Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a video game that consists of 9 releases
Reviewed on Nov. 17, 2008
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe successfully merges the two worlds while also delivering a great new fighting system for the current generation of consoles.
Read Jeff Gerstmann's full review
The Mortal Kombat and DC Comics universe's collide in Midway's first cross-over Mortal Kombat game developed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Overview
Officially released on November 16, 2008 in North America, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a significant departure for Midway's long-running Mortal Kombat series. The game is a crossover between a selection of Mortal Kombat fighters and characters from the world of DC Comics. The game initially announced in April 2008 at Midway's annual press event in Las Vegas. Ed Boon, the co-creator of the Mortal Kombat series, was on-hand to give the initial details and show a brief teaser trailer.At the time of the game's announcement, only four characters were confirmed as appearing in the game. Scorpion and Sub-Zero represented the game's Mortal Kombat side. Superman and Batman were the first two confirmed DC characters. Since that time, the full roster was released via press releases and updating showings of the game at trade shows for both the game and the comic industries. The game's backgrounds will cover a variety of famous MK and DC locations.
The story that justifies the tying together of these two groups involves the merging of universes. The chaos that ensues with the DC version of Earth begins coming together with MK's Earthrealm serves as the backdrop for the game. The fighters become infected with "kombat rage," a state in which the urge to battle overtakes their entire body. This is what the game uses to justify situations where "good" characters fight amongst themselves.
This is the first Mortal Kombat game to be developed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and it is using Unreal Engine 3, also a first for the MK series. Along with the new engine, the game's fighting is being rebuilt, moving away from the multiple unarmed and weapon-based fighting styles found in the previous few games.
Due to the game's crossover with DC Comics, and the wider potential audience that brings, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe will be built with a T for Teen rating in mind. This means that the grisly fatalities that have become something of a calling card for the MK series won't be present in MK vs. DC. The game will, however, still have finishing moves of some sort, and Midway has stated that it intends to push this game right up to the line that separates the ESRB's T rating from its M for Mature rating. The European release of the game will show slightly more violence due to the availability of a "15" rating, as opposed to the implied age of 13 in the US.
Gameplay
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is primarily a 2D fighting game. Though players can sidestep, the sidestep is too slight to be very useful up close, maintaining most of the usefulness of projectile attacks. The game places four numbered attack buttons on the face of the controller. On the shoulders is a block button, a sidestep button, a regular throw, and a button to initiate "klose kombat" sequences. Unlike the past 2D MK games, MK vs. DC's fighters have varied normal moves, as opposed to assigning nearly identical normal attacks to each fighter. Special moves are performed by entering specific motions and button presses on the controller.
Generally speaking, the top two attack buttons are primarily used for punches, while the bottom two are usually kicks. This varies by character and by combo. This varies from the classic Mortal Kombat setup, which put high and low punches on the left side of the controls and kicks on the right.
The game's combo system retains many of the same concepts that MK was founded on, with plenty of juggle-friendly moves. Up close, some normal attacks can be strung together into combos, and like Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, fighters can begin combos from a jumping punch. Jumping punches and kicks will turn around the face foes who end up behind the fighter when the attack button is pressed.
Mid-Fight Minigames
There are three different in-game systems that take the players out of the standard fighting mechanics and bring them into brief, counter-based minigames. Klose Kombat is a new fight mode that is initiated by pressing the KK button from within throw range. If it connects, the camera zooms up and the action slows a bit. The attacking player can hit any of the face buttons to perform an attack. The defending player attempts to guess which button the attacker will press. If the defender guesses correctly, the Klose Kombat mode is broken. If not, the attacker can attempt another move. This concept also applies to Freefall Kombat, which works while players fall from one level of a stage to the next. In this situation, if the defending player successfully guesses the button press, the attack is countered and the roles switch. After a few successful hits, the player in control can press a button to bust out a special mid-air attack that does extra damage and sends the victim crashing to the ground below.
The third and final in-fight system is Test Your Might, which is a concept that originated as a bonus round in the original Mortal Kombat. Here, however, it's used to give players something to fight over while crashing through buildings horizontally on supported stages. This is basic button mashing, with the attacking player attempting to maximize the damage done while moving to the next part of the stage. The defender also mashes in an attempt to reduce damage.
Fatalities
With the exception of story mode, finishing moves can be performed by the winner of a fight during a brief window before the match ends. To help differentiate between the "good" DC characters that wouldn't normally kill their opponents, some characters have "heroic brutalities" instead of fatalities. The end result is roughly the same, as both types of finishers trigger flashy animations that result in the definitive defeat of the enemy. Each character has two finishing moves.
Roster
Counting the two unlockable characters that are attained by completing each side of the story mode, there appear to be 22 characters in the game, 11 per side. The Mortal Kombat side of the roster has been described as a "greatest hits" roster, consisting entirely of characters who debuted in Mortal Kombat or Mortal Kombat II.
The DC side of the roster pulls from a few different places, including obvious choices like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, as well as less-popular characters like Deathstroke and Captain Marvel.
Midway has not ruled out the possibility of releasing downloadable characters as premium post-release content, but hasn't come out and announced characters, either.
Here is the official roster for both sides:
Mortal Kombat:-
Baraka
Jax
Kano
Kitana
Liu Kang
Raiden
Scorpion
Shang Tsung
Shao Kahn
Sonya Blade
Sub-Zero
DC Universe:-
Batman
Captain Marvel
Catwoman
Darkseid
Deathstroke
The Flash
Green Lantern
The Joker
Lex Luthor
Superman
Wonder Woman
The Future
Midway's financial state notwithstanding, there is a stated desire from Midway reps to continue making Mortal Kombat games past this one, but whether the next game would be a sequel that also contains DC characters or a new game that returns the series to its M-rated roots is unknown at this time.Xbox 360/PS3 Game Installation
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe requires 6.4GB of space to install on an Xbox 360 HDD.The Install file for the PS3 measures in at 1.02GB.
General Information
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| Game Name | Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe |
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Nov. 16, 2008
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MKvDC MKvsDC MK vs DC MK vs. DCU MK vs. DC Universe Mortal Kombat 8 |
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Fatality/Heroic Brutality List for PS3
A list of the Fatalities and Heroic Brutalities in MK vsDC |
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