Video game review: Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe
THE NEXT LEVEL
DC Comics superheroes do battle with the denizens of Mortal Kombat in “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.” The Midway game is available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
“Mortal Kombat” began as an arcade game in 1992, and has since become one of the most popular fighting games of all time. Characters, each with special fighting moves and abilities, include Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Liu Kang. DC Comics is one of the most popular comic-book publishers in the world, with characters including Superman, Batman and the Flash.
In the game, the worlds of DC Comics and Mortal Kombat are merging, and characters from each world are being thrown into the other. A psychic rage force inhabits these cross-dimensional travelers, making it impossible for them to work with the characters from the other world. This leads them into Mortal Kombat. The game can be played as a single-player game starting either from the DC world or the Mortal Kombat world. Gamers also can play head-to-head with any of the included characters.
Four new scenarios have been added to the combat; perhaps the best is Free-Fall, in which gamers battle while tumbling in midair. Test Your Might is another new scenario that allows characters to tackle opponents through walls.
The game is rated T for teen, which caused some consternation among longtime “Kombat” fans. The game has long been known for its bloody “fatalities,” in which the winning character taunts the loser with a move, which could include freezing their body and smashing it to bits, or pulling out a character’s spine. One assumes DC Comics didn’t want a game in which Superman’s spine could be ripped out, so all the fatalities in “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe” are more in line with the game’s teen rating.
Despite the strange mix, “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe” is a fun fighting game that will appeal especially to comic-book fans.
The game retails for $59.99; there’s also a $69.99 “Kollector’s Edition” of the game available, which contains an exclusive 16-page comic book with a cover by Alex Ross.
– Matthew Price
A version of this review ran in Friday’s The Oklahoman
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