Get over here! Mortal Kombat is back married with the universe of DC comics. Fond memories exist of the early games in this old franchise but recent additions have never been particularly stellar. With the addition of the DC universe, Midway Amusement Games is determined pump some fresh life into the game and help everyone settle their couch arguments about which character would win in a fight. But what’s more important is will they conquer the merging of these franchises and the recent mediocrity with this next installment.  

The story is told from two different perspectives and the option is yours as to whose you see. Both last about two and a half hours and are okay. People are vanishing without a trace in both worlds, unbeknownst to the other. Through several chapters you work to figure out what’s going on and stop it. Each chapter will have you controlling another person in the story. The premise is that both of the worlds are colliding and people are becoming infected with intermittent rage. Both storylines are based upon characters from previous games, so if you haven’t played the previous Mortal Kombat games, you’ll be more than a little confused. All in all though, there is enough to keep a sense of progression as the story unravels but there isn’t much depth. For those who want a more traditional single player, there is the Arcade mode. You have your option of any of the 22 characters and if you want to fight just one side or both. Most of the 22 characters are easily recognizable but there are a couple less known additions that will please fans.

Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe has its pros and cons depending on whom you are and what you desire from a fighter. It has all the fundamentals covered and controls are pretty good. If you’re new to fighters, it will take a little time to get use to pulling off moves but once it clicks, you’ll be pulling off moves with glorious ease. Unfortunately the move lists are short and the codes for the fatalities must be bought in the strategy guide or found online, which is inexcusable. The game is very accessible and for better or worse, button mashing is a legitimate strategy. But that’s what makes the game fun, you can invite a couple friends over and have relatively balanced fights. The game mechanics caters to the casuals and for what it’s worth, does it very well. There are two mechanics which I believe don’t work too well unfortunately. The first is called Close Kombat which will enter the two fighters into almost a quick time event where you have to press buttons before the other player to succeed. An extension of this is when you knock people to the next tier you’ll enter a similar quick time event, which ultimately turns into a mash the buttons as fast as you can event. It does add a different gameplay style but it just comes off as unpolished and archaic. The next issue I have is the Rage Mode. During the fight you will accrue points for blocking and pulling off certain moves which once the meter fills, allows you to enter Rage state. In this state, you’re pretty much unstoppable for a couple seconds which can pretty easily turn the tides of the battle and comes off very cheap. You’ll have a pretty evenly matched fight and all of a sudden they’ll enter rage state, which first knocks you down and then they get a couple seconds to wail on you which is hard to counter. Taking the game online mirrors the two-player couch experience very well with little to no lag. One of the cool features included is that at the end of a fight, you’ll have the option to continue playing with that person or just moving on. The best way to put the entire experience is accessible and fun but lacks the depth of other titles.

The best way to describe the graphics is like walking into an arcade and playing the newest fighter there. It’s going to look poor when compared to a modern console fight. The same applies here. It also seems quite tame. Like the censor Nazis came around and ripped out the soul of Mortal Kombat. The characters show actual damage which is really neat but the graphic violence, especially the fatalities, have been neutered. The Joker is the particular gem of this game; much love went into crafting him and his unique moves but not every character got such a thorough workup. A lot of the characters just look uninspired and dull. One of the characters looks like the alien at the end of Aliens Resurrection. Too bad Ripley isn’t here to save the day. It would’ve been nice to see them not play so safe with the character designs. Animations are okay and appear a little stiff for some of the characters. The special effects like Lex Luther’s rocket to the screen seem particularly low quality. It almost appears almost like they built this for a lower spec arcade machine and then ported it to the consoles therefore it will look decent but dated.

Thinking back upon my time with the early entries, it’s surprising how fond I was of the sound design. Scorpions token line “get over here” or the Mortal Kombat movie theme song. I actually had the soundtrack to that movie on cassette tape and I made my parents listen to it in the car. So when I placed the disc into the tray, I was expecting my 5.1 system to sing like a church choir and my neighbor to call the cops to end my auditory bliss. Yet this did not happen. I was not welcomed to the depths of outworld with cheesy catchy techno music and scorpions token line sounded like someone talking at conversational level. Not to say they are bad, the lines are decently delivered, but they just lack the edge to make them sound really cool.

The once big mighty guerrilla of the fighting genre has been tamed. He gained a nice companion with the DC Universe that added some fresh life into the franchise but it nonetheless feels mediocre. The story has a decent premise but gets caught up in its own gimmick which it uses every other fight to pad the already short length. There is enough to keep you going but references to previous games being central to the story can cause some confusion. Like playing a sequel without first playing its predecessor. The gameplay is decent and enjoyable with button-mashing an acceptable fighting style which will please the casuals. Unfortunately the move list seems pretty tiny and will bore hardcore fighters. You also have to go online (or buy the strategy guide) to find the move list for fatalities which is inexcusable. The rage mode feels really cheap and takes some strategy out of the game. Graphics are not up to par with others in the genre, almost feels like playing in an arcade where the looks are a couple years behind. The hallmarks of Mortal Kombat have also been stripped for a more tame graphical style of players getting bruises instead of copious guts and gore. The voiceovers and sound effects are decently delivered but lack the edge to make them sound really cool. You’ll have fun playing through this casual-centric fighter but don’t expect the depth and life of other recent fighters. Most fans of the genre could pass with a rental and inviting friends over whereas fans of the properties might want to take a closer look but still not worth full price.

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