Posted at 07/25/2008 11:13 PM EDT by
After playing a bit of the new Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, I thought I'd post some impressions of the game as well as pictures of Comic-Con as well as the private function held by Midway at a nearby bar.
First, let's discuss the controls. It's important to note that, unlike any previous MK installment, both the analog stick and D-Pad are used, but have slightly different functions. Left and right always moves the character left or right. However, press up or down on the analog stick will move your character up and down in 3D, while using the D-Pad to go up and down will cause your character to duck or jump. This feels very organic and takes almost no time at all to adjust to. As far as the attack buttons go, you've got your standard attacks 1-5, a throw button on the right trigger, and also a "Klose Kombat" button on the right trigger closer to you. The left triggers aren't used at all. We have taken screenshots of the Xbox 360 and PS3 controls, shown below.
Now, let's talk about the engine. The best way I can think to describe it as, a little more on the "tight" side like MKII's engine, also with a lot more speed to it. The special moves require a bit more skill to pull off than in days past; for instance Batman's Batarang (Down, Forward, 3) is simple, but the Double Batarang (Forward, Down, Back, 2) must be pressed immediately afterwards; not all players will have the skill and finesse of ]{0MBAT to be able to pull it off on their first try.
Speaking of special moves, they are amazing looking and flashier than ever. Sub-Zero's got one where he shoots some ice into the air and then causes a block of ice to fall on his opponent. He's got a new teleport move made of ice, some might say it's reminiscent of Killer Instinct's Glacius from years back. His Kori Sword also appears in his throw. Batman's got one where he uses a smoke bomb to confuse his opponent and end up on the other side of them. The Flash can be a very tricky opponent as he uses his superspeed to end up either on the other side of the opponent -- or maybe he'll end up back on the same side again. Superman has his super breath which can be used to inhale the opponent bringing them closer to him, or to freeze the opponent where they are. What's nice about this, is it's not just a lazy cop-out where the freeze looks identical to Sub-Zero's, it looks quite different. Catwoman lassos her whip around her opponent, and then propels herself into the opponent with a cannon-drill type attack.
So, there are some new game modes that are well known by now -- Klose Kombat, Freefall, and Test Your Might. Klose Kombat, as mentioned earlier, starts when two Kombatants are close to one another and someone presses the appropriate trigger button. During this mode, all the attack buttons can be used, and while I don't fully understand all the ins and outs of this mode right now, this a good opportunity to get a lot of damage done to the other player, and there are Kounters, so the initiator of Klose Kombat can see the tides quickly turn on him. Freefall Mode, which occurs when certain items in the background such as a wall gets smashed into. This has been seen in previous videos, but in the playable demo there was a Super Meter. Every hit on your opponent brought your Super Meter up a little bit. There are also reversals here as well, and the Super Meter can go the other way. Once the Meter is completely filled up, you can do an exclusive Special Move available only to this mode. Scorpion uses his spear to launch the character back up into the air and then slams them down extra hard. Test Your Might, which has been known to be what happens when two characters go running through each other, both players have to mash all four attack buttons as fast possible to maximize or minimize the damage being dealt to the victim.
So, overall this game in my opinion is truly shaping up to be another great installment of Mortal Kombat. I just wanted to add a side-note about a couple of names shown on the Tombstones in the Graveyard Arena, while they probably aren't signifcant in anyway, they weren't all the names of developers. Maybe at some point we'll have some light shed on the names Rian, Kovacic, and Pindara, who all apparently died before MK vs DC Universe was released.
Something else unexpected was the appearance of Raiden and Ashrah!
Keep it tuned here to Mortal Kombat Online, as the video version of our interview is coming shortly!
First, let's discuss the controls. It's important to note that, unlike any previous MK installment, both the analog stick and D-Pad are used, but have slightly different functions. Left and right always moves the character left or right. However, press up or down on the analog stick will move your character up and down in 3D, while using the D-Pad to go up and down will cause your character to duck or jump. This feels very organic and takes almost no time at all to adjust to. As far as the attack buttons go, you've got your standard attacks 1-5, a throw button on the right trigger, and also a "Klose Kombat" button on the right trigger closer to you. The left triggers aren't used at all. We have taken screenshots of the Xbox 360 and PS3 controls, shown below.
Speaking of special moves, they are amazing looking and flashier than ever. Sub-Zero's got one where he shoots some ice into the air and then causes a block of ice to fall on his opponent. He's got a new teleport move made of ice, some might say it's reminiscent of Killer Instinct's Glacius from years back. His Kori Sword also appears in his throw. Batman's got one where he uses a smoke bomb to confuse his opponent and end up on the other side of them. The Flash can be a very tricky opponent as he uses his superspeed to end up either on the other side of the opponent -- or maybe he'll end up back on the same side again. Superman has his super breath which can be used to inhale the opponent bringing them closer to him, or to freeze the opponent where they are. What's nice about this, is it's not just a lazy cop-out where the freeze looks identical to Sub-Zero's, it looks quite different. Catwoman lassos her whip around her opponent, and then propels herself into the opponent with a cannon-drill type attack.
So, there are some new game modes that are well known by now -- Klose Kombat, Freefall, and Test Your Might. Klose Kombat, as mentioned earlier, starts when two Kombatants are close to one another and someone presses the appropriate trigger button. During this mode, all the attack buttons can be used, and while I don't fully understand all the ins and outs of this mode right now, this a good opportunity to get a lot of damage done to the other player, and there are Kounters, so the initiator of Klose Kombat can see the tides quickly turn on him. Freefall Mode, which occurs when certain items in the background such as a wall gets smashed into. This has been seen in previous videos, but in the playable demo there was a Super Meter. Every hit on your opponent brought your Super Meter up a little bit. There are also reversals here as well, and the Super Meter can go the other way. Once the Meter is completely filled up, you can do an exclusive Special Move available only to this mode. Scorpion uses his spear to launch the character back up into the air and then slams them down extra hard. Test Your Might, which has been known to be what happens when two characters go running through each other, both players have to mash all four attack buttons as fast possible to maximize or minimize the damage being dealt to the victim.
So, overall this game in my opinion is truly shaping up to be another great installment of Mortal Kombat. I just wanted to add a side-note about a couple of names shown on the Tombstones in the Graveyard Arena, while they probably aren't signifcant in anyway, they weren't all the names of developers. Maybe at some point we'll have some light shed on the names Rian, Kovacic, and Pindara, who all apparently died before MK vs DC Universe was released.
Something else unexpected was the appearance of Raiden and Ashrah!
