|
 Have you ever been in a situation so desperate, where things looked so bleak, you were willing to do crazy things? For me, these moments usually consist of looking in the refrigerator for my car keys, or blaming the smell on the dog. These are the moments where we say things like, "it's so crazy, it just might work." More often than not, we are completely wrong and the problem only gets worse.
"What does this have to do with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe?" you may ask. Well, it helps to get into the mindset of the holders of the Mortal Kombat and DC licenses. Neither of these entities are doing extremely well (well, there was that one Batman movie over the summer, but that was hardly an actual comic), so the thought that this combination could possibly reap positive rewards seemed to be a last ditch effort to save sinking ships.
When the game was first announced, I was a complete skeptic. It seemed to be a moronic move designed to gather profit. Slowly, though, this thought process left my mind. Within the past few weeks, I was curious to play the game. Not so I could play a good game, but so I could see if Mortal Kombat could be saved. I came into this game with skepticism; I left with a surprisingly rewarding experience that actually made me wanting more.
Finish him after the jump.
Within the past few years, Mortal Kombat has suffered from numerous issues. The jump to 3D was not kind for the once proud fighting series, as many games seemed to be broken and not nearly as fun as previous iterations. Perhaps it was my lowered expectations for this game, but MK vs. DC Universe wowed me from the first fight onward. The core game play from the original games in the series is still intact. However, many of the later additions to the series are removed. Gone are the days of switching styles and utilizing weapons (ala Soul Caliber). The days of utilizing overly complicate combos are gone and the utilization of parries is no longer an issue. It seems strange to say, but the removal of features does this game a world of good. The changes in styles that was necessary for certain combos to work was always somewhat frustrating and the idea of having to learn 3 sets of moves, in addition to multiple style combos, made the games extremely frustrating and hard to play.
Another note that should be made is how distinctly 2D this game feels. The removal of the parry system in particular makes the MK vs. DC feel distinct. I actually found myself using blocks and breakers, which make a return from the previous 3D iterations. I was never concerned about moving around the ring, only about moving back and forth. This alone makes MK vs. DC feel much more fluid and gives the game back its distinct voice. The game is somewhat broken up by the addition of "Klose Kombat". The player can, at any time, hit the L1 button and grab their opponent. At this point, the face buttons appear on the bottom corner of the screen and the player who initiated the kombat is then given the opportunity to strike using any one of the face buttons which is then displayed on the screen. The opponent must then counter the attack by hitting the same button. This breaks up the combat and at times is not intuitive. There were times in which I simply didn't know which set of buttons on screen belonged to my character or what belonged to my opponent.
The game consists of a fairly limited amount of modes. Again, the cuts from previous iterations in the MK series are fairly evident as this is the first game since Mortal Kombat 4 to not include a Konquest mode. This, in some ways, is disappointing as they seemed to actually be getting that mode right near the end of the last generation. Instead, what we get is the "Story" mode. Story mode is told from two different sides: the Mortal Kombat side and the DC Universe side. The stories are interwoven so that if you are playing one side of the story and you are confused as to what is going on, you can always go to the other side to get more details. While this is somewhat helpful, there are distinct story holes that will leave you somewhat confused. Unless you are playing the two sides of the story mode back to back, you will most likely feel a sense of confusion as to the story.
The story, while not terrific on any level, does serve its purpose. It is able to explain properly how it is that a demon from hell is fighting Superman and how that demon is able to win. The story tells of how, following the events of a Mortal Kombat tournament against Shao Kahn and the defeat of DC villain Darkseid, the world of DC comics and the world of Mortal Kombat began to merge. This, in turn, causes superheroes and MK combatants to become filled with "rage". This rage causes the fighters to turn against each other, creating havoc and causing the realms to merge faster. The story is cheesy and is filled with camp (or is it "kamp"?) that you really can't take seriously as any form of cannon for either side. The plot, while ridiculous, allows the player to have some explanation to why heroes are fighting heroes.
The character roster is everything you would expect from a Mortal Kombat and DC Universe game. The roster, consisting of 22 characters (2 of which you unlock upon completing story mode) is very solid as they limit the characters on the MK side to those in Mortal Kombat 2. This means that there are really no auxiliary characters that are basically useless. One of the major problems with MK: Armageddon was that while there were a great deal of characters, many of them were useless and felt like they didn't belong.
On the DC side of the roster, characters can feel as though they are re-skins of characters from previous games in the MK series. Superman has a move that is very similar to a ground pound that Jax performed. The Joker has the ability to drop bombs much like Cyrax. Green Lantern has telepathic like powers similar to Ermac or Kenshi. The Flash has a spin attack that is identical to Kabal's, leading Kano to point out that the Flash's speed would "make Kabal jealous", an obvious nod to the character. While there are moves that are derivative on the DC side, the characters themselves each have their own uniqueness to them that makes them feel like they are more than simply Mortal Kombat characters with DC skins.
If you plan on playing single player, then your best bet is to start in story mode. This mode gradually introduces you to various characters and lets you slowly master their abilities. The difficulty, even on the default difficulty, can ramp up quite quickly. Enemies can range from being borderline comatose to being just as good as you are. A big part of this has to do with the rage meter. If, you either score the first strike, or you are being barraged by hits from your enemy, you will gradually fill this meter. When the meter fills, you can use it to perform breakers to eliminate your opponent's combos or you can use them to enter rage mode. In this mode, attacks performed on you have less of an effect and your attacks do more damage. Your opponent can use this ability as well, but it becomes a moot point when you discover that all you really have to do is back away from them until the affect wears off.
The plot allows for something else to happen, though. It allows for truly unique visual set pieces for the fighters to battle in. In one arena, the player fights in an area that is half Themyscira, Wonder Woman's home turf, and Outworld. Another arena features a nearly completely destroyed Metropolis. It's in these stages that we see one of the games newest features, "Free-Falling Kombat". Free-falling Kombat occurs when a player throws an enemy off of a building. Instead of simply falling to the next level of the building, players will fight in midair in much the same way that they do in Klose Kombat, but there is a meter added to the side of the screen. When the meter fills, the player can hit L1 and perform a super move to bring their opponent hurtling to the ground immediately. The opponent, however, can turn the momentum and deal the damage to the player, if the player doesn't use the super move.
The main story can be completed in a matter of a few hours. Most of your time will be spent in either the arcade mode or fighting against other human players. Arcade mode follows the classic format of the series, allowing a player to choose a character and have that character fight their way up a tower of combatants. In classic style, the game ends with a single image followed by an ominous voice explaining what just happened. These endings do allow for a follow-up to come along, yet given Midway's current financial state, they may not have the opportunity.
Of course, this would not be a fighting game if there was no multiplayer. Local multiplayer is exactly what you have come to expect from a fighting game in this day and age. In addition to local multiplayer, there is online play. Here is where your results may vary. There are still some major issues with the PS3 version's online setup. Instead of allowing for quick matches or auto matching, you must instead go into chat rooms that have a maximum limit of 100 players in each. From there, you must manually challenge a player and begin your match from there. The fact that there is no match making feels very wrong, almost as though there was a lack of trying on their part.
As with most fighting games online, there is a heavy dependence on how well your opponent's connection strength is. The better the connection strength, the better the match. If, however, you are playing with someone with poor connection, or you yourself don't have a great connection, there can be frustration as lag does hit. In addition, the set up to connect with players can be extremely frustrating at times. If you go online, you may choose a room to join or create your own, making it feel like you are playing a game online in the late 90's. It should be noted that the only version I've played is the PS3 version, so there may in fact be a difference in the online set-up on the Xbox 360 version.
Contention, however, will most likely set in on this final point. It is no secret that this is a T-rated Mortal Kombat game. Blood no longer pours out in fountains like it did in the previous 3D iterations. Instead, you will see blood whenever you attack your opponent, but that's it. You don't see it spill on the floor, nor does it cover their outfits (though their outfits can be torn and their bodies can bruised). The most controversial point about this game is the Fatalities (or if they are performed by DC heroes, "Heroic Brutalities"). These are what has set the series apart for a while. The limits of a T-rating are very clear in this game as some Fatalities don't seem any worse than what happens normally during a fight. Some of the Brutalities are simply awful to watch and extremely boring. There are some fatalities, however, that seem just as brutal as fatalities from previous games. Deathstroke snaps a person's neck (as does Sonya) while Lex Luthor twists the top half of a person's body by 180 degrees. Not all of the fatalities are great, but there are some fairly good ones within this package.
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is oddly the shot in the arm that the Mortal Kombat series has needed for a while. What is truly scary, though, is that this may end up being Midway's Swan Song, their greatest creation before their death. Midway is currently experiencing financial turmoil, and it seems that this game may not sell well enough to keep the company afloat. This game is exactly what a Mortal Kombat fan wants. You can button mash your way to some victories, but to truly master the game, you need to learn how to combine smaller combos and this is where the game returns, masterfully, to its roots. If you haven't enjoyed the series, this game will not change your mind. Issues with the game's online service hold it back, but it is a masterful fighting game, nonetheless. If you are a fan of the early iterations in the series, this is the game that you should be playing.
Final Score: A
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
! The game is fun, fluid, and well made. 
Re: Final Fantasy XIII - your thoughts so far? - ettec0ud - @Skate Earlier you mentioned you didnt like the crystarium system? Yeah after you get to a point later in the game (Not sure how far you are since were...
Re: Final Fantasy XIII - your thoughts so far? - skate - @ Dew, I'm not sure how the two versions compare - I haven't seen them personally, but I've seen articles online that talk about them. It seems that...