Midway has released the final installment from its Mortal Monday series of trailers from Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe! This trailer, entited "Beginnings", shows the events leading up to the merger of the two worlds. In the DC universe, Superman is seen confronting Darkseid, while in the MK universe, Raiden is seen confronting Shao Kahn. When the conquerers attempt to escape (Darkseid through a boom tube, and Kahn through a portal), both Superman and Raiden attempt to stop them, ignorant of what their actions will soon unleash...

• Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - Mortal Monday 3

Both IGN and OXM have placed each of their respective reviews for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe on their websites. First, from the IGN review:

However, before we get to the modes this game offers, talking about the fighting system MK vs. DC employs is probably a good idea. When things were 2D on your SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo, Mortal Kombat was simple: up was jump, down was crouch, and left/right moved you left/right. Being an awesome fighter came down to timing your blocks and moves while dodging ranged attacks the best that you could with your limited movement options. However, when MK made the move to the 3D realm, things got sticky. Suddenly, characters could just walk deeper into the plane and watch Liu Kang's fireballs float past them harmlessly. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe blends both of these styles with a varied amount of success.

In the end, a casual fan sucked in by the allure of DC characters will polish off the six-hour story and maybe a few arcade trees before becoming frustrated by their inability to progress through Kombo Challenge and the mode's repetitive nature in general. The characters look good, but there are clipping issues with capes and whips while some of the backgrounds look weak. Meanwhile, hardcore Mortal Kombat fans are going to be saddened by the fact that a lot of the moves look like the ones they've seen before and that Fatalities/Brutalities -- the focal point of any MK game -- have been neutered.

And from the OXM review:

It’s therefore a relief that Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe has the best pure fighting action of any MK game since Mortal Kombat 3. Gone are the weapons and alternate fighting styles introduced in MK: Deadly Alliance — MK vs. DC Universe goes back to the fighting series’ roots with straightforward kombat, few frills, and well-balanced characters. The absence of M-rated gore is barely noticeable, as the MK cast and DC supervillains can still pull off toned-down Fatalities, while DC heroes can perform “Heroic Brutalities,” most of which still seem pretty fatal, which is what we’d call it when Superman pounds his opponent into the ground like a railroad spike with his fists.

Powered by the Unreal engine, the visuals are excellent. Character models like Jax and Liu Kang border on lifelike, while The Joker and Captain Marvel from DC are realistically stylized. But fans of the last few MK games may be put off by the dearth of extras in MKvsDCU: there are no unlockable costumes or arenas, no mini-games, and only 22 playable characters (including two unlockable bosses) — about a third as many as MK: Armageddon hosted. Online play over Live will enhance this game’s replayability, but a little more content would’ve made it an epic crossover.

Each review covers a fair bit of ground, in the end IGN cites the game as slightly above mediocre, pointing out several flaws in several categories. OXM's review is a bit more positive, with their biggest gripe being the lack of unlockable features.

• IGN: 7.5
• OXM: 8.5

To read IGN's review, click here. To read OXM's review, click here. As more reviews from reputable sites become available, we will be sure to make them known here.

The day has finally arrived. Midway issued a press release this morning announcing that Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe has been officially released to stores, and should be available now for purchase! From the press release:

CHICAGO --November 16, 2008 -- Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, today announced that Mortal Kombat® vs. DC Universe has arrived on store shelves throughout North America and is available for purchase for the Xbox®360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The standard edition is available for a U.S. suggested retail price of $59.95, and the Kollector’s Edition is available for a U.S. suggested retail price of $69.95. Cultural icons collide for gamers and comic book fans alike as the eagerly anticipated face-off between heroes, anti-heroes, villains and vigilantes is unleashed in unmistakable Mortal Kombat style.

...

“Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe brings together iconic characters from both the DC Comics’ and Mortal Kombat videogame universes to give gamers the opportunity to take part in extraordinary battles,” said Scott Johnson, vice president, business development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Working with Midway, we are allowing fans to control the destiny of famous heroes and villains with enhanced graphics and combat.”

“Midway is proud to have been able to work so closely with the artists and visionaries at DC Comics to bring you a unique fighting experience that stays true to the hallmarks of the Mortal Kombat franchise,” said Matt Booty, president and CEO, Midway. “With the broad market potential afforded by the T-Rating, the engaging story mode, the critical acclaim we are already seeing from reviewers, and enthusiastic support of the fans from both franchises, we expect this to be one of our most successful Mortal Kombat games.”

Although this is the first Mortal Kombat title to be given a “T” rating by the ESRB, the game embodies all the qualities that made the franchise such an integral part of gaming culture, including the ability to perform the unique Fatalities and Heroic Brutalities that are a signature of the Mortal Kombat series. The title also features a re-vamped fighting system that harkens back to the wildly successful early Mortal Kombat games.

Although the game has been out for sale at several locations prior to now, today is the official "in-stores" date set by Midway. It should be available for sale at all major video game stores. We at MK Online would like to congratulate the MK development team for getting this game out to stores!

Be sure to see Murdoink's guide to the game, located here.

To read the press release in its entirety, click here.

The fourth, and likely the final before the game's release, Fatality Friday trailer has been released over on GameTrailers.com. Much like the previous installments, this features three of the game's character performing one of their finishing moves. Up this week are Liu Kang, Batman and Baraka!

Liu's is a throwback to his Mortal Kombat 3 Arcade Drop fatality, where he drops an arcade machine on the opponent. The machine dropped in this game is MK1. Batman's heroic brutality consists of the caped crusader using his batarang as a beacon for bats, which swarm the victim. Baraka, not surprisingly, uses his blades to slash and impale the opponent in the midsection, and flips them over his head and smashes them back into the ground.

When and if Midway makes this trailer available, we will have it available for download here. Until then, check it out over on Gametrailers.

Thanks to forum member for the heads-up on this lead!

EDIT - 17 November 2008 3:40 PM CST by DArqueBishop - Midway has released the video to all sites. To stream the video or download a high-definition version, just click on the links below.

• Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - Finishing Moves Trailer 4

Midway has released another in their series of Ultimate Mash-Up videos from Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe!. This video contains two more confrontations; in the first match-up, Jax confronts Lex Luthor attempting to steal the Special Forces portal technology, and decides to try and stop him the hard way. In the second match, Deathstroke and Kano spar with Deathstroke commenting on Kano's lack of discipline... with the Joker interrupting, offering to give Kano is own special kind of "discipline". As with previous Mash-Up videos, this video shows a short clip of a cut scene, followed by a minute or so of actual Kombat.

• Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - Ultimate Mash-Up 3

The second installment of Mortal Monday has come upon us; featuring everyone's favorite clown prince of crime, the Joker! In this video, the aforementioned is truly the star as this showcases both his combat prowess and several scenes from the upcoming game's story mode.

We begin the video with the Mortal Kombat characters discussing the Joker, not knowing exactly who he is. He apparently got the best of Kano, much to the annoyance of Shang Tsung. Later, Scorpion appears to be searching for Kitana when Joker makes a mockery of the situation and defeats him in combat. Joker is then joined by fellow DC alumni Deathstroke in confronting Sonya and Kano. He promptly tricks her with a joke flower, and afterward seems to be overtaken by "Rage" as his eyes begin glowing green. For those wondering why the Joker's true character, that of an individual who does not care for the fate of the world and one that wishes chaos on the world, now is the time we see this. After defeating Deathstroke, he reveals he plans to test his unbeaten streak against his arch-rival, Batman.

• Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - Mortal Monday 2

We apologize for the tardiness in regards to the posting of this news lead. Thanks to everyone who sent in information regarding it.

Game Trailers has released a third Fatality Friday cinematic from the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. This week the kombatants highlighted in the video are Wonder Woman, Shang Tsung, and Superman.

Shang Tsung begins his fatality with a variation on his classic soul steal, something we would expect of him. After the defeated Lex Luthor is flat on the arena floor Shang Tsung delivers a spine snapping stomp to the middle of Luthor's back. Wonder Woman opts to use her golden lasso to string up Sub-Zero. She vaults into the sky dragging him behind her. After a few whirls of her lasso, she slams him head first back into the ground. Superman's heroic brutality we have seen numerous times before. In a rage he pulverizes a defeated Jax by striking him multiple times over the head, pushing Jax further and further into the ground.

• Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - Finishing Moves Trailer 3

To view the video at Game Trailers click here. Our thanks to forum user for the lead on this story.

We reported earlier that the ESRB had forced Midway to tone down several of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe's fatalities so that the game could receive a T rating (as presumably mandated by DC Comics and its parent company Warner Bros). On the other hand, Videogamer.com is reporting that the Joker's fatality, and probably others, will be uncensored in Europe, thanks to the different ratings system used there. From the article:

But yesterday we spoke to senior producer Hans Lo about the changes:

"That's partly true [that the fatality has been edited]... You know, for North America we have a Teen rating, and teen really means 13 and above. Thirteen is pretty young, you have to admit. For Europe we have a 15, 16+ rating - so it's a bit different."

When pushed further about whether or not different cuts of the game exist, Lo replied: "I don't know, maybe! I think you might have to go take a look."

Minutes later we saw the complete fatality for ourselves. Will this encourage US purists to import the game from Europe? We'll have to see.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member ShingoEX for the heads-up on this followup!

The folks over at Midway have just sent us an exclusive screenshot from the soon-to-be-released Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe! In this screenshot, Raiden and Green Lantern are battling in Wonder Woman's homeland of Themyscria, with Raiden using his electricity on Green Lantern.

Our thanks to the folks at Midway for releasing this image to us!

Earlier today, Midway released two more videos about the soon-to-be-released Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe! The first video is the second Ultimate Mash-Ups video. This video starts out with Sonya Blade confronting Catwoman in the Special Forces' portal room. After a brief discussion, the two characters fight, with Catwoman demonstrating both her Freefall Kombat and Klose Kombat. The second confrontation is between Scorpion and the Flash, though no real storyline intro is given other than a couple of clips.

The second video is the first Mortal Monday video, which focuses on Rage. In it, various characters are seen affected by Rage in Story Mode, such as Superman, Kitana, the Flash, Lex Luthor, Liu Kang, and Captain Marvel. After each character is shown affected by Rage in Story Mode, a brief clip is shown from the fighting game, showing the character entering Rage in-game. Curiously, among the speaking characters in the Story Mode clips is Quan Chi, no longer imprisoned in the Netherrealm, and giving an explanation as to what Rage is.

• Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - Ultimate Mash-Up 2
• Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - Mortal Monday 1

Midway sent out a press release earlier today announcing that Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe has officially gone gold! For those not familiar with the term, "gone gold" means that the game is finished and that the gold master copy has been sent out for duplication onto the final retail copies. Series co-creator and development lead Ed Boon had this to say in the press release:

"We are proud to release to manufacturing Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, the culmination of two years of effort and a rewarding collaboration with our friends at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics," said Ed Boon, executive producer and co-creator of the Mortal Kombat franchise. "So far the response has been overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic, and I can't wait to get this into the hands of MK diehards and DC Comics fans alike when the game becomes available on Nov. 16 in North America and Nov. 21 throughout Europe! "

To read the press release in its entirety, click here.

TRANSCRIPT NOW AVAILABLE! CLICK HERE!

It's that time again! With the release of Midway's latest entry in the series of Mortal Kombat titles, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, almost upon us, Mortal Kombat Online is proud to announce the return of its celebrity chat event, FIGHT NIGHT! The return of Fight Night will feature an informal and fun chat with the development team of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, including creative director and co-creator, Ed Boon! This event will bring together fans and developers together in one place, where the developers will answer the fans' questions!

The chat event itself will take place on Tuesday, November 11^th at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST. The event will last for about an hour, and it will take place at the #MortalKombat Online IRC Network!

The event can be reached via a java chat at the link above or by using the following settings in your IRC client of choice:

Server: irc.webmaster.com -or- irc.webchat.org
Port: 6667
Channel: #mortalkombat

Because of the anticipated high attendance, question submission for Fight Night will be done before the event. From now until Sunday, November 9^th at 11:59 PM EST, we will be pre-accepting questions for the chat via the Fight Night Submission Form available at this link. We will be accepting approximately ten to fifteen questions related to Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe (development questions, storyline questions, and the like) from the pre-submitted queue, time permitting. Then, attendees will be able to submit questions at the actual event itself. The remainder of the questions for the evening will be picked from the questions asked at the event. It will be at this time that we might take a few questions pertaining to the development of future Mortal Kombat titles.

Don't forget to mark your calendars! Again, the event will be taking place Tuesday, November 11^th at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST! We look forward to seeing you all at Fight Night!

This afternoon, Midway released the renders for the final two characters from the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. These two are, of course, the two boss characters who eventually merge to become the final boss, Dark Kahn. Representing the MK side is the emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn, looking pretty much the same as he has in previous incarnations. Representing the DC universe is the dread lord of Apokolips, Darkseid, looking very similar to his comic counterpart with a more muted color scheme. Both are shown with their respective throne rooms as their backgrounds.

In addition, a new entry has been put up in the Developer Diaries, in which producer Hans Lo discusses the end of the game's development and how the development team is adjusting to a normal work week and time with families, while the PR team and people such as Ed Boon are now doing the media circuit.

To read the Developer Diary entry in its entirety, click here.

After a short exclusive stint at sites like Game Trailers and IGN, earlier today Midway released the second finishing move trailer from Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. This video portrays three more fatalities (as opposed to heroic brutalities). In the first fatality, Sonya Blade leaps onto Deathstroke's shoulders to do a handstand, grabs his head, twists violently to break his neck, and leaps off as he falls dead. In the second fatality, Catwoman uses her whip to snare Sonya around the neck, pulls Sonya towards her and to the ground, and then proceeds to pull at Sonya's neck, choking her until her neck snaps. In the third fatality, Sub-Zero (in a move like one of his Mortal Kombat 3 fatalities) lifts Deathstroke over his head, freezes him solid, and then throws him to the floor, smashing him into tiny (non-gory) pieces.

• Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe - Finishing Move Trailer 2