I have to admit, I had low expectations for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe the moment it was announced. I’ve followed the Mortal Kombat series since its inception, lured by the promise of mindless gore in my inquisitive youth, but even I’ll admit the sheer concept of these two licences colliding sounds like the barrel’s been scraped dry. I’ll also be the first to admit that MK vs. DCU left me pleasantly surprised.

So how on earth do you create an excuse for the likes of Batman and Sub Zero to face off in a fight to the death? By sheer coincidence Raiden and Superman defeat Shao Kahn and Darkseid respectively at the same moment in time through inter-dimensional portals. Of course, this causes the two universes to combine, forming the amalgamated being of Dark Kahn in the process. The merger has caused the powers of the respective fighters to fluctuate, explaining why Superman is able to have the snot beaten out of him by Scorpion. Each world blames one another for the merger and became wrapped in conflict as they try to investigate the cause. With the power of Dark Kahn reigning throughout the merged world, characters become consumed with ‘Rage’ causing them to aggressively turn on not only their enemies, but their friends and allies. In print the plot sounds absurd, but to be honest, the folks over at Midway have done just about the best job they could of combining these two licences in a story-based setting. It’s entertaining, solid and manages to tie the story mode portion of the game together to a satisfying conclusion.


So as a Mortal Kombat game there are a few questions that need to be addressed. Can you pluck Superman’s fleshy noggin from his body? Can you have Batman end the Joker’s villainy once and for all? Well yes and no. Fatalities return and are plentiful. The superhero side of the DC Universe, compelled by the desire to serve justice, commit a ‘Heroic Brutality’ instead of a Fatality. It’s essentially a Fatality that leaves the victim still wriggling when you’re done, but is equally as devastating. Fortunately though, with weakened powers from the merging of the two universes, even Supes is fair game to some old fashioned decapitation, just don’t expect buckets of blood and a spinal cord to come streaming out in the process. Perhaps it was to please the folks over at DC, or maybe it was to meet a Teen rating in the US, but Fatalities are noticeably tamer than in the past. Quite often a Fatality can seem like little more than a dramatic special move. More than a couple left me scratching my head how the act actually killed the ‘victim’. If you’ve come to MK vs. DCU looking for blood, you’re likely to walk away just a little disappointed, but if you’re anything like me you became desensitised to the over-the-top violence well before Mortal Kombat stepped into 3D.

Gore is not the only area of Mortal Kombat to receive cutbacks. The roster has also been significantly reduced this time around with 10 characters from each universe. Compared to the sheer overload of characters that was Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, the 20-strong roster that makes up MK vs. DCU appears diminutively small at first glance. It is when you begin to play that you realise this change has been made for the best. Plenty of characters are noticeably missing and there are plenty more I’d have liked to see make the cut, but the selection on offer has been carefully hand-picked to deliver a balanced roster of memorable characters with their own unique fighting styles. Armageddon’s biggest flaw was that every character felt too much like the same basic move set with a couple special moves tacked on for good measure. In MK vs. DCU each character feels established and individual. Move sets have also been expanded to provide characters with a diverse selection of defensive and offensive moves, forcing gameplay to become less a spam of special attacks. Playing through the respective story modes forces you to play through the majority of the roster and you’ll grow to learn each character and appreciate how solidly rounded each has been crafted.


As a fighter fan across the board, MK vs. DCU feels like the first that is able to claim itself as a serious fighter. MK vs. DCU flows smoother than any Mortal Kombat game before it. Moves no longer feel disjointedly connected but instead flow into combos naturally, making it not only look that much better but feel so much more satisfying. To complement your basic moves, each character now has a ‘Rage’ meter beneath their health bar. Building up much like the special meter in other fighters like Street Fighter, ‘Rage’ grants you a limited period where you are invulnerable to offensive attacks and dish out more damage in the process. It is also worth nothing that the final bosses are for once not cheating bastards. Instead they are given a slight advantage through improved health and resistance to rage, but can be worn away just the same as any other character. To add a bit of individual flavour to the gameplay, three separate ‘minigame’ style modes have been introduced for specific moments in the game; falling off cliffs, ramming a character through walls and in close combat. In these situations you’ll either need to mash the face buttons faster than your opponent or else match the same face button presses as your opponent to counter their move. These ‘minigames’ add a little bit of spice to the gameplay, but strict fighter fans might protest at the seemingly random nature of matching a button press, but these features can be switched off for more competitive play.

It also must be stated that the Xbox 360 d-pad is horrible for fighters no matter what way you look at it. It’s loose and often imprecise. After switching the humble pad for my Hori arcade stick the game simply became far more fun once I had a controller I could depend on.

On the feature side of things, MK vs. DCU is a little light compared to the other Mortal Kombat releases of late. The mini games, krypt and adventure based stories of previous games have been given the flick in favour of a more streamlined and basic affair. In addition to your traditional arcade and versus modes (both online and local), you are limited to Kombo Khallenge, to learn each characters combo chains, and the game’s main story mode, which I managed to knock out entirely in a day through both sides of the story.


One missing feature glaringly stands out above the rest, the ability for tag team play. Maybe I’m a little biased from my years perfecting combos in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, but combining the powers of two contrasting fighting styles from different licences was always a huge part of the appeal. Its exclusion becomes most evident in the final battle of the story mode. Story mode can be played through either from the Mortal Kombat or DC Universe perspective, but whatever side you choose the story culminates in Superman and Raiden teaming up to take on Dark Kahn. Except they don’t. If you have chosen the DC Universe side of the story you simply face off against Dark Kahn as Superman. Likewise as Raiden you’ll take on Dark Kahn solo. The two never actually team up which feels a bit nonsensical for the overarching story.

MK vs. DCU has proven itself in my eyes as a surprisingly solid fighter. The violence has been toned down and the roster has been shortened but in their place you have a fluid and refined instalment in the Mortal Kombat franchise. It could do with a few more characters, a tag team mode and a few extra features on the whole, but MK vs. DC is a solid and admirable step up for the king of shock towards becoming a more respected fighter.