Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe



Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is an upcoming scheduled crossover fighting game from Midway Games in the Mortal Kombat series, which will contain characters from both the Mortal Kombat franchise and the DC Universe. The game's story will be written by comic writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. This will be the first game in the franchise that will not bear the "M" Rating as confirmed by the producer Ed Boon in a video interview.

Epic Games reports that the game is being developed using their Unreal Engine 3 and the release has been announced for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. A specific release date has not yet been revealed, but a playable game demo is expected to be available in E3 2008 between July 15 and July 17.

Roster
The game is aimed to feature 20-22 characters, which would be divided in equal number between DC characters and Mortal Kombat ones. In the end this number may vary, but it is considered a target number. Confirmed so far are Scorpion and Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat, while Superman and Batman are the confirmed DC characters. Sonya Blade and The Flash were also seen in the screenshots, making Sonya Blade the third confirmed MK character for the game, and the first confirmed female from both sides of the worlds as well. According to interviews, the characters are being chosen mainly looking for parallels between the characters from both universes. For one, Sub-Zero seems to have been chosen as Batman's face-off, according to the game art and trailer. Ed Boon has said that some of the characters' abilities, especially on the DC side, have been toned down to make them balanced within the game. A case of this Ed Boon mentioned, is Superman no longer being invulnerable as he usually is, for example he may now be hurt by Scorpion's spear.

Confirmed characters
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! align="center" width=250 |''Mortal Kombat characters ! align="center" width=250 |''DC Comics characters
 * Sub-Zero||Batman
 * Scorpion||Superman
 * Sonya Blade||Flash
 * Catwoman}
 * Sonya Blade||Flash
 * Catwoman}
 * Catwoman}

Gameplay
Most gaming websites have released a video, showing Batman fighting Sub-Zero, with the promo render at the end. The video showcases new backgrounds, and new fighting techniques.

It has been announced that the game will feature a story mode, playable from two different perspectives, one from the DC side, and one from the Mortal Kombat side, and depending on which side players choose, they will see the characters from the opposite universe as the invaders of their own.

Gameplay-wise, the game promises to add several new things, as well as remove some old mechanics. For instance, it has been stated that there will be no mini-games as there were in the last two installments of Mortal Kombat (such as the Puzzle Kombat and Chess Kombat games in Mortal Kombat: Deception).

Intertwined with the fights there will be new gameplay modes featuring totally different game dynamics to the usual fight. These modes are free-fall kombat which is activated automatically after throwing the opponent to a lower level in the arena. The player can fight in the air during the fall, after which the winner will land on his opponent, which will probably affect the course of the fight; and klose kombat which is a mode you can enter during a fight, causing the characters to lock with each other and the perspective to change to a close-up of the two, to make for an interval of close-quarters fighting (much like in boxing games).

It has also been said that during fights, the characters will show permanent signs of damage, such as bruises, blood marks, and broken or torn clothing pieces.

Online play has been announced as a feature, but no further details have been given on the matter.

Arenas
There are currently five confirmed arenas. The "Hell" arena and the "Lin Kuei Temple" arena from Mortal Kombat will be available, as well as DC Comics locations Metropolis, the Batcave, and Gotham City.

Reception
A released promotional video for the game shows Batman fighting Sub-Zero and portrays new gameplay modes.

It has been announced that the game will feature a story mode, playable from two different perspectives, one from the DC side, and one from the Mortal Kombat side, and depending on which side players choose, they will see the characters from the opposite universe as the invaders of their own.

Gameplay-wise, the game promises to add several new things, as well as remove some old mechanics. For instance, it has been stated that there will be no mini-games as there were in the last two installments of Mortal Kombat (such as the Puzzle Kombat and Chess Kombat games in Mortal Kombat: Deception).

Intertwined with the fights there will be new gameplay modes featuring totally different game dynamics to the usual fight. These modes are "Free-fall Kombat", which is activated automatically after throwing the opponent to a lower level in the arena. The player can fight in the air during the fall, after which the winner will land on his opponent, which will probably affect the course of the fight; and "Klose Kombat", which is a mode you can enter during a fight, causing the characters to lock with each other and the perspective to change to a close-up of the two, to make for an interval of close-quarters fighting (much like in boxing games).

During fights, characters will show permanent signs of damage, such as bruises, blood marks, and broken or torn clothing pieces and fatalities.

Online play has been announced as a feature, but no further details have been given.

On June 24, 2008, in a recent interview with Ed Boon, he confirmed that all of the MK characters and DC villains will have fatalities, while DC heroes will have brutalities

Related sites

 * Official site
 * Kamidogu's news about MK VS. DC
 * Ed Boon's Official Site
 * MKNexusonline news about the rooftop in Gotham City and the Batcave stages.
 * High resolution concept renders at Mortal Kombat Secrets.