MKvsDCU Script Review 1: DC
MKvsDCU Script Review 1: DC
The Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe marketing blitz is reaching full speed as the game’s release gets closer and closer. With the characters revealed, and finishers/fatalaties starting to be seen, the last remaining component has been the story. A trailer showing initial elements was released this week, and story elements are trickling out. Newsarama is going one step further for you with a script review of the game’s two storylines, broken up into each side. The script we’ve acquired is from an earlier draft, and while the major elements were all thoroughly set at the time, some changes may have been made since. We’ll keep the spoilers to a bare minimum here, and only reveal actual plot elements that have already been talked about elsewhere. Regardless, if you want to go into the game completely unfettered, consider this your final SPOILER warning.
As mentioned above, there are actually two storylines that intersect and interact. One is from the point-of-view of the characters from the Mortal Kombat universe, while the other is told with the DC perspective in mind. For our purposes, we’ll start with the DC Side first.
The story starts in the aftermath of an epic battle between Superman and Darkseid. As Darkseid makes his escape via Boom Tube, Superman blasts the tube with heat vision. This causes a malfunction, showing a glimpse of another big bad being from another world, flickering back and forth until it eventually disappears. The script indicates an actual story mode, with the player controlling various characters as the story dictates. After introducing a few more DCU characters, the first Mortal Kombat staple hits the scene.
Kombat Rage enters into the story several times, as screenshots have shown already. This is the story reason for hero fighting hero, both within their own universe and against the good guys of the other side. Cheesy name aside, the idea of some outside force is a necessary one, and is handled pretty well here. The magical nature of it also gives good reason for why the MK characters can harm people like Superman. The scenes in which this rage infects the characters are built slowly enough so it seems like something gradual, and not just an instant snap of the fingers. From here, we see the two worlds continue to cross over into each other, as teased by the opening scene with Darkseid’s Boom Tube problems.
The story does a great job with these characters. Every character that you think should interact with another does, and they all hold the personalities established by their respective franchises. The natural analogs between universes come together almost perfectly, and every battle has such a direct effect on the story, it lends a much more epic nature to the fights. Some surprising characters make their way into the supporting cast as the story takes the heroes all over the DC Universe. Joker easily has the best lines in the game, while Captain Marvel earns the nickname of “Big Red Cheese” with a certainty. There are some somewhat controversial moments as far as who wins certain matchups that are sure to have comic purists screaming in protest, but it all works towards the final goal of the story, and doesn’t seem too out of place in the context of the game.
The script overall tells a fun story, with some very cheesy Silver Age-style moments and solid setups for great fights. The culmination of it all, well, it’s huge, unexpected, and should excite fans of both franchises, and that’s all I’ll really say. The best thing I can say about reading the script is it made me want to play the game even more, and if the production quality and voice acting can hit at least the same level, the story mode won’t be there just for playing when you can’t find a human opponent to take on. Instead, it’ll be an actual reason to buy the game.
Tomorrow, we’ll check out the Mortal Kombat focused side of the story. We’ll check for overlap and see how things differ when you’re kontrolling the likes of Liu Kang and Raiden instead of Batman and Superman.
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe is due in stores for PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 16th in the US and November 21st in Europe.