The Mortal Kombat That Should Have Been [Midway]

Ex-Midway artist Vincent Proce went back to the drawing board for a pitched, but ultimately rejected visual reboot of the developer’s venerable Mortal Kombat franchise, posting the results of that back-to-basics design plan on his personal blog. Proce, who contributed to Midway’s final fighting game ( Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe ) before being snapped up by Warner Bros, wrote that the re-imagining of the MK franchise proposed “mixing modern muti-player and dismemberment game design with the original fighting mechanic.” The artist’s take on four Mortal Kombat mainstays—Raiden, Kano, Scorpion and Sonya Blade—are dramatic, gritty and, for the most part, a welcome change. Proce describes his Scorpion as “a wraith wearing the yellow blood of the demon” that resurrected him, his Kano as “half Japanese half US military bad ass.” His Sonya, which will likely draw the most criticism, was redesigned as “the daughter of a Texas Ranger who’s sex appeal weakens her opponents while her Special Forces training kicks their asses.” Finally, his Raiden pitch portrays “a god [whose] feet rarely touch the ground.” We’re not sure what direction the Mortal Kombat team is taking the series at its new home, but I’m personally hoping it’s more along these lines—a darker, more dramatic, less comic book-like treatment with a pared down cast—than what we got with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. I enjoyed that game as much as the next guy, but I like my MK with a little less Wonder Woman. Here are the never before seen Mortal Kombat characters… [Vincent Proce Art Blog via GameSetWatch / SRK Forums ]

View original post here:
The Mortal Kombat That Should Have Been [Midway]

What If Classic Games Had Achievements? [Achievement Unlocked]

Achievements and trophies are a relatively new phenomenon in the world of gaming, but what if they weren’t? Gamerpaper takes a look at the achievements that might have been. Duck Hunt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mario Kart, and Mortal Kombat are just a few of the classic games that Gamerpaper gives the achievement treatment, to varying degrees of funny. Button mashers will enjoy the Mortal Kombat “No Luck” achievement, which requires that you actually do a move intentionally. I’m not sure the Roller Coaster Tycoon achievement that requires you to create a coaster that ends instead of killing the riders is realistic, and the TMNT “Leonardo? Psh…” achievement means nothing to me, as I was always a Donatello fan, but all and all its an excellent selection of achievements that makes people in video game website comment sections want to add their own *hint hint*. If Classic Videogames Had Achievements [Gamerpaper - Thanks Emily!]

Go here to read the rest:
What If Classic Games Had Achievements? [Achievement Unlocked]

Chat Live With the Man Behind Tony Hawk: Ride Next Week [Podcast]

Next week Robomodo president Josh Tsui joins us live on Kotaku Talk Radio to chat about his company’s upcoming game Tony Hawk: Ride . Before co-founding Robomodo in 2008, Tsui worked at Midway Games on the Mortal Kombat series. He went on to co-found Studio Gigante in 2000, which developed both Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus and WWE WrestleMania 21. He later went to work for Electronic Arts Chicago where he worked on Fight Night Round 3. The idea behind the peripheral-using Tony Hawk Ride, Tsui tells us, came from his love of arcade games. We’ll be talking with Tsui about that, and other things as well as taking your calls and questions this coming Wednesday, Oct. 14. Make sure to mark it on your calendars and call in to ask questions and chat. Talk with you then.

Link:
Chat Live With the Man Behind Tony Hawk: Ride Next Week [Podcast]