Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment has announced that the Mortal Kombat franchise will reappear on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011, going back to its roots with a 2D mechanic.

Among the details revealed thus far are that the game will feature online play, a four-player, tag-team mode and "the deepest story mode of any fighting game".

The game is currently in development by Chicago's NetherRealm studios and will be overseen by the franchise's co-creator Ed Boon.

"This game really is a response to what players have been demanding", said Boon in a press release. Recent entries into the Mortal Kombat franchise have been criticised by fans for pandering to mainstream audiences and doing away with the excessive gore and gruesome fatalities on which it made its name. Check out the announcement trailer, complete with gameplay footage, below.