Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Xbox 360)

Cool Yule Rating: 4 stars

Price: $59.95

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Description: I've been a comic-book fan for about 25 years now, especially the DC Comics pantheon of heroes. I've also been a fan of the Mortal Kombat series of video games, ever since I learned the correct combination for Sub-Zero's freeze attack. So when Midway announced the new title, "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe", I was curious to see how they would merge these two universes into a single game. They aren't kidding about merging the two worlds. That's basically the storyline of the game, where the enemies of both worlds (Shao Kahn from the MK universe, Darkseid from the DC universe) end up merging to create a new being, known as Dark Kahn. The two worlds literally collide, as well, creating a merging that is evident on some of the levels (you literally battle in an arena with a yellow line splitting down the middle of the room).

Arcade mode should recognizable for anyone who's ever dropped a quarter into a Mortal Kombat machine or played one of the earlier video games. It lets you choose a combatant (oops, Kombatant) and work your way up the ladder of fighters until you reach the boss levels at the end. You can choose whether to fight characters in one universe or the other, or both (mixed mode). Mortal Kombat characters include Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Shang Tsung, Raiden, Baraka, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kitana and Kano. DC universe heroes and villains include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Captain Marvel, Lex Luthor, the Joker, Catwoman and Deathstroke. You can also unlock Shao Kahn and Darkseid, but I haven't yet been able to use them as a playable character (I only get to fight against them at the moment).

The more interesting mode is the "Story Mode", in which you get to watch a narrative of how these two worlds are colliding, and how the heroes and villains of each world deal with the crisis. With a story written by DC scribes Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, the story mode has a comic-book like quality with lots of fights in between. In the story mode, you don't get to choose the characters you fight as, the story is broken down into chapters, with each chapter representing a different character, and that character gets into about three or four different fights. You can play story mode from the perspective of either the MK universe characters or the DC universe characters, so when you play it a second time you see the story from the opposite side, which weaves into a grander tale that is very satisfying.

But the main part of the game, of course, is the fighting. The game has a "back to the roots" feel to it, gone are a lot of the weapons from previous MK games, fights are won or lost based on your ability to land punches and kicks, block correctly and perform the "special" moves (such as Sub-Zero's freeze, Raiden's lightning, etc.). Most of the familiar moves from the MK characters are here in one form or another, so MK fans should feel right at home with the gameplay. For the DC universe characters, some of the characters have similar moves to their MK counterparts – for example, Captain Marvel can fire lightning like Raiden, and Lex Luthor's armor suit is a lot like Jax (with some similar attacks). The DC characters' special attacks are suited towards their histories – for example, Batman throws a Batarang, Superman has heat vision attacks and Wonder Woman can use her golden lasso in her attacks.