This week’s ‘Kombat Kast’ hosted by NetherRealm community Manager Tyler Landsdown and designer Derek Kirtzic was packed to the brim with kontent. Not only did we get the whips, sais and a little surprise that we were promised, but Test Your Luck and Kustom Kombat were played, the Scorpion ‘Kold War’ skin was revealed and Kung Jin joined the fray. And for those with the Mortal Kombat (2011) fight sticks on PS3, they will be compatible with the PS4 version of Mortal Kombat X!
As the title references, Mileena and Takeda’s gameplay was demonstrated. Mileena’s variations are: Ethereal, Ravenous and Piercing. In the first, she gains the ability to throw her dagger to a spot, de-materialise and reappear at that location. The time she stays invisible can be controlled. In Ravenous, Mileena adds chain grapples to her arsenal, allowing the player to plug into her Tarkatan DNA and get an extra few bites out of her opponent. Or, just leapfrog them for humiliation (can also be chained to break their arms and kick them away). Finally, piercing takes advantage of her signature weapons, enabling numerous sai projectiles and altered normal combos. So she has a Mix-up, Grapple and Zoning game!
Takeda‘s variations are called Shirai Ryu, Lasher and Ronin. The most former adds teleports and utilises his retractable whips in a manner very reminiscent of Scorpion’s trademark spear. Lasher electrifies said whips, also adding a couple rangier attacks that can trip up the opponent for a juggle (on EX) and also enhances his flurry punch attack in both power and range. The final variation cements Takeda’s instant reputation as an incredibly dangerous bad-ass with dual plasma swords at his disposal. With the new weapons comes a beam projectile, a projectile reflect and a manual plasma trap. Is there anything Takeda can’t do?
As a special treat (as if it wasn’t planned!) Kung Jin’s gameplay was also explored. The cousin of Kung Lao, as tournament player guest Steve Brownback (who pulls off a Kitana Brutality late in the stream) called him, has Ancestral, Bojutsu and Shaolin variations. Ancestral sees the archer show off his archery skills, naturally. Among his jump arrows is the ability to augment his arrows with fire, meter-burning energy and stun capacity. Each effect lasts 6 seconds. Bojutsu involves Kung Jin using his bow as a staff, with the ornamental dragon head turning into a bludgeoning mass of metal. Oh, and it can shoot overhead fireballs. Lastly, Shaolin adds a shakram as a nod to Kung Lao, which can be thrown akin to Jade’s glave…almost exactly actually. Or Tanya’s boomerang (my hopes of her inclusion have died with this reveal).
Their first fatalities were also demoed, but my descriptions will never do them justice. You can watch everything unfold in the meaty stream itself, embedded below. Additionally, you will witness some entertaining Test Your Luck match-ups, and Kustom Kombat, which is basically a mode allowing the combatants to choose the buffs found in Test Your Luck beforehand. Oh, and you better think twice about quitting an online match-up now…unless you like utter embarrassment. Quitters get Quitalities now! Check it all out in the stream below! Mortal Kombat X releases April 14th for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
MKX Kombat Kast: Episode 6 – Whips, Sais And A Little Surprise
