Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe



Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (abbreviated as MK vs. DC) is a crossover fighting game from Midway Games in the Mortal Kombat series which was released November 16 2008. The game contains characters from both the Mortal Kombat franchise and the DC Universe. The game's story was written by comic writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. It is available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.

Story
When a cataclysmic force merges conquerors from two universes, conflict is inevitable. Kombat forces friends to fight, worlds to collide, and unlikely alliances to be forged. In order to save all they know, the heroes and villains of Mortal Kombat must wage war against the combined might of the DC Universe (DCU). How can either side prevail when rage blinds them to the dark threat poised to destroy them all?

Roster
According to interviews, the characters were chosen for their popularity and parallels between the characters from both universes. 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 will have some vulnerabilities because of magic, otherwise the game would be sorely unbalanced.

The originally plannedMortal Kombat 8(?)
Before MK vs. D.C was announced, Midway released several hints of what Mortal Kombat 8 would be like. It was said it would be available for Xbox 360,PS3,and PC. Despite a Wii version not being announced, there was some requests and beliefs that there would be a Wii version. It turned out that the PC version was simply an error, and there is no PC version. Midway also announced that Mortal Kombat 8 would be more dark and scary, and would be like the graphics of Gears of War. Midway also announced that Mortal Kombat 8 would be where most every original Mortal Kombat dies, except a few survivors, and they would then make most of the new characters by scratch. It was also confirmed that Scorpion and Sub-Zero will be surviving characters. There was a long hiatus of Mortal Kombat 8 confirmations after this, and then it was announced that MK vs. DC was going to be made. It is currently unknown whether the oringinal Mortal Kombat 8 ideas were completely scrapped, or if MK vs. DC really wasn't Mortal Kombat 8 and just a spin-off and all those confirmations are going to be for the real Mortal Kombat 8.

Canon(?)
While it is debated if MK vs. DC is part of the canon story, it may be possible it fits into the canon somewhere between Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 4 due to some references:
 * The younger Sub-Zero is used instead of the elder, and Scorpion still holds a grudge against him (due to a lie by Quan Chi).
 * Shao Kahn is seen in the beginning to be defeated as he was in Mortal Kombat II.
 * Liu Kang is still alive.

However, it still seems unlikely as Khan was trapped in the Phantom Zone, and Darkseid was trapped in the Netherealm. Interestingly, in Shao Kahn and Darkseid both break free of their prisons in their respective endings.

Characters
Quan Chi, Shazam, and the Guardians of the Universe make cameo apperances in Story Mode.

Gameplay
The game features 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,the player must also play as different characters which are split into chapters.

Intertwined with the fights there are 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 building up their super bar,when a player's super bar fills,they can activate a strong character specific move which slams the opponent into the ground,ultimately ending the sequence,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.A new mode called Rage Mode is activated when the fighter's second gauge bar fills up and the damage to the opponent increases and the opponent cannot harm you unless both of you are in rage mode.

During fights, the characters show permanent signs of visual damage, such as bruises, blood marks, and broken or torn clothing pieces (for example, Scorpion's mask will fall if he is hit in the face many times).

Test Your Might makes a return as an in-game fighting feature. By throwing an opponent through a wall, the offensive player mashes buttons to drive the opponent through a set number of walls while the player on the defense mashes buttons to decrease the damage taken.

The Mortal Kombat characters and the DC villians have 2 fatalities each while DC heroes have 2 heroic brutalities each which functions similarly to fatalities except without killing the opponent. These fatalities and brutalities are only available in arcade mode.