The hype train for Mortal Kombat X is officially at full steam. The last few months have seen a series of official character announcements, with details on old favorites like Ermac, Kung Lao, Scorpion and Quan Chi being revealed by developer NetherRealm Studios. There have also been a few rumors going around, most notably that the game will also see the return of Sonya Blade and Jax and that PlayStation gamers might get an appearance from Twisted Metal's Sweet Tooth.
The latest trailer released for the game comes courtesy of another livestream by the developers on Twitch. Gamers have previously seen both Kitana and Reptile in action, but this past week the team at NetherRealm decided to throw the two classic fighters into a series of head to head battles.
Long time fans will be happy to see that many of each character's classic moves from throughout the series make a return. Taking one of Kitana's bladed-fans to the face will damage players substantially, and Reptile still has all of his poisonous tricks up his sleeve. MK fans disappointed by the news that long time character Jade will not make the roster this around can take solace in the fact that the developers are intentionally putting some moves inspired by her character into Kitana's repertoire. No word yet if the franchise's other princess, Mileena, will be making an appearance.
The latest trailer for Mortal Kombat X also demonstrates some of the new gameplay exclusive to this latest installment. Fast forward to just past the two minute mark to see Kitana release a series of bone-breaking moves that show off x-ray close ups of the carnage. Of course, it's also nice to see that a player that successfully unleashes that combo won't be automatically guaranteed a victory.
The best part of the video may be when the developer playing Reptile manages to score the first Fatality. While the move leaves Kitana's cranium split in two, the way that Reptile applies his hands to her head actually calls to mind another gruesome death near the end of Season 4 of Game of Thrones. Ouch.
The video also reveals a little more info on the various fighting styles that each character will be able to switch between. Reptile's Deceptive style gives him invisibility, Nimble increases his speed and slows the opponent, and Noxious grants a poisonous cloud that is unblockable.
The Noxious stance appears to be particularly powerful, as the developer playing Kitana was quickly dispatched in two rounds in the next match. The players both noted that Noxious becomes difficult to deal with for an opponent if Reptile can jump out to an early lead. When going up against Noxious, the opponent is often forced to move to ranged attacks to avoid the poisonous cloud.
Mortal Kombat X will release April 14, 2015 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.