AgtFox
11-26-2008, 06:41 AM
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Review
Title: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Unviersehttp://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=2843
Platform: 360/PS3
Developer: Midway (http://www.midway.com)
Publisher: Midway (http://www.midway.com)
ESRB: Teen
MSRP: $59.99 (360 (http://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Kombat-vs-Universe-Xbox-360/dp/B0017ZDGWG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1227485477&sr=8-1)/360 CE (http://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Kombat-Universe-Collectors-Xbox-360/dp/B001E3VKHY/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1227485477&sr=8-8)/PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/Mirrors-Edge-Playstation-3/dp/B00149ND28/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1226955165&sr=8-2)/PS3 CE (http://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Kombat-Universe-Collectors-Playstation-3/dp/B001E3VKKG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1227485477&sr=8-6))
Editor: Loren 'AgtFox' Halek
What's Hot: The graphics are the best MK has seen; the story is interesting; the Joker steals the show in the Story mode
What's Not: Balancing issues; not all characters are used in story modes; still MK fighting at its base; once through story modes and a few runs with arcade your time with the game will be at an endMost people simply wrote off Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe when they first heard about it. The last couple MK games weren’t all that great…heck, I didn’t even play the last one if I remember correctly. My biggest question surrounding this game was how the heck they were going to combine the two universes. I’m happy to say that in the end they have done a rather good job at doing just that, including explaining how Superman isn’t the all-powerful character that he is usually portrayed to be. My feelings were tepid on this game until Nick (bapenguin) and Scott (Psykoboy2) played it at E3 and came away impressed. Now, with it finally in my hands I can say that the game is good, but that the total experience will probably be done in no time after you go through both sides of the story and fiddle around with the Arcade and Kombo Challenges mode as well as playing a few matches online.
The first thing I want to talk about are the graphics and sounds in the game. The jump to the new generation of game systems has been good to this series. The character graphics and stage graphics are quite nice. Once again this is a 3D fighting game, although your use of sidesteps may be quite sparse. The game uses several different technologies, but the big one is the Unreal engine and it makes this game look quite good with no slowdown and nice, smooth animation. One thing I do want to point out is that although they took out some fatalities in order to get a Teen rating, it is funny to see blood spurting out everywhere as you are fighting in the game.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/mortaldc/shot1.jpg
First on my agenda was to play through the story mode. Right off the bat you need to choose one of the two sides. I chose the DC side of things simply because I am a big comic book fan and wanted to see what Midway did with jamming these two universes together. The DC side opens with Superman facing off against Darkseid after the latter has supposedly laid waste to a good portion of the DC Universe. A boom tube is opened for Darkseid’s escape and Superman uses his heat as Darkseid is getting into the boom tube and an explosion happens.
This of course opens up a portal to the Mortal Kombat universe where the DC Earth and MK’s Earthrealm are literally trying to co-exist in the same space. From the UN Watchtower (I don’t know why it is UN, but whatever) you can see orange lines going through the world with different parts of the two worlds showing up in different places. The DC cast is confronted by the MK cast and each believes that the other is responsible for what has happened. On the DC side they believe the MK side is working with Darkseid while the MK side thinks the DC side is working for Shao Khan. The weaknesses to a character like Superman is explained away by saying the MK cast gets its powers from magic and the fusing of the worlds has brought in the MK magic into the DC world. Captain Marvel is also affected by the two magic systems clashing with each other, although he still has all his powers through the game and is actually quite strong as a character.
Lots of confusion runs through the storylines and all of the characters are affected by this “Kombat Rage” that makes their eyes glow yellow and gives them an almost demonic effect to their voice. Every character is affected by this through the story and it is kind of cheesy in how the Rage is handled because the ability to use rage to power yourself up (for momentary invincibility) or to reverse a move at the cost of one rage bar is constantly there. It is certainly an additional gameplay aspect, but not necessarily one that was fleshed out to its utmost ability.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/mortaldc/shot2.jpg
Each chapter in the two sides of the story mode is led by one character. On the DC side there are eight chapters and only Catwoman and Deathstroke are never controlled by you. On the MK side there are seven chapters and only Kano, Kitana and Baraka are not controlled by you. Now, why these characters couldn’t be plugged in or why the MK side is one chapter shorter I don’t know. Each chapter consists of multiple fights and cutscenes explaining the story. Both friends and enemies, both internally to their universe and externally to the other, will fight each other because of the Kombat Rage and honestly the story mode is kind of enjoyable as you get to play through it. I would suggest you hit the start button and look at the moves because some of the MK ones have slightly changed from how I last remember them. At the end of the each side of the story mode there is obviously a window left open for a sequel if they indeed make it.
There are a few new mini-games that happen while you are fighting. The first one is doing a charge through walls against your opponent. The key is to press buttons as fast as possible in order to increase the percentage damage given to your enemy. The second one sees you push them through a barrier and you get into a mid-air battle where you need to press buttons that are not the same as the one they are pressing. If you hit a certain level you can hit the right button to do a special attack. If they press the same button you do then you reverse positions and you are then on the defensive side. The third mini-game addition is when you grab an opponent with the right button and much like the mid-air battle you press buttons your opponent is not pressing out of the face buttons. These extras in the game are nice, although they can change how the fight is going quite a bit if you unleash a 30+% damage attack.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/mortaldc/shot3.jpg
Along with the story mode you have the regular Arcade mode as well as a Kombo Challenge that I never really got into. There is also online play which works well, but there are characters in the game that are not well balanced. I found that the strongest mortal in the world, Captain Marvel, was one of the most powerful people in the game simply because he is so strong and has a plethora of long-range and melee combat options. Superman is a strong character, but he doesn’t have nearly the versatility I saw in Captain Marvel. No idea how you will like Arcade mode or online play, for me they were enjoyable, but ultimately will not be fun after a while.
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a good game, but can only be recommended for a rent because you will be done with it quickly. This has been a crutch for the MK series for a long time. Way back when it first came out it was shiny and new, but now the short gameplay time in this day and age just doesn’t work very well. Midway has done a good job here and hopefully they will sell enough to continue on as a business, but they need to add something more to keep people’s interest in these games. In the end, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe just doesn’t reach that level.
Score: 3.5 out of 5 CoGs
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG3_5.png
Loren says, "As hard as it is to say because of Midway’s financial troubles, it is best to rent this game because you will be done with it soon enough"
- Review this title yourself (http://www.playitreviewit.com/reviews/write) over at Play It Review It (http://www.playitreviewit.com), part of the CoG Network
*Note - Review based upon 360 version of game
Title: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Unviersehttp://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=2843
Platform: 360/PS3
Developer: Midway (http://www.midway.com)
Publisher: Midway (http://www.midway.com)
ESRB: Teen
MSRP: $59.99 (360 (http://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Kombat-vs-Universe-Xbox-360/dp/B0017ZDGWG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1227485477&sr=8-1)/360 CE (http://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Kombat-Universe-Collectors-Xbox-360/dp/B001E3VKHY/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1227485477&sr=8-8)/PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/Mirrors-Edge-Playstation-3/dp/B00149ND28/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1226955165&sr=8-2)/PS3 CE (http://www.amazon.com/Mortal-Kombat-Universe-Collectors-Playstation-3/dp/B001E3VKKG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1227485477&sr=8-6))
Editor: Loren 'AgtFox' Halek
What's Hot: The graphics are the best MK has seen; the story is interesting; the Joker steals the show in the Story mode
What's Not: Balancing issues; not all characters are used in story modes; still MK fighting at its base; once through story modes and a few runs with arcade your time with the game will be at an endMost people simply wrote off Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe when they first heard about it. The last couple MK games weren’t all that great…heck, I didn’t even play the last one if I remember correctly. My biggest question surrounding this game was how the heck they were going to combine the two universes. I’m happy to say that in the end they have done a rather good job at doing just that, including explaining how Superman isn’t the all-powerful character that he is usually portrayed to be. My feelings were tepid on this game until Nick (bapenguin) and Scott (Psykoboy2) played it at E3 and came away impressed. Now, with it finally in my hands I can say that the game is good, but that the total experience will probably be done in no time after you go through both sides of the story and fiddle around with the Arcade and Kombo Challenges mode as well as playing a few matches online.
The first thing I want to talk about are the graphics and sounds in the game. The jump to the new generation of game systems has been good to this series. The character graphics and stage graphics are quite nice. Once again this is a 3D fighting game, although your use of sidesteps may be quite sparse. The game uses several different technologies, but the big one is the Unreal engine and it makes this game look quite good with no slowdown and nice, smooth animation. One thing I do want to point out is that although they took out some fatalities in order to get a Teen rating, it is funny to see blood spurting out everywhere as you are fighting in the game.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/mortaldc/shot1.jpg
First on my agenda was to play through the story mode. Right off the bat you need to choose one of the two sides. I chose the DC side of things simply because I am a big comic book fan and wanted to see what Midway did with jamming these two universes together. The DC side opens with Superman facing off against Darkseid after the latter has supposedly laid waste to a good portion of the DC Universe. A boom tube is opened for Darkseid’s escape and Superman uses his heat as Darkseid is getting into the boom tube and an explosion happens.
This of course opens up a portal to the Mortal Kombat universe where the DC Earth and MK’s Earthrealm are literally trying to co-exist in the same space. From the UN Watchtower (I don’t know why it is UN, but whatever) you can see orange lines going through the world with different parts of the two worlds showing up in different places. The DC cast is confronted by the MK cast and each believes that the other is responsible for what has happened. On the DC side they believe the MK side is working with Darkseid while the MK side thinks the DC side is working for Shao Khan. The weaknesses to a character like Superman is explained away by saying the MK cast gets its powers from magic and the fusing of the worlds has brought in the MK magic into the DC world. Captain Marvel is also affected by the two magic systems clashing with each other, although he still has all his powers through the game and is actually quite strong as a character.
Lots of confusion runs through the storylines and all of the characters are affected by this “Kombat Rage” that makes their eyes glow yellow and gives them an almost demonic effect to their voice. Every character is affected by this through the story and it is kind of cheesy in how the Rage is handled because the ability to use rage to power yourself up (for momentary invincibility) or to reverse a move at the cost of one rage bar is constantly there. It is certainly an additional gameplay aspect, but not necessarily one that was fleshed out to its utmost ability.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/mortaldc/shot2.jpg
Each chapter in the two sides of the story mode is led by one character. On the DC side there are eight chapters and only Catwoman and Deathstroke are never controlled by you. On the MK side there are seven chapters and only Kano, Kitana and Baraka are not controlled by you. Now, why these characters couldn’t be plugged in or why the MK side is one chapter shorter I don’t know. Each chapter consists of multiple fights and cutscenes explaining the story. Both friends and enemies, both internally to their universe and externally to the other, will fight each other because of the Kombat Rage and honestly the story mode is kind of enjoyable as you get to play through it. I would suggest you hit the start button and look at the moves because some of the MK ones have slightly changed from how I last remember them. At the end of the each side of the story mode there is obviously a window left open for a sequel if they indeed make it.
There are a few new mini-games that happen while you are fighting. The first one is doing a charge through walls against your opponent. The key is to press buttons as fast as possible in order to increase the percentage damage given to your enemy. The second one sees you push them through a barrier and you get into a mid-air battle where you need to press buttons that are not the same as the one they are pressing. If you hit a certain level you can hit the right button to do a special attack. If they press the same button you do then you reverse positions and you are then on the defensive side. The third mini-game addition is when you grab an opponent with the right button and much like the mid-air battle you press buttons your opponent is not pressing out of the face buttons. These extras in the game are nice, although they can change how the fight is going quite a bit if you unleash a 30+% damage attack.
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/features/mortaldc/shot3.jpg
Along with the story mode you have the regular Arcade mode as well as a Kombo Challenge that I never really got into. There is also online play which works well, but there are characters in the game that are not well balanced. I found that the strongest mortal in the world, Captain Marvel, was one of the most powerful people in the game simply because he is so strong and has a plethora of long-range and melee combat options. Superman is a strong character, but he doesn’t have nearly the versatility I saw in Captain Marvel. No idea how you will like Arcade mode or online play, for me they were enjoyable, but ultimately will not be fun after a while.
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a good game, but can only be recommended for a rent because you will be done with it quickly. This has been a crutch for the MK series for a long time. Way back when it first came out it was shiny and new, but now the short gameplay time in this day and age just doesn’t work very well. Midway has done a good job here and hopefully they will sell enough to continue on as a business, but they need to add something more to keep people’s interest in these games. In the end, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe just doesn’t reach that level.
Score: 3.5 out of 5 CoGs
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG3_5.png
Loren says, "As hard as it is to say because of Midway’s financial troubles, it is best to rent this game because you will be done with it soon enough"
- Review this title yourself (http://www.playitreviewit.com/reviews/write) over at Play It Review It (http://www.playitreviewit.com), part of the CoG Network
*Note - Review based upon 360 version of game