If anyone read my review of Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe from Comic Con this past summer, it was not hard to gleam that I was totally stoked for the official release of this game.  Playing a couple of characters at the Midway preview party WAS fun, but it also made the time between then and the recent release of this game feel like an eternity.  Finally though with the games release I was able to enjoy the game in its entirety when I played Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe for the X-box 360, and enjoy it I did.

Those of us that grew up in the eighties and cut our teeth on 8 bit graphics at the end of that decade, also fondly remember the first Mortal Kombat game.  MK was light years ahead of its predecessor fighting game: Street Fighter.  To many, MK will always be the best fighting game ever.  Sure its graphics and techno soundtrack are dated now, but at the time… wow.  I put many a quarter into the arcade version, and played the home version on my Sega system as well.

For a while, the excitement surrounding the home console version of Mortal Kombat was palpable.  Later installments added more characters, more gruesome finishing moves, more blood, and eventually even three dimensional movement and rendering.  Still, as much fun as the Mortal Kombat sequels were to play, they all lacked the same level of excitement that the original had induced.  The best thing about Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe, is that it instills that same level of excitement.  MK Vs DCU is just freaking fun to play.  The game absolutely lives up to its hype.

The game is an easy sell concept wise.  Years ago, Capcom successfully paired superheroes with its notable properties for the Marvel Vs Capcom series.  But just as the original Mortal Kombat was infinitely better than Street Fighter, MK Vs DCU is infinitely better than those games.  The best part about the game isn’t the superhero additions to the game, however.  The best part are the additions to gameplay that make this version, not just the best superhero fighting game, but the best Mortal Kombat game as well.

As mentioned in my earlier review, the freefall combat addition is amazing.  It looks cool.  It sounds cool.  It feels cool to pull off.  What I didn’t get into though is the close combat moves that have been added to the game this time around.  Grappling adds a whole new level to both combat and counters.  The change in camera angle is dynamic, and the different moves and their counters add a new dimension to already superb gameplay.

There are, as with any game, problems.  The load time is a little long.  While the graphics rendering is top notch and the variety of combos incredible, waiting so long for a 90 second match can feel tedious.  In the story mode, this lag time is filled quite nicely by cut scenes so that you seamlessly move from the cinematics to the different fights.  Unfortunately, this means that you can’t skip the cut scenes as you can in other games.  Also obnoxious is that fact that the game won’t let you create multiple save files allowing more than one person to play through at the same time.  Boo.

The best chance for stellar cinematics is also brushed over with narration and some stills; the “final battle” between the MK and DCU characters takes place in frames, and I REALLY wanted to see the ass kicking.  I’m sure that Midway and DC chose this way so as not to upset fans when Batman got spanked by Shang Tsun or vice versa.  Still, couldn’t we have gotten some frantically edited fighting that left singular outcomes to our imaginations?  Huh?

The biggest concern that fans had prior to the release of the game seemed to be the T rating the game received.  Many thought it an affront to the Mortal Kombat franchise.  I was unconcerned when I first played the game at Comic Con, and having played the full version of the game, find the concerns completely unfounded.  In the first cut scene, Deathstroke the Terminator lives up to his name by beheading someone. The heroes’ “Brutalities” leave broken bodies in many cases, and the Mortal Kombat characters’ as well as villians’ fatalities seemed gruesome enough for me.  There is more than enough blood and violence in the game to keep you entertained, and keep your mom from ever thinking you should be allowed to play.

One of the major draws for players will be trying to pull off the various characters different finishing moves.  In many cases it will also prove quite challenging, especially in the case of some of the DC characters.  To help you in the quest to truly smite your opponents with Heroic Brutalities and Fatalities, I’ve included a list of every character’s finishing moves.  It should be noted that when the direction given indicates “up”, you should use the joystick and NOT the D pad.  Also pay close attention to the spacing indicated in each case as that makes a difference.

Darkseid & Shao Khan have NO fatalities, which is… whatever.  It’s cool that you get to play as them, but I’m not gonna lie, I was REALLY looking forward to some serious Darkseid Omega Beam s#!t.  Still their unblockables more than make up for the missing Fatalities. 

Baraka-       Stab Slam (close): Press Back, Forward, Down, Forward, X

Chest Stab (close): Press Forward(2), Down(2), A

Jax-             Head Smash (close): Press Back, Forward(2), Back, Y

Machine Gun (close): Press Forward(2), Back(2), A

Kano-           Knife Throw (close): Press Back, Down, Back, Forward, X

Flip Stomp (one step away): Press Down(2), Forward, Back, B

Kitana-         Fan Throw to The Head (sweep): Press Back(2), Forward, X

Kiss of Death (sweep): Press Forward, Down(2), Back, A

Liu Kang-      MK1 Arcade Drop (sweep): Press Forward, Back, Down(2), A

Head Stomp (one step away): Press Down(2), Forward, Down, B

Raiden-        Ground Slam (close): Press Down, Forward, Down, Up, Y

Electrocution (close): Press Back, Forward(2), Down, B

Scorpion-     Toasty! (sweep): Press Down(3), B

Lava Pool (close): Press Forward(2), Back, Down, A

Shang Tsung-         Back Breaker (close): Press Back, Down, Forward, A

Morph (close): Press Down(2), Forward(2), Y

Sonya-         Kiss of Death (sweep): Press Down(2), Back, Forward, X

Neck Breaker (one step away): Press Down, Back, Forward(2), B

Sub-Zero-     Freeze Kick (close): Press Back(2), Down, Back, B

Freeze Slam (close): Press Back, Forward, Down, Forward, Y

Batman-       Bat Swarm (close): Press Down, Back, Forward(2), B

Grappling Hook (sweep): Press Down(3), Up, A

Captain Marvel-        Slam & Stomp: Press Down, Forward, Back, Forward, X

Ground Slam: Press Down, Back, Down, Forward, Y

Catwoman-  Neck Breaker: Press Down, Back, Down, Forward, Y

Claw Attack: Press Forward, Back, Forward, Back, B

Deathstroke-         Gunshot (close): Press Forward(2), Down, Forward, Y

Neck Breaker (close): Press Forward, Down, Back, Forward, A

The Flash-    Flashy Beatdown: Press Back(2), Forward(2), B

Whirlwind Slam: Press Down, Forward, Down, Back, Down, Forward, A

Green Lantern-        Orb Squeeze: Press Forward, Back, Down, Back, A

Hammer Smash: Press Back, Forward, Down(2), B

The Joker-    Gunshot (close): Press Forward, Back, Forward, X

Playing Cards (close): Press Back, Down, Back, Forward, Y

Lex Luthor-  Body Twist (close): Press Down, Forward, Down, Back, Y

Missile Attack (one step away): Press Up(3), X

Superman-   Ground Pound (close): Press Down(2), Forward(2), X

Freeze Slam (close): Press Forward(2), Down, Back, B

Wonder Woman-    Lasso Slam: Press Up, Back, Down, Forward, X

Lasso Spin: Press Forward, Back(2), Forward, B

Finally, the following is a list of all the achievements you can, um achieve, by playing like you have no social life.

DC Chapter 1 done (10 points): Complete Story Mode DC Chapter 1.

DC Chapter 3 done (15 points): Complete Story Mode DC Chapter 3.

DC Chapter 5 done (20 points): Complete Story Mode DC Chapter 5.

MK Chapter 2 done (10 points): Complete Story Mode MK Chapter 2.

MK Chapter 4 done (15 points): Complete Story Mode MK Chapter 4.

MK Chapter 6 done (20 points): Complete Story Mode MK Chapter 6.

Story mode MK (50 points): Complete the MK side of Story Mode.

Story mode DC (50 points): Complete the DC side of Story Mode.

DC Arcade Champion (50 points): Complete Arcade Mode on the MK side.

MK Arcade Champion (50 points): Complete Arcade Mode on the DC side.

Dark Kahn! (50 points): Unlock Both Characters.

Competitor (50 points): Play 200 Versus Matches.

Fatality! (10 points): Do anyone’s fatality.

Brutality! (10 points): Do anyone’s brutality.

The Finisher (100 points): Perform all finishing moves in the game.

Combo Champion (20 points): Perform a 10 hit combo in arcade mode.

Baraka Expert (5 points): Complete Baraka's expert combos.

Batman Expert (5 points): Complete Batman's expert combos.

Catwoman Expert (5 points): Complete Catwoman's expert combos.

Deathstroke Expert (5 points): Deathstroke Expert.

Flash Expert (5 points): Complete Flash's expert combos.

Green Lantern Expert (5 points): Complete Green Lantern's expert combos.

Jax Expert (5 points): Complete Jax's expert combos.

Joker Expert (5 points): Complete Joker's expert combos.

Kano Expert (5 points): Complete Kano's expert combos.

Kitana Expert (5 points): Complete Kitana's expert combos.

Lex Luthor Expert (5 points): Complete Lex Luthor's expert combos.

Liu Kang Expert (5 points): Complete Liu Kang's expert combos.

Scorpion Expert (5 points): Complete Scorpion's expert combos.

Shang Tsung Expert (5 points): Complete Shang Tsung's expert combos.

Shazam Expert (5 points): Complete Shazam's expert combos.

Sonya Expert (5 points): Complete Sonya's expert combos.

Sub-zero Expert (5 points): Complete Sub-zero's expert combos.

Superman Expert (5 points): Complete Superman's expert combos.

Wonder Woman Expert (5 points): Complete Wonder Woman's expert combos.

Darkseid Expert (5 points): Complete Darkseid's expert combos.

Shao Khan Expert (5 points): Complete Shao Khan's expert combos.

Arcade Master (20 points): Beat Arcade Max without using a continue.

Training Mode Master (50 points): Finish expert combo mode on MK and DC.

Special Moves Pro (100 points): Do all special moves including JF's.

Online Chat Match (20 points): Win a chat room match Online.

Pugilist (10 points): Get all 4 hits in KK mode in an Online match.

Sway-zee (10 points): Counter a KK attack in an Online match.

Freefall (10 points): Do a freefall special move in an Online match.

Switch-A-Roo (10 points): Do a freefall switch-a-roo in an Online match.

Challenger (10 points): Play 10 Ranked Matches.

Online Champion (50 points): 25 Ranked Match wins in a row.

Competitor (50 points): Play 100 chat lobby matches.

Humiliation (20 points): Get a flawless victory Online.

Raiden Expert (5 points): Complete Raiden's expert combos.

Small gripes aside, this game is really stellar, and I will be surprised if it isn’t a top seller this holiday season.  There were no programming glitches which lead me to believe that, while they got it out in time for the holiday season, Midway didn’t cut any corners in the programming or production.  Comic fans, Mortal Kombat fans, and fans of fighting games will want to own this game.  I could talk about why I love this game for hours.  Batman is a Badass.  Superman is super-powerful.  The Joker is fun to play.  When I play Shang Tsun, I will own you. Sub-zero’s chained combos are still awesome.  And pulling your opponent to you with a “Get over Here!” never gets old!  It’s an A plus game that fires on all cylinders, a must own for fans of the genres that collide herein.

Now go.  Play.  Enjoy.  Spill virtual blood all over your living room.  And don't forget to crank the techno!