With just a couple weeks left before release, Mortal Kombat X has been in the news quite a bit recently as tons of new information has been revealed about the title including new characters, added modes, and a slew of new features.

As fans recently saw Liu Kang, Erron Black, and Shinnok playable for the first time, the focus has turned to the story in Mortal Kombat X and how it manages to bridge the events from the last game into this one. Newly released gameplay footage has recently given us a better look at how NetherRealm Studios is looking to accomplish that.

While some of the footage was previously shown off in one of the Kombat Kast streams put on by the developer, there's a lot more information in this extended video for fans to digest, including an opening cinematic that sets the scene going forward. Outside of the exciting helicopter fight between Scorpion, Sub Zero, Kenshi, and Johnny Cage, players will get a good look at the undead army of Quan Chi and Shinnok as they take on the Earthrealm Special Forces.

Based on the footage, it's clear that the game starts nearly right after the end of the previous game as surviving Earthrealm fighters, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade, look to clean up the invading forces of Shao Kahn. Fan favorite characters such as Nightwolf, Fujin and Smoke also make cameos as undead versions of themselves, though as of right now it's unclear if they'll be playable as well.

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So far, the footage looks impressive as the game seamlessly transitions from interactive moments to cut scenes and then to the actual fights themselves. Inspired by The Godfather: Part II, NetherRealm has also promised flashback moments to flesh out character backstories mixed in with the present day story line. The game also apparently jumps forward, with players meeting some famous MK kids like Cassie Cage and Jacqueline Briggs.

With so many fighting games not putting a priority into a dedicated story mode, NetherRealm Studios really surprised fighting games fans by presenting an ambitious and cohesive story in each of their released titles. They've set the new standard to which fighting game story modes are judged. It's clear the team has used the lessons learned from the past games to really make the Mortal Kombat X story the best yet.

What do you think of the opening moments of the story? Are you even more excited to put the story mode through it's paces?

Mortal Kombat X releases on April 14, 2015 for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will be out sometime this summer.

Source: IGN