National Mortal Kombat Tournament Pre-Registration Now Open, Live Stream By Team Spooky

A quick update here that pre-registration is now live for the upcoming National Mortal Kombat Tournament that will be held in Las Vegas, NV on May 14th-15th with $21K guaranteed prize pool. If you think you have what it takes to get some of that cash, be sure to hit the site and pre-register now!

Also, if you haven't heard the news yet, Team Spooky will be providing the live stream for this event! We'll post more details on the live stream as they come through.

Mortal Kombat: Jade & Kitana vs Sindel & Mileena Tag Team Trailer

A new trailer for Mortal Kombat hit the web today, this time featuring a tag team battle of Jade & Kitana vs Sindel & Mileena. Just like virtually all of the other trailers, there is a lot of brutal stuff in this one, though I have to say the final X-Ray move in this one is especially cringe-worthy. Thanks to TheUltimateRyu for the YouTube upload!

Click to read more ...

Mortal Kombat: Interview with Hans Lo and Erin Piepergerdes by Dr Jackal

Dr Jackal put together a cool little interview with Mortal Kombat 9 producer Hans Lo and associate producer Erin Piepergerdes. The interview covers a number of topics that I'm sure you guys will be interested in, from bringing in tournament-level players to help ensure the game launches as balanced as possible, to a bit of info on the hooks NetherRealm put in place to allow for quick turn-around times on balance adjustments.

It's a pretty good interview, so give it a look when you have a moment to spare.

Click to read more ...

Rumor for Those Why Buy Used Games: Mortal Kombat's Online Multiplayer May Require "Online Pass" to Play

I guess the "online pass" is becoming less of a trend and is moving ever more toward becoming the standard.  Joystiq has learned from sources that Mortal Kombat may require an "online pass" to play online multiplayer.  If you buy the game new, the box will allegedly contain an "online pass" token that must be redeemed before you can play online multiplayer. If you buy the game used, however, you may have to purchase this pass if you want to do the same.

This has absolutely no effect on those who are buying new copies, so don't worry if you are doing that.  This move is aimed at those who buy used copies.  If you buy the game used and the previous owner has already redeemed the code, you will have to purchase an "online pass" in order to get that online multiplayer. 

Click to read more ...

Image Showing Every Stage in Mortal Kombat: Impressive!

The more stages that are in a fighting game, the better.  More stages add visual variety to the gameplay and make things more interesting in general.  RyanPleasure has put together a single image that has a thumbnail of every stage in Mortal Kombat, and I was truly shocked!  It is truly impressive to see this many stages in the game.  Some are fan favorites from past games and some are new.  It's a good mix, IMO. Very nice work, NetherRealm! This game just keeps delivering above and beyond my expectations!

Thanks to SRK for the tip on the image and to RyanPleasure for putting it together.

Click to read more ...

IPW Topic of the Week: Are You Hype for Mortal Kombat?

Mortal Kombat is set to be released on April 19th.  In just a few weeks, legions of players will be uppercutting opponents and showing no mercy with gruesome fatalities. 

Are you hype for Mortal Kombat?  What makes you excited for this next installment of the series?  If not, why aren't you on the hype train, and is there anything that might be revealed for the game that might get you back on?

Do you have an idea for a future topic of the week? Send your suggestions to tips@iplaywinner.com!

Click to read more ...

UPDATE: Mortal Kombat DLC Characters

Yesterday I posted the news (via GamePro, CVG) that the first round of DLC for Mortal Kombat would include Kintaro, Lady in Red and Kenshi. The "Lady in Red" and Kenshi have since been confirmed by NetherRealm, but it appears that the info from GamePro regarding Kintaro was wrong.

When I posted the article yesterday, I had apparently mistaken what producer Hans Lo said at the end of CVG's interview -- before it was removed -- as confirmation that Kintaro was in the works as DLC. As TRMK points out, CVG stated that Kintaro was planned, but didn't go into any detail beyond that. At any rate, that info is incorrect.

Click to read more ...

Mortal Kombat: First DLC Characters Revealed

In the latest issue of GamePro, NetherRealm confirmed the first round of DLC characters due out for Mortal Kombat shortly after release. The DLC is said to include Kintaro, Lady in Red and Kenshi from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. The feature didn't say just when we can expect this first round of characters.

Shortly after the news broke, NetherRealm developer Hans Lo spoke with CVG to confirm the reveal and provided a little background on the mysterious "Lady in Red". Here's what he had to say:

Click to read more ...

Mortal Kombat: Ed Boon Talks PS3-exclusive Kratos

Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon joined up with the team over at the PlayStation Blog to discuss Mortal Kombat's PlayStation 3-exclusive character, Kratos. Ed Boon runs down the design process for getting Kratos in the game; how the team worked closely with Sony Santa Monica Studios to iron out even the tiniest of details, capturing the "real" Kratos, and so on.

If you'd like to know a thing or two more about Kratos' inclusion in Mortal Kombat, head on over to the PlayStation Blog!

Click to read more ...

Eurogamer: Exclusive Mortal Kombat Footage

Eurogamer published an exclusive look at Mortal Kombat's tag team gameplay with cyborg assassins Sektor and Cyrax up against Scorpion and Sub Zero.

To check out the video, head over to Eurogamer!

Click to read more ...

Mortal Kombat: Kratos Gameplay Trailer

GameSpot just released the first official gameplay trailer of Kratos that we've seen so far -- aside from the brief bit of cam footage we saw yesterday, of course. The video runs for a little over a minute and actually gives us a pretty good feel for how Kratos will play. Interestingly, NetherRealm even decided to include at least one quick time event for Kratos just to remind you that he was, in fact, from God of War. You know, in case you forgot.

Do you like what you see? Let us know!

Click to read more ...

Mortal Kombat: Kombat Kontinues Trailer Featuring Kratos Gameplay and King of the Hill Footage

A new Mortal Kombat trailer has surfaced which features some Kratos gameplay (exclusive character for Playstation 3 verstion), footage of the King of the Hill online mode, and one of Raiden's Fatalities!  According to the video's description, this trailer was being shown at a tournament in Bruxells, Belgium.

Anyway, Mortal Kombat is looking hot and the more that is revealed the more excited I am for this game.  Here's hoping that NetherRealm Studios put time and care into providing a full-featured online mode...

This video comes via MKUniverse.

Click to read more ...

Mortal Kombat Demo Combo Video by Desk

Man, with all the combo and glitch videos Desk has been pumping out lately, you have to wonder if this guy gets any sleep at all. He just released a Mortal Kombat 9 combo video that showcases what each character in the demo is capable of. Hope you guys are prepared for another high damage game! Check out the video after the break!

Click to read more ...

Mortal Kombat: Raiden Gameplay Trailer

Eurogamer got their hands on an exclusive video showing off a pretty good amount of Raiden gameplay. I never was all that into Raiden back in the day, but the new tricks Raiden pulls off in the video has me interested, at least. You can check it out for yourself by heading over to Eurogamer or you can watch it below!

Click to read more ...

Australian Ratings Board Overturns Appeal for Mortal Kombat Classification

More bad news for those of you in the land down under: the Australian ratings board has overtuned Warner Bros. Interactive's appeal to get Mortal Kombat classified, meaning that Mortal Kombat 9 is now effectively banned in Australia.

Click to read more ...

Interview with MK Designer Brian LeBaron by Mortal Kombat Online

TonyTheTiger from over at Mortal Kombat Online put together a really interesting interview with NetherRealm designer Brian LeBaron on Mortal Kombat 9. This one should be particularly interesting to you guys because it addresses things relevant to the hardcore fighting game community, such as how meter builds in the game, the offensive nature of Mortal Kombat and a bunch more.

It's a little hard to hear what's being said at times, but it's still very much worth checking out for those interested in Mortal Kombat.

Click to read more ...

Mortal Kombat: Environment Bio #4 - Kahn's Coliseum

NetherRealm and Warner Bros. Interactive released a brand new environment bio video straight out of PAX East. This one showcases Kahn's Coliseum, which we first glimpsed in the game's announcement trailer. Give it a look below!

Click to read more ...

Giant Bomb: Interview with Ed Boon on Mortal Kombat from GDC

Giant Bomb published a pretty informative interview with Giant Bomb's own Jeff Gerstmann picking Ed Boon's brain about several things of interest regarding Mortal Kombat 9. Ed Boon talks about Kratos, the possibility of an Xbox 360-exclusive character and even some of the game's online components, including netcode. Definitely check this out if you're interested in Mortal Kombat!

Click to read more ...

Mortal Kombat Raiden Vignette Trailer

Raiden, the God of Thunder, is the character featured in this new vignette from NetherRealm Studios. It gives a cool rundown of the character's plot in the game and also has some gameplay footage including his X-Ray move and one of his fatalities.  This video is courtesy of Gamespot. Check it out!

Click to read more ...

GiantBomb Quick Look with Mortal Kombat Demo

The gang at GiantBomb have put together a Quick Look video featuring the Mortal Kombat Demo!  They play a bunch of versus matches and take a run through the arcade mode, checking out the characters, fatalities, and stages all the while swimming in nostalgia.  

If you are a fan of GiantBomb, you already know that Brad and Jeff are huge MK fans and they really, really have fun with this demo.  Over 30 minutes of action await, so check it out!

For those who missed it, the demo is currently available to Playstation Plus members on Playstation 3 and will be available to all PS3 owners next week.

Click to read more ...