out of his skull, and takes a big bite. Skarlet, meanwhile, pulls enemies’ blood out of their body, turns it into crystallized spears, and impales them with it.

The moment-to-moment gameplay in Mortal Kombat 11 has received several adjustments. The new “Fatal Blow” mechanic gives you access to a powerful special move when your health falls below 30 percent, and the offense and defense meters are now on separate bars. The game also introduces a “flawless block” system, which gives you access to big counters if you perfectly time your defense.

Mortal Kombat 11 looks to be everything fans could ask for in a fighting game, and you can pre-order it on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC for access to the beta, which begins on March 28.

Pre-ordering also gives you access to the character Shao Kahn. The full game will release on April 23.

Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
How to unlock all Kameo Fighters in Mortal Kombat 1
Rain stands next to Sektor in Mortal Kombat 1.

Despite always sticking to the traditional one-versus-one format for the main series, Mortal Kombat 1 has introduced a secondary system using Kameo Fighters that you can call in to assist you during a fight. This helps expand the roster from its already impressive ranks by including some fan favorites, but more importantly, it adds a new level of depth to the fighter to consider when picking your backup. These assists even have their own unique Fatalities as well! Even so, just like Havik, you have to do a little work to unlock these Kameo Fighters. If you want to take the fight to the online ranks, you will need to have all the Kameo Fighters at your disposal. Here's how to unlock them all in Mortal Kombat 1.
How to unlock all Kameo Fighters
Unlocking Kameo Fighters is tied to your overall profile level. You level up your profile by doing basically any activity in the game, such as playing Invasions mode and the Tower. Whatever you pick, every five levels you reach will reward you with one new Kameo Fighter. Here's which ones you unlock at each milestone:

Level 5 - Scorpion

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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

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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.

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