NIDZUMI+

Superman, Batman and the Flash… Normally you would not associate these name with such a well known violent game series such as Mortal Kombat, but now we witness the mighty combination of one of the most famous game titles ever created combined with one of the all time great comic names. This interesting yet bizarre game/comic crossover leaves us to wonder a few things. Have the two been brought together as an amazing special edition title, or are they being brought together due to a lack of original ideas? If so could this be one last grab to hold onto a fading franchise?

Oddly enough the strange mixture of DC and Mortal Kombat does mesh together quite nicely almost as if they were made for each other. There are two story lines follow a sequence of events from unique to both universes (“Mortal Kombat” and “DC Universe”) each with their own separate story and plot holes which are then explained in the opposing story. Watching the story unfold is fun but can get frustrating when every 30 seconds characters want to fight as a means to say hello, help me or please pass the salt. The jist is that the two universes are merging due to a dimensional portal accident and our heroes and villains are infected by some kind of intense rage as a result of the universes merging, which of course makes everyone want to kill each other. The general plot of the game seems like that was thrown together at the last minute, but as you play and watch the story unfold it does become a true action tale worthy of DC themselves. One of the first disappointments that players will see in the game is that Mortal Kombat have removed the spine ripping goriness from the previous games to suit the more younger demographic. This does make the game feel like just another beat ‘em’ up with nothing special to offer but there is enough here to keep it worth the cash.

The controls remain unaltered with the classic two kick and two punch buttons system. Players of the previous game will have no trouble diving right into the action, however newcomers to the Mortal Kombat series will find the controls static and slow making it difficult to perform those tricky combos. The menu system is incredibly easy to navigate only because of the fact that there are so few modes to choose from. There are only two single player and two multiplayer functions. This limits the game considerably in what you can do and could have done with maybe an extra mode resembling the classic style of Mortal Kombat. But since the game have gone with more of a comic book action packed style of game play this makes the game all the more unique and interesting to play.

As well as the local multiplayer mode this game does come with an online arena where you can challenge your friends and other people from across the globe in combat. There is nothing special to separate it from another online fighting game but you do have an impressive selection of maps from both the Mortal Kombat and DC side of things as well as some interesting half merged arenas. The truth is that the online is what you should expect, nothing more but unfortunately nothing less.

Meanwhile the games other major mode is “Arcade Mode”, as each character has their own arcade challenges to complete as you battle through your opponents. You have a choice of which collection of opponents you wish to face (Mortal Kombat, DC or Mixed). The only problem is with twenty characters on selection it does take a while to complete this mode. Every playthrough contains ten fights and it gets exceedingly tiresome very quickly.

MK Vs DC does a good job with it’s in-depth story which will keep you hooked and it’s fairly competant fighter mechanics. Unfortunately this game doesn’t have a lot else to offer and could have done with an extra mode that offered something crazy and fun to keep us entertained. If you are a fan of the Mortal Kombat series you might be disappointed on the toning down of blood thirsty moves but will no doubt delight in the senseless fights between mad kung-fu styled warriors and comic book heroes. If you are more of a DC fan then you will be fascinated by this crossover and will enjoy watching this tale unfold if it’s only for the characters you love and know.

Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe is indeed a fun and enjoyable concept and we hope to see more of these kinds of crossovers in the future. Unfortunately this one has been let down by the removal and non-inclusion of curtain key elements from the core franchise.