Release: 16 Nov 2008 (US), 21 Nov 2008 (UK)
Developer: Midway
Publisher: Midway
Genre: Fighter

Prepare to duel, Sir!

We’ll talk about the game’s plot in just a minute but first we should get down to the nitty gritty of any beat ‘em up, the all important gameplay. Anyone familiar with the Mortal Kombat series will immediately recognise the feel of the fighting mechanics. That classic ‘stiff’ MK style has been brought back to life in a fabulous way and is much more reminiscent of the old 2D versions, as opposed to the rather less impressive attempts at 3D. You can still sidestep into, and out of, the background to avoid ranged attacks (projectiles, magic bolts etc.) but essentially this is a 3D game with a 2D fighting style; a favourite combination of ours. Still, rather impressively, the whole experience feels fresh and new, rather than a mere rehash of the old games.

Complexity levels are a few notches below your Virtua Fighters and Soul Caliburs with each character sporting a select number of attacks, all of which are performed in the one stance (as opposed to the multiple stance style of a Tekken title). Individual attacks are simple to execute, but there’s a lot of scope for stringing moves together into combos for an all assualt on your opponent’s health bar. For us, this is where the main strength in the title lays as it’s fairly easy to pick up and quickly learn a few essential attacks, but mastery of the combo system takes a lot of practise. This helps keep you interested from the get go while leaving you safe in the knowledge that there’s still a lot more to explore and get your teeth into. More help in the timing required to pull off lengthy combos would have been much appreciated though, as you’re thrown straight into the deep end with no instruction.

Each fighter has a two-tiered ‘Rage’ meter which builds up as damage is inflicted. Each of the tiers can be used separately to break an opponent’s attack (particularly useful if you get stuck in a lengthy combo), or both can be used at once to enter a state of ‘Rage’. Rage gives you the ability to break blocks while you yourself become impervious to most attacks. As you might expect utilising this ability can turn the tide of battle in your favour, but you need to be judicious in its use as it doesn’t last for long; nothing is more frustrating then using Rage and not landing a single hit.

Those set-piece moments

Many fights contain moments which remove you from the regular action and place you into a meta-game of sorts. There a few different examples of this but our favourite are the mid-air ‘Freefall Kombat’ moments in which you’re falling and fighting in a struggle to land on top of your opponent, as opposed to below them, before reaching the ground. These take the form of a match-my-button-choices mini-game that reverses who is on the top depending on if the bottom character can correctly guess the attack button about to be pressed. Being on the wrong side of these attacks will very quickly rid you of any remaining health.

Fatalities, that most essential of MK features, make a return (alongside ‘Hero Brutalities’) although in a slightly watered down state. Gone are the scenes of horrific gore and carnage, replaced by often humorous attacks in which your victims always come out alive. Honestly, it’s not a big deal losing the blood and guts of previous MK titles, as pulling off a fatality still adds that satisfying exclamation to a successful battle.

Bringing two completely independent and much loved groups together is not always an easy task, as it requires a partnership that stays true to the characters, and histories, of both. Thankfully, both the DC and MK worlds feature over the top, outlandish characters that over the years have been involved in some bizarre storylines, allowing for an equally outlandish tale to bring them together. This is where the game’s primary single player experience, ‘story mode’, comes into its own.

World’s Collide

Without giving too much away, the plot revolves around a rift in space and time that has caused the MK world to begin merging with the DC universe, with each side believing they are under invasion by the other. The story is delightfully ‘comic book’ (as you might expect) and hugely entertaining in an unsophisticated, shallow way; although compared to some other beat ‘em up’s it looks like a work of Dickensian genius. Just let yourself be carried along with wherever it wants to take you and enjoy the ride in all of its mad glory.

During the course of each story’s eight chapters (one story for DC, one for MK – each of which have the same key events) you control a variety of the cast along the way, making it a great starting point to test out a bunch of characters before deciding on which, if any, you’d like to specialise in or at least make your ‘go to guy/girl’. Seasoned fighter fans will find the difficulty curve very manageable, but newcomers to the genre may have a little more trouble pulling off those quarter circles and well timed combos.

Other game types are predictable in their make up, consisting of an arcade mode, versus, practise and combo arena (known as Kombo Challenge) which tests your skills in various, fiendishly difficult, combos. There’s also the option of taking your skills online to challenge players around the world. For the most part online play is great, but play against someone with a less than perfect connection and lag issues start to pop to the surface, ruining the experience as your attacks are constantly being blocked and your opponent suddenly starts moving at twice the normal speed. In all there aren’t that many game types to choose from and a few more, plus the ability to unlock items (costumes, arenas etc.), would have been very welcome.

Graphics have a great style to them, but technically are nothing special. Movements are fluid and particle effects (fire, icy breath, lightning bolts etc) are passable but are not a shade on those seen in Soul Calibur 4. What is more impressive is that the characters, as they take more and more punishment, become cut and bloody and their clothes torn and dirty, adding a satisfying visual compliment to their (or your) depleting health bar.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe mixes accomplished fighting mechanics with a simple, fun story to great effect; never taking itself too seriously and coming away stronger as a result. While it doesn’t have the depth of some of its genre rivals, it makes up for it with its purity and distinctive character roster. Veteran beat ‘em up players may yearn for a more in-depth experience, and a wider selection of game types would have been nice, but this remains a great game that is worthy of your attention.