Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe : A fighting game featuring characters from both the Mortal Kombat fighting game and DC comic book franchises, in a combination that could only make sense to fellow gamers who’ve seen Capcom do it before with Street Fighter and Marvel. For all intents and purposes, all of the franchises involved are being riding on the coattails of The Dark Knight, as evident by Batman’s prominent appearance on the box art over actual DC mascot Superman.

Story : …will sound very familiar to anyone that has read a comic or watched a Saturday morning cartoon at any point in their life. Two parallel universes are merging and a bunch of guys from both universes are going to put a hurting on each other before realizing they have to unite to fight the real bad guy. Spoilers be damned, I’ll tell you right now that the final boss is Darkseid and Shao Kahn merged together to form DARK KHAN. Along the way, they’ll throw at you one hackneyed excuse after another to explain certain anomalies, like how Superman developed a weakness to fists or why there’s this new gameplay mechanic called “Rage” or why Batman and Superman are yearning to hurt each other. The whole damn story is hokey as hell but its better presented here than in most fighting games.

That story, by the way, has its own mode. This mode lets you choose either the Mortal Kombat or DC side and presents the storyline from said point of view. In a nutshell, it’s just cutscenes thrown in between fights, but that’s really all you can hope for out of a fighting game when you think about it; the more you try to tinker with the in-game engine for the sake of a single-player campaign, the more things get screwed up (think Soul Calibur). There’s also the typical arcade mode where you just wail on a bunch of guys before you get an ending comprised of still shots. To be fair, you can only choose to fight enemies from one franchise, so it’s entirely possible to play most of the game and not have to look at a Mortal Kombat character.

And to also be frank, I don’t think anyone out there was laying on their lawn chairs, soaking in the sun, sipping a martini and thinking to themselves “I wonder what would happen if Sub-Zero fought Catwoman.” This does feel like too much of a page ripped out of the Capcom playbook. Not that the logic behind any of the Marvel vs Capcom games made a world of sense either, but the justification in those games was that Capcom had already made Marvel-based fighting games, as well as games that were actually …well, you know, good!

The good news for DC video game fans (and if you actually are one, you must be a masochistic fellow) is that your precious heroes have been done justice. This isn’t Justice League Task Force all over again; Superman will actually fight with laser eyes and ice breath and Captain Marvel will yell out “Shazam!” a lot. For better or worse, the DC characters will fight like they’re DC characters and not a generic fighting game character archetype with tights on. All of the game’s 23 characters are certifiable fan-favorites; no Shuma-Goraths here, so unless you’re an avid supporter of Kabal or the Wonder Twins, no one is going to be whining and complaining about so-and-so being absent. Yes, that means that all of the Mortal Kombat characters present are from the first two games, and considering how lame the last couple of MK fighters have been, that’s just fine in my books.

Speaking of which, one of the game’s strongest points is that it acknowledges that the last three Mortal Kombat games had a lot of excess crap. All that nonsense about multiple fighting styles that made no difference is gone, along with the unnecessary puzzle mini-game, chess mini-game, kart-racing mini game and lame-duck story mode. All of that is gone. Each fighter has one single fighting style and basic dial-a-combos now only have 3 or 4 button presses. So on the surface, the game seems to be a bit more accessible.

However, Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon continues to struggle with the idea of depth in fighting games. It seems that his notion of skill comes from memorizing long combos, inventing combos the developers never intended the game to have, and otherwise finding ways to “break” the game and make a cool Youtube video out of it. This idea is even promoted in a separate mode, “Kombo practice”, where the game lets you rehearse several of these ridiculous, game-breaking combinations. Depth comes from trying to outthink your opponent, countering them and their fighter-of-choice’s tactics with your own. That’s not quite the case here, as just like in every Mortal Kombat game of past, every character has the same height, weight, attack speed, reach, strength and so forth. Every regular attack has the same properties, give or take, so if you have some kind of delusions of grandeur of playing this game at any kind of competitive level, then you’re in a shock as you find yourself bowing to whatever character has the longer combo or the slightly longer leg sweep distance. Even special moves have to be questioned sometimes; it seems that all of The Flash’s special attacks involve him just running forward.

No sooner did I realize this than when I started playing the game online, against other people fighting with DC characters (and sometimes Scorpion.) When I was playing with fellow novice players, the experience was actually pretty solid. The game rarely lags and the matches actually sometimes seem like dynamic battles. But when you fight someone that knows what they’re doing, then the fight is over sooner than it took for you to find an opponent in the first place.

Though I guess this game is meant to be a visceral experience rather than a tactical one. Get knocked over a ledge and the characters will fight each other in a completely dumb mini-game to simulate punching each other during the fall. There are indeed a couple of small and silly mini-games like that within the fighting arenas, and they all look cool, but looking cool only goes so far when you considering the hundreds of rounds that someone will play in throughout their time with a fighting game, or at least a good fighting game. And just in case you haven’t heard yet, since it seems to be the biggest news story emanating from this game, the trademark Mortal Kombat violence is slightly toned down, as there’s no gore in the fatalities. You can cry foul if you like, but the shock and entertainment value of the Mortal Kombat fatalities evaporated a decade ago, so I don’t consider this to be much of a loss.

For what it’s worth, this is the best Mortal Kombat fighting game devised since the series went 3D, and the best DC-related video game that I can think of. The mash-up isn’t as unintuitive as one might think. The game makes a decent weekend rental for most people, unless you thought the last three Mortal Kombat fighters were great and in that case, you’ll find a shower of bliss in this game. Or perhaps you’re the type of person that likes to “defy” the system and look for hidden, game-breaking combos to exploit. You’ll find something to tamper with here too. But in my mind, and the minds of others, fighting games are meant to be learned, practiced on, and ultimately pit against other players in what can legitimately be considered a test of skill. And in that arena, Mortal Kombat vs DC’s might doesn’t test itself well.

Pros : Hearing the trademark Mortal Kombat announcer proclaim that GREEN LANTERN has won the match.

Cons : The rage meter business is dumb. As you get beat up on, a meter fills, and once full, you gain temporary invulnerability. This whole idea breaks the flow of the fight, as the counter to this is to just run away until it wears off.

3 stars

I couldn’t think of a better title for this review.

Ahh there are some things you never expect to see in videogames, and this is one of those rare moments.  These two franchises collide and it ain't pretty.  First things first the fighting is actually pretty solid, and it is pretty rewarding to pull off the harder to do combos.  Every character is unique and there are a couple that just plain suck.  Lex Luther is easily the worst among the roster and The Flash is almost too overpowered.  The graphics are ok, and the tearing in clothes is a nice detail.  

Now I know I'm not the only one that was scared when Midway first announced Mortal Kombat vs DC early this year. I thought the series was going to go downhill with this year, but after spending a few hours playing MK vs DC I can say that I was wrong. First things first even with the T rating MK vs DC feels just like a Mortal Kombat game admitted toned down fatalities and less blood it's still the Mortal Kombat we all love and hate. When I first got the game I though it would suck because of the DC characters, but actually the DC characters fit in pretty well with the MK universe. The story in MK vs DC universe feels as though it is lifted out of a comic book story. Without giving to much away the story centers around an event that sees the universes of the Mortal Kombat and DC merging together thanks to a character called Dark Kahn who is in fact Darkseid and Shao Kahn fused together somehow and he is the one responsible for infecting everyone of the characters with what is called the Rage and thanks to the sorcery in the Mortal Kombat universe characters like Superman and Captain Marvel are brought down to an equal level to the Mortal Kombat fighters while the DC characters like The Joker and Catwoman see their fighting tactics shoot up to superhuman levels. Now the story can get confusing in spots and the voice acting could of been done better, but all in all the story mode is actually pretty good and beats out Soul Calibur 4's bad story mode. Now one place Mortal Kombat vs DC gets it right is in the fighting system which is a throwback to Mortal Kombat 2 and 3. It ditches the fighting styles and weapons in favorite of focusing on special powers which the Mortal Kombat series has always set itself apart with it. The fighting system is simple and easy to pick up and this is what the fighting system should of been instead of the fighting styles seen in Deadly Alliance and Deception. It just feels great to see the old fighting system back in good form. Now with all this praise there are a few things wrong with the game. First the last few Mortal Kombats have had unlockables that kept you coming back, but in this game there are none and the only unlockable content is Darkseid and Shao Kahn and the story mode is short only clocking in at 6 hours or so and in general there are some minor clipping issues in the game as well and the Test Your Might and Free Fall Kombat can get old after a while. And if you own the 360 version the controls are sometimes hard thanks to the poor placement of the D-pad and if you have a PS3 that is the version to go for thanks to it controlling better, but that's not the fault of MK vs DC. The character models are some of the best from the Mortal Kombat series. The backgrounds are great as well and feature some destruction as well, but no stage fatalities. All in all this is a great fighting game that no fan of Mortal Kombat should pass up.

Pros:
+ Fighting system is solid and it's easy to pick up and play
+ Story mode is surprising well done and there are a few surprises in it as well
+ Character models and backgrounds look great
+ Despite the T rating it's still Mortal Kombat at it's heart

Cons:
- Some minor clipping issues with characters
- 360 controller makes it hard to fight sometimes
- Story mode is short
- No unlockable content in the game
- Free Fall Kombat and Test Your Might can get annoying sometimes

Weighting in on the pros and cons I give MK vs DC an 8.5 for being a solid effort.

I want to start this review out by saying that all I did was rent this game and I would never ever, not in thousand Britney Spears-less years, ever buy a fighting game. I am one of the few people who is both a huge video game addict and a huge comic book addict (My comic book addiction was the deciding factor whether or not to rent this game).

Now I want to state this clearly so no one get's confused. If you are looking for a modern comic book story in this game, or a modern, interesting story in this game, then you aren't looking in the right place. The truth is fighting games and a good story have never gone hand in hand and they never will. This game is no different, the story is campy, with some bright spots (gotta love the Joker) but if you come for a good, well written story, then you are completely looking in the wrong place and should have you head checked for trauma.
But here is the amazing thing. This game, despite all the hype(oh these new features and new characters are cool and revolutionary, and the teen rating and non-fatalities aren't as big a deal as all those forum posters make them out to be) is a lot of fun.

I have to be honest, after your first match, just like after my first match, the training wheels will be taken off. You will be beaten to a bloody pulp like I was and you'll love every second of it. The combat system in this game is perfect. This game is the Jenna Jameson of Fighting games. I will say I haven't played the latest Tekken or whatever is out and i wouldn't ever play this game if not for the DC characters, but the fighting system is so tight and so balanced, there is no reason not to rent this game. Every character seems powerful but not overly so. Every match feels like a chess match. You'll have to figure out the opposing player's strategy, and adjust accordingly if you want to win. But it never feels like you are finding the glichtes in the game, you alwasy feel like you are progressing and getting better with whatever character you choose.This is very important, because fighting games are all about moves and counter moves and this game captures everything you'd want in a fighting game.

I'll be honest, the last fighting game I played was Mortal Komat 3, and I decided to give up on the genre because that game just seemed to get too far away from the MK1 and MK2 formula. So renting this game and finding it to be such a solid fighter was a complete and utter surprise. When I rented it, I just wanted to see how the DC characters would handle, considering all the terrible DC video game adaptations. This was the one they got right.
I have no problem recommending this as a rent for anyone who likes video game and as a must buy for any fighting enthusiasts.  Games as tight as this don't come out as often as we'd like.

Story

The story in MK vs DC is straight from a B-movie. The basic plot is the DC and MK worlds are colliding thanks to a mess up by Superman and Raiden. This ends up with a lot of fighting in an experience that should take between 6-9 hours. The acting is fine and the parallels between the two sides are well thought out e.g. Quan Chi and Lex Luther as the guys who you shouldn’t trust .  

I would like to point out the joker’s brilliant impression of William Shatner in the dc story.

Difficulty

MK v DC has two main difficulties the difficulty in story mode and the one for arcade. And from what I have played of the game there is no way to change the story mode’s difficulty and it gets hard. For example the first guy you play as in the DC story is The Flash now this wasn’t so hard and after his four or so fights you get to be Batman in his fourth fight I lost once and then won, after that it is wonder woman (if I remember correctly) now on her third fight I lost once the won in the fourth I lost twice then won, the same then happened with The Green Lantern, Captain Marvel, Lex Luther and Superman but it was getting worse and worse until when starting off as Superman I started to not care about the fights until the second loss had come by.  The same thing then happened after I lowered the difficulty and started the other story.

The rest of the game is just fine easy is easy normal is normal and hard is you’ve guessed it hard. The Kombo mode could have done with a timer something to help you get the combos down but it is fine.

The Gameplay Experience

Fighting Mechanics

The fighting is the correct blend between all the past Mortal Kombats gone are the styles that have plagued the past three games but back is the feel of a 2D game. There are still the Kombo Breakers from the last two games but now you have to get quite beaten up to get them, the rage mode (which you can use if you save two Kombo Breakers) while seems useful is quite pointless.

Sounds

The game is best played with the bass up the hits from punches and kicks sound nice and heavy, but you can tell that they used a lot from past games be it Raiden’s gibberish while Flying through the air or Scorpion’s shout of “get over here”. Sadly during a fight there little in the way of music to be heard which can make the game feel empty.

Final Thoughts

In all despite the annoying things about the game i loved my time with MK vs DC and i will be playing for a long time.

P.S i will add a review of the online after getting to play it abit more.

Numerous times I've tried to get into fighting games.  I've tried Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter, and Tekken, yet none of them kept me interested for more than a week.  The problem isn't with the quality of the games, most of them were near AAA productions, but rather, the problem was me.  I couldn't cope with the confusing blocks, parries, combos, etc.  These games were obviously designed for the hardcore fighting fans, and therefore I wasn't part of the target audience.  This said, I still was looking for a gateway game to get me interested with the genre.  I've finally found that game, and surprisingly, it was MK vs. DC.  Essentially, this review will cater to the people who have never really gotten into fighting games, but might be interested in the prospect.
I know I'm not a fighting effiicanoto, but I'm glad I'm not an elitist when it comes to games, otherwise I probably wouldn't have given this game a shot.  Many people have already begun to poo poo on the game, but it doesn't deserve it.  MK is a different beast from SC or VF.  I'll be straightforward and say that the game isn't meant for the hardcore.  MK vs. DC has some problems with "cheap" moves and frame counting is out of the questions here.  The hardcore may also complain that everyone has a similar move set, etc etc.  However, this won't matter to the people trying to become aquanted with fighting games.  For example, I never recognized that any of the characters have similar move sets (most of their special moves are rather unique), and though the cheap moves do suck when they're spammed, it's satisfying to learn how to block those moves and kick that spammer's ass.
MK vs. DC has several modes, which include: arcade, story (with 2 campaigns), two player, and "kombo" challenge.  Arcade is like any other arcade mode in any other fighting game.  The same goes for two player.  However, the story for this game is different.  One would expect that the MK universe meshing with the DC universe would produce one of the worst stories ever, but that's not true here.  Whoever wrote the story did it in a brilliant fashion.  Overall, it's intreging and it gets the player to play through all of the characters at least one time.  I'm not sure how long it takes to get through both campaigns, but it only took me a couple of days.  Unlike the story, MK vs. DC's kombo challenge is EXTREMELY difficult.  The basic jist of kombo mode is to complete elaborate combos.  This proves difficult because the combos are not demonstrated and in addition to that, the player's timing must be perfect.  Despite this, once the player actually nails one of these moves he or she has to feel accomplished.
The controls are decent for the PS3.  It may be due to my lack of experience, but I sometimes found it extremely difficult to pull of certain combos with the D-pad alone.  The analogue stick wont help you here either because the stick is permantly mapped for 3D movement; hence you can't jump with the sticks.  Honestly, I want to get an arcade stick and see how it compares to using the dualshock.  Anyways, the game's controls are good, but it feels like they're not spot on.
MK vs. DC is a great game.  It's got the fighting essentials (arcade, two player), a great story, and an entertaing cast of characters.  Most importantly, this game is just plain ole' fun.  Not everything is spot on, but I don't think the game was designed for such.  If this review hasn't convinced you to at least give the game a try, then take this into consideration.  I live in a freshman dorm and when I put this game in it attracts so much attention from the other people on the hall...and all of them found the game to be tons of fun.

MK Vs. DC Universe 4.5/5

+ Great Variety in character selection
+ Storyline explains how DC characters can meet the MK fighters. They're not just tacked in
+ Solid Fighting Engine and Online Mode

- Short Story Mode. Both can be beaten in a couple of hours
- Toned down krazy violence from past Mortal Kombats. Understandable though as it is T- rated
                                                         - Matchmaking can be slow to connect. Not enough online options

Mortal Kombat Returns and it brings along familiar faces in MK vs. DC Universe. How can this be? Don`t worry, all is explained in the game`s story mode which splits into two versions of the same overlaying plot. You'll see Batman fighting Scorpion, Raiden taking on Superman, and any and all combinations you could want in a game where universes collide. The roster clocks in at 20, ten for each side, with a few secret characters to unlock. The story is well written and understandable, but is also pretty short. Both the DC and MK sides last only a little bit over an hour and Completing the Arcade mode with each character can also be beaten pretty quickly as well. 

What has always been appealing to Mortal Kombat games were the fatalities, finishing moves that were violent, crazy, funny, and over the top. Mostly violent though. They are still in MK vs. DC, but are toned down in order to maintain a T-Rating. Toned down isn't a bad thing in this case, as this allows the Super heroes to have finishers of their own. Named "Heroic Brutalities" for the good heroes, these moves still require quick and precise button presses in order to successfully pull a finisher off after a match.

The Fighting engine is quite good in this game as well, even more defined than past popular Mortal Kombats. Gone are the weapons and styles of the PS2 and Xbox games, and now include traditional punches and kicks, along with a variety of special moves to perform. Playing online was fun too, with lag barely noticeable for me. What was an issue was finding a match and also finding someone with an equal skill to compete against. I was mostly matched up against players who had win streaks of 20  or more, and players far better than me. It was still fun to play with friends, but at least for me, quick matches always turned up with advanced players which might turn off beginners like me to hop online.

Overall this is a great fighting game with familiar superheroes to choose from and many classic Mk characters. The game has a few problems here and there including no option to choose a level to fight on in multiplayer matches and has less extra options than other fighting games, which may decrease the time you have with the game, especially since there are so many new games to play. But if you love The MK series, this is a great addition to the fighting franchise. 4.5/5 Great Game to Check Out

MK vs DCU is an absolute tease.

The game proves that Mortal Kombat is back and far from over, yet instead of giving us a true MK game, we are treated to a mash-up.

Want to see Liu Kang bite Superman in half? Hah, you wish. While the DC heroic brutalities are entertaining, they aren't as savage as they could be and the game seems held back by it's teen rating.

Creator Ed Boon had to dumb the game down to please the DC suits, so gone are the ultra-vicious fatalities.

While the dissapointment that the MK side of the game isn't as violent as some would want, the truth is the DC characters are well executed and enjoyable. The DC characters have unique play styles and while MK fanboys may be wanting a true MK game, the DC fanboys might feel the same way.

Knocking MK vs DCU just because it's not a true MK game is not justified though. The game has a strong fighting engine, two decent story modes, online play and the versus action is still a blast. There is plenty to love in MK vs. DCU but it's far from perfect.

The problem lies in that the characters can be unresponsive at times, almost like controlling dead wood. The age-old issue of momentum still plagues MK (such as running and then suddenly stopping on a dime) and the new klose kombat and air kombat features are just distracting mini-games. They could have been pitched, but they do add a "oh snap," factor the first few times they occur.

The level design is somewhat boring as well. MK had great levels with traps and while the game is rated T and would never feature traps such as a meat grinder, a few electric fences would have been nice. The only real traps in the game are hitting someone off the arena to intiate klose kombat, or running them through a wall.

All in all, MK vs DCU is a great game to own for any MK fan or DC fanboy. While you might be wondering why some classic characters from each side were omitted, DLC is sure to fix that problem in the future. If you don't mind that MK vs DCU isn't the deepest fighter in the world, and that it is also lacking the vicious style of previous MK games, there is a lot to enjoy in MK vs. DCU.