As we mentioned earlier today in our coverage of the "Watchmen" video game images that hit the 'Net, comic books and video games have such a shared audience that it's surprising it took this long for "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe" to hit shelves. Like the "Marvel vs. Capcom" games, the cast of characters from Mortal Kombat and DC are two great tastes that go great together for gamers -- but what about for comics fans?
Thanks to our pals over at Multiplayer, MTV's nexus of all things gaming, I had a chance to spend the last week or so matching Superman, Batman and various other DC heroes and villains against the Mortal Kombat crew, and -- more importantly -- against themselves. As any geek worth his comics cred would (and really, should) do with the game, much of my playing time consisted of recreating some of my favorite match-ups from comics history, with an eye toward how each of the characters' in-game personas compared to their lives in the four-color world. Here are some of my notes:
WHO WOULD WIN, REALLY? Whether it was a sign of the focus DC decided to take with the game or an indication of how many times Clark Kent has ripped off his glasses for "the fight of his life," there was no shortage of opportunities to recreate Superman's biggest brawls in "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe." I pitted Supes against villains Lex Luthor and Darkseid in the game's single-player "Arcade" mode and in online battles against random opponents, and then, just for kicks, decided to match him up against Batman (a la "The Dark Knight Returns"), Captain Marvel (in sort of a younger version of "Kingdom Come") and The Joker (okay, so the "Emperor Joker" tie-in was a stretch). Maybe it was the controls and maybe it was just my grasp of them, but I have to be honest with you, folks: Superman's win-loss record wasn't anything to crown him the "Man of Steel" over.
As for some of the other classic match-ups I recreated in the game, Batman got the best of The Joker and Catwoman on most occasions, though I'll admit enjoying the heck out of playing as The Clown Prince of Crime. I can't help wishing that characters like Black Adam or Sinestro made the cut, though, as good match-ups for Green Lantern and Captain Marvel were a bit lacking. Heck, any member of Flash's rogues gallery would've been a nice addition. As it was, I pitted the Scarlet Speedster against Superman in a classic "who's faster?" competition culled from comics (Flash won) and later, against Deathstroke -- who proved more than capable of handling the character's speed in both the game and against various versions of Kid Flash in comics. I'm not sure if it was Barry Allen, Wally West or Bart Allen (R.I.P.) under the mask, but Flash was one of my favorite characters in the game.
HOW DO THEY COMPARE? There were quite a few aspects of "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe" that seemed to indicate that that the creators kept their source material close at hand when building DC's side of the project. Both Batman and Deathstroke are fairly technical characters, requiring a lot of well-timed blocks, side-steps and combination moves that react to their opponents' actions rather than bulldozing their way to victory -- which tends to be the preferred style of characters like Captain Marvel, Superman and, of course, Darkseid. While Flash zips around the screen using the hit-and-run techniques, both Green Lantern and Wonder Woman seem to be a bit more balanced with an aptitude for long-distance attacks (yes, Hal Jordan still seems to dig the ol' big, green fist attack) and up-close brawling. In one of the best similarities between the characters in the game and their print counterparts, The Joker relies on the most wild, hard-to-anticipate attacks, and is also one of the most fun characters to play as -- if not the easiest to control.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE STORY? When it was announced that veteran comic book writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray were scripting the "Story" mode for "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe," there was a lot of anticipation -- and speculation -- from the comics community about what would result. Would the in-game characters act like the print characters? Would the game become a massive, interactive comic book? Well, put it this way: It's funny how easily the standard "Mortal Kombat" story translates to most comic book encounters: two characters meet, misunderstand their counterpart's intentions, they fight until one of them realizes they're both on the same team, then repeat the cycle over and over again with different characters. Beyond that, the writing duo came up with a nice way to have the DC heroes fight amongst each other, and the characters' personalities are pretty much spot-on when it comes to their personalities in comic books. Probably the most fanboy-friendly of the bunch has to be The Joker, who makes the long Story Mode worth playing through just for his background commentary. Seriously, folks -- pay attention to The Joker's dialogue during every between-fight scene in which he appears. You won't be sorry.
... AND THOSE FATALITIES? As we've reported from the start, many of the well-known "fatalities" made famous by the "Mortal Kombat" franchise were either toned down or somewhat neutered in the push to get a "T" rating ("For Teens") on the game. This frustrated more than a few comics fans and "Mortal Kombat" faithful, but even more frustrating was the fact that I couldn't figure any of them out for the first few days I had the game. However, once GameFaqs user SpideyMania posted a full PDF of the fatalities/brutalities, digital blood flowed like water in Splash Page HQ.
I have to admit, there's something cathartic about seeing Lex Luthor fry Superman to a crisp, or to see Deathstroke impale Batman, only to walk a few steps away and then decide he'd rather shoot him, too. While the "MK"-loyalists are sure to scoff, comics fans should be pretty happy with how DC's "Trinity" (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) finish off their opponents, but even more impressed with some of the villains' big finales.
So there you have it, folks. While there are some aspects of the game that fall a bit short of expectations (the voice acting is pretty horrible, to be honest), there's a lot for comics fans to like about "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe" -- not the least of which is a way for our inner fanboy to finally prove that Superman never had a chance against Batman, and that the The Flash could put a beating on both of 'em. Yeah, I said it. Go ahead and prove me wrong.
Have you played "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe"? Let us know what you think! What are the match-ups that you''ve looked forward to the most? Who should have been in the game that wasn't? Tell us everything!
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