Mortal Kombat X (0)

First release date

2015-04-14

Platform

PC Xbox One PlayStation 4

Developer

NetherRealm Studios High Voltage Software, Inc.

Publisher

WB Games

Theme

Mortal Kombat

Franchise

Mortal Kombat

Aliases

MKX Mortal Kombat XL

Overview

Mortal Kombat X (pronounced with the letter "X") is a 2.5D fighting game developed by and published by for the , , and (via , ported by ) on April 14, 2015.

The tenth main entry in the long-running franchise, Mortal Kombat X is the first installment to be released for the eighth generation of gaming consoles. Building off its predecessor (2011's ), the game adds a variety of new gameplay mechanics, including the ability to (straight from ), multiple variations for all playable characters (each with unique abilities), and a new set of bonus (including a variation of from , which now serves as a hidden brutal enhancement of the character's final attack). Also returning from UMK3 is the ability to quickly run forward (complete with a regenerating "sprint gauge").

The main single-player story takes place over 20 years after the events of the previous game (continuing the plot's where thunder god visions from the original timeline influences key changes in the plot). A few years after the destruction of , wicked Elder God (with the help of sorceror ) had invaded with the forces of the , only to be imprisoned (after a defeat by ) in his . When the power of the amulet is later used by during a civil war in (between her army and the forces of emperor ), it's up to a new Special Forces team of fighters (, , , and ) to recover the amulet before it falls into the wrong hands.

Like in the previous game, Mortal Kombat X includes downloadable from famous WB movie franchises: from the horror series, a from , an from , and from horror series.

Ports for the and (both also by High Voltage) were delayed several times, before being finally announced to have been canceled on August 28, 2015. The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions received a re-release, titled Mortal Kombat XL, on January 20, 2016. The re-release includes all previous patches and downloadable content, as well as the Kombat Pack 2 DLC.

Story

While the bulk of the story takes place in a set time frame (over 20 years after the events of the ), part of the story is told in . Like , , and the game's previous entry, the game is separated into multiple chapters (with each chapter focused on one of the playable characters, who is the player-controlled character in its fights).

Plot

Chapter 1 - Johnny Cage

The game begins with the revelation that the events of was manipulated from behind the scenes by fallen Elder God , who millennia ago attempted to conquer the EarthRealm but was defeated by and imprisoned him in the NetherRealm.

In the present day, 2 years after the defeat of Shao Kahn, NetherRealm forces comprised of demons have begun invading the EarthRealm. An armed squadron of choppers including , and are heading towards a portal that will allow them access to a white lotus sky temple. Their mission is to protect EarthRealm's life force, the Jinsei, which Shinnok is attempting to corrupt.

The choppers are attacked by and an undead (Kuai Liang), the latter having had his conversion to Cyber Sub-Zero reversed by the same magic that made him an undead warrior. After an initial skirmish which sees all the soldiers on the chopper murdered Kenshi telekinetically throws Sub-Zero from the chopper while Sonya attempts to land it. Johnny battles with Scorpion and then Sub-Zero on the ground, joining up with the others and the remaining choppers and surviving soldiers.

At Raiden's sky temple, shaolin monks led by god of thunder Raiden and god of wind , are attempting to fend off an army of demons led by Shinnok himself, his sorcerer Quan Chi and undead warriors including , ("Smoke is dead, I am Enenra."), , (seemingly minus the essence of Shang Tsung), and .

Sonya's forces arrive outside the temple and do battle with the demons. After Johnny battles the former Smoke and Jax their forces infiltrate the temple to find Raiden. Meanwhile Shinnok reveals himself to Raiden and Fujin boasting of his power to bring the dead back to life as undead warriors. Raiden and Fujin defeat Sindel, Kabal and Stryker but are attacked by Shinnok who uses his powerful gold and green amulet. On the blink of defeat, Johnny, Sonya and Kenshi arrive just in time to prevent the two gods from being sealed away inside Shinnok's amulet, knocking the amulet to the ground. Shinnok incapacitates Kenshi and Sonya, but is unable to finish off Johnny, who's green power counters Shinnok's own dark power. Johnny kicks the amulet to Raiden who seals away Shinnok inside his own amulet.

20 years later, as Johnny Cage has finished retelling this story (also including the fact that Raiden told him his green power comes from a line of supernatural Mediterranean EarthRealm warriors) to a new team comprised of , , and , he sends them on a mission to locate Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei to reaffirm their allegiance to EarthRealm.

Gameplay

Mortal Kombat X builds off of the systems created for the previous Mortal Kombat, utilizing the same button layout and attack format of Front and Back attacks for both fists and feet. Each character has a three-segment super meter that allows for enhanced versions of special moves, combo breakers, and an ultra-damaging X-Ray move. Unlike the previous game, MKX allows players to run by double-tapping and holding toward their opponent. Similar to , a meter governs just how much a player can run.

During fights, players can hit a button (R1 on PS4, RB on Xbox One) to interact with various background elements. This includes posts that can be launched off of to get away from (or closer to) an opponent, objects that can be thrown as weapons, and so on. Unlike the similar system from Injustice, all characters will interact with objects in the same way.

At the end of each fight, a , such as a or a , can be performed. Fatalities will be accessible at the end of a fight after the iconic announcer line "Finish Him/Her!" Brutalities in MKX are extended versions of attacks, special moves and throws that continue the animation of said attack, special or throw into a gruesome non-cinematic end for the opponent. There are said to be over 200 brutalities in the game and each has its own conditions players must satisfy during a fight to use them at the end.

Each variation has a slightly different visual appearance as well.

Each character will have three different variants that offer different options and moves. These fighting styles are chosen on the character select screen and aren't swappable during a fight. As an example, this allows players to give a fireball attack in one form or choose another that allows him to create and launch demonic clones of himself at his foes.

This is done to create different versions of a character that can serve different purposes, such as one version that's good for zoning and another that's focused more on rushdown tactics.

Modes

The game will have a story mode as well as a new set of challenge towers. Unlike the set, offline tower found in Mortal Kombat, MKX has three towers of varying length that update at different intervals, giving players new types of challenges each day. Currency is earned in some modes, but it's unknown if this ties into a "krypt" or other sort of process for unlocking additional material.

Online modes include standard battles that can be played in a ranked or unranked fashion, a king of the hill mode, team battles, and so on. Some modes can be played in a faction-specific configuration to tie into the Faction War metagame.

Metagame

Mortal Kombat X has a fully connected experience with a persistent online metagame called the Faction War. Players will choose one of five factions and actions they perform while playing will contribute to their faction of choice. The leading faction is crowned the winner, and points are reset every week to constantly determine new winners. Players in a winning faction will earn bonuses, some of which may only be active while that faction is the most recent winner.

Characters

The game's initial roster includes 24 fighters, both returning and new. Given the decades-long span covered by the game's storyline, many returning characters are aged.

New Characters

Returning Characters

Downloadable Characters

The game includes a variety of downloadable characters and costumes, including two sets of (called "Kombat Packs"). All downloadable characters have been included in the Mortal Kombat XL re-release for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

While some characters are tied into the game's universe and lore, other characters are and are not considered canon.

(Pack 2)
(Pack 2)
(pre-order bonus)
(Pack 1)
(Pack 2)
(Pack 1)
(Pack 1)
(Pack 1)
(Pack 2)

Unplayable Story Mode Opponents

Development

Rumors regarding a new Mortal Kombat were confirmed by series co-creator after a cryptic countdown via his Twitter account, leading to June 2, 2014. The game was officially unveiled that day along with a CG trailer by Digital Dimensions featuring an original track titled "Can't Be Stopped" by rapper Wiz Khalifa.

The game runs on a vastly updated version of the same -based technology, reformulated for use on the next generation of consoles.