Whoah…

Chinese, ninja warrior…

With your heart soooooo cold…

SUBZERO!

Sing with me!

Whoah…

Your life is a mystery.

Warrior with a mask…

SUBZEROOOOOO!!!!

As if you don’t know the words…

As Bandai releases their cross universe fighting game SOUL CALBER IV, Midway prepares to storm the market with their cross universe game that has fanboys clamoring for interweb info: MORTAL KOMBAT VS DC.  At Comic Con, I had the chance to play MKVDC, and all I can say is, “wow.”

Those familiar with the MK franchise will be happy to note that the game continues to up the ante on the realistic violence from past episodes. (Well, realistic relatively speaking.)  The newest addition adds more costume effects that past versions, as well as even more bone-crunching sound.  The hits look hard and painful, and the characters take their lumps.  Costumes get shredded.  Jaws get broken.  Blood IS everywhere.  This may indeed be the first MK game to not bear the M rating, but the intensity is nothing short of what fans have come to expect from a game bearing the MORTAL KOMBAT tag.

Of course, this version also boasts the addition of DC heroes and villains to the roster.  Joining Scorpion, Sub Zero, Sonya, and Shang-Tsung are Superman, Batman, The Flash, and Catwoman.  Other confirmed characters include Wonder Woman, the Joker, Green Lantern, and Captain Marvel on the DC side, and Lui Kang, Kitana, and Jax on the MK side.  But, even with those confirmations, there were a lot of empty question marks on the VS menu.  The DC heroes and vilians bring their own array of special powers and moves.  Catwoman uses her whip like Scorpion’s.  Superman has Heat Vision.  And the Flash… the Flash is freaking fast.  Of course your Mortal Combat characters have their familiar signature moves as well, including fatalities.  The DC heroes have brutalities, which are as much fun.  While I got none off, several players pulled them on me.

You would think that the best aspect of the game would be the character options, but this is not the case.  As cool as it is to have the Flash fight Sub Zero, the best aspect of the game is actually the interactivity of the environments.  In Metropolis you can run your opponent THROUGH walls.  In the Graveyard, you can send your opponent over the edge and then pummel them on the way down.  Of course, be careful because the tables can turn, and your opponent can flip you onto your back for a hard landing.  It is almost impossible to simply describe how cool this aspect of game play is.  You really need to experience it yourself.

While it was difficult to tell the actual immensity of game play there is based on the relatively small number of characters available, and with the lack of a tournament mode, I was easily entertained for several hours, and only left because the party was over.  You can check out trailers and updates at the official website or down below…

Is this THE game I’m looking forward to this fall?  Yes.  Should you buy the game?  Um… yes.  Does the fall seem further away than usual?  Most definitely.