New photos offer a glimpse at canceled Mortal Kombat HD remake

By Rick Marshall Published May 5, 2014

Some never-before-seen photos posted by makeup artist Tanea Brooks offer an interesting, behind-the-scenes look at the canceled Mortal Kombat collection that was set to feature all-new actors performing motion-capture work for HD versions of the Mortal Kombat games.

Over on Brooks’ professional website, she’s posted 30 photos from her work on Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection HD, which was canceled when Warner Bros. acquired Midway Games. Instead of the HD remakes, the studio opted to simply release ports of the first three Mortal Kombat arcade games, packaged as Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection.

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Reports regarding the canceled project first leaked back in early 2013, but Brooks’ photos offer an intriguing look at what might have been — including fully costumed actors performing in front of a green screen.

The gallery of images includes photos of actors portraying franchise veteran Liu Kang, as well as Sonya Blade, Kung Lao, Kitana, Stryker, and even a few shots of muscled boss Shao Kahn. Given that the characters cover the first three installments of the Mortal Kombat franchise, it appears that development on Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection HD was relatively far along when the project was canceled.

You can check out some of Brooks’ photos here, and head over to the artist’s website for the full gallery of images from her Mortal Kombat work.

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Gaming

Mortal Kombat 1 Fatalities: how to do every character’s Fatality

Shang Tsung stealing someone's soul in Mortal Kombat 1.

What set the Mortal Kombat franchise apart when it first hit arcades was just how brutally violent the games were. It looks tame now, but the Fatalities of the original game were some of the most shocking things anyone had seen in a game up to that point, pixelated graphics and all. With Mortal Kombat 1, NetherRealm continues to churn our stomachs with some of the most disgustingly detailed ways to dismantle your opponent. Everyone loves seeing these creative ways your favorite fighter can definitively end a fight, but if you want to show off to your friends and humiliate your enemy, you have to know the specific button input to pull it off for each character. There are more that you can unlock, but here is how to perform every character's basic Fatality in Mortal Kombat 1.
How to perform all basic Fatalities
Here are all the default inputs for every character's Fatality on PlayStation and Xbox controls in alphabetical order, as well as what range you need to be at to trigger the Fatality. Once you have reduced your opponent's health to 0 and they are susceptible to a Fatality, which you will know from the announcer calling out "Finish him" or "Finish her," you will have five seconds to input the correct sequence.
Ashrah - Mid range
Down, Forward, Down, Triangle/Y
Baraka - Close range
Back, Forward, Down, Square/X
General Shao - Mid range
Back, Forward, Down, Square/X
Geras - Mid range
Forward, Down, Down, Circle/B
Havik - Close range
Down, Forward, Down, Circle/B
Johnny Cage - Close range
Forward, Back, Down, Triangle/Y
Kenshi - Close range
Forward, Down, Down, Triangle/Y
Kitana - Mid range
Down, Forward, Down, Circle/B
Kung Lao - Mid range
Down, Down, Back, Circle/B
Li Mei - Close range
Forward, Back, Forward, Cross/A
Lui Kang - Close range
Back, Forward, Down, Circle/B
Mileena - Close range
Back, Forward, Back, Square/X
Nitara - Mid range
Down, Down, Back, Square/X
Raiden - Close range
Back, Forward, Back, Triangle/Y
Rain - Close range
Down, Down, Back, Circe/B
Reiko - Mid range
Down, Down, Back, Triangle/Y
Reptile - Mid range
Forward, Back, Down, Circle/B
Scorpion - Mid range
Down, Forward, Back, RT
Shang Tsung - Close range
Back, Down, Down, Circle/B
Sindel - Mid range
Down, Back, Down, Square/X
Smoke - Any range
Back, Forward, Down, Square/X
Sub Zero - Any range
Forward, Down, Down, Triangle/Y
Tanya - Close range
Down, Back, Down, Cross/A
All Kameo Fighter Fatalities
Cyrax - Mid range
Forward, Back, Forward, RB
Darrius - Mid range
Down, Back, Forward, RB
Frost - Mid range
Back, Down, Back, RB
Goro - Close range
Back, Forward, Down, RB
Jax - Far range
Down, Forward, Down, RB
Kano Mid range
Back, Down, Forward, RB
Kung Lao - Mid range
Forward, Back, Forward, RB
Sareena - Mid range
Back, Down, Down, RB
Scorpion - Mid range
Down, Forward, Down, RB
Sektor - Mid range
Back, Forward, Back, RB
Shunjiko - Mid range
Down, Back, Down, RB
Sonya - Mid range
Back, Forward, Down, RB
Stryker - Mid range
Forward, Down, Forward, RB
Sub-Zero - Mid range
Forward, Down, Forward, RB

Gaming

Bloody new Mortal Kombat 1 trailer brings back 2 classic fighters

Rain stands next to Sektor in Mortal Kombat 1.

Mortal Kombat 1 got a bloody new gameplay trailer, showing off more of its story and bloody fatalities. Most notably, it confirms two old characters that are returning for the latest installment: Smoke and Rain.

Mortal Kombat 1 - Official Lin Kuei Trailer

Gaming

Mortal Kombat 1’s Kameo system lets me get real bloody creative

Key art for Mortal Kombat 1 shows Liu Kang.

After over three decades, how many ways can you make the same game?

That’s a question NetherRealm Studios would need to ask itself when developing its follow-up to the ultrapopular Mortal Kombat 11. Its next installment would need to find a way to up the ante, both in terms of wild fatalities and its core fighting systems. It would require a lot of creativity, and that word is at the front of my mind while demoing Mortal Kombat 1.