New Character Announced for Killer Instinct

Against all odds, Microsoft not only managed to successfully revive Rare’s classic fighting game IP, Killer Instinct, but also to continue making it a success, as it now enjoys a sizable following on the competitive circuit. Undoubtedly, a large part of this has to do with Microsoft’s model for the game- which is free to play digital distribution and constant evolution.

Keeping with that evolution of the game, Microsoft has gone ahead and announced a brand new character that will be coming to Killer Instinct Season 2– Omen, a supernatural entity that sort of resembles a bat, and who will be available as a bonus character to all owners of Season 2.

“His moveset has some familiar normals from Jago, some new ones, and his specials are either all-new or ones that you only the boss version of Shadow Jago used,” Microsoft said. “We’ll talk more about his repertoire in detail next week, so until then, here are some quick highlights:

• 3 shadow stocks!
• Shadow-powered ability to cancel any action, turn into shadow, and move a short distance in any direction
• Multi-hitting close-range kick special
• Powerful projectile zoning with some radical projectile options
• A special move that burns all 3 stocks!
• Aerial movement options
• Slide”

They also confirmed that since he is a bonus character, he will not be getting his own story mode, tough they did confirm that he will be featured prominently in other cast members’ stories, since he is now a “more prominent part of the story than [they] had originally imagined.”

Alright, that works for me, and glad to see Microsoft continuing to push Killer Instinct.