The winter gaming season is coming, and whilst there’s a couple of months of prep time yet, this year’s offerings seem bigger and better than most, meaning no amount of sick days or holiday from work is going to be enough to fit everything in! One of the biggest titles due to launch later this year is Mortal Kombat 1, the new timeline offering for NetherRealm Studios flagship and most famous property.
Mortal Kombat 1 is Going to Change Everything
For those who don’t know, Mortal Kombat 1 is set to completely reinvent the franchise for the studio, with a timeline reset courtesy of the events of Mortal Kombat 11’s Aftermath DLC. Thanks to Liu Kang’s needed meddling, the timeline of the Mortal Kombat franchise is set to be shaken up quite considerably. Long-dead characters are returning, previously enemies, some are now allies, others have been erased. It’s very difficult to keep up with everything, but the game is due to release on September 19th, so we don’t have long to wait.
Related: Mortal Kombat 1 Confirmed to Feature HUGE Change to Scorpion’s and Sub-Zero’s Origins
Whether the changes made will work or not is unknown, but taking the stage at the Summer Games Fest, franchise co-creator Ed Boon shocked fans when he announced that Jean Claude Van Damme was due to finally take on the role based on him, Johnny Cage. Not much more has been said about that particular nugget of information, but we do know that the action actor has recorded lines and been in the mo-cap studio. Clearly more than just a cameo. Or should that be Kameo?
Talking of Kameos, Mortal Kombat 1 is set to feature a franchise first, with the introduction of a new gameplay mechanic dubbed ‘Kameo Fighters’. In short, these are NPC controlled characters that you can call upon during the fight. How you use them is up to you. Break up an attack from your adversary? Continue on a combo of your own? Save you from certain death? The introduction of Kameo Fighters will no doubt bring about a approach for long-time fans of the franchise, and during the recent Closed Network Test the mechanic was apparently well-received, so we’ll have to wait a short while and make our own minds up on that.
Mortal Kombat 1’s Kombat Pack, JK Simmons is Involved
The Mortal Kombat franchise has recently followed a trend of including pop-culture phenomenon’s as playable DLC characters, with past versions of the game including the likes of Terminator, Alien, Predator, Joker from DC and more, so it’s no surprise to find out Mortal Kombat 1 is going to be doing exactly the same thing.
This time, we’ll be getting three comic-book inspired characters, as well as some historical Mortal Kombat characters in the first Kombat Pack, due to launch sometime in 2024. If you’re wondering why we know about the first DLC of a game that hasn’t released for two months, you can blame microtransactions, or more specifically this time round, Amazon for leaking the listing two months ago.
The three comic-book inspired characters are Antony Starr’s Homelander from The Boys, John Cena’s Peacemaker from Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad and J.K. Simmons Omni-man from Amazon Prime’s Invincible.
Based on the Robert Kirkman graphic novel of the same name, the television show’s first season was considered by many to be a huge success, following the story of Mark Grayson, as he attempts to control and understand the powers manifesting shortly after his seventeenth birthday, all whilst connecting with his superhero dad Nolan aka Omni-Man. It’s graphic. It’s adult. It’s bloody. It’s brilliant.
Omni-Man is exactly the right type of character for the Mortal Kombat franchise, with him fitting in seamlessly to the bloody and graphic nature of the video game. As with Homelander, his antics on-screen and in the comic books are as gruesome, if not more so than anything seen in Mortal Kombat, so we’re in for a treat once he arrives.
The news that the charismatic and intimidating J.K. Simmons will be returning to voice the character will give fans of his performance even more reason to purchase the Kombat Pack, with the actor one of very few who can pull off the menacing nature of the character mixed with the fatherly and complicated relationship with his son, Mark aka Invincible.
With their likenesses used in game, it’ll be surprising if we don’t see Antony Starr and John Cena voice their respective characters as well, and like the previous guest-characters, we don’t expect or need any narrative reason for their arrival, just release their fatalities already!
What do you think? Will you be buying Mortal Kombat 1? Or the Kombat Pack? Let us know in the comments below!
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