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Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe may not be one of the best comic book fighting games of all time, but it’s definitely the best Mortal Kombat game we’ve seen in a long time. It’s also the first time we’ve been able to take control of DC’s finest in a fighting game in over a decade.

For years I played Justice League: Task Force on my Sega Genesis, patiently awaiting the day we would get a new DC fighter, but I never would have expected it would come in the form of a Mortal Kombat game. This was indeed great news for me, personally.

With a much more simplified, yet familiar gameplay style, MK vs. DC isn’t nearly as deep a fighting game as Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, or any other fighter by Capcom, but that doesn’t keep MK vs. DC from being really fun! Each fighter of course has super and special moves complimenting their unique powers and abilities which is a blast, but just beating your opponent to death with your fists is very satisfying.

Then again, the heroes of the DC Universe aren’t beating anyone to death in the game (Well, maybe Wonder Woman if Maxwell Lord were a playable character), thus the huge amount of bitching and complaining about this game begins.

I personally have very little complaints about MK vs. DC; my only major one being my disappointment for no downloadable characters before Midway closed its doors. But boy-oh-boy do the hardcore nerds have lots to whine about. I guess a large amount of the comic book gaming community thought the DC heroes’ Brutalities (as opposed to MK’s Fatalities) were weak and lame. I disagree with that. Why? Because it makes sense. Superman and Batman aren’t going around taking lives maliciously in the comic books, so why should they in the game? I can understand hardcore MK fans being disappointed with the Teen rating just because they’re battling characters who will surely attract children, but if that’s enough to keep you from playing this game, than you’re sorely missing out.

Probably the biggest complaint about this game, and one I still hear today almost 2 years after the game’s release, is about how the MK fighters can stand up against characters like Superman or Green Lantern, or vise versa, how a character like the Joker can hold his own against the likes of Sub Zero or Lu Kang. The game’s story offered a decent explanation of how all of this is possible; some sort of magical imbalance caused by the two universes merging, but it astonishes me that some people, especially people who are so used to suspending reality, cannot use their imaginations for this video game.

Like with most fighting games, a big complaint is always the roster size, and like I mentioned before, no character DLC is very disappointing, but I’m sure if Midway didn’t have financial issues, we would have seen more characters. Top rumored downloadable characters were Harley Quinn, Doomsday, Goro and Quan Chi, as well as an alternate Heath Ledger-style costume for the Joker. I really would have liked to have seen Martian Manhunter and Johnny Cage on the roster to begin with, though.

Thankfully, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment bought the Mortal Kombat franchise from Midway as they went bankrupt, so there’s now potential for a future Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe 2. WBIE is preparing the release of Mortal Kombat 9 next year, a solo MK game which looks great, and maybe someday we’ll get a solo DC fighting game from the buys working on MK. Until then, I’ll still be playing Justice League: Task Force every now and then.

Also, is it just me, or would anyone else love a Mortal Kombat comic book series?

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Andrew Hurst
andrewhurst@comicattack.net