The fatalities are coming: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today that the heavily anticipated new installment of the Mortal Kombat franchise will be coming early next year on April 14.
And that's not all the company revealed. A classic Mortal Kombat character will also be joining the roster for Mortal Kombat X -- the four-armed behemoth known as Goro. Players who pre-order the game at any retailer will receive Goro for free, and you can get your first glimpse of his look in Mortal Kombat X above.
Goro made his Mortal Kombat debut in the original game way back in 1992, and after all these years, he is still a force to be reckoned with.
Mortal Kombat X aims to refine the gameplay of 2009's wildly popular Mortal Kombat by continuing to focus on classic 2D gameplay, but with a few twists. First and foremost is the game's new cinematic presentation, which makes the already impressive looking game even more beautiful (and gory.) Interactive environments also bring big changes to the game, as players can now use makeshift weapons or jump off of the environment to get an advantage over their opponent.
The biggest change comes in the form of character "variations." Every fighter in the game will have three versions of their fighting style. While core signature moves will be shared across all variations, one variation may focus on controlling opponents at a distance, while another may place more emphasis on getting in close and grappling enemies. This adds a whole new level of strategy and decision making into an already complex fighter. You can check out an in-depth look at the fighting variations for the Thunder God, Raiden, here.
But what would Mortal Kombat be without those gruesome fatalities? Mortal Kombat X looks to deliver in that department as well, even if only judging from the small handful of gory finishing moves that have been revealed so far. From blood bubbles to eye-popping, developer NetherRealm Studios is definitely still as creative as ever when it comes to killing opponents in the most outrageous ways possible.
Mortal Kombat X will be NetherRealms' first game after releasing the DC Comics fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us in 2013, which took place in an alternate DC reality where Superman ruled the world with an iron fist and Batman and his rebels sought to bring down his tyranny.
Mortal Kombat X is coming to Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 on April 14, 2015.
