THE PITMORTAL KOMBAT UNDERGROUND NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #1 GG: 212DU VOL #1

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I gotta make this quick my little Kombatants, before theprogrammers get wind of my intentions. What follows is thecomplete expose on Mortal Kombat, the wicked arcade gamethat will stand the video game world on its head. Rightnow, Acclaim is working on bringing this gut-busting, chi-ropractic-spine-twisting game to Super NES, Game Boy, SegaCD, Genesis and Game Gear systems, and I've got the insidetrack on what's going on.

• Want to know what moves are going be in it? READ ON.• Want to know if it's true to the arcade? READ ON.• Want to know who died and made me the boy genius onwhat Acclaim's doing, when no one else can get thestraight poop on M.K.?

READ THIS: I WORK HERE! I hang out with the people who areproducing the game. I eat lunch with them. We play soft-ball together. Are you getting all this? They tell methings, I tell you. It's that simple and it shouldn't betoo tough for you to figure out that I could lose my jobover this.

10 Most AskedQuestions aboutMortal Kombat

Building thePerfect Beast

Profilesin Kombat

Anyway, that's why I'm stressing. Now that you know I'meminently qualified for the task, read on and find out justwhat's happening with the number one arcade slice-em anddice-em sensation. Just do me one favor? Don't tell anyoneyou heard from me, o.k.? Call me eccentric, but I happento like to be able to eat on regular basis and my job letsme do just that. Sit down, pay attention and read on.Here comes Mortal Kombat. KOMBAT KODE NAME: ABACABB

Mortal Monday.September 13TH

QUICK-KICKS

NAME: MORTAL KOMBATS",pe>'NES

first to hear about thesehot new controllers) .SYSTEMS: SUPER NES,

GENESIS, GAME BOY, GAMEGEAR and SEGA CDCONTROL: Will work with anycontroller out there,including Sega's 6-buttoncontroller and Acclaim'snew Dual Turbo WirelessRemote System (you're the

CHARACTERS: The 16-Bitgames feat~re ALL OF 'EM.

Mortal Kombat Kit just forbeing the bird of early,man. It has a poster, spe-cial Mortal Kombat tips,rub on tattoos, and more.

MOVES: ALL OF 'EM and more. WHY: If you have to ask,then don't even bother!WHEN: MORTAL MONDAY -

September 13th! But don'tdelay( go order yours todayand plck up a way cool '

LIU KANGAGE: 24HEIGHT: 5'10"WEIGHT: 185/::IA!R; BLACK.EYf..S.; BROWNLEGAL STATUS:CITIZEN OF THEPEOPLE'S REPUBLICOF CHINABIRTHPLACE: HONANPROVINCE, CHINAQCCUPATlON: SHAOLINMONK, FISHERMAN

-------_KAND _AGE: 35HEIGHT: 6'WEIGHT: 205HAIR: BLACKEYf..S..:.1 BROWN, 1INFRA-RED (BUILT INTOMETAL IMPLANT)LEGAL STATUS:DEPORTED FROMJAPAN, WANTED CRIMI-NAL IN 35 COUNTRIESBIRTHPLACE:UNKNOWNQJ~.k!.!PATION:CRIMINAL MEMBER OFTHE BLACK DRAGONORGANIZATION

---------T-------Once a member ofthe super-secretWhite LotusSociety, Liu Kangleft the organi-zation in orderto represent theShaolin templesat the tourna-ment. He hasentered thetournamentexpressly to

~ -.defeat Tsung.- I--------.1-A mercenary, . I

thug, e~or~~on-ist, thief - Kano Ilives a life of Icrime and injus- Itice and is adevoted member of Ithe Black Dragon. IHe has enteredthe tournament in Iorder to gain Iaccess to and Iloot Shang

r----__ Tsung's palace. I--------Lr.-------RAYDENAGE: ETERNALHEIGHT: 7'WEIGHT: 350HAIR: BLACK~NONELEGAL STATUS:MYSTIC- DOESNOT APPLYOCCUPATION:THUNDER WARRIOR

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and took the form Iof a human to com- Ipete in the tour-nament and defeat Ithe demon Tsung. I

The name Rayden isactually that of amvst.Lc known as athunder warrior.He received a per-sonal invitationfrom Tsung himself

IIIIIIIIII

JOHNNY CAGEe

REAL NAME: JOHNCARLTONAGE: 29I:t.ElY.!::!.I. 6'1"YI'.IilllliI.; 2 0 0HAIR: BROWNEYES: BLUELEGAL STATUS:CITIZEN OF THEUNITED STATESOF AMERICABIRTHPLACE:VENICE, CALIFORNIAOCCUPATION: ACTOR

SONYA BLADE

AGE: 26HEIGHT: 5'10"WEIGHT: 140HAIR: BLONDE~BLUELEGAL STATUS:CITIZEN OF THE UNIT-ED STATES OFAMERICABIRTHPLACE: AUSTIN,TEXASOCCUPATION: LIEU-TENANT IN THE U.S.ARMY, MEMBER OF ASPECIAL PARA-MILITARY FORCE

SUB-ZEROREAL NAME: UNKNOWNAGE: 32HEIGHT: 6'2"WEIGHT: 210HAIR: BLACKEYES: BROWNLEGAL STATUS: NONE.HOWEVER, HE RESIDESSOMEWHERE IN CHINABIRTHPLACE:UNKNOWNOCCUPATION: LIFELONG MEMBER OF THEL1N KUEI, A RARE CLANOF CHINESE NINJA

A martial artssuperstar, Cageuses his tal-ents on the bigscreen. Hee~tered thetournamentpurely for thepublicity itwould generatearound theworld. He is aformidable foewith limberlimbs andquick reflexes.---------------A member of atop specialforces unit thatwas trackingKano's BlackDragon. Ambushedby Tsung's armY,Sonya was forcedto fight in thetournament tosave the livesof her capturedcomrades.

LAi •••• ~--------- The actual namer------_ and origin of

this warrior isunknown, butbased on his uni-form, it isbelieved hebelongs to theLin Kuei, alegendary clan ofChinese "ninja".

SCO~PION----------------------~-------- --------HEAL NAME: UNKNOWN~32~6'2"WEIGHT: 210I:!AIR: BLACKEVES: VARIESlEGAL STATUS:SCORPION IS AREINCARNATED SPECTERAND HAS NO LEGALSTATUS.6!~~INFORMER LlFE--UNKNOWNOCCUPATION; IN FORMERLlFE- UNKNOWNAS SCORPION~ A LOSTSOUL BENT ON REVENGE

In his formerlife, Scorpion wasdefeated by Sub-Zero. Demonsgranted his tor-mented soul theopportunity forrevenge, givinghim a new body anda Lin Kuei uniformmocking Sub-Zerowith its cowardlyyellow color.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

o GORO

"

A 2000 year-oldhalf-dragon,Goro hasremained unde-feated for thelast 500 yearsandt holds thetitle of GrandChampion. Goropossesses mas-sive strengthand agility andall those whohave opposedhim have beendestroyed.

AGE; 2000HEIGI:!T: S'2"WEIGHT: 550HAIR: BLACK~REDLEGAL STATUS:EARTH- NONEOUTWORLD- PRINCEOF KUATAN61BII:!PLAQ~ KUATAN,4TH ASTRAL PLANE OFSHOKAN, REALM OFTHE OUTWORLD.OQCUPATioN: PRINCEOF KUATAN, RULERSUPREME OFSHOKAN'S ARMIES

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10. will there be 2 different versions ofthe game?Mortal Kombat for the Super NES will be known as theCompetition Edition, while the Genesis version willbe the Tournament Edition with Mode A. Only themost rad gamers will be able to access Mode A.9. Will the home version have variable

difficulty levels?Yes, the difficulty setting will be the same as thearcade game (you may not know it, but the arcadeowner has access to a 5-point difficulty setting) .The Super NES game will also have a handicap settingto allow two players of different skill to competeon an equal basis. If that doesn't activate yourglands, the game will also have a HAND-TO-HAND mode,where all the special moves will be disabled.a.will the graphics be intense?

...•_- crIT'lS rs KOIlibai:: of the most Mortal kind, dudes!And as such, the most exalted and awaited answeris YES! The Genesis, Sega CD and the Super NESversion of Mortal Kombat will all have incrediblydetailed graphics!7. Is a special controller being planned?Mortal Kombat for Sega Genesis and Sega CD will becompatible with the new 6-button controller and thestandard,control pad. The Super NES game will takeadvantage of all 6 buttons and be compatible withany arcade stick currently available.6. Will you be able to control Goro andShang Tsung?No word yet, (but I've tapped the producers phone sothat if anything breaks, I'll know).

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5. When will it be available on CD systems?We'll be seeing the "next level" of Mortal Kombatabout January of next year.4. will it have the secret character, Reptile?If you can figure out how to get to him, you'll beslammin' and jammin' with Reptile.3. Will it have "The pit" scene?It would be the pits without it! Yes, you'll be ableto uppercut some poor slob into the PIT.2: Will the home version have the finishing moveslike the arcade?In Acclaim's effort to make the home game as excit-ing and action-packed as the arcade game, you will,be able to "FINISH HIM" or "HER" with Scorpion'sFlame Thrower, Sonya's Kiss of Death, Lui Kang'sHelicopter Kick and more!And the number one Mortal Kambat question isdrum roll please!

1. When will Mortal Kombat be available?Prepare yourself for ... MORTAL MONDAY on September1ll That's the day Mortal Kombat hits the shelves ofyour favorite store. Anywhere in the world, in morethan 50,000 stores, Mortal Kombat will be bustin' dovmthe door. ARE YOU PREPARED FOR MORTAL MONDAY?

It's a wrap! I have now stood before your micro-phones and bright lights to answer all your palm-sweat-inducing questions, and now have one of myown: What in the world are you waiting for? Goreserve your copy of Mortal Kombat! Mortal Monday'scoming September 13th.

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Q: Who did the Mortal Kombatcomic book?EB: John did. He designed thecomic and wrote the storyline.

An Interview With the Creators of Mortal KombatI'm not the most talented guy in the world, but by impersonating the voice of Acclaim's Vice President ofProduct Development, I was able to talk with John Tobias and Ed Boon at Williams/Bally/Midway, the twoguys responsible for making Mortal Kombat the #1 arcade in the nation. Here are some excerpts:

Q: What's your background?EB: I studied computer science at

University of Illinois and joined the pin-ball division of Williams right out of col-lege·. and-worked- on games 'such as Taxi and F-14 Tomcat.

JT: I went to the American Academy of Arts inChicago. During college, I did freelancecomic book illustrations working on GhostBusters and Planet of the Apes. After I grad-uated, I was hired by vii11iams .

30hn Tobias

Q: What other video games did you work on?EB: After switching over into video games, Iworked on High Impact, Super High Impact andof course, Mortal Kombat.JT: Before Mortal Kombat, I worked on Smash

TV and To~al Carnage.

Q: Do you guys own any home video game systems?EB: I own both Super NES and Genesis. T'm currently into SuperSmash 1'V, and Super High Impact.JT, have both systems too.

Q: Where did the ·idea for Mortal Kombatcome from?JT: We wanted a "good player vs. player" game and the idea sort ofevolved from looking at and playing everything from Karate Champ toStreet Fighter. We had originally wanted to do a Jean Claude VanDamme game, but the idea turned into Mortal Kombat instead.

Q: Why is the game so realistic?EB: Digitized graphics add a tremendousamount of realism. They put the player intothe world he's looking at. The perceptionis that d.i.gitized graphics is a new ~-.technology, but in fact, it has been indevelopment since 1985 and Narc, in 1988,was the first arcade game to use it.

Q: How was Goro created?JT: We wanted a really mean look-ing guy who seemed unbeatable. SoI drew up some sketches and wecreated a 12-inch stop-motionminiature-using wire armature and alatex mold. By using stop-motiondigitization and a blue screen, wefilmed Goro frame by frame.

JT: The comic has been a tremen-dous success. It started out withme and Ed filling orders afterwork, but it got too big.Q: will there be a Mortal Kombat 2?(The guys weren'~ saying. but based onits popularity and instant success, itseems logical that a Mortal Kombat 2 willappear somewhere on the horizon) .

Mortal xornbe t;" © 1.997. Ni dway Mdnu[acluring Company. A11 r l qht.s reserved. N:i nt.endo , Super NI n! cndo I nt.c r t a I nmcnt. nvat cm and Oamc nov al o t cq I suer-eo II edeme r ks 01 Nint ondo 01America. secc • Oenesl.s and Oemc Gear are t radcma rks 01: Segd tcnt e rp r t ses , t.td . Ar-cnatv and Acc l eim" a ro di vt sions and t radcmar-ke or Acc l a lm rcnt e rue t mnent.. tnc . (\) 1~9] AcclaimEntertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.

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COMING MORllll MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13"WHEREVER VIDEO GAMES ARE SOlDI .

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- ~ '"", ~"" 'tJp . '~,;" .&,Everyone and their brother wants Mortal Kombat because it it theBADDESTgame ever. Acclaim is launching this game into thestratosphere with cool commercials, giant 6-foot Goro standees instores that you'll want to rip-off they're so cool and more.Heck, go into a movie theater 'in August and September .@Ddyou'll

. see our Mortal Kombat ad on the screen. Dat,!s right, bbyz, on da'·;·:'§:il.ver, .,sc:r::een. This game is so hod, wEl:'should' ve used flame,resisi:~nt 'packaging. Which brings me to my point: Mortal Kombat'i's 'gonna fly off the shelves. That's no joke. You wait, you lose,'becaus~ MORTALMONDAY-- September 13th -- is going to be thebigge~t .' day in video game history! To beat the rush and yourneighoor; 'do youself a favor and RESERVEYOURCOpy of MortalKombat! And get thiswhen you reserve early, some stores will giveyou a Collector Edition Kombat Kit with special MK items youcan't get anywhere but in the kit! Don't be kicked to the curb.RESERVEYOURCOPYOFMORTALKOMBATANDPRESERVEYOURREPUTATION!

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