Microsoft
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
By Ryan Newman
Dec 18, 2008, 7 :01 am

While not as common as in comic books, crossovers are not new in videogames. In particular, crossovers are not new in the fighting genre. SNK’s long-running franchise King of Fighters started out as a giant crossover for its various series, while Sega combined several of their properties in Fighters MegaMix and Capcom in Fighting Evolution. The most similar comparison to Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe being, of course, Marvel vs. Capcom. While it might not having the staying power of its rival, MK vs. DC has the wacky, over-the-top chops to entertain for a while.

It’s important to approach MK vs. DC properly. The game isn’t going to replace Virtua Fighter, Tekken, or Soul Calibur in your library. And it isn’t meant to. It is the product of a ridiculous fighting series meeting a comic book universe, and the results are exactly what you would expect. Like Marvel vs. Capcom, it’s wild, bizarre, and slightly unbalanced.  But that’s okay, because that is what I want and expect from my favorite resurrected ninja from hell harpooning a killer dressed like a clown. If you weren’t a fan of the reincarnated Mortal Kombat, then it’s a safe bet that this won’t win you over; however, the system has been refined and smoothed out, so those fence sitters might want to give it a second chance. For those wanting something weird and surprisingly polished and thought out, here you are.

In true comic fashion, the story is bold and forgiving of continuity. Darkseid, the blue guy with the creepy voice from the SuperFriends cartoons, and Shao Kahn, the unbelievably cheap boss from the earlier MK titles, have combined together to form – you guessed it – Dark Kahn. The two universes began to merge after both villains were caught attempting to escape through portals, with the bursts of energy creating a breach between the realms. Each faction views the other as intruders, while the rage – also a new game mechanic that allows players to shrug off attacks once enough has been accumulated  – consumes heroes and fighters, creating chaos. As each side fights their own consumed by rage and the perceived trespassers, separate story modes for each faction tell the winding tale of how each character comes into contact with one another and how the breach will be resolved. It’s actually possible to save during either the story due to their length, and each side’s is pretty entertaining. An admirable job was done combining two disparate universes.

The stories restrict the player to controlling certain characters, but most if not the entire cast are either fought or featured. The rest of the characters are accessible via the arcade option, which has the handy options to fight either crew separately or combined. Those modes, along with online play and a rather difficult kombo challenge mode, are all that’s available, which is a far cry from the everything-but-kitchen-sink approach of the last few MK titles. The lack of oodles of unlockables or modes will disappoint some, especially those weekend on the post last generation releases, and it does shorten the longevity of the title, but the extensive cast of fighters and online play do a good job of beefing things up. The game is also fairly easy to get into, despite the lack of a good training feature.

Characters share similar moves and move sets. That isn’t uncommon in fighters, but the universality is greater in MK vs. DC than elsewhere. For example, nearly, or possibly all, fighters now have a teleport move of some sort. The now standard quarter circle and double tap movements are used for all moves, with many of the special attacks having simple commands that result in some spectacular combat. The Flash in particular looks fantastic zipping back and forth, juggling opponents and spinning them about, all from a few double backs and double forwards. The dial-a-combo system is back, to the chagrin of many, but it is a bit more lax this time around, with moves being more naturally stringed together in unofficial combinations. Since the movements are general through, as each character has moves requiring fluid motion and tapping, becoming familiar with the controls for one character smoothly transition into pulling off moves for another.

I was genuinely surprised at how well the DC cast is handled. The Mortal Kombat characters are what one would expect, but the heroes and villains of the DC universe made the translation to videogames better than they ever have. Batman has some group takedowns to go along with his gadgets, Green Lantern smashes and punches his opponents with the powers of his ring, hell, even Captain Marvel comes across as a badass, his brute strength pummeling both man and nature. Destructible objects in the environment do a lot to convey the raw power of Superman and the others, as columns smash and tumble from ill-timed punches. I can say that I honestly enjoyed playing as each of the DC characters, which is something I can’t say about the MK roster.

The quicktime additions of Free Falling, Test Your Might, and Klose Kombat are actually kind of weak. They look great, but they also feel too random. Combatants can knock an opponent off of one platform and down onto another (Free Falling) or through a few walls (Test Your Might), as well as engage in fisticuffs (Klose Kombat). Buttons blink to indicate an attack or block, and the fighter that initiates the sequence can actually end up the recipient of a brutal beating. Buttons are entered in at different times and subsequently checked against each other, in both Free Falling and Klose Kombat, and if matched the engagement can be broken off. When fighter engage in testing their might, a meter appears with each having to bash buttons to gain the advantage. Free hits and damage bonuses are given to the victors. Again, they look great, but even after experiencing a large number of them I would still consider the outcome of most questionable.

The production values are quite nice as well. The characters look more like action figures than in most games, with a gloss and bulk to each that speaks more to exaggerated plastic than flesh and bone. The look suits the game. The sounds are good, but the voiceovers are excellent. Considering the cast of characters, playing a Superman or Batman is a pretty daunting task, but the cast delivers. There are some technical issues here and there that mar things a bit. The most noticeable foible is a strange glitch whenever a fighter is just outside of range from an attacker’s moves, the victim will suddenly vanish and reappear in the grip of their opponent. If Wonder Woman was getting ready to throw Scorpion but Scorpion had just initiated a jump, instead of escaping he would blip into position so she is able to grab his ankle to throw him. It’s a pretty messy flaw and seems unfair when it’s your character who teleports into the hands of another. The toned down gore will also strike many as odd, but seeing as how cartoonish the violence had become, the more subdued approach isn’t too bad.

Overall: 7.5/10

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe won’t last you for the long haul, but it’s ridiculous fun while it does. The dial-a-combo system and standard mechanics will no doubt be too simple for some, or not enough of a change for others, but they do well in making the game easy to get into and fosters the pick-up-and-play mentality that a game of its type should. Technical fighting fans should stick to the Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, and Last Blade lines, while those looking for a down-and-dirty brawler would do well to give Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe a go.