Category: Fighting Games

Well, this is pretty awkward.

According to Mortal Kombat X’s newly-added listing on Xbox Live (which also revealed the Samurai Pack we reported on earlier tonight), a Predator from the classic film franchise of the same name will be playable in the once-mysterious Kombat Pack.

Dubbed the Ultimate Hunter, the ferocious Yautja definitely live up to their colloquial name thanks to a variety of advanced weaponry and the ability to camouflage themselves to the point of near-invisibility. What skills they’ll bring with them to the Mortal Kombat universe remain to be seen, but it’s hard to argue with how perfectly they’re likely to fit into the bloody fighter.

Like fellow guest character Jason Voorhees and two classic Mortal Kombat cast members that have yet to be announced, the Predator is scheduled to release sometime after launch. Those who purchase the Kombat Pack or the pricy Premium Edition bundle will be granted early access.

Mortal Kombat X will arrive on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 14, with PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases planned for this summer.

Source: Xbox Live, special thanks to Haketh for the tip.

Mortal Kombat X’s listing on Xbox Live was recently updated with some rather incredible art of the game’s very first skin bundle, the Samurai Pack.

The package will include costumes for Kitana, Shinnok, and Kenshi based on feudal Japan. At this point in time, however, it doesn’t appear as if it will be made available outside of the Premium Edition bundle, which runs $80.99.

Additionally, the developers themselves revealed during today’s broadcast that they will be including a special Scorpion skin in Mortal Kombat X based off a piece of fan art.

Last September, NetherRealm Studios launched the Kombat Kollective, an outlet for fans of the Mortal Kombat series to show off their artistic prowess to other like-minded individuals. The site has collected (kollected?) a huge amount of uploads since it went live six months ago including original visual art that ranges from cartoony concepts to comics to cosplay, as well as some fun original music tracks.

While an amazing resource for fans of the Motal Kombat universe, the inclusion of fear-sAs’ Scorpion skin is perhaps the most exciting thing to come out of the Kollective so far. The costume, which has been dubbed Kold War Scorpion, shares much in common with the Red Son skins from Injustice: Gods Among Us.

No in-game footage of the skin has been released yet, nor have any details surrounding how we can go about getting our hands on it for ourselves, but we do have a video from fear-sAs that shows the process that went into creating this soon-to-be alternate costume.

Sources: Xbox Live via r/MortalKombat, NetherRealm Studios, fear-sAs, special thanks to Haketh for his help.

Tekken 7 officially launched in game centers throughout Japan (as well as a single arcade in South Korea) earlier this week, bringing a host of brand new characters, gameplay mechanics, and more to the competitive scene. While we’ve already seen some leaks regarding possible future characters, the game as it stands now already includes someone we may see playable in the future: Kazumi Mishima.

The clan matriarch appears in Tekken 7 as the arcade mode’s final boss, facing off against the player in her normal form before shifting to Devil mode for a power boost, similar to other Mishima family members like Kazuya and Jin Kazama.

According to Bandai Namco Games’ Katsuhiro Harada, Kazumi’s inclusion in the main roster hinges on two things. “We have some ideas for making Kazumi playable in Tekken 7,” the director told Famitsu, “but it’s dependant on the fan’s reaction and demand for her.”

With the buzz her initial tease in the title’s very first reveal created, we’re sure Harada has had (and will have) no shortage of requests that Kazumi be made playable. It’s only a matter of time.

Source: Famitsu via Flying Wonkey

Good news for all your Mortal Kombat fans out there: Mortal Kombat X on PlayStation 4 will be compatible with PlayStation 3 arcade sticks.

Playing fighting games during the move to new platforms has become a huge investment, and very few developers have alleviated these issues by making older peripherals work on the current consoles. This is all despite the fact that Lab Zero Games has already done all the work for them as they transition Skullgirls Encore to Sony’s latest gaming platform.

In fact, NetherRealm Studios licensed the driver necessary for this functionality from Lab Zero themselves, showcasing some great cross-developer collaboration.

These details were first shared during today’s broadcast and later confirmed by creative director Ed Boon. Kudos NetherRealm!

Sources: NetherRealm Studios, Lab Zero Games, Ed Boon via NeoGAF

Many games these days, including fighting games, are often released alongside strategy guides to help players acclimate themselves to their mechanics. While these guides contain a decent amount of information about the game they cover, they’re usually not enough to get players started in truly playing the game at a competitive level.

To address this, Dead or Alive players Legendary Goken and Force of Nature have decided to create their own strategy guide for the franchise’s latest release, Dead or Alive 5 Last Round.

Top Tier Tips is a beginners guide that covers some of the more intricate aspects of Last Round’s system, including punishes, usage of throws and offensive holds, the stun system, stagger escapes, side steps, fuzzy guards, and more.

While it doesn’t highlight some of the more advanced mechanics in the interest of not becoming too complex for new players, it should be enough to prepare beginners for matches with actual opponents.

Interested folks should check the guide out here.

Source: DOA5 Top Tier Tips via Free Step Dodge

Tekken 7 data reveals that Jin Kazama, Devil Jin, and a couple of new characters may find their way to the newly-released fighter in the future.

At the end of Tekken 6, Jin supposedly died after a long and convoluted effort to rid the world of the Devil Gene. This left many fans with the question of whether or not Jin would make an appearance in Tekken 7.

According to Avoiding the Puddle, a group of fans in Korea have been able to gain access to character data from this week’s official Tekken 7 launch. The leaked information shows character models for not just Jin Kazama, but for his alter-ego, Devil Jin as well.

But it’s not just returning characters that have been revealed–the data also shows what seem to be not just one, but possibly two newcomers. The first of these is a female fighter wearing a short dress and the other, which may just be a skin for an existing character, is a red humanoid with all sorts of metal tubing stuck onto it.

Jin Kazama

Devil Jin

New Characters

Tekken 7 had its full launch in Japanese arcades yesterday and is set to make its North American debut at Final Round 18 this weekend.

Source: Avoiding the Puddle, thanks to Great Dark Hero for the tip.