In my childhood, during the days of the Playstation One and Two, I had seen plenty of Mortal Kombat games about, but, of course, my friends and I were convinced that the only decent fighter was Tekken. It wasn't long ago that I made the purchase of my first Mortal Kombat game, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. It was a PS2 title, and I have to say, I was blown away. The fluidity of Kombat, and the brutal aura it gave out suited my summer break cut short. It wasn't long before I heard that Midway would soon make another Mortal Kombat title for next gen consoles, Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe. At first I thought it to be a prank, surely they wouldn't screen Scorpion decapitating the likes of Wonder Woman or Batman, it would just be weird, wouldn't it? Despite all of the scepticism and worry about the game, it was released, and when I got it, I personally still had an incling that it may turn out to be less than satisfactory.

          I was glad to hear that the newest title would be scripted by a comic writer, or the narrative would have the potential to drag this game down to the standards of Soul Calibur IV. The comic that accompanied the special edition version of the game covered the intial events leading up to it. In the previous Mortal Kombat game, Raiden (Thunder God, and resident Earthrealm protector) destroyed the evil emperor of the fictional realm of Outworld, Shao Kahn. At the same time, in an alternate universe, Superman also destroyed Darkseid. When the two villains were struck down, their powers were scattered and collected in the far reaches of space to create a raging beast simply known as Dark Kahn. Now with a longing for vengeange, Kahn wants to merge both the DC Universe and Earthrealm to quench his anger.

          The game hosts four main ways to play. Alongside the lengthy, and surprisingly good Story mode, there is also the original Arcade mode, Versus mode, and Online mode. The story mode is the bulk of the game, a mode in which you either choose the MK side or DC side and play through a hour or two of pre set battles, where your character will alternate, depending on which section of the story you are at. Despite there only being three or four fights for each character in the story mode, some characters aren't even playable, I felt more satisfied with it rather than the "Story Mode" that Soul Calibur had to offer. Arcade mode is still the same, you are pitted against a ladder of ten foes, with the hardest opponent waiting at the top. My favourite mode is the online mode, which I have admittedly been hooked on. After being signed into the lobby, you can search for lobbies which can host over 100 willing combatants. Once in, you can insult, praise, and brag all you like for the rest of the server to see. You will need to scroll down the list of present players and selected them to challenge them which can be annoying, as people are constantly skipping into matches, but it also means you can choose your own fights without fear of facing the invincible players.

          Gameplay itself is very basic, and unlike other fighters that have developed over the years, it has yet to change its core operation, slug at one another and finish the fight with a special move. Each of the 22 characters receive a set amount of special moves, most MK characters retaining theirs from previous titles (Liu Kang's Bicycle Kick). However, there are new perks thrown into the latest MK game, three new features; Test your Might, Klose Kombat, and Free Fall are all new elements that add to the brutality and fun of the fight. Klose Kombat is triggered by tapping the R1 button, and your character will grapple the other character and get a chance for a few free hits on them. Free falling is triggered when both character collide into stage barriers, throwing both into the air, pounding eachother until one hits the ground. All are very smooth features and suit the current gameplay totally.

          A few things I didn't like about the game however was the fact that not all character were given a playable chapter in the Story Mode, and one could even complain about the character choices made for the game; no Johnny Cage or Goro. Also the trophy and achievement support included with the game wasn't obviously tested, despite my constant efforts, they simply wont unlock, leading to other issues that Midway could have adressed.

          Overall, the game has the arcade charm of the original, and although fatalities were dampened for a teen rating, some are still damn good. The game looks and feels good, with minimal snags in the gameplay, making it the best fighter I have played in a long while. Even the mistakes I did find didn't really change my outlook on the game much, but it would be a shame if Midway didn't adress them, despite their financial crisis at present.