Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe - Previews


	Platform Playstation 3, Xbox 360 Genre Fighting Publisher Midway Developer Midway ETA November 10, 2008
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Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

The only strange thing about Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is that the pairing took so long. Capcom and Marvel combined characters in their Capcom vs. Marvel fighting game years ago with very good results. But it wasn't just Capcom that got in on the character-crossover feature. I can still remember the brouhaha that resulted in Soul Calibur II featuring cameos by Link (Legend of Zelda), Spawn (Spawn), and Heihachi Mishima (Tekken). If done right guest star roles and series crossovers can be a lot of fun and from what has been shown of Mortal Kombat vs. DV Universe this is one combination that is going to work beyond the novelty of seeing these characters together.

In the single-player "campaign", playing on the DC or Mortal Kombat sides tells a story about the other side "invading" the opposing dimension. Like all other fighting

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games, the story plays second fiddle (or possibly, third fiddle) to the characters and their abilities.

Classic Mortal Kombat fighters like Jax, Sub-Zero, Sonya Blade, Lui Kang, Kano, and Kitana return, but the emphasis this time around has clearly been placed on the DC Universe characters, a roster which so far includes Superman, Flash, Batman, Deathstroke, Shazam,

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The Joker, Catwoman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman. There are many message board forums rife with speculation of more DC Universe characters that have not been confirmed but would make sense in the context of a fighting game, like Bane, Lex Luthor, Hawkman, Martian Manhunter, Robin, Swamp Thing, and Rorschach. Really, the list of potential characters is pretty long.

With the confirmed list of characters ceiling-out at 18 - nine characters per side - it seems like a pretty short list of characters. Assuming the list of fighters is "final" this gives rise to the idea that there will be unlockable characters or Midway will tap into the vein of downloadable content in the form of more characters.

When it comes to the fighting, everything appears to be a continuation of the kind of combat we've all become used to over the last few years, with a couple of wrinkles in the form of so-called "Free-Fall Kombat" and "Klose Kombat."

Free-Fall Kombat appears to act as a transition between areas of each arena. During these transitions, players can continue to fight in an effort to build up a "power" bar. Once the power bar is filled, the free-fall is concluded with the "winner" ending the fall by pounding the opponent into the ground. Klose Kombat allows a player to enter a kind of boxing mode, with the camera zoomed right in on the encounter all the better to see the persistent damage to both fighters and costumes. There's also the chance to smash enemies through walls and perform the trademarked Fatalities, which are labeled as "Brutalities" for the DC heroes because Superman just wouldn't rip someone's spine out and play it like a banjo. (It appears that the DC villains have no such restriction.)

Mortal Kombat has never been one of those "technical" fighters buried in complex, timed combos and lighting fast competitive play. It has always leaned to the fun side of things, button-mashing and all. And with this crossover the appeal to casual fighting fans will likely increase, particularly if the online component is brought up to the same level as the recently released Soul Calibur IV.

- Omni

(September 1, 2008)