When NetherRealm Studios announced that they were ostensibly rebooting the Mortal Kombat franchise for its ninth iteration many were wondering whether the gory fighter could still fit in a world dominated by games with a longer time commitment. As it turns out, the game was phenomenal, and the fan reaction was through the roof.

Now, floating on the high of that success, and a handful of worthy DLC character releases, NetherRealm is bringing that exact same Mortal Kombat experience to the PlayStation Vita, albeit with a few twists. But even with those twists, this is still Mortal Kombat 9 in all of its console glory, only on a smaller screen, something highlighted in a new trailer.

Though Mortal Kombat for the Vita will feature an entirely new 150-challenge long Challenge Tower, and a couple new modes, it still will play and look almost identical to its console brethren. Online play will keep the experience fresh, but even more so the Vita controls will throw some significant new gameplay mechanics the player's way.

For just a very brief taste of those new mechanics watch the trailer till the very end:

httpv://youtu.be/r6meZNL7Sww

As you can see, Mortal Kombat on the Vita, while wholly similar, will try its best to give Mortal Kombat fans a reason to pick this handheld version of the game up. It's not just about new modes or challenges, but about taking advantage of the Vita's touch controls to deliver a more engaging experience that transcends the fighting game genre. NetherRealm's Ed Boon gave a brief tease about what new features players can expect to see in the Vita iteration, but many are being left for the game's release.

All in all, Mortal Kombat for the Vita seems like a worthy translation for the fighter — one that incorporates the best elements from the console and meshes it with the whacky atmosphere of the MK universe. The only unfortunate thing is that Mortal Kombat isn't a launch title, because it clearly shows how Vita controls can adapt to an already established property just like with Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

Are you looking forward to checking out all the ways NetherRealm studios played around with the Vita? Do you find the Vita support in Mortal Kombat too gimmicky or is it a nice change of pace?

Mortal Kombat is slated for a Spring 2012 release on the PlayStation Vita.

Source: PlayStation Blog