Video Game Classics: Mortal Kombat
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
Originally developed by Midway, the popular title debuted in the arcade, before being ported to the home consoles. It is centered on a Shaolin monk, named Liu Kang, that must enter into a deadly tournament in order to save the Earth from being devoured by another dimension. With Earth having already lost nine events in a row to the Outworld, he is the final line of defense in the ten round battle. To accomplish his mission, he must fight his way through the tournament; defeating the four-armed human-dragon hybrid Goro, and his master, the evil shape-shifting sorcerer Shang Tsung. Of course, players can also play as any of the game's other six selectable combatants, each with their own motivations, unique abilities and ultra violent fighting styles. In this video, http://www.WatchMojo.com takes a look back at the original Mortal Kombat arcade game, in anticipation of its upcoming 2011 reboot.
Video Game Classics: Mortal Kombat (1992)
Some games will live forever as Classics. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be taking a look at 1992’s legendary fighting game Mortal Kombat.
Originally developed by Midway, the popular title debuted in the arcade, before being ported to the home consoles.
Mortal Kombat tells the story of a Shaolin monk named Liu Kang, who must enter into a tournament in order to save Earth from being devoured by another dimension.
Revealed in later installments, it turns out that Elder Gods had created several realms. Decreeing that the inhabitants of one realm could conquer another, their only stipulation was that they must defeat each other in ten consecutive tournaments.
Having already lost nine in a row to the Outworld, Liu Kang is charged with saving the Earth. To do this, he must fight his way through the tournament; defeat the four-armed human-dragon hybrid Goro, and his master, the evil shape-shifting sorcerer Shang Tsung.
Of course, players can also play as any of the game’s other six selectable combatants, each with their own motivations, unique abilities and fighting styles.
These characters include the action movie star Johnny Cage, Black Dragon mercenary Kano, thunder god Raiden, the ninja demon Scorpion, ice-wielding assassin Sub-Zero, and Special Forces agent Sonya Blade.
Not just about sparring, the game incorporated a series of mini-game bonus-levels in which players could break items in order to ‘test their might.’ In these, competing players must break the material in front of them with their bare fists by filling a strength bar.
The combat of Mortal Kombat is especially notable for its focus on magical attacks and gory finishing moves.
It also sported a unique look, which was made possible through the use of digitized character sprites. Amazingly, these were based on real life actors, as opposed to the standard cartoon graphics of the time.
Insanely popular, the original Mortal Kombat went on to spawn its own direct movie adaptation, as well as theme song, and several arcade sequels, before getting rebooted by NetherRealm Studios in 2011.
