Mortal Kombat X Preview

Warner Bros. Interactive brought over Mortal Kombat X to the 2014 GameStop Expo, and I was very excited to play the game. As a PlayStation fanatic, I was very happy to see the playable demo for the PlayStation 4 on display at the convention. I got the chance to see the behind-closed-doors preview at the Electronic Entertainment Expo earlier this year, so I was quite pumped to actually play the game for this go around.

The demo featured the following playable characters: Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kano and Raiden from the returning cast of characters; and Cassie Cage, D’Vorah, Ferra/Torr and Kotal Kahn for the new group of characters. Of course, Goro was recently announced as a playable character if you pre-order the game. Unfortunately, there is still no word about finally getting to play as Kintaro, who did not make it into Mortal Kombat 9 as a playable character (though he did appear in the game as an NPC).

I love what NetherRealm Studios did with Mortal Kombat 9 and Injustice: Gods Among Us. Mortal Kombat X appears to be no exception. The new-gen visuals and graphics for the PS4 look fantastic. The graphics received a huge upgrade for this game. It makes all the trademark Mortal Kombat blood, violence and gore that much better when viewing in such glorious HD. The backgrounds and environments also look a lot better and more elaborate.

The feature I enjoyed the most from Injustice: Gods Among Us was the interactive backgrounds and environments. The interactive backgrounds have now been integrated into Mortal Kombat X. The interactive elements are  integrated nicely into the battles. Unfortunately, the environments do not have layered tiers like Injustice. However, the interactive features where you can jump or swing off of objects or use background objects on your opponent are awesome. 

Fighting controls were very tight and smooth. Fatalities are now a little easier to pull off–at least for the demo. That is something I appreciate. The X-ray attacks from Mortal Kombat 9 are back. Each player has a meter to charge up to pull off the X-ray attack by pushing the shoulder buttons. The X-ray attacks are more elaborate, over-the-top, brutal, gorier and more violent than ever before. Basically, the X-ray attacks look like fatalities in and of themselves. The moves with the X-ray attacks look like attacks from which your opponent should not return. For example, Sub-Zero’s X-ray attack consists of ripping out an organ from his opponent’s gut, freezing it into a spike and then impaling it clean through his enemy’s head. So, the attacks are a little too much, but whatever. It is a fighting game, and that is not an element to harp on.

My favorite new feature that was shown at E3 and was available with the demo was the character variation. Each Kombatant has three playing variations, which are like getting several unique versions and play styles for each character. Scorpion can use his ninjitsu and weapons or he can use his demonic Hellfire powers. Ferra/Torr can fight together or individually. Each character variation offers a unique set of moves and animations for all the Kombatants on the roster. This is especially cool for a the Ferra/Torr pair because it basically gives you two unique fighters in one.

Mortal Kombat X is due out April 15, 2015 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.