Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks - Official Website

Slated for release in Fall 2005, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is currently in development for the PlayStation ® 2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox ® video game system from Microsoft.

“Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is an Action/Adventure title that will help to expand the already wildly popular Mortal Kombat universe well beyond the fighting genre,” said David F. Zucker, president and chief executive officer. “Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is also our first step toward delivering something that Mortal Kombat fans have been calling for: a new game set in the Mortal Kombat universe every year. We are planning our Mortal Kombat release schedule with the expectation that we will deliver a new Mortal Kombat title annually.”

Mortal Kombat : Shaolin Monks is an Action/Adventure title driven by both intense single and multi-player action. Similar to the recently released Mortal Kombat: Deception, background interactions (i.e., acid pits, living trees, spiked ceilings, etc.), multiple new fatalities, and action-based puzzles will also play an important role in the player’s quest for an “outstanding” victory. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks will feature an impressive line-up of Mortal Kombat characters, as well, that make frequent appearances as enemies, in boss battles and during several additional in-game interactions.

“For the first time ever, Mortal Kombat fanatics will get to explore all the mythos and rumors of the Mortal Kombat universe from an entirely new perspective. Action/Adventure fans will be blown away by the intuitive kombat system, puzzle solving and epic storyline that can be experienced in either the single player mode or through co-op play,” said Mortal Kombat creator, Ed Boon.

Game Chronicles goes inside this exciting new game with an exclusive GCM interview by Maggie Smith.

GCM: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Could you start by introducing yourself and telling us about the team behind Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks?
Shaun Himmerick: My name is Shaun Himmerick and I am the producer of Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks. I have been with Midway for 5 years and with the Mortal Kombat team for almost 2 years now, working on the MK:Shaolin Monks project. The game is being developed out of the Midway LA office, formerly Paradox Development. Even though this game was originally being done as a 3rd party project, the MK team in Chicago has maintained very close contact and worked closely with the team in LA. The art directors on MKSM are Tony Goskie and Steve Beran from the MK Deception team and have been apart of the MK team for many games. As well, Ed Boon is the Creative Director of the game.

GCM: A striking difference between Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks and other titles in the Mortal Kombat universe is the addition of an Action/Adventure element and a more robust storyline. What was the most difficult part about this new format?
Shaun Himmerick: An adventure game brings many of its own challenges. Additionally since this is a Mortal Kombat game we had to make sure the fighting engine was silky smooth first. The fighting had to be fun and not just a button masher. I think people are going to be blown away by the depth, variety and freedom of out Multi-Directional Kombat System. We have spent a lot of time building and tuning and tweaking the Kombat

GCM: A lot of fans may remember a previous title to bring an Action/Adventure element to the Mortal Kombat world -- Mortal Kombat Mythologies. Did the team look to Mythologies for ideas to build on?
Shaun Himmerick: This game does not build upon any of the previous MK adventure games. We started Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks fresh from the ground up. We worked with the LA office to make sure we had a very solid fight engine and game engine that could give us the game play we wanted before moving forward into production. MKSM probably had the most extensive prototype phase of any game I’ve seen done at Midway to date. We wanted to make sure we started out on the right foot and in the right direction.

GCM: Could you give us an introduction to the plot and some of the characters, both new and familiar, involved in the game?
Shaun Himmerick: The whole game takes place around the time frame of MK2. The opening movie is the final battle of MK1, and it is an amazing video. Side note: Internally we all agree opening movies is amazing, MK fan or not, you’ll be blown away by the opening movie.

The game play picks up right after the final Battle of MK1 and then travels through the MK2 realms. The player can choose to play as either Liu Kang or Kung Lao in the single player adventure or they can choose to play in 2 player co-op mode and work together to get through the game. You’ll see a ton of characters from the MK universe as you progress through the game. Some MK characters will help you out, like Raiden, and some will be huge boss battles, like Baraka. One nice thing in this game is that if you are an ally of someone in the MK universe they will probably help you in this game, and if they are an enemy, well, there is probably going to be some ass to kick. I’m pretty excited about the boss battles those just keep getting better and better.


GCM: Please tell us a little bit about the cooperative multiplayer features.
Shaun Himmerick: There is nothing in the single player game that you cannot do in the co-op game. All the features and abilities are open to you in co-op mode as well. Then we added some special things for the co-op mode. There are special combos the two players can perform together, special fatalities for the co-op players and secret areas that can only be access with co-op mode.

We are very happy with how the co-op game play has worked out. On the team some of us play very cooperatively and work together getting through the game, while others play more competitively, going for the pickups and trying to kill more enemies than their partner. If one of the two is better at one aspect of the game then they can take the lead in those areas. In focus tests it has been very interesting to see how people use the fact that they have two players working together to solve puzzle or approach some fights.


GCM: Describe the action-based puzzles. Will they be set apart like a mini-game or more integrated into the plot?
Shaun Himmerick: Nearly all of our action-based puzzles are integrated straight into the game play. The only exception is Test Your Might, can I say that? Sure. We have Test Your Might in the game, of course, and that is a simple mechanic for players, but we try to use it in innovative ways throughout the game, and that it still pretty smoothly integrated into the game play.

For example, one of the areas is set in the Wu Shi academy and there are catapult all around. You can toss enemies up into them and it will send them flying off in various ways to you in another way for you to dispose of enemies. However, some of the catapults must be used to throw enemies into specific items to break down barriers and open up areas for you. We are constantly giving the player new ways to finish off your enemies, some are just for you to have more fun and some must be done to solve the action based puzzles. We really wanted the worlds to be very interactable and useful to the player. With the interactable environments, Fatalities, Multalities, and huge upgradeable move sets of the characters, you are constantly being given more tools at your disposal.


GCM: What can we expect from the graphics in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks? How will it look different from previous titles in the series?
Shaun Himmerick: You can expect the Graphics to be on par or better than current adventure games out there. As soon as you see the characters and environments you see it and know it is Mortal Kombat. That was a must for us. That is why we have two art directors who have done many MK games, closely involved in this game.

The differences you’ll see with MKSM compared to recent MK games is that we have bigger worlds and with the Kombat Engine allowing you to fight in any direction, including in the air, at any time we have to pull the camera back to see more at one time.


GCM: What familiar elements can a loyal Mortal Kombat player find in Mortal Kombat: Shoalin Monks?
Shaun Himmerick: Well, everything traditional is in this game. We have Fatalities, super moves, many recognizable environments and many familiar characters. We have Test Your Might. However, just like how Test Your Might is used in new ways right in the gameplay. We have tried to take everything one step further. For example we took Fatalities up to Multalities to be able to perform a Fatality on multiple enemies at one time. And we are also adding a third level to the fatality system called Brutality mode. Giving you more options.

Super moves are upgradeable as you play through the game. Liu Kang starts with the fireball attack, but you can upgrade it to multiple fireball attacks, and be able to shoot fireballs in the air. Kung Lao can upgrade his hat throw from just a straight throw, to a ricochet, then to a hat that will swirl around you hitting anything and anyone around the character, however you never lose the ability to perform the basic hat throw. We just add options.

With the environments we made them interactable, and brought a lot of the old rumors to life. For example, in MK2 there were many rumors that you could throw enemies into the living trees in the background of the living forest. Without saying if you could or couldn’t do that in MK2, you certainly can in MKSM, giving you more options in you battles with your enemies.


GCM: Will there be any significant differences between the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game?
Shaun Himmerick: Not really. The Xbox gives some inherent advantages with how art looks that will be obvious to players. Also we are considering some platform specific unlockables in the game, but basically we will have the same game on both platforms.

GCM: Can we expect to see more Action/Adventure Mortal Kombat titles in the future, or is this an experimental foray into new territory?
Shaun Himmerick: There is not currently a specific plan for a sequel to this title in the MK franchise. If it does well and is liked by players that would certainly be a possibility, but nobody wants to look past this game. We are focused on making this the best game possible.

GCM: With the announcement of your ambitious goal of a new title every year, we're anxious to know what's next. Can you give us any information on forthcoming games in the series?
Shaun Himmerick: There will be more MK games in the future. Scorpion is in one of the proposed games.

GCM: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Would you like to leave us with any final thoughts or comments?
Shaun Himmerick: Thank you for your interest in this game. I know we are very excited about this game as we approach the final stretch with it. It feels better and looks better on a weekly basis. Once you get a chance to feel the options and freedom of our Multi-Directional Kombat engine, we know you’ll be as happy as we are.