Category: Games

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After several teases on social media from Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon, we finally got footage of returning antagonist Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 11. As the first character for the upcoming Kombat Pack, Shang Tsung will be available early for current owners of the DLC on June 18 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. In addition to the new character, Kombat Pack owners will also get early access to Klassic Skins for Scorpion, Noob-Saibot, and Sub-Zero.

As the original antagonist for the Mortal Kombat series, before quickly being brushed aside in favor of big-bads Shao Khan and Shinnok, the sorcerer has gone through many changes throughout the series. However, his combat style has always focused on his abilities to steal men’s souls and use their talents against them. In addition to copying his opponent’s appearances and skills, the warlock also harnesses the souls of returning ninjas Rain, Smoke, and Ermac–who are interestingly enough found dead in MK11’s Krypt. During the battle, he’s able to call upon their abilities in mid-combo, allowing him to use Smoke’s teleports, Ermac’s telekinesis, and Rain’s…water-based skills. His fatality, however, features his most gruesome callback, with the MKII mid-boss Kintaro making an unexpected and violent return.

For those who’ve already played Mortal Kombat 11, you’ll know that Shang Tsung is presently in the game as a guide for MK11’s Krypt. In the Krypt, you’re able to explore his island fortress and uncover its secrets, with him taunting you for any untimely deaths that occur during your journey. Now that he’s playable, the soul-stealing warlock looks right at home in Mortal Kombat 11’s gruesome battles. For fans of the original live-action film, you’ll notice that Shang Tsung is performed by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa–the same actor from the movie.

The new trailer was all about Shang Tsung. However, it also teased what was to come. Towards the end, three other characters were briefly referenced–which included returning characters Nightwolf and Sindel, both of whom made their first appearances in Mortal Kombat 3. However, the last character to get a shoutout was Image Comics’ Spawn–who is the first guest character to make it to MK11. This news will likely be no surprise to those who have been keeping up with certain leaks from the last month, which hinted at the return of these characters, along with Sheeva from MK3 and Ash Williams from the Evil Dead.

In total, the Kombat Pack–which is priced at $39.99–gives you access to six new characters and 19 additional skins for the roster. Just like the current characters, each new fighter will have their own suite of gear and skins to unlock. In 2015, Mortal Kombat X’s roster expanded significantly with the influx of DLC fighters, so it’ll be interesting to see how much MK11 will change over the course of its post-launch period. Curiously, though, mentions of the Switch version weren’t present in the trailer. So it may seem likely that the Switch will receive its own release of the characters from the Kombat Pack at a later time.

For more on Mortal Kombat 11, along with details on when you can expect to learn more about the other characters, be sure to check back with GameSpot.

Bandai Namco has released a new dev diary for Digimon Survive, an upcoming survival strategy RPG based on the franchise about digital monsters. The video acts as a lead-up to both the game’s release and the upcoming 20th anniversary for the international debut of the original Digimon Adventure anime, recounting the history of Digimon and how it has influenced the development of Digimon Survive. This video is linked below.

“At present, the Digimon Story series is acting as our core property since we believe that it’s our best property to further expand Digimon’s reach, but we also have another series known as Digimon World that while strongly supported by our core fans, is rather specialized in its game mechanics making it somewhat harder for more casual fans and customers to get into, leading us to spend some time thinking about how we can change this, how we can keep the unique gameplay style and feeling of a new game while also creating a Digimon game that’s a new approach, and this is what led us to develop Digimon Survive,” producer Kazumasa Habu said.

“We also looked at one of the key features of the Digimon Adventure anime, where Digimon grew stronger to reflect people’s hearts, and wondered what would happen if we incorporated that element into a game,” he continued. “We thought it would be fun to have the drama between the characters factor into how the Digimon evolve within the game.” Habu went on to describe how Digimon Adventure played a huge role in Digimon Survive’s development, citing the anime as inspiration for the game’s storytelling, art style, and character designs.

In this regard, the Bandai Namco team turned to the original source when it came to building Digimon Survive’s world–director Hiroyuki Kakudō. “One of the most interesting things I heard from [Kakudō] was that Digimon, as titled, were not born because humans created computers but instead became visible to human beings only because they created computers and digital technology,” Habu said. “He told me that he wrote the world of Digimon with this in mind, that Digimon have been living alongside humans throughout history and that Digimon in the past may have been manifested through magic or sorcery or in Japan, via the ancient art of onmyo, subjugating them as shikigami, or as yokai, or even as demons… One of the concepts we have for this game is whether or not we can bring to life and expand on this challenging fictional world [Kakudō] has envisioned.”

Bandai Namco’s contribution to Digimon’s lore seems to be the end of the Digital World or at least some sort of implication that it undergoes a cycle of destruction and rebirth. Habu describes Digimon Survive’s world as a place of “severe ruin, the sort of tragic place so broken that it might vanish at any given moment.”

Even though we still don’t know much about Digimon Survive, it’s my most anticipated game of 2019. The game is expected to launch on Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.