Sure, it's always nice to punch a hole through your enemy's chest, grab hold of their exposed spine, and wrench it out with your bare hands. But it's even better when such a gruesome Fatality counts towards a greater good. Mortal Kombat X is sprucing up its online multiplayer play with two newly announced features: Factions and Living Towers, both which should go a long way towards adding replayability and making people feel that much vested in their online conquest.

Right from the outset, you're asked to pick from one of five Factions; from that moment on, everything you do, no matter the mode, will contribute to your Factions persistent global ranking across all platforms. Meanwhile, the new Living Towers offer three tiers of challenges which are constantly being updated, offering a bevy of new ways to test your might. To find out more details about the online features - or get caught up before the April 14th release - read on for a full breakdown of everything we know about Mortal Kombat X.

As you might expect from the latest in a series of legendary fighting games, the MKX roster offers classic characters duking it out with some intriguing newcomers. Obviously you've got icons of digital violence like Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Raiden all back in fine form - but because the MKX story takes place 25 years after the events of MK9, there's also more opportunity to shine the spotlight on a few fresh faces.

The additions to the MKX cast range from wacky (the mismatched duo of Terra and Korr) to wicked (like Kotal Kahn, who looks like a murderous Aztec demigod). There's also room for spiritual successors like Cassie Cage, the sassy daughter of Sonya and Johnny. And before each fight, you'll be treated to a brief verbal exchange that does wonders for making each fighter feel like a fully fleshed-out character. Not only is there different dialogue for every match-up - there's even multiple possibilities for each possible pairing. If you want a character-by-character breakdown, be sure to check out our .

Every MK player has their personal favorite character - but sometimes you might feel pressured to pick the fighters you're less familiar with just for the sake of variety and versatility. But MKX offers a new way to find the perfect compliment to your playstyle: variations, which effectively create three distinct versions of every character in the roster.

These aren't stances that you switch between in the heat of combat, like past MK games - they're more like three distinct themes molded around the same base character. Before each fight, you'll pick which variation best suits you (or foils your opponent), which slight aesthetic alterations to your character to make it clear which variation you've selected. All three variations will share some core moves, but other specials or even new combos can be variation-specific. It's essentially a way to make your favorite character play three very different ways, meaning you won't have to worry about counterpicks or constantly learning new characters from scratch if you want to switch up your style.

The stage-specific interactables in NetherRealm Studios' Injustice could easily turn the tide of a battle, since some characters could rip apart the stage to deal massive amounts of damage. Interactables have been ported over to MKX - but don't worry, there's not as overpowered here as they were in Injustice. Instead of making them all about big damage, interactables in MKX put more emphasis on evasive maneuvers and space control.

Activating them is the same - when you're close enough to an interactable, it'll glow, meaning you can take advantage of it with a single button press. Maybe you'll escape the corner by bouncing off a nearby wall, chuck a crate to pester your opponent from long range, or escape pressure by flinging hot ash in your enemy's face, causing them to stagger backwards in pain. Unlike Injustice, all the characters respond to interactables the same way, which makes them feel much more balanced and accessible, rather than cheap. Interactables may help you get into position in MKX, but you'll still have to do damage the old-fashioned way.

Meter management is a staple of many fighters, creating a metagame where you must constantly weigh your options and adapt to your opponent's capabilities. Mortal Kombat 9 smartly introduced a three-part super meter into the mix, as well as the hilariously violent X-Ray moves, which act as a highly damaging Hail Mary attack complete with a see-through view of all the bone-shattering and internal organ rupturing. That same meter system is back in MKX, adding an appreciated extra layer of depth to each bout.

The super meter in MKX offers a nice mix of offensive and defensive options. You can either amplify one of your special moves, break a combo to avoid further damage, or go for the all-or-nothing X-Ray attack that'll obliterate your opponent's health bar if it connects or leave you totally vulnerable if it misses. Knowing how to best spend your meter in any given situation, while still managing to keep an eye on your opponent's, is crucial to your success in MKX.

It just wouldn't be Mortal Kombat without Fatalities - the distinct brand of match-ending animations that have wowed audiences and shocked parents for years. And if you thought MK9 upped the ante with its ludicrously gory Fatalities, just want till you see the brutal executions in MKX. Every time you think they've over, they take the shock value to a whole new level.

Whatever your preference - slicing off faces, snapping spines, or bisecting entire bodies - MKX is ready and willing to show it off with the kind of grisly detail that only its new graphics engine can deliver. The current frontrunner for 'most brutal Fatality' has to go to Quan Chi, who uses his mind-control powers to make his dazed opponent walk mouth-first to the hilt of a sword. Once they've skewered their own noggin, he telekinetically lifts then up and slams them down, cleanly splitting their remains in the process. It's the ultimate addition of insult to injury, and your friends will be both mortified and delighted every time.

NetherRealm Studios set out to make MKX's online multiplayer feel more compelling than in MK9, and the new Living Towers help to make that happen. Hopping into this mode lets you choose from three towers akin to the ladders from classic MK games, with varying heights. There's currently three tiers: quick, which should take about 30 minutes to complete and refresh every two hours, daily, which offers a new challenge every 24 hours, and premier, a kind of long-term, special-event trial reserved for the masochistic among us.

The twist is that each fight as you ascend a chosen tower can have a gigantic variety of variables, which can be combined in whatever way NetherRealm sees fit. Effects can be game-breaking, in a good way: things like a constant rain of bombs or missiles, lights that fade in and out, a swaying camera perspective, or low gravity can completely alter your fighting strategy. There are hundreds of modifiers, and there some truly special combinations - particularly Juggle Kombat, which mixes slow-mo falls with extra-fast uppercut animations for some truly nasty combo potential.

Online interactivity is all the rage these days, and NetherRealm has found a clever way to integrate a sense of persistence to MKX's online play. From the moment you start playing the game, you're asked to pick from one of five Factions, all themed after iconic MK fighters: Lin Kuei, White Lotus, Brotherhood of Shadow, Special Forces, or the Black Dragon. Once you've made your choice, the game menus and UI will be reskinned to match, and you'll be grouped with players from every region and platform who picked the same Faction.

Any mode you play, be it single-player or online, will build up points for your Faction; if you want, you can essentially ignore the Faction Wars while still taking part in them. By completing mini-challenges and contributing points to your overall team, you can earn special rewards - probably things like new costumes, profile designs, or extras, though NetherRealm isn't saying just yet. Once the winning Faction for the week has been crowned, the standings reset and the war breaks out all over again. Your rewards do persist even when the race for points restarts - but if you decide to align with a different Faction, you'll have to start from square one.

Are you stoked for more Mortal Kombat? Already have an idea of who you'll be picking (or even which variation you plan on using)? Do you think the Fatalities have just gone too far this time around? Let your voice be heard in the comments section below!

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