In the world of Mortal Kombat, where people are constantly tearing off each other's extremities, only one man had the courage to say: "No more. My extremities are mine to tear off." That man was Havik.
A "Cleric of Chaos" hailing from the strange and mysterious realm that is the 2000s 3D Mortal Kombat games, Havik's devotion to pure anarchy allows him to regenerate instantly from the most mutilating injuries. His go-to move is ripping off his own arm and beating his opponent with it, and you can tell how much he doesn't respect the rules by how he spells his name.
Such a gory signature style makes him the perfect fit with the nauseatingly high-fidelity violence of the modern Mortal Kombat era—so it's a pleasure to see he'll be one of the playable fighters in the upcoming Mortal Kombat 1.
- Doom: The Dark Ages already sneakily revealed its 'new Marauder,' and the devs hope he'll be just as challenging, but a little less frustrating
- Karl Urban as Johnny Cage and Adeline Rudolph as Kitana look like good additions to the Mortal Kombat 2 movie, but I think a flawless victory is still far from certain
Another refugee from the 3D era joining the Mortal Kombat 1 roster is Ashrah, an angelic-looking fighter who's actually a demon from the Netherrealm (as in the hell dimension, not the game developer). Goes to show, you can't judge a book by its cover.
Less surprisingly, Reptile is back once again—but MK1 does seem to be making some interesting changes to his character. For a while now, the games have wavered on how reptilian to make everyone's favourite green ninja. In the original games, he's human (because all the ninjas were just recolours of each other), but more recent entries have made him increasingly monstrous. MK1 is splitting the difference—he now appears human, with a very similar look to his first ever appearance, but can also shapeshift at will into his true form, a more bestial look than ever. In fights, he switches rapidly between the two for different moves, giving him a whole new style. But yes, he can still turn invisible too.
Mortal Kombat 1 has a closed beta due August 18, with guaranteed access if you preorder. The full game is out September 19—hopefully by then we'll have finished collecting sandwiches in Starfield and will have some time for a bit of the old ultra-violence.
