This...makes...ab...so...lute...ly...nooo....SENSE!
I knew something was wrong when I saw Sub-Zero beating up Batman in the first trailer, but it didn't sink in for me until after I bought it just how retarded the concept sounds. But then again, MK's rival Street Fighter and DC's rival Marvel made games together so I guess it was just a matter of time. Common wisdom told me not to buy this game because crossovers are usually cheap cash ins to sucker the geeks into spending money, but the MK fan in me said "FINISH HIM" so i had to find out for myself. I was right in a sense that this game tailors to the geeks who dream of fan fictions, but you won't actually be a sucker for buying this. Despite the weirdness MK vs DC is a good (but somewhat shallow) game
First I gotta talk about how these 2 universes collide, and although its not necessary a good story I have to give them credit for crafting one that actually makes sense. The story begins with Superman bitchslapping Darkseid in Metropolis. Meanwhile, Raiden is putting the finishing touches on Shao Kahn. Darkseid tries to escape in a teleporting device called a boomtube, but Superman shoots him with his laser eye beam, destablizing the device. Shao Kahn tries to make a similar escape only for Raiden to shoot him with lightening, ruining his portal. With both events happening at exactly the same time, it causes the 2 universes to begin merging with each other. It also causes the fighters to be filled with something called kombat rage and they are compelled to fight each other. That would explain why both sides are trying to whoop ass instead of sitting down and actually talking about the situation.
Yes the story is bad, but like most fighting games, fuck you if you want a story. Theres the enemy: KICK HIS ASS! And kicking ass is something this game does very well. If you played MK in the past, you kinda have an idea what to expect. This game takes the speedy 2D fighting from the MK of old (1,2,3, ultimate 3, and trilogy) and combines it with the 3D combo chaining of the last MK games (Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon). The result is a fighting system thats easy to pick and hard to master. Special moves have been revamped, and now you can even combines them into combos. In other words some combos will end with a special move, and others will let you add something extra to your special, or combine special moves into something awesome (think Liu Kang's bicycle kick following by his flying kick). These are called pro-moves, and if you want to know how to do them, you can go to the internet (duh') or to the Kombo Challenge mode which I'll explain later in the review.
MK vs DC has 3 new ways to fight that makes things more interesting. First is Free-Fall Kombat. You know how in some fighting games when you knock someone out the area, they fall into another area? Well instead of just letting the fighter fall, Midway had the right idea of letting the attacker beat the shit out of the guy on the way down. The attacker will press one of the 4 face buttons to hit the opponent, and the defender will try to guess what button the attacker will press. If he guesses correctly, then the defender and attacker will switch roles. Each successful blow fills up a meter on the side of the screen. Fill it enough and you can end free-fall mode by press the RB button and doing a special move that sends them craching to the ground. Klose-Kombat mode is similar in that the defender must guest what the attacker must press. The difference is that the attacker will grab the opponent and pull in close so they can get to know each other better over a nice tall can of whoop-ass. If the defender guess right, he (or she; I need to stop saying only males pronouns) will reverse and counter-attack, ending Klose-Kombat mode. The 3rd is called Test your Might (some might remember that from the first game). In some stages, you can knock your opponent into the side of a building, run into him/her, run through every wall in the building, and come out the other side. When this happens, both players will hit the button as fast can to increase or decrease the amount of damage taken, depending on which end you on. It's fun to watch.
Of course, what's an Mortak Kombat game without fatalities. Sadly, since this game is rated T, the fatalities have been toned down. Toned down to the point that most of them suck (I know I typed a sentence fragment; I don't give a fuck). And if I wasn't disappointed enough, 2 of them were censored. The American version won't show Deathstroke or Joker's gunshot connect with the head (You can see the European uncensored versions on youtube). That pisses me off, especially since those are 2 of the better ones. Seriously, despite the censorship, Joker's fatality is fuckin funny. I'm not even going to try to describe it; you just have to watch.
Sadly, there's only 4 modes (story, arcade, kombo challenge, and online), and if you don't play online your time with the game will be shorter. Kombo Challenge lets you try to complete a series of combos of the person of your choice. It's good for picking up some moves, but since it's so difficult nobody but the truly dedicated will actually try (keyword TRY) to finish it. Online is basically a bunch of people using special moves. It came to a point where I wonder why the developers even included punches and kicks. Nobody uses them; it's just one special move after another. For those who like to collect, there's only 2 unlockables in the entire game (Shao Kahn and Darkseid), and they're piss easy to get (just complete both stories).
Although a short experience, it's still a good game. If you are a MK fan, you will pick this up anyway (if you haven't already) and be satisfied in the fact that although the fatalities are weak, they're still better than that stupid Kreate-A-Fatality from Armageddon. If you're a DC fan, you're pretty much required to buy this because it's the only good game DC has ever been in since the Sega Genesis (good times). For the rest of you, I suggest you rent it first to see where you stand.
NOTE: Seriously, STOP FUCKIN' SPAMMING SPECIALS MOVES YOU BASTARDS!
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