Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008) (VG)

Director:

Dominic Cianciolo

Writers:

Alexander Barrentine (story)
Ed Boon (co-creator)

Release Date:

16 November 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy

Tagline:

Worlds Collide

Cast

Ron Banks	...	Quan Chi (voice)
Dana Lyn Baron	...	Sonya Blade (voice)
Perry Brown	...	Darkseid / Dark Kahn (voice)
Tom Choi	...	Liu Kang (voice)
Kevin Delaney	...	Captain Marvel (voice)
Richard Epcar	...	Raiden / The Joker (voice)
David Gazzana	...	Batman (voice) (as Dave Gazzana)
Taliesin Jaffe	...	The Flash / Security Guard (voice) (as T. Axelrod)
James Kyson Lee	...	Shang Tsung (voice) (as James Lee)
P.J. Mattson	...	Catwoman (voice)
Michael McConnohie	...	Kano / Ganthet / Newscaster (voice)
Jim Miller	...	Sub-Zero (voice)
Josh Phillips	...	Green Lantern (voice)
Tara Platt	...	Wonder Woman (voice)
Herman Sanchez	...	Announcer (voice)
Patrick Seitz	...	Scorpion / Deathstroke / Shao Kahn / Dark Kahn (voice)
Christopher Corey Smith	...	Superman / Guardian #3 / Batcave Computer (voice) (as Chris Smith)
Joe Thomas	...	Lex Luthor / Shazam / Guardian #1 (voice)
Dan Washington	...	Jax / Baraka (voice)
S.G. Willie	...	Kitana / Sonya Blade (voice)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:T

Company:

DC Comics

Trivia:

The first Mortal Kombat game to ever to have a fatality censored in North America. Since North America carries a 13+ rating, the camera cuts away just before the Joker's gun shoots his victim in the head. The Pal version keeps the original version intact since their Teen rating is for 16 and over.

Quotes:

Raiden: You will release Liu Kang at once.
[shoots electricity at Batman]
Batman: Let me guess, you're from the same place as Liu Kang and Scorpion.
Raiden: How is it possible?
Batman: Insulated armor.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "True Life: I'm a Fan Boy" (2009)

Another great comic book/video game crossover since Marvel vs. Capcom 2

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Mortal Kombat first hit the arcade back in 1992. This arcade game changed the face of fighting games with excessive use of blood and gore and over the top finishing moves. The game also had digi-sprites that gave it a sense of photorealism. Mortal Kombat would later on become one of the most popular and legendary fighting game series in video game history. Jump ahead almost sixteen years and we would be given a very interesting game in this franchise since Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Here's a review of the game.

Story: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe has no set continuity in either the Mortal Kombat series or the DC comic books but it is given a cheesy yet clever plot by two well known comic book writers, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. In the MK universe, Shao Kahn was defeated by Raiden and his Earthrealm warriors in Outworld while at the same time in the DC Universe, Superman has defeated Darkseid in a failed invasion of Earth. The two heroes blasted the villains of their respective universes through portals in an attempt to destroy them but instead of destroying them, both Shao Kahn and Darkseid merged into a demonic being with powers of apocalyptic proportions called Dark Kahn. The appearance of Dark Kahn resulted in the two universes to fuse together and causing outbreaks of violent combat rage. When the Mortal Kombat fighters and the DC superheroes and supervillains meet for the first time, they see each other as otherworldly invaders and minions of Dark Kahn. They must put aside their differences to stop Dark Kahn before it's too late. 3/5

Graphics: The graphics look pretty cool thanks to the Unreal 3 engine. The character models look great and the backgrounds look stunning. There some minor clipping issues with the some of the characters but it's not enough to take off any points. 5/5

Sound: The voice actors are mixed bag, Richard Epcar was pretty good as Raiden and wasn't too bad as the Joker but he's no Mark Hamill while the same time, the voice actor of Catwoman could've been better. The announcer sounds really great. I love the sound of objects breaking when slamming the opponent into something. The sounds of punches and kicks are arcade quality. 4/5

Gameplay: There is a pretty good variety of gameplay in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Midway has added some pretty good mechanics such as Free Fall Kombat where you can beat your opponent while the both of you fall then perform a special move, Klose Kombat where you hit your opponent up close with the camera moved close to you and your opponent, and lastly, Test Your Might where you can throw your opponent to the wall, tackle him/her through the wall and into a series of rooms to another part of the stage. MK vs. DCU goes back to the 2D style controls while retaining the 3D controls which I think is a plus for the game. Another thing that is a plus are the absence of mini-games which the last three Mortal Kombat installments had. Also the the gimmicky finishers such as the animalities, babalities, and friendships weren't put into the game which is a good thing but that's my opinion. Speaking of finishers, the fatalities were toned down since DC put some understandable restrictions on Midway. The Mortal Kombat fighters and the DC supervillians can do the fatalities while the DC superheroes can do heroic brutalities, that's pretty understandable because everyone knows superheroes don't kill. Midway was pretty smart with the Unreal 3 engine unlike their god awful first person shooter game, Black Site: Area 51. 5/5

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a pretty interesting game for both MK fans and comic book fans to check out, however if you are a hardcore MK fan, then this game isn't for you. MK vs. DCU is a pretty good crossover game since Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and perhaps would hold you over until Street Fighter IV comes out.

Final Score: 3.5/5