FATALITY!

What game do you think of first when you hear those words? Do you remember the satisfying crunch of your opponent’s neck snapping as you loosen his head from his body? Do you recall the screams of your enemy as you send him tumbling off a high bridge to be impaled on the terrible spikes below?

If any of these things are familiar to you, then you almost certainly have played at least one of the notorious Mortal Kombat games and if not, then as a gamer you have at least heard of them.

Originally released onto the arcade scene in 1992, the game caused a huge stir. Much of the public outcry was levelled towards its gratuitous violence; and make no mistake: it is violent. The first game featured gory finishing moves called fatalities, which would remain a staple of the series. These included fiery immolations, decapitations, tearing out your opponent’s heart (and biting a chunk out of it!) and flinging your opponents into pits filled with spikes. Prior to meeting such a brutal end, the two players would engage in a violent martial arts standoff, utilising kicks, throws and punches with blood spraying in all directions. The game’s basic premise involved contestants battling it out to either save or doom the Earth faced with the invading forces from the alternate realm of Outworld. Characters could play classic martial arts staples such as ninjas and shaolin monks – as well as aHollywood martial arts star, a female special forces veteran and much more. The game itself changed the industry in many ways, heralding a new focus on violence in gaming which is present to this very day. It also popularised the idea of the Easter Egg – a hidden feature within a game that must be unlocked in some way (in the first game this was the ninja figure Reptile).

The game was exceptionally popular and sales on all systems sky rocketed. Soon a bloodier sequel emerged with twice the amount of playable characters and new finishing moves including Friendships, replacing violent deaths with acts of kindness; Animalities, which involves changing into an animal and slaying your opponent; and Babalities, turning your opponent into a baby. This was followed by another excellent game, Mortal Kombat III which followed the formula set down and did very well.

Thereafter the series faltered. Numerous titles were released in the following years but, while bloody,none matched the frenetic gameplay and immersion of the first three instalments.  This all changed in 2011 when the latest iteration (simply call Mortal Kombat) was released. It sought to match the simplicity and fast paced gameplay of the original… And was an instant hit, serving to reboot the series! Now the tenth game is about to be released onto the 8th generation consoles… and it looks better than ever!

Mortal Kombat X features new and returning characters from the series along with more special fighting moves and bloody fatalities. The biggest difference in the new game is the presence of character variations. Each character now has three different variations, each of which allows for different move sets and special abilities. The environment is now interactive and players can use this to their advantage in combat.

You can find the new Mortal Kombat X on bidorbuy.