Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe – Review
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Midway is essentially baking Capcom a cake and buying them a hooker with their recent production of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Let me explain. A while back Capcom, creator of such wonderful games as Street Fighter and Darkstalkers, obtained the rights to produce fighting games around the characters in the Marvel universe. This, of course, spawned X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes, two very good fighting games much in the vein of Street Fighter, except way more fast paced and flashy. Upon realizing that their sprite mechanics were essentially the same across all of their fighting games, they developed the Versus series, which began with X-Men vs. Street Fighter and evolved into Marvel vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, and eventually Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which remains a classic to this day. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was also considered the last in the Versus series, and although Capcom went on to produce Capcom vs. SNK, and Capcom vs. Tatsunoko, these games were slower and more reminiscent of traditional Street Fighter series games rather than the fast-paced wacky fighting of Marvel vs. Capcom.
If enough time passes, eventually everyone has an imitator or two, and, while Marvel vs. Capcom was (arguably) the biggest comic franchise teaming up with (arguably) the biggest fighting game franchise, MK vs. DC is, well, a total ripoff. It features (arguably) the second-biggest comic franchise teaming up with (arguably) the second-biggest fighting game franchise. Does it work? Well … arguably yes, but not in ways you would expect.
You see, Mortal Kombat was known for its blood, gore, and absolute commitment to off-the-wall violence. DC? Well DC is the land of Superman, where punches with the force of a ten-ton truck merely knock you out instead of breaking your neck and shattering your skull. Not entirely compatible when it comes down to it. Most of the blood, guts, and violence from MK vs. DC has been totally removed, bringing down the ratings in the hope of drawing a teen audience. In the end, this makes the MK side of things feel really, really gimped, which is unfortunate. It will shock you to learn that sometimes all gamers want to do is see someone rip another man’s spine out of his back.
Fortunately, though, this doesn’t at all feel like it is gimping the DC side of things. You see, the last time we really had a DC fighting game was way back when, in the days of the SNES. I’m not the biggest fan of the Mortal Kombat fighting system, and personally I think it feels a little slow, but it has withstood the test of time, and takes its place alongside other notable 3D fighters of our day. When you think of the sort of gritty fights that DC comics have shown us over the years, DC superheroes were probably meant for the MK fighting system all along.
In the end, MK vs. DC is actually pretty much just “the next Mortal Kombat,” and DC characters just happen to be in it. Fighting games are not exactly known for their plot, but rather for their character roster, gameplay balance, and overall fun factor, butMK vs. DC’s plot is actually pretty believable. The kiddy gloves on the violence is a bit annoying, but heck, with a few more iterations, we may be seeing Bane ripping men in half before you know it.
(25 votes, average: 2.80 out of 4)
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