Over the weekend at the New York Toy Fair, Mezco Toyz revealed the first three characters in the company’s line of officially licensed Mortal Kombat X action figures, which is scheduled to go on sale online and at toy stores this June.

Predictably, the three initial figures are series mainstays, Raiden, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero. Each figure includes multiple weapon accessories and collectible blister card packaging. You can pre-order now direct from Mezco for $22 each, or as a set for $66.

Read on for additional details and images for each figure.

Scorpion, the hell-spawned specter, inexorably seeking vengeance against those responsible for the destruction of his clan and the death of his own family, is one of the game’s most popular characters. To ensure a game-accurate likeness, correct to the finest detail, Mezco’s award-winning design team has digitally sculpted the figures using the digital files from the game developers themselves. Mezco’s 6-inch scale version features 23 points of articulation, many with ball joints, allowing him to recreate all the moves and poses that have made him part of gaming legend. Of course all ninjas need weapons, and Scorpion has them. He comes complete with his spear tipped wrist chains, as well as 2 game-accurate swords. He also has an additional pair of fighting hands for even more game accurate poses.

Sub-Zero: This icy assassin is one of the most cold-blooded of all Mortal Kombat characters, and just like each of the three figures in Mezco’s initial wave, is one of the few to be a playable character in every version of the game. To ensure a game-accurate likeness, correct to the finest detail, Mezco’s award-winning design team has digitally sculpted the figures using the digital files from the game developers themselves. Mezco’s 6-inch scale version features 23 points of articulation, many with ball joints, allowing him to recreate all the moves and poses that have made him part of gaming legend. Of course Sub-Zero needs the weapons he is famous for, so he comes complete with his game-accurate hammer and sword.

Raiden, the eternal God of Thunder, is arguably one of the most powerful characters in all of Mortal Kombat, and just like each of the three figures in Mezco’s initial wave, is one of the few to be a playable character in every version of the game. As befits an Elder God, Mezco’s 6-inch scale version features 23 points of articulation, many with ball joints, allowing him to recreate all the moves and poses that have made him part of gaming legend. To ensure a game-accurate likeness, correct to the finest detail, Mezco’s award-winning design team has digitally sculpted the figures using the digital files from the game developers themselves. Of course even a God of Thunder needs weapons, and Raiden has them. He comes complete with game-accurate alternate hands, alternate lightning hands, and a lightening ball.

Beast Mode vs. Gronk

In a Big Game Showdown ahead of Super Bowl XLIX as part of the latest episode of Conan O’Brien’s Clueless Gamer sketch, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, a.k.a. “Beast Mode,” and New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, a.k.a. “Gronk,” engaged in a fight to the death playing Mortal Kombat X as a way to predict who will win the big game on Sunday.

You will see a lot of blood, guts, crotch grabbing (both in and out of the game), and stunned looks of horror at the extreme level of violence. And in a shocking change of events, Lynch not only speaks, he actually gets paid $50 to teach Conan his infamous TD celebration rather than getting fined. Beast Mode and Gronk even get sidetracked for a moment and break into a surprising chat about Mario Kart characters and power-ups.

Oh, and someone kinda-sorta wins the showdown. You’ll have to watch the video to find out who.

It used to be that handheld ports suffered from a serious condition of what George Costanza would neurotically have described as “shrinkage.” The price of being able to play your favorite games on the go usually meant a certain level of sacrifice—maybe the multiplayer went MIA or the controls had to be painfully stripped down to accommodate a stylus or that less-than-functional PlayStation Portable nub.

The PlayStation Vita port of Mortal Kombat spin-kicks in the opposite direction altogether. With deft and sensible touch controls and enough bonus content to choke Shao Kahn several times over, this game actually sports more features than its big console brothers. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 homers with a reason to envy Vita owners? That’s as unexpected as Mileena throwing down in a bulky winter snowsuit.

If you’re not already familiar with the awesome ways in which NetherRealm resurrected the moribund Mortal Kombat franchise from the necropolis of self-parody and irrelevance last year, well, maybe you should stop pondering Justin Bieber’s transformation into Justin Timberlake 2.0 and get your fatality back up to speed. (Go on, we’ll wait.) Everything—yes, everything–you enjoyed on the bigger screen is here, starting with the wacky but worthwhile story mode, complete with its goofball voice-acting and time-travelling Raiden plot device that riffs its way through the first three Mortal Kombat games. It’s cheesy, yes, but in a good and self-aware way that’ll keep you battling through it, even if you already survived the console version.

For my money, the best feature of Mortal Kombat’s latest iteration wasn’t even the traditionally gruesome fatalities—although those were suitably horrific by the series’ gore-soaked standards—but the X-ray moves, those in-battle specials that gave you CT-assisted closeups of bones being shattered and eye sockets being pin-tailed with knives. The X-Ray moves have survived intact, while the fatalities now sport a new wrinkle: You can unleash them using swipes of the touch screen, which is a welcome addition for those who didn’t appreciate having to execute speedy D-pad combos. Like it old-school? The D-pad remains available as well.

Thanks to the Vita’s dual sticks, the controls are tight and responsive, although the game sometimes struggles to recognize the difference between wanting to unleash a special attack by moving the left analog stick left and wanting to unleash a backflip. In some battles, it felt a little like Subzero had accidentally morphed into Batroc the Leaper or joined the freaking Cirque du Soleil. And of course, the AI has its issues with wanton cheapness, especially when it’s time to throw down with Shao Khan. When you port literally everything over, apparently you have to take the good with the quick-kill spam-combo.

In addition to the console version’s challenge tower, there’s also a deep bonus tower packed with challenges that key in on the Vita’s touch-screen and accelerometer features. Some are more than a tad derivative and gimmicky (a Fruit Ninja knockoff featuring decapitated heads? Really?) but most are either humorous or useful ways to teach strategic moves and defense. Swiping the screen to unleash a torso-splitting fatality on Johnny Cage—take that, you bombastic buffoon—is a truly touch-tastic experience you’ll want to repeat at least 10 times. So is having to swab the blood from the screen to avoid having your vision obscured during a battle. It’s clear that NetherRealm really gave maximizing the Vita’s potential some serious thought. The bonus tower nearly justifies a purchase on its own merits.

Unlike Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, the Vita’s other big-studio fighter port, Mortal Kombat isn’t parsimonious with the downloadable content. All the DLC from both console versions is here, which means that in addition to Skarlet, Rain and Kenshi, you’re free to strap on Kratos’s Blades of Chaos or Freddy Krueger’s slasher-gloves; in fact, you’ll have to go all Nightmare on Elm Street if you want to survive the new Challenge Tower. Earn enough koins along the way, and you can unlock bonus costumes and artwork for these characters that are entirely new. Nice.

Four months after its release, the Vita’s still waiting patiently for its definitive killer app to arrive. A console port, even as one as brilliantly deployed as this one, can’t entirely fill that bill. But there’s no question that Mortal Kombat Vita has whipped up the fan-service template for the way all future ports should be handled. Finish him, already.

Pros:
+ Near-perfect port that adds a ton of bonus content? Yes, please.
+ Touch fatalities are a nice alternative for the combo-challenged
+ New challenge tower breaks up the beatdowns

Cons:
– Left-stick controls sometimes go flip-happy
– AI is still cheaper than a thrift-store T-shirt

Game Info:
Platform: PlayStation Vita
Publisher: Warner Bros.
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Release Date: 5/1/2012
Genre: Fighting
ESRB Rating: Mature
Players: 1-2
Source: Review code provided by publisher

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Warner Bros. and NetherRealm Studios have been maintaining a vague spring 2012 launch time frame for the PlayStation Vita version of the ninth Mortal Kombat tournament, first held on PS3 and Xbox 360 last year. But no more as the bloody fighter has been locked into a May 1st launch on Sony’s sexy new handheld gaming powerhouse.

If you haven’t been following along, Mortal Kombat on the Vita will feature brand new content, including an additional Challenge Tower with 150 exclusive missions, Touchscreen Fatalities and Xrays. The graphics have been pared back some, but the framerate is supposed to maintain a buttery smooth 60 fps just like the PS3 version. All preexisting content, including things like the awesome story mode, the original Challenge Tower, online battles and previous DLC releases, will also be packed onto the tiny Vita memory stick making for what should be the most komplete version of the game.

Click through the links listed below for more Mortal Kombat Vita videos and news.

Warner Bros. and NetherRealm show off more of Mortal Kombat‘s PlayStation Vita-specific gameplay goods in this latest trailer. Obviously, the touchscreen factors in prominently, new Challenge Tower missions providing ample opportunity to sever limbs, juggle flailing kombatants, block missiles, slice through aerial body parts (à la Fruit Ninja) and squeegee blood off the screen with the swipe or tap of a finger. We also get a quick tease of a touchscreen Fatality performed for the first time, what is sure to be a fun new way for bloodthirsty fighters to mutilate their opponents without having to master complex button combinations. Finish him, one finger style!

Mortal Kombat for PS Vita ships this spring.

Developers sure are attacking the PS Vita with a fierce array of fighting games, none more exciting–in my opinion–than NetherRealm’s portable adaptation of last year’s bloody, brilliant Mortal Kombat reboot.

Initial reports mentioned additional features, such as touch screen and sixaxis control elements and a brand new Challenge Tower. Now more details are in, as is first footage of the game running a fluid 60 frames-per-second on the gorgeous Vita display.

You won’t see any touch screen fatality action, but towards the end you will see an example of how the touch screen is used in the new Challenge Tower missions — the screen splatters with blood, and players have to squeegee it off with their finger while fighting at the same time.

Check out the video, then scurry over to the PlayStation blog for their complete hands-on report.

Recently, Sony confirmed plans for a post-launch lineup of AAA games it’s banking on to sustain the PlayStation Vita after its all-important launch window. Mortal Kombat was one of the games Sony name dropped, along with Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, and others.

Today Warner Bros. makes things official, announcing that a PS Vita version of last year’s excellent Mortal Kombat series refresh is on target for a Spring 2012 release. The game’s core original content will return–retooled for portable play of course–and will sport “brand new gameplay features and content developed exclusively for the new handheld device.”

“The NetherRealm team is committed to making sure that we follow up the success of 2011’s Mortal Kombat with an equally compelling experience on the PlayStation Vita,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “The original game content and new features we developed for the PlayStation Vita will provide gamers with the best fighting game experience available on the new mobile platform.”

What could these new features and content additions be? WB isn’t saying yet but promises to reveal more details soon. Touch panel finishing moves could be kinda neat and cross-platform play with the PS3 version would be a great touch, tossing out a few baseless ideas that just popped into my head. I suppose another guest fighter is always a possibility, but according to the box art Kratos and the four DLC fighters (Skarlet, Kenshi, Rain and Freddy Krueger) will be included.

[Updated – January 19, 2012] Since the initial announcement, the PlayStation blog got a chance to interview Ed Boon about some of the new features coming to Mortal Kombat on PS Vita. One of the features I guessed at is real, the other ain’t happening. Touch screen controls (on the front screen, not the rear touch panel) will be supported for performing fatalities and X-ray attacks (sweet!), but there will be no interconnectivity between Vita and PS3 (boo!). The Vita version will also feature a brand new Challenge Tower (plus the original tower) with 150 brand new missions to complete, and some of these challenges are designed around the touch screen and accelerometer. Check out the full Ed Boon interview for more details.

Last year’s nostalgically awesome Mortal Kombat reboot is on tap for a ‘Game of the Year’ style re-release in early 2012.

The Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition, scheduled to ship February 28th for PS3 and Xbox 360, will come bundled with post-release DLC warriors Skarlet, Kenshi, Rain and Freddy Krueger, along with 15 Klassic Skins and three Klassic Fatalities for Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Reptile.

On top of that, returning kombatants will receive digital downloads of Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired by the Warriors, an album of electronic music inspired by the game (with a bonus track), and the 1995 Mortal Kombat film.

Man, it’s been so long since I’ve seen that. I remember going to see it the day it hit theaters, but I don’t recall ever seeing it again in full since. I do have fond memories of it being a video game movie that didn’t suck (how could it suck with Christopher Lambert starring as Raiden and Bridgette Wilson as Sonya Blade?). Of course I was a kid the last time I saw it…

Fighting game fans, we have another contest for you. Last week, we gave away Street Fighter III for XBLA. This week, we have PSN code for Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, the awesome trilogy pack containing the original three Mortal Kombat tournaments in one gruesome digital download.

Prize: 1 code to download Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection from the PlayStation Network for PS3. Game valued at $9.99. This code will only work on the U.S. PlayStation Store.

How to enter: Do at least one of the following: leave a comment below (with valid email), follow us on Twitter @vgblogger and retweet this message, come ‘Like’ us on our new Facebook page and then ‘Like’ this post, or email us at contests@vgblogger.com with the subject line “Mortal Kombat Giveaway.” Only ONE method of entry is required, but as always feel free to enter via all four methods to increase your chances. You must have a U.S. PlayStation Store account to activate this code.

Entry Period: Wednesday, September 7 – Monday, September 12 at 12:00 PM EST. Contest winner to be selected at random and announced after entry deadline on Monday, September 12.