When it was officially announced a
few months ago at Midway’s Gamer’s Day, few knew exactly what to say about
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The latest title in the Mortal Kombat franchise,
MK vs. DC Universe brings the series to the next-gen, but with some awfully
strange companions, namely Superman, Batman, and a full roster of superheroes
from the DC Comics roster.
However, as wild as the concept
seems, after spending some hands on time with the title, I can say that MK vs.
DC Universe is almost a return-to-roots of sorts for the franchise. The action
is a lot faster than the most recent iterations of the franchise, and the combat
(or kombat) feels a lot more in line with the original 2D versions of the
series. Still, MK vs. DC is going to be a fine entry to the series, and should
be a blast to play.
The combat feels a lot like
old-school MK mostly to the quick nature of the combat. Whereas Deadly Alliance
through Armageddon felt a bit slow and deliberate and had each fighter using
several different fighting styles, this one does away with that in favor of
quick and easy beatings and combos. The special moves appear more to the
forefront this time, and each of the returning characters will have some new
ones to pull off, like Sub-Zero’s Ice Teleport and so on.
The stages still play an important
part to the action, as you’ll be able to attack your opponents as you knock them
into lower tiers and through walls and floors. You press certain button combos
to pummel them through the environment, building up a combo and dealing out more
damage as you go. As you wail on your opponent (or vice versa), they’ll take on
more bruises and visible damage, like cuts and ripped clothes.
There are a couple of elements in
the game that could still be problematic for series fans. Firstly, the
“Fatalities” are vastly different from other games in the series: gone are the
heart-rippings and spine-yanking of yore, in favor for more toned down fare. The
gore level has been substantially toned down in order to obtain a T rating, but
I’d have to admit that seeing Superman rip someone’s head off would be a bit too
much to handle. Look for MK vs. DC Universe to hit later this year.