This Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe video should put any fears to rest that the game won't ship with a respectable amount of murder intact. The game's producer, Hector Sanchez, walks us through the Joker's move set, explaining that "Rage Mode" that we half-understood during our latest hands-on with the title. Mr. Sanchez ends it with a bang, demonstrating how the Joker takes people out, Mortal Kombat style.

If you haven't seen this one yet, don't skip it. It's full of win.

Midway had a new build of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe on hand at the Leipziger Messe, giving Games Convention attendees a total of ten fighters to choose from, including the newly added Kitana. While the most recently announced kombatants weren't yet unlocked, the first villain on the DC side Joker was. How does he fight?

Get ready for some fatalities and brutalities. Amidst all of the Sony news today McWhertor attended the Midway press conference this morning. Along with the announcement of four new Kombatants in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe they also released this teaser for the game.

Midway announced, in a roundabout way, four more additions to the cast of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe at the Leipzig Games Convention today. After Ed Boon left the stage, having been properly grilled by German personality Oliver Pocher, four images flashed on screen, quickly confirming more of the MK vs. DC line up. On the DC side, Wonder Woman will clash with Deathstroke (aka Deathstroke the Terminator), who joins the short list of known DC Universe bad guys.

On the Mortal Kombat side, two from the original cast return as Raiden and Kano — both of whom bear a striking resemblance to their Mortal Kombat III versions — round out the "greatest hits" cast.

I know I wasn't the only person shaking my head in disbelief after seeing the initial teaser trailer for Mortal Kombat vs. D.C. Universe a few months back. "What are they doing to this franchise? This must be a joke!" I said to myself. So I was surprised - and relieved - after all the positive impressions the game received coming out of E3. But how does it play? Midway dropped by to show off their upcoming titles this morning, and I got a chance to get a couple matches in.

It appears as if Midway is going back to the basics with MK vs. DC. No more stage fatalities, run buttons, weapons, and no babalities or friendships either. Nothing crazy we've seen from the past couple MK games, anyway.

The build I played was from this past Comic-Con, so while Joker and Green Lantern were announced recently, they still weren't playable. And still, the only available fatalities were Scorpion's flame engulf, and Superman's brutality pound. Catwoman and Shang Tsung were playable, though, so I picked Catwoman just for the hell of it.

Following yesterday's earnings report that Midway lost some $US 34.8 million for the quarter, comes word that a trio of high-level folks have left the company. Mike Bilder, head of the Chicago studio, the internal developer responsible for Stranglehold, Mortal Kombat and Blitz: The League, has left the company. Bilder has accepted a senior management position with another Chicago-based developer, according to Midway reps.

When contacted for comment, Midway reps responded "We are evaluating internal and external candidates for the role, and both Blitz: The League II and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, as well as other projects in the Chicago studio, are on track for successful launches".

Midway also confirmed the departures of Mona Hamilton, vice president of marketing, and Reilly Brennan, director of media relations. Details weren't provided, other than that the two are "no longer with Midway and will be pursuing other opportunities".

Two other senior Midway staffers were also said to have left the company, but opted not to provide comment. We're awaiting confirmation from Midway on the status of the other two rumoured departures.

Sitting down with Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon at Comic-Con last week, we chatted about the developer's latest creation Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. This was after some extended play time with newly released characters Shang Tsung and Catwoman, both gobs of fun to play.

Having already discussed the previous take on Mortal Kombat 8 at length — with Boon telling me that it had been scrapped in favour of MK vs. DCU and that the ninth proper entry in the series may take it back to its ultra-violent roots — I wondered how much sleep Boon and crew had lost over the decision to junk that, instead adding a bunch of out of place superheroes.

Given that MK vs. DCU has no plans to introduce any new Mortal Kombat characters to the mythos — Boon called the MK side a "greatest hits" line up — how did the team feel fans would react to the inclusion of DC's finest? (The other "Vs". option Boon told us about chilled us to the bone, by the way.)

Ed Boon from Midway and Jimmy Palmiotti of DC Comics announced four new additions to the Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe roster at Comic-Con today, including Green Lantern and The Joker from the DC side, with Jax and Kitana returning on the MK side. Boon also announced that Mr. Palmiotti himself would be squirreled away in the game as an unlockable character. He'd be very well hidden, Boon said, with a Johnny Cage-like model shown on screen.

We also got a look at some new environments, including the Fortress of Solitude, and a look at Captain Marvel's in-game model.

Boon also announced that an MK vs. DC comic book would included in the limited edition of the game, illustrated by John Tobias, co-creator of the Mortal Kombat series. The game's final boss and a the remaining line-up of fighters was promised to be announced over the next few months.

We sat down with Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon tonight to chat about his latest project, Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe. Once again, we pestered Mr. Boon about the scrapped version of Mortal Kombat 8, once described by the long-term Midway dev as being heavily inspired by the look of Gears of War.

While that grittier, darker version of MK didn't make it far beyond the technology development stages — Boon told us there was little in the way of concept art for the grimier spin on the series — the next next Mortal Kombat may strive for more blood, more violence, more of everything that warrants an M-rating.

The artistic vision of a less saturated, less Superman filled fighter is still swimming around Boon's head, a title that may rest on the success of MK vs. DC. We spent more time with the crossover fighter tonight and talked with Boon about plenty of other MK-related topics. Tune in tomorrow for the rest of our conversation.

Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe is the musical equivalent of the MK team's Kid A, says associate producer Hector Sanchez. For those unfamiliar with that Radiohead reference, maybe MK vs. DCU being the video game equivalent of a post-make up KISS will make more sense. Regardless of the rock allusion, Sanchez essentially told me at E3 that after seven slogs through the MK universe, expanding and retreading, rinsing and repeating, it was time for a change — a big change.

Like Radiohead and KISS before them, the team decided that there wasn't much further they could take the Mortal Kombat franchise without doing something radical, hoping that after the shock wore off, that the core fans would come along for the ride.

I suspect that they will, with DC devotees also hopping on board. Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe is currently resting at the top of my personal list of biggest surprises at E3 08. Not only is it disarmingly fun, it reminds me of my favourite entry in the series, Mortal Kombat II.