Hot on the heels of the announcement that Mortal Kombat, in all of its gory wonder, will be coming to the PlayStation Vita are some new details straight from Creative Director Ed Boon's mouth. While it's been heavily stressed that this Vita iteration will contain all of the console version's content, including DLC, there will also be a handful of new items that are unique to the Vita version.

Obviously, with this being a Vita version of the game, Mortal Kombat is going to making great use of the touch screen and accelerometer. Boon wouldn't say how the accelerometer would come into play — only that it will be featured in the game's second 150 challenge long Challenge Tower — but he detailed touch screen functionality a little bit.

The team at Netherrealm, in stark contrast to what Capcom is doing with Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for the Vita, opted for a touch screen functionality that was more about flourishes and benefits rather than all out combat. Players will be able to activate X-Ray mode with just a touch of the meter, and will even be able to pull off fatalities simply by swiping the screen in the correct manner. Boon thinks this will make the fatalities, perhaps the most iconic part of the whole series, more common.

As was said before, Mortal Kombat on the Vita will feature an entirely new Challenge Tower, available alongside the original Challenge Tower from the console. It's here that the accelerometer and touch controls will come into play the most, but Boon wouldn’t exactly explain how.

"I’ve been asked not to completely reveal all of the details yet…But in the new Challenge Tower, there are challenges that are unique to PS Vita’s capabilities. Over the years we’ve had Test Your Might, Test Your Luck, Test Your Sight…well, we’ve added two completely new ones for PS Vita. We’ll be revealing those soon, and they will take advantage of the accelerometer and other features…Those extra 150 Challenge Tower missions are tons of fun. Imagine tilting your PS Vita and affecting gravity in the game, things like that…"

The only bad news Boon shared about this Vita version is its lack of rear touch pad support. They did experiment with it, but ultimately couldn't find any good uses for it.

So, while this Vita version of Mortal Kombat may be on a smaller screen, it certainly will be the most fully featured iteration of the fighter yet. But don't be discouraged by the portable nature of the game either, because Boon says he found himself doing double takes while looking at the Vita's OLED screen.

Mortal Kombat fans, are you interested in picking up a PlayStation Vita now that your favorite fighter is headed its way? How would you like to see the Vita's features be incorporated into gameplay?

Mortal Kombat is targeting a Spring 2012 release date for the PlayStation Vita.

Source: PlayStation Blog