The Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe DLC That Could’ve Been

thats why MK Vs Dc WAS A FLOP OF SHIT! thats why ed boon said that and its all midway fault for making shitty games they put themselves in Bankrupt and they try to make a M vs C clone but FAILED!!!!! so fuck you midway

adamthegrave

@stingjc: Wouldn't money they could recoup given the cost is already spent and don't be considered lost money?

Next time I read mention of a "Mortal Kombat 9" without first mentioning work on a friggin' part 8, I'm gonna go nuts.

@NinjaMarion: Thank you. :)

The cheap-cross-over-tie-in game was pointless anyways. Seriously, a T-rated MK makes about as much sense as a PG-rated porno.

The series was doomed when when they made it kid-friendly in order for a rapid, short-term cash-grab.

I remember seeing the original in an arcade and its entire kitch was "Dude, you can actually KILL people in this game!"

It lacked the polish and grace of Street Fighter II but had a lot of violence and a more serious atmosphere about it.

When the second one hit the arcades, I was a little turned off by the faux-Asian fantasy direction they went with it and the motor-cross Ninja were a little lame but it was fun to play.

After that, the series became more and more whimsical and boring. When it went 3D, I pretty much lost interest altogether (though Deception was a little fun).

Seeing the series turned into a kiddie-comic-book cross-over felt completely absurd and its failure pretty much contributed to the company going belly up.

Lessons take from this? Don't fight what makes a franchise successful by focusing on short-term business. It's the long-haul attention that makes a series have staying power.

@Svend Joscelyne:

I agree since I also felt MK went down after 2. The third one was playable but as I remember, it was critized for jumpin' the zhark with the cheesy characters and the pointless run button.

doomsaber

@magictroll: That's really a matter of opinion. MK3 was my personal favorite, with Deadly Alliance coming in a close second.

People hate on Mortal Kombat plenty, but for the most part they're damn fun games. They may lack the depth and balance of a Tekken or a Street Fighter, but when friends come over we almost always end up breaking out Armageddon over anything else. A fun game is a good game.

@Archaotic: That's the best cutscene I've ever seen.

Nintendo could learn a thing or two from that for the next Metroid or Zelda.

@HQuest: I feel exactly the opposite way. I'd love a game that plays like MK vs DC, but without all the DC people.

Sorry, but I'm a Marvel guy.

@Shredator: So you're saying that Tekken, Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter and Power Stone never should have happened?

3D fighters might not be your thing, but they're every bit as good as 2D fighters when done right.

@Zorantor: That, of course, being this one nerd's opinion.

@FunkyMunxy: Mortal Kombat vs. DC, despite the boring DC characters (i.e. everyone except Batman and Joker) had quite possibly the best gameplay of any Mortal Kombat game. I managed to pick the game up for around $35 and I don't regret it at all. Tons of fun with friends, and even the story mode is decent.

Batmite vs. Mr. Mxyzptlk please.

jeremyschultz

JOHNNY CAGE. WHERE IS HE? Argh Midway needs to take its cues from Namco or basically any other fighting game series; character deaths don't mean you can't put them in sequels.

NoHoldsBarred

@sentroshi: I think the rest of you are all missing the more important part of this statement. This person has not played God Of War before! This should be remedied as soon as possible!

Damn it. I got this recently, and enjoyed it. Shame about this...

Steffanic

@TRT-X: So game that sells over 2million copies is now a "catastrophic failure"?

Ben9

@ghastlyprotector: The best thing to come out of the MK franchise is a game that's not rated M??!?

You must be joking.

Sam_Lowry

hah he kinda looks like Kratos..but yea I knew this was gonna happen. Time to trade this game in.

Kris Cortez

Great now we'll never get Stargirl.

@L1GHTN1N: I agree. Its not a shit game, its got its high replay value and a wide variety of characters. DC fanboys should quit their bitching and enjoy the hard work that was put into MK/DC.

@(Zombie) Goldwings: Mortal Kombat, as well as every 2D fighter ever made, should have never gone 3D to begin with.

Black Lantern Zombie dudes versus Reptile!! do it!

Noodle-Works

@sentroshi: I thought it was Lobo at first. You know, if he had a really bad meth problem that is.

@Rozzlit: Oh snap!

No lie, I gave it a shot, mostly for the 'Flash fanboy in me' but I just.. I dunno, I could not for the life of me enjoy it...

@Strider Kojiro: Highway to the Danger Zone:

Haha well, yes I do remember that game.. i liked it actually...

Rozzlit

It's a shame. If the characters were just about done I bet they could release them and charge a small, reasonable fee. I'd buy 'em, and it would inject some new life into the game.

jcb231

@John_ryan84: I agree, MK gameplay is pretty poor.

@Trevor Green: Well I knew that, but he didn't have the Kratos look until Deadly Alliance. He looked liked an albino that dressed up like a ninja in Mythologies and MK4.

damn how the f*ck is it up to 9? i always hated the franchise.(only liked 1-2).maybe thats why i didnt realize they were up to 9. jeez. MK sucks anyways.

starwave

@(Zombie) Goldwings: So, we want crappy "photo realistic" actors as the fighters again? I mean, it looked pretty nice back then, but now... no thanks. If they're going 2D, they'll need to do a lot of work that they never did before.

pressstart

@TRT-X: Great minds think alike :)

@magictroll: 4 was the funnest one. Most hilarious, most "non dial a kombo" one there was after 3. And the AI didn't have to cheat. Oh wait, it still did, but it was beatable on the easiest difficulty unlike everything after MK1.

I think MK4 was the only fighting game I actually thought up of my own juggles rather than ape them out of others (actually, maybe SF Movie too). Yea, I lack creativity.

pressstart

@ghastlyprotector: Personally? I think the best main MK (and I think I'm being a bit loose saying this, considering I was never a huge MK fan.) was MK3/UMK3, I remember actually playing it for more than 20 minutes, actually somewhat enjoying an MK game.

But when I played Shaolin Monks, I hoped, nay, PRAYED, that the series would just turn into a 'badass beat-em-up' from now on. Apparently, the creators of the game thought 'it wasn't that good of a game' which kinda made me just 'Hm.'

@Rozzlit: Hark! They have no reason to gripe! They still have Justice League Task Force for the Super Nintendo, right? ....right? Remember THAT quality DC game?

@Gambit09: Holy crap! I thought I was the only one! My buddy and I had a joke about that back when MK4 first came out!

@gordiehowe5: Not just Quan Chi...but more characters in general. That roster was hilariously small comparred to what we have seen from crossover's in the past.

@Archaotic:

OMG, it hurts, i can't stop, it hurts so much, Hahahahahahahaha

@Trevor Green: Correct. And MK4 was the funnest MK of them all. All the new ones had such a crappy fighting engine.

pressstart

Oh, some good news.

neoyaku

@Karlott: No, not really. If they're already done with the character models and such, then they can be deemed "sunk costs", in financial terms. Meaning it's money they've already spent into the project. So, they're not actually losing any more money by not releasing such a thing.

@ChronoGrimlock: Piss off. This game was fun. Go convince yourself that learning a 23 button combo and counting frames is "fun" with a more *ahem* hardcore fighting game.

KaneRobot

@THEJOHNNYOHM: On the contrary, after enduring this pain on the Dreamcast I'm amazed I'm still alive!

"SCORPYOOON! NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Svend Joscelyne

@Matt0505: I don't think Mortal Kombat was the sole cause of Midway's problems. ;)

Svend Joscelyne

@magictroll: Really? It all went downhill after 2 for me. 3 was like some kind of unplayable, crackhead version of Mortal Kombat that felt awkward to play.

Svend Joscelyne

@Handsome Al: i believe quan chi was even earlier than that. i believe he was in mortal kombat 4 and the mythologies sub zero game.

Trevor Green

@Strider Kojiro: Michael Forever!:

Stop with your crazy sense talk, the fans of DC comics can't hear you over their neckbeards.

Rozzlit

It was a fun game, but it was very much MK Lite and that took a lot of teh enjoyment out of it for me. I didn't care for the super over the top fatalities in the more recent games, but the ones in MK Vs DC were just plain weak and pretty much took the biggest selling point of the franchise out of the franchise.

The actual fighting mechanics were very fun though and I hope the next MK sticks to the gameplay, but goes back to an M rating.

VXXXJesterXXXV

@Demonbird: Yeah, I'm gonna steal a quote from my favorite podcast and apply it here in that saying it was the best Mortal Kombat game in many years is like saying "the Arch Deluxe was better than a normal McDonald's hamburger in that it didn't make me vomit."
I really wish Capcom would get the rights to do a DC fighting game and have some kind of awesome Capcom vs Marvel vs DC game. Too much to ask I know, but it sure beats the heck out of Mortal Kombat.

@Strider Kojiro: Michael Forever!: and that, my friend, is exactly why i specified "main MK series"

here's hoping for an online co-op Shaolin Monks 2

ghastlyprotector

@Archaotic:
It boggles the mind that I've lived as long as I have without enjoying this work of art.

@(Zombie) Goldwings:
Here here!

@Strider Kojiro: Michael Forever!:
Best MK game eva!!

@ghastlyprotector:
That's not saying too much, as far as I'm concerned.

Now, if you'll excuse me. I have a hate train to catch.

@TRT-X: Quan-chi could've saved MKvsDCU? Damn you for being too cocky, Boon.

gordiehowe5

@Archaotic: This isn't a fatality. THIS IS SPARTALITY!!!!!

even if it was the best MK in ages it still sucked hard

OrtenseDemophon

@Demonbird: Shaolin Monks?

@Archaotic:
That laugh gets me everytime.

Hmm hmm hmm, hm hm hm...hm...

@CosbyTheKinky: Chopping!

Smashing!

Chopping!

Cake Decorating,

And Chopping!

DC owns Watchmen, they could have a whole downloadable campaign with that. I know DC isn't exactly DC Universe canon, but how cool would it be to fight (as) Adrian or Dr. Manhattan, Rorschach, Comedian or the Giant Squid. Not to mention other crossover possibilites (Fables, Sandman, Alan Moore's Joker, Frank Miller's Batman, etc...).

phragit

I loved this game as well... as a rental..

will pick it up used for $19 or less and be happy

xone9

@Syftx2:
Most people considered Deadly alliance to be cluttered and a mess. MK vs DC wasn't stripped down really at all. It felt very much like a traditional MK game.

@magictroll: And was resurrected temporarily during Deadly Alliance for "Cooking With Scorpion."

@ChronoGrimlock:
Yep, let us forget the best MK game in many years.

@John_ryan84: *sheer

@ChronoGrimlock:

I too liked the game.

Get on your hate train and GTFO of here.

NaeemTHM

@(Zombie) Goldwings: Question: Would it still be considered 2D, even though the background and environment is in 3D? Example, the perspective shifts when someone lands a roundhouse kick and the camera automatically adjusts to compensate for the 2D feel.

i forget which MK, either deadly alliance or Armageddon, wasn't the greatest-- i loved it though for the shear amount of stuff to do and unlock in the game. I really do think they need to cut down on all the extraneous crap and re-tool the actual fighting. It has potential to be a great fighter. Take a page from ArcSystemWorks-- they know how to make a fighter. I know that MK is a completely different type of fighter..... but maybe that needs to change.

@HQuest: So you'd love to see a future entry in the MK vs. DC series without the pesky MK elements that were what made the game possible to begin with?

@(Zombie) Goldwings: No, Goldwings. This is not a brutality. This is a FATALITY.

@zer0faults: No kidding. It's somewhat ironic that this DLC will never hit due to the game being a catastrophic failure when inclusion of this content from the get go would've likely helped it be a slightly less catastrophic failure.

3D Mortal Kombat games have such a sorry excuse for a fighting "engine". Shit's ridiculous.

I liked this game more than I thought I would, got pretty good at the single player... then played online where every person was Flash or Green Lantern and 9/10 would utterly destroy you with the infinate combos. Made me glad I just Gamefly'd it.

With that said, I thought it was a pretty damn good game overall. Being the hardcore MK fan I am (own MK1-MK7 and Trilogy)I'm still waiting for 9, hoping the balancing is better...

L1GHTN1N

@ghastlyprotector:

Agreed. It was leagues better than Armageddon.

@Archaotic: Why. Did. You. Show. This? This is a brutality.

This game would have been awesome if it would have been ultra-violent and they hadn't neutered characters like The Joker. Superman should of had a mode where he becomes drunk superman, gets a 5 o'clock shadow and goes nuts. Just like in that one movie.

@(Zombie) Goldwings: I think a new 2d MK could be brilliant. When Deadly Alliance first came out, I loved it because it seemed so reminiscent of the slower yet more brutal pace of the original MKs that I had originally had fallen in love. That said, I lost interest in MK:Deception and its subsequent sequels much faster than I did with say, SoulCalibur, because the combat engine just seemed a little too rigid. I would love a new 2d MK with that combines the brutality of the originals with the fluidity of what I might consider a "modern fighter." Imagine an MK built in the same engine as BlazBlue!

Ashman86

@magictroll:

correction, after UMK3. which still, to this day can be played at a competitive level.

If its pretty much done then surely it would make sense to polish it off and stick it up for download?

@ChronoGrimlock: oh come on, this game was the best thing to come out of the main MK series since trilogy. i'm saddened by the fact that i will never defeat someone as aquaman.

ghastlyprotector

@(Zombie) Goldwings: i agree -- the still need to make the game more playable though

I only have one thing to say in response to this news.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game. I was disappointed that there was not any DLC for it. The game could have used some new characters and/or finishing moves.

@Lucasreis - it´s a me, Lukio!: I was just about to comment about that. I really enjoyed deadly alliance. Thought it was the best of the next gen MK. It makes me wonder why on earth they released MK VS DC and it was just stripped down.

Boon, make something like Deadly Alliance (AKA the best 3D MK ever) happen again. I´ll be pleased!

I would have LOVED to have the main man, Lobo, in the game.

You guys are terrible.

The game was a ton of fun for what it was, and I really wouldn't mind seeing a future version of just various DC characters.

HQuest

With the "comeback" of 2D, does anyone else think Mortal Kombat should go back to it, with updated graphics and such?

@sentroshi: Well if you want to get technical, Quan Chi (MK: Deadly Alliance, circa 2002) had that look way before Kratos (2005). So I could also have said, Kratos reminds me of Quan Chi.

@undefined: Although his character model has evolved a good deal (Quan Chi seems a lot thinner than ever before) this particular model seems very reminiscent of previous Quan Chi iterations that easily out-date Kratos. His bald head and supernaturally pale skin are features of Quan Chi that have remained consistent ever since MK4.

Ashman86

..........or you could've just put them in the game to begin with, thus perhaps creating a bit more interest in people buying the disc.

As it stands, your company has been sold, employees laid off, and the game sits in the clearance bin.

Matt0505

@FunkyMunxy: Sorry, double post, but I feel the need to point out that I did not and will not buy MK vs DC

FunkyMunxy

I tried to find something clever to say but I could barely bring myself to acknowledge this game.

If the game had consisted entirely of Superman ripping the heads off random MK characters and hiding them in his Fortress of Solitude I wouldn't have returned it.

Unfortunately, the only thing being ripped off was my childhood.

GRRR, watch it!
Quan Chi will shoot skulls at you!
Luckily, I've mastered the barrel roll.

Mister_CrazyGuy

Mortal Kombat died after Mortal Kombat 3 ... it was on life support after 2...

Eight months old? Wow, time flies.

I will still follow the progress of MK9, because whether they are good fighting games or not they still provide some one of the best local multiplayer experiences going.

FunkyMunxy

I always called him "Krunchy".

If they're basically done, wouldn't they lose more money by NOT releasing the DLC?

And nothing of value was lost.

And that is why I wouldn't dedicate anymore resources toward purchasing their games.

zer0faults

Reminds me of Kratos.

... and I've never played a God of War game before either. :D

Awesome. Now we can all forget this game ever happened faster.