A Kommendable Kreation: Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe

Through the sixteen year history of the Mortal Kombat franchise, the series has undergone a number of interesting evolutionary changes. The franchise started as a simplistic two dimensional fighter that garnered attention due to its fatalities- finishing moves that allowed the player to perform over-the-top dismembering moves to the opposing fighter. Little innovation beyond an expanded character roster occurred with the game until 1998, when Mortal Kombat 4 brought the series into the third dimension. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks saw the franchise ape God of War, and abandon its fighting mechanic altogether.

Last April, developer Midway announced the latest direction the series would take: MK characters would fight personalities from the DC Comic universe, in a brilliant pop-culture mash-up. While the hybridization of the two licenses seemed rife with possibility, one caveat worried gamers: the otherwise visceral MK series would have to tamed in order to achieve a ‘Teen’ ESRB rating. Speculation immediately occurred across message boards of the viability of this modification.

While a few players may miss the decapitations and Grand Guignol of the series, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe has lost little of its brutality, as characters are thrown though walls and mists of blood punctuate every hit. The title clearly rests of the cusp of a “T” rating. Instead of focusing on the weapon based combat that has permeated the series for the last ten years, MK vs DCU offers a pared-down single fighting style. However, there a few new additions to the pugilistic battling. Once ‘Klose Kombat’ is activated with a press of the right bumper, the screen zooms in on the two fighters. The initiator uses the face buttons to create a sequence that must be copied by the other character. A similar style of dualing comes into play when players land a successful attack near the edge of a vertically stacked arena. ‘Free Fall Kombat’ employs the same mechanic, but has players vying for supremacy while the warriors plunge downward. As players trade combos, they switch positions midflight, until the victor cushions his fall with the other characters body, resulting in a severe loss of health.

Continued: http://tech-gaming.com/2008/11/15/a-kommendable-kreation-mortal-kombat-vs-dc-universe.aspx