Mortal Kombat 11 Canadian launch event

To help celebrate the launch of Mortal Kombat 11, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment held an invite only Canadian launch event here at The Rec Room in downtown Toronto. I was excited to be one of the first in Canada to play the final retail version of Mortal Kombat 11 and take part in the Mortal Kombat 11 Canadian launch celebration.

In addition to press and media, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment had Jon Anderson, Producer from NetherRealm as well as pro-gamers Honeybee and Biohazard on hand.

You’re Next!

Upon arriving to The Rec Room here in downtown Toronto, there were Mortal Kombat 11 signs pointing the way to the special entrance at the side of the building. Across the windows and the door leading into the event it read “YOU’RE NEXT!”. At this point, I was already more than excited to see what was in store.

Upon entering, to my left was a massive poster of Mortal Kombat 11 featuring Scorpion. On the centre of the floor was a huge Mortal Kombat 11 logo and above a Mortal Kombat 11 banner was hanging. After checking in, I noticed that the whole entire back section of The Rec Room was closed off and dedicated just for this event.

Mortal Kombat 11 Canadian launch event details

It was evident immediately that a lot of planning and hard work was put into the event. It was composed of 4 different sections: Fatality photo booth, a section with several gaming stations setup to play Mortal Kombat 11, a social area, and a competition stage.

Fatality photo booth

I first headed over to the Fatality photo booth to see what it was all about. I was told to stand in front of the green screen, that they had there, and then choose a background. The backgrounds were some of the stages from Mortal Kombat 11, so I quickly choose one.

Next, I was instructed to act out a move or motion from one of the characters in a game. The result ended up in an animated gif of myself standing in front of a stage with Fatality across the top and the Mortal Kombat 11 logo beneath me.

Gaming stations

Next, I headed over to the area where I could get my hands on the final retail version of Mortal Kombat 11. There was somewhere in the neighbourhood of 8 -10 stations set up with big screen HDTVs and Mortal Kombat 11 branded Astro headsets. I played in the online beta earlier this month, and it left me wanting more.

After spending the majority of the night playing, I found that gameplay was fast and fluid, there is a variety of characters of all different abilities, and the graphics are the best yet of any game. Keep your eye out for our review of Mortal Kombat 11 right here on the Best Buy Plug-in blog in the upcoming days.

Social area

The social area was a place to relax, chat with friends, get a drink, have a bite to eat and watch the competition stage. There were several Mortal Kombat themed drinks including Kiss of Death, Scorpion, Sub Zero and Kronika. Additionally, a table was setup with pizza, poutine, chicken wings, and sliders. Quite possibly the best part of the social area was the Mortal Kombat 11 branded cushions. They were the perfect touch to the space!

The social area also provides the best viewing area of the competition stage. From here, you could see and hear all the action that was going on. It was truly awesome!

Competition stage

The competition stage was buzzing all night. Everyone in attendance was invited to challenge and play against Canadian pro-gamers HoneyBee and Biohazard. Both HoneyBee and Biohazard are brothers and have found success at playing both Injustice and Mortal Kombat at a professional level.

Throughout the night, many tried their shot at defeating the brothers with no luck. One of the most interesting challengers was someone that brought with them an adapter and keyboard to play with. They put up a decent fight but again were no match. However, the most interesting match of the night was when Biohazard faced Jon Anderson, Producer from NetherRealm.

It was Kano (Biohazard) vs Kotal Kahn (Jon Anderson). And, even Jon was no match for Biohazard. Even though he faired better than most players of the night, Biohazard was victorious.

Final thoughts

Thank you to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the special invite to the Mortal Kombat 11 Canadian launch event. I had a fantastic time and am pretty excited about what Mortal Kombat 11 brings to the table and franchise. Mortal Kombat fans will surely love it, but also anyone who enjoys deep, competitive fighting games.

Stay tuned for our review of Mortal Kombat 11 here on the Best Buy Plug-in blog. Meanwhile, let me know in the comments section below who your favourite character is and what system you are playing on.

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