Back when Kung Lao was confirmed for Mortal Kombat X we caught a little bit of wind on the new online modes and factions for the game. There wasn't much to go on as it was more or less a footnote in the overall information release and all we knew was that there were five factions and you had to choose one at the start of Mortal Kombat X. The fact that all of your actions in single player and online play had an effect somehow wraps up all that we were given then. That was then and this is now and do we have a lot more to talk about these modes for Mortal Kombat X.

First things first we have a look at the factions again for Mortal Kombat X. The list again is the Black Dragon, Brotherhood Of Shadow, Lin Kuei, Special Forces, and the White Lotus. I am sure there is more to each but as of now all we seem to be getting are the names and who looks to be in charge. Respectfully those fighters in charge are Kano, Quan Chi, Sub Zero, Cassie Cage, and Raiden. Anyways, you will choose one at the start of Mortal Kombat X and from that point on you will be part of the meta-game or Faction War that takes place in the background and online. As of right now it sounds like if your faction is in the lead you will get extra bonuses just for being a member and not based on how much you kontribute.

How do you contribute to your faction in Mortal Kombat X? Well you can win matches online or participate in 5 vs 5 battles online. Both of which will garner you more favor for your faction by defeating rival faction members. Or, if you are not big on the thought of taking your Mortal Kombat X online for multiplayer you can complete challenges on the Living Tower system. This is similar to the challenge tower from MK9 but with some very interesting twists as it will be always changing and evolving over time. Here's a quick break down of the three different towers and what they will have to offer in Mortal Kombat X.

• Quick Tower

  Quick Tower will feature a stack of moderate challenges, which NetherRealm estimates will take an average skilled player 20-30 minutes to complete. The Quick Tower is set to refresh with a new set of challenges every two to three hours.

• Daily Tower

  Daily Tower is similar to Quick Tower but contains a much more involved set of obstacles that reset every 24 hours.

• Premiere Tower

  Premiere Tower is a much more brutal, week-long set of challenges that will be themed around special events, holidays, and promotions.

This sounds like it is going to be a huge undertaking for NetherRealm if you ask me; at least if they are truly going to keep updating Mortal Kombat X as constant as would be needed to keep things truly random. I have a feeling though that there are going to be 100 or so challenges shown on each tower but the team has around 500 or so that can be loaded already so that it has the appearance of being updated and changed all the time without killing the dev team in the background. At least that is how it would make sense to me and still keep the illusion for Mortal Kombat X.

I loved the Challenge Tower from before as I am one of those people who will most likely not go online with Mortal Kombat X unless I have to. That said, I am glad to see that even though I won't be going online with Mortal Kombat X I am going to be kind of forced to be online to have all of the enjoyment as well as garner some of those cool faction items that will be won just for enjoying the game at home with friends. Okay, maybe forced was a strong word there but it will be enjoyed none the less as I will be taking advantage of those towers as long as they are half as fun as the challenges from before. I do love how Mortal Kombat X is evolving.