Game With a Brain put up this render of Scorpion yesterday, didn't say where they got it from but it might be an in-game pose. Pretty nice uniform update, with the bone mask and all; but his tunic looks sorta like one of those beaded massagers cab drivers sit on. I kid, Mr. Scorpion, I kid.

So someone already did Dress Like Niko, can anyone tell me how much this business-caz ensemble goes for? I think I could pull off that look.

And remember children, bone masks are OK. Skull bongs are not.

Image of the Day: Scorpion Gets a Spiffy New Look [Game With a Brain]

Mortal Kombat Team "Modifying" Fatalities For DC Crossover

Mortal Kombat Vs. Street Fighter Kind Of Almost Happened

Mortal Kombat Vs. The DC Universe, announced last week, doesn't sound so bad. But did you know that we almost had Mortal Kombat Vs. Street Fighter in its place? Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon recently revealed that:

I did a couple of write-ups and whatnot on it, and sometimes we'd get really close to it but issues like our representative for the other company left the company for some reason, and that reset the whole thing back to beginning.

Ed Boon Interview [CVG via N4G]

MK v DC Has Little Blood, NO FATALITIES?

Mortal Kombat Inspired Stop Motion

MM Animation [BBTV]

Midway Announce *Another* Mortal Kombat Game

Mortal Kombat Murder A Misnomer

Some may remember the horrific murder of a seven-year-old girl last December. Supposedly, her death was caused by the girl's 16-year-old babysitter, Heather Trujillio, and her 17-year-old boyfriend, Lamar Roberts, when they acted out "Mortal Kombat style" fighting moves on her after having played the game, eventually killing her. Now, a statement from Garcia's aunt and former stepmother has suggested that video games had very little to do with the death, and it was the negative influence of Roberts that led her to commit such a heinous crime:

New Mortal Kombat Movie Sounds Awful Already

Todays audience is a savvy, involved group so the film must be A plus plus in every area in order to capture the magic of the first film...The original Mortal Kombat game was born a child of many visual loves by the creators at midway so this latest version borrows heavily from that pioneering spirit and must be thought out and executed at the highest level in order for it succeed in today's market place.

Midway Planning "Fewer, Bigger, Better" Games In 2008

Chicago-based Midway Games hasn't posted a profit since 1999. This year wasn't so hot either. That may have something to do with publishing broken, puerile crap like Hour of Victory, Game Party, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am and Cruis'n. Delays for Stranglehold, Blacksite: Area 51 and Unreal Tournament III aren't helping matters either, but it may have more to do with Midway's close association with software diarrhea that could prevent it from returning to glory. Maybe that's why Midway CEO David Zucker is promising that the company will produce "fewer, bigger, better" titles next year. Fewer Cruis'ns? Yes, please and thank you!

Zucker points to games like Vin Diesel vehicle Wheelman and the next-gen debut of Mortal Kombat as some of the "bigger" titles, the latter of which is planned for the end of 2008. There's also mention of more John Woo games, now that Stranglehold is somewhat of a success. Yay? Maybe Zucker and crew should focus less on publishing shovelware crap and try to make the Midway name less of a punchline in the coming years. It might just be crazy enough to work.

Midway resets for 2008 [Chicago Tribune via Game|Life]

A 7-year-old's sister and her boyfriend were charged Tuesday with child abuse resulting in death after the two beat and kicked the Colorado girl to death as they were acting out fights from Mortal Kombat, according to arrest affidavits.

Heather Trujillo, 16, and her boyfriend, Lamar Roberts, 17, of Westminster, are being held on $100,000 bond.

Zoe died on Dec. 6 from blunt force trauma to her brain and central nervous system. According to the Weld County Coroner her right wrist was broken, her body had more than 20 bruises, her neck muscles were bleeding and skin near her tongue had been torn.

By John Gaudiosi

Paul W.S. Anderson is one of a number of Hollywood and gaming creatives that can be seen on Starz Entertainment's new videogame documentary, "Hollywood Goes Gaming," which is in heavy rotation across the movie network. This exclusive interview is from outtakes not seen on the show. Anderson, the man behind the original Mortal Kombat movie and all three Resident Evil films, talks about his process of bringing games to the big screen.

UC Berkeley Band Subjects Sports Fans To Game Music

The best part about opting for a video game themed halftime show is that it's going to be performed by band nerds. These kids probably know "Yoshi's Theme" better than any other cross section on campus. The above performance, from the recent UC Berkeley versus Washington State football contest features tunes and bitmap band formations from Tetris, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World, Mortal Kombat and more. They seem to get a little winded at parts, understandably, but it's a solid performance nonetheless.

Thanks to Christopher at the official Capcom blog for the link.

Midway Releases The Art of Midway

The Chicago publisher responsible for Mortal Kombat, The Suffering and Stranglehold has issued a 160-page tome of production artwork from its stable of current franchises known as The Art of Midway: Before Pixels and Polygons. Featuring artwork from the above titles, as well as Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, Gauntlet, and Stranglehold, the unusual collection features some 200 pieces of artwork from Midway artists.

Maybe not exactly the collection you were hoping for—as an old, old man, I'd have preferred a more historical look at the company's arcade games, titles like Spy Hunter, the original Mortal Kombat, and of course, the classic War Gods—but it's still an interesting venture. I'd certainly like to see more publishers and developers publishing volumes of their artwork for fans, so kudos to Midway for giving their artists a chance to shine.

The Art of Midway [Design Studio Press]

Real World Fight Gets Acappella Soundtrack

These guys totally need to wander around looking for other events that need video game soundtracks.

Clip: MK Fighter Profile - Khameleon