Mortal Kombat Message Board

Mortal Kombat for PS Vita has come out of the gate strong after shipping on May 1st. In just two weeks, players have clashed in hundreds of thousands of online matches across the world. With the PS Vita system players can access a complete Mortal Kombat experience on the go, whether you’re on the bus, in the library, or hanging out with friends.

There are quite a few unique features with this Vita version of Mortal Kombat. While preserving the core gameplay elements, we’ve implemented a ton of new functionalities, such as touchscreen Fatalities and X-Rays, as well as an all-new Challenge Tower II that takes advantage of the diversity of features that the PS Vita system provides.

One question that we continue to see on our official @MK_MortalKombat Twitter is: “Netherrealm, I can’t beat Mission XXX in the new Challenge Tower! Can you help?” Why, yes we can! To answer, we decided to put together some Tips and Tricks videos to outline strategies for some of the more difficult missions within the Challenge Tower II (it’s not called Easy Tower!).

Check out our video here to see our design team spill some secrets on how to master new, exclusive characters and use the new PS Vita system features to their maximum potential. Once you’re done, please share your tips in the comments section below!

#watchthis In the latest installment of CurtainsAreOnFire's Mortal Kombat Secret Character Tryouts video series, the Angry Birds get angrier, Paperboy delivers carnage, and Dr. Robotnik finally creates an obstacle course capable of murder. More »

The Vita version of Mortal Kombat is the same fantastic and content-loaded fighting game that appeared on consoles about a year ago. But this portable version of the game actually has even more to do. The four characters released as downloadable add-ons for the original game are already present, and there are even more costumes to choose from. It's gone through a year of patches and balance changes, ensuring that the version of the game you're getting on day one for the Vita has been fight-tested and tournament approved. In short, if you're a Vita owner that's open to the idea of a fighting game, Mortal Kombat is an amazing value.

I'm not going to just rehash everything I said a year ago, but 95 percent of that old review still applies here. The single-player story mode is still astoundingly deep and the challenge tower is an exciting and maddening climb. Let's talk about the differences. The Vita version gets a new challenge tower that's largely built around the Vita's touch and shake features. It's a little silly, giving you an MK-themed take on Fruit Ninja, minigames where you tap rockets with your finger before they can reach your fighter, and so on. But it's a solid change of pace that, for the most part, handles the Vita's additional control options pretty well. In fights, you can use the touch screen to perform fatalities, if you like, and you can also unleash X-ray attacks by tapping your super meter when it's full.

If you start directly comparing the Vita version of Mortal Kombat to its console counterparts, you'll notice some cutbacks. While the frame rate is perfectly smooth during the fighting, that seems to come at the expense of some of the original game's character detail. When the game zooms in close for fatalities, win poses, or pre-fight talking (which happens all the time in the game's story mode), you'll notice that the character models look a little grungy and decidedly flatter than they did on consoles. That's obviously not the end of the world, and it's surely insane to expect a handheld to perfectly match a console, but hey, consider yourself aware of the difference. Some backgrounds look a little static, as well, but overall, it's a really nice-looking Vita game. Also, the game's online mode is limited to fights with one other player, so all the chat lobby and avatar-based spectator stuff from the other versions has been cut in favor of basic splits between ranked/unranked and one-on-one/tag battle. It appears to work just fine, though I had a few games drop out after character selection had been completed and it occasionally takes a little while to match up with a player and get a game going. Once you're connected, though, fighting and voice chat (which is on at all times once you're connected) work great.

Even if you're not near a Wi-Fi connection often enough to take advantage of the multiplayer side of Mortal Kombat, there's more than enough stuff for you to do by yourself to make it worth its $40 price tag. If you're at all warm to the idea of a portable fighting game, you should absolutely pick it up.

While listening to PlayStation Blogcast in the weeks following GDC, I made a sudden realization: There are a lot of Canadian indie developers working on PlayStation titles right now.

With that realization, the PlayStation.Blog staff began planning a trip to Toronto to meet with Drinkbox Games (Tales From Space: About a Blob), Queasy Games (Sound Shapes), ][ Games (Dyad) and other indies working on PS3 and PS Vita games. Our friends at Sony Computer Entertainment Canada suggested that we invite the media and, well, we thought it only fair to include our Canadian fans in on the fun. That means you!

So here’s the formal invitation: Please join us next Tuesday for our “PlayStation <3 Canada” meetup in Toronto. You’ll get first crack at playing Canadian-born PlayStation titles such as the stereophonic side-scroller Sound Shapes (PS Vita), glorious 8-bit homage Retro City Rampage (PS3 + PS Vita), the brain-meltingly beautiful Dyad (PS3), and more that will be revealed at the event. We’ll have refreshing beverages on hand and maybe, just maybe, a musical act. Best of all, you can leave the Loonies, Toonies, hockey dollars and maple money in your wallet - this event is completely free.

Here are the details:

Facebook invite
When: Tuesday, May 8th from 530-8pm
Where: Camp Oochigeas Downtown [464 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 2S6]
What: hands-on gameplay with unreleased games
Admission: $0.00 (that’s $0.00 Canadian)

Our last Canadian meet-up was a rousing success, so we’re looking forward to meeting you again, for the first time.

Oh, and one final suggestion: Bring your PS Vita and a copy of Mortal Kombat. Sid will be in attendance and he’s got a taste for sweet, sweet Canadian blood. Will you be the one to stop him?

Developing new and inventive missions for the Bonus Challenge Tower was something our talented Design team at Netherrealm Studios jumped at. It allowed us to not only come up with unique and innovative scenarios that took advantage of the numerous PS Vita features (such as the touchscreen and the accelerometer), but also a long-awaited opportunity to create challenges based around the DLC characters that released after the launch of the PS3 version. Yes, that means Freddy Krueger missions!

With Mortal Kombat finally emerging today on PS Vita game card and via PSN, our designers at NetherRealm Studios wanted to share some of their favorite missions from the all-new Challenge Tower. We hope you guys have just as much fun playing through these missions as we had making them.

Brian Lebaron — Designer, Mortal Kombat for PS Vita
1. Missions 39 and 96: “Figure It Out”
These missions are really fun! We give the player very little info on how to pass the mission hence the “Figure It Out” title. We just drop the player into an event and the player must use the different PS Vita functionality to figure out how to get past the events or to a goal.

2. Missions 8, 36, 52, 80, and 138: “Juggle”
In these missions, you have a few missile launchers on the bottom of the screen and the player must keep the falling character from hitting the ground. It was a lot of fun tweaking the gravity and finding the sweet spot to make these really enjoyable. In one of the juggle missions you have to juggle a fat Baraka; gravity was a bit heavier for him, unlike juggling a mini Sektor.

3. Mission 50: “My Baby”
This one was an inside joke on the team for years and I decided to create a mission around it. It’s really fun: Sheeva leaves her baby and you must shoot missiles at a horde of zombies trying to get to her baby.

4. Mission 108: “Don’t Call me Yellow”
The goal is simple – you must use Reptile’s invisibility to survive for six seconds without being hit by a very angry Sektor.

5. Mission 34: “Isn’t it Marvelous”
You’ll have to wait to see why I love this mission.

Derek Kirtzic – Designer, Mortal Kombat for PS Vita
1. Mission 96: “Figure it Out II”
I really like this mission because it’s nothing like any of the other Tower missions. It has a platformer feel to it and it will take people a while to figure out.

2. Mission 84: “Arrow Pong”
Arrow pong is one of my favorite missions because the arrow progressively gets faster and faster and if you make one mistake, you have to start over. It also teaches the player the timing you need to reflect a projectile.

3. Mission 114: “Kentoichi”
This mission reminds me of the old West: 3, 2, 1 draw! Be careful to not draw too early or you’re dead.

4. Mission 51: “My Children”
This mission is unique because you start off as Freddy Krueger and you have to resurrect zombies to fight for you. I like this mission because you have to avoid Sonya’s attacks while trying to resurrect a zombie– or multiple zombies, based on how good you are.

5. Mission 117: “Kintaro Time”
In Kintaro time you play as Kintaro against four Earthrealm warriors. I have personally played this mission a dozen times just because it’s fun to play as the ultra-powerful Kintaro and use his moves against the game’s AI. There is a little learning curve to playing as Kintaro, too – it’s basically learning a whole new character.

If you’ve picked up the game already, what’s your favorite new Challenge Tower mission? Let us know in the comments!

Watch live video from mlgfighters on www.twitch.tv

Today marks the beginning of something new and exciting for the Fighting Games division at Major League Gaming and PlayStation: the MLG Spring Fighter Arena. The top eight players of Warner Bros’ Mortal Kombat and Namco Bandai’s SoulCalibur V from the MLG Winter Championships will compete in what should be one of the most godlike matchups since the release of these two fighting games. With thousands of dollars on the line, these competitors will be duking it out on PS3 in hours of competitive matches.

The amount of history behind these matches is unprecedented: CDjr the reigning Mortal Kombat champion will be navigating a gauntlet of players that all have his name on a checklist of people to beat, including some of his own brothers. Over on Soul Calibur 5, the Champion Keev, from France, will look to do the same after a successful event at the MLG Winter Championships. The action starts today at 2:00pm EST until 10pm EST packed with live streams, giveaways, and a group of the most entertaining casters in fighting games. This isn’t something any fan is going to want to miss. For a full detailed explanation of players brackets and matchup times go here.

How is this happening? You can take advantage of the free main stream available for everyone’s viewing pleasure (HD junkies can get an MLG viewing pass for 4.99). In addition to the main stream, you can find tips, exhibition matches, and supporting content on the free Dr. Pepper Ultimate Access Stream. There will be grudge matches, prizes and there will most certainly be some great entertainment.

Check out the stream above and let us know what you think.

With April coming to a close, this edition of Pulse highlights several must-have titles that are newly available (The Walking Dead) and coming soon (Mortal Kombat for PS Vita). PS Vita owners should check out StarDrone Extreme, which combines dazzling pinball-like physics in a interstellar environment for some nicely addictive game play. Also, preview Mortal Kombat for PS Vita before it arrives next week featuring the Challenge Tower II mode with 50+ PS Vita-exclusive missions and new touchscreen fatalities.

Up for some zombie bashing? With the second season of The Walking Dead television series now complete, it’s a long wait until season three kicks off. But starting today, Telltale Games begins to release the first of five episodes of the new The Walking Dead game. Get a glimpse of the first episode in our video preview.

For PlayStation Plus subscribers, we’ve got a look at the two multiplayer modes of the exclusive private beta of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. And check out a preview of the upcoming game Awesomenauts featuring space frogs and giant robots that will be free to Plus Subscribers on May 1.

The Top 10 features the most popular Add-ons so far this year and new video releases include a leather-clad Kate Beckinsale mowing down Lycans in Underworld: Awakening, and a look at Syfy’s fifth and final season of Eureka.

Watch right here on the PlayStation.Blog or download HD, SD, and PS Vita versions from the PlayStation Store after today’s afternoon update. We hope you enjoy this quick look at what’s happening on PlayStation.

Developing Mortal Kombat for PS Vita was an incredibly rewarding experience for the team here at NetherRealm Studios. The ability to utilize the numerous new features available on PS Vita was a very gratifying mission, and we are delivering the best possible on-the-go fighting experience for fans.

Our design team jumped at the opportunity to devise 150 new Challenge Tower missions that incorporate the DLC characters (like Freddy Krueger!), while also integrating the front touchscreen and accelerometer in ways that made sense and enhanced the complete Mortal Kombat experience.

The artists enjoyed creating some excellent new costumes (still to be revealed!), as well as re-creating an iconic MKII arena that integrates the rear camera that will give players the ability to literally Fight Anywhere.

Our programmers worked diligently to make sure the players’ experience of Mortal Kombat on PS Vita was pristine and up to NetherRealm standards: fine tuning controls (while adding new controls, such as touchcreen Fatalities and X-Rays!) and displaying gameplay at a smooth 60 frames per second.

With all of these features, two new exclusive modes (Test Your Balance and Test Your Slice) and both ad-hoc (local) and WiFi (intrastructure) Versus mode options, we had an amazing time this past weekend at PAX East 2012 showing Mortal Kombat for PS Vita to fans. We had quite a few fans come back and bring their friends to show them the new features—and to challenge them to some old-fashioned 1 vs 1 Kombat. It definitely made all of the work and love we put into this version of Mortal Kombat worth it.

This new trailer definitely captures the spirit of what we were trying to do with Mortal Kombat for PS Vita. Give it a watch and let us know what you think in the comments!

Today is a very exciting day for PlayStation, all of our loyal fans and the entire gaming industry. The highly anticipated PlayStation Vita, our next generation handheld gaming device, is now officially available here in the US. We celebrated this momentous occasion from coast to coast last night, kicking off at a midnight event in New York where an enthusiastic crowd from the PlayStation Nation came to get their PS Vita units.

When we set out to create PS Vita, we were determined to deliver the best handheld gaming experience the industry has ever seen, an experience that would rival current consoles and set the bar infinitely higher for those exploring the portable gaming space. In the year following its announcement, you’ve heard us throw around words like “revolutionary,” “innovative,” “game-changing” and more. In the past few weeks, fans like yourselves and members of the press have begun to share in our sentiments. Early reviews have hailed PS Vita as “the best handheld ever made” and “the most advanced portable gaming system ever made.” It’s clear that PS Vita is making a phenomenal impression on gamers across the world.

Once you have your PS Vita in hand, the choices are yours. With 25 titles available at launch, more than 70 others in development, and fan-favorite franchises such as Call of Duty, UNCHARTED, Assassin’s Creed, Resistance, Mortal Kombat and new IP like Unit 13 coming to your PS Vita, the hardest decision will be where to start. Our goal is to ensure that PS Vita owners are never without new entertainment choices. We’ve worked hard to create a lineup of great content unlike anything you’ve ever seen from a handheld gaming device and to add social features, services and functionality the will continuously enhance those great experiences anytime, anywhere.

We know that PlayStation has the best fans in the business and we want to thank you for your ongoing passion and dedication. For those of you who may just be joining the PlayStation Nation we say “welcome” and to every proud new owner of a PlayStation Vita…we hope you never stop playing.

I’ve got good news, and I’ve got good news. First, the good news: Based on my recent hands-on play sessions, Mortal Kombat on PS Vita plays identically to its PS3 counterpart. That means fluid 60 frames-per-second fighting, lush presentation, and every bit of content from the console version. That includes the critically acclaimed Story mode, a full character roster, the Krypt, the works.

I also tried out a series of local (non-internet) Wifi multiplayer matches, and I’m happy to report that the game felt smooth and responsive with no perceptible lag. If you’re skeptical, watch the video above to see local multiplayer — and my hairy, hairy paws — in action.

Now for the good news: The PS Vita version adds an ambitious array of extra content, starting with every piece of DLC ever released on PS3. That means you’ll be able to play as Freddy Krueger, Kenshi, Rain, and Skarlet from day one, and select MK1 and MK2 retro-styled costumes to drape over your male and female ninja characters. The Vita version sweetens the pot with 15 more exclusive costumes, including MK3-styled garb for the ninjas. Not a bad start, but it gets better.

If you read PlayStation.Blog’s exclusive interview with Ed Boon, you’ll know that Netherrealm Studios has prepared an all-new Challenge Tower II mode that’s exclusive to PS Vita. I went hands-on with four of the 150 total new challenges, more than half of which take advantage of PS Vita’s touchscreen and sixaxis motion sensors in novel (and challenging!) ways:

-One challenge tasked me with juggling a character using ground-based missile launchers, which I activated by tapping the touchscreen. It felt a bit like hacky sack combined with the old Atari game Missile Command, and it’s a lot of fun.

-In another challenge, Raiden’s head inflated every time my opponent landed a blow. To win the match, I had to conquer my attacker while deflating Raiden’s head via the touchscreen. If Raiden’s head grew too big, or I tapped it too much, it popped. Fail!

-The tougher challenges will strain your multitasking abilities. In Bloody Mess, I had to frantically wipe blood off the screen to avoid being blinded…not easy when you’re fending off the blade-slinging mutant Baraka.

-In another challenge, I had to detonate lethal homing missiles using the touchscreen while dueling the cybernetic assassin Sektor.

-Some of the new challenges will focus on the four new characters — Freddy, Kenshi, Rain, and Skarlet — who didn’t factor into the PS3 game’s Challenge Tower due to their release as DLC.

The final game will also include two new bonus modes in the spirit of the Test Your Might minigames. In Test Your Balance, you’re challenged with balancing on a beam and using PS Vita’s sixaxis motion sensor to adjust your balance…while you’re being pelted with body parts. Fail, and you’ll plummet to a gory death (which I won’t spoil here). There will be a second Vita-exclusive minigame as well, but Netherrealms Studios is keeping this under wraps for the
time being.

And yes, there will be new Trophies. What questions do you have about Mortal Kombat for PS Vita? Fire away in the comments and I’ll do my best to serve up answers.

The good news: Mortal Kombat is coming to PS Vita! The bad news: Details are so scarce that we haven’t seen so much as a single screenshot! Luckily, Netherrealm Studios Creative Director Ed Boon emerged from the shadows to share first details with PlayStation.Blog readers, including the existence of a PS Vita-exclusive second Challenge Tower and hints at how the game will take advantage of PS Vita’s unique hardware capabilities. Read up on our full Q&A below and check back soon for more details on this spring’s eagerly anticipated portable pugilist.

PlayStation.Blog: What’s the scope of Mortal Kombat for PS Vita? Does it include all the content from the PS3 game?
Ed Boon, Creative Director, Netherrealm Studios: It’s actually everything from the PS3 game: the entire Story mode and all the downloadable characters and content, plus additional modes and features that are tailored for PS Vita. We really wanted to take advantage of Vita’s hardware.

PSB: How have the graphics transitioned to PS Vita? Did you have to make any major graphical sacrifices from the PS3 version?
EB:It’s interesting. We did have to reduce some of the polygon counts from the backgrounds and characters, but that screen is so bright, and it’s got such high pixel density….when I saw Scorpion and Sub-Zero fighting on the Living Forest for the first time, I was amazed. It really maintains the identity of the game. I can’t wait for people to hold it in their hands and see it for themselves — it’s a surprisingly similar experience.

PSB: Will the PS Vita version keep the PS3 version’s smooth 60 fps framerate?
EB: Yeah. We wouldn’t accept any compromises there; we needed the game to run at the same framerate as the PS3 version. A number of our internal people proposed running it at 30 frames per second — “we could do this and this and that” — but we knew it would feel different. We didn’t want it to feel sluggish or unresponsive.

PSB: What makes a good mobile fighting game? Obviously, playing habits are different in a mobile environment.
EB: The fundamental necessity is quick access to gameplay, whether it’s online or locally. The mobile gaming experience is shorter bites of time. We identified the Challenge Tower as a perfect fit for mobile sessions, so we expanded it greatly for PS Vita. There are actually two Challenge Towers in the PS Vita version, and the new one has 150 challenges that are exclusive to PS Vita. A number of those challenges use PS Vita’s hardware features: the touch screen, the accelerometer…

PSB: …rear touchscreen?
EB: The rear touchscreen functionality was something that we experimented with, but we ultimately opted not to pursue. We really went to town on the front touchscreen interaction, though, both in the challenges and normal gameplay. A lot of work went into it.

PSB: So how does a touchscreen come into play in Mortal Kombat?
EB: In terms of gameplay, we’ve always wanted MK to be as accessible as possible. For example, you can touch your X-ray meter to execute an X-ray attack. For fatalities, you can “slash” the screen with the appropriate inputs — say, away, away, up — to execute the fatality. It makes some of the more difficult fatalities easier and it’s fun to slash at your screen to fire off a fatality. I was surprised by how engaging it is.

PSB: Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 has a dedicated touchscreen-only mode for more casual players. Are you planning anything along those lines?
EB: We goofed around with ideas like that. It was an interesting novelty at first, but literally everybody who tried it said “oh, that’s cute” and then went right back to the normal control scheme. There’s a lot of precision with the “slicing” mechanic, though, so it works well for fatalities.

PSB: Can you shed any light into how the accelerometer or sixaxis motion controls work in the new PS Vita-centric Challenge Tower?
EB: I’ve been asked not to completely reveal all of the details yet…But in the new Challenge Tower, there are challenges that are unique to PS Vita’s capabilities. Over the years we’ve had Test Your Might, Test Your Luck, Test Your Sight…well, we’ve added two completely new ones for PS Vita. We’ll be revealing those soon, and they will take advantage of the accelerometer and other features.

Those extra 150 Challenge Tower missions are tons of fun. Imagine tilting your PS Vita and affecting gravity in the game, things like that…

PSB: Mortal Kombat is a highly competitive fighter. What’s your approach to multiplayer on PS Vita?
EB: We tried to put all the main things that people would want to do for hooking up with other players online; you can fight one-on-one whether you’re in local Wifi or online [infrastructure] Wifi. There aren’t any eight-player online fighting modes, though, and we aren’t supporting four players in one match. Our focus was getting the core fighting gameplay and Wifi battles as solid as possible.

PSB: Will Mortal Kombat feature any PS3-to-PS Vita connectivity or cross play functionality?
EB: No. We’ve been working with PS Vita for quite a while. We had a lot of conversations about what we could do with it; I thought it would be cool to have an extra bonus for players who bought both the PS3 and PS Vita versions. We talked about unlocking a new character, or having some sort of new mode that enabled you to control the game from your PS Vita…but unfortunately, it’s coming up on a year since the PS3 version came out and we never found a way to marry the two versions together.

PSB: Finally, the game’s official name is Mortal Kombat, right? I know there were rumors of “Mortal Kombat Vitality…”
EB: Yes, it’s Mortal Kombat. “Vitality” was something that somebody mocked up at some point, and it kind of stuck [laughs]. But yes, it’s just called Mortal Kombat.