Who would win in a fight, Batman or Superman? Well, now the correct answer is Sub-Zero. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a reboot on the stale Mortal Kombat franchise and it shows promise. It comes across as a 10-year-old boy's schoolroom fantasy at first, but then it grows on you and eventually you start to have fun.

I have heard plenty of people out there say Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe doesn't look that good and it should have been a last gen game. I don't know what game they were looking at because MK vs. DC is a remarkable looking game. It has a very focused "action figure" design choice and every character fits into that style. The only point that I have to disagree with is what constitutes an appropriate amount of cleavage for Catwoman. A little bit is fine and within her character, but I am pretty sure Catwoman knows how to work the zipper on the front of her outfit and I think she should have caught a chest cold a long time ago.

I was surprised to hear how extensive the voicework was for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. I didn't expect to hear as much dialogue or that much "story" in Story Mode, but Midway went through the effort of hiring voice actors and the results are mixed. The actual delivery on every line works really well and fits within the campy atmosphere of the Mortal Kombat universe, but the script writing is terrible. I understand that it is supposed to sound like a comic book and it needs to be an appropriate "T" rating, but they could have done so much better. I want you to think of what Scorpion would say if he met Batman for the first time. If you thought: "Argh! I hate you! Let's Fight!" you would be close enough. It sounds like a fifth grader wrote the dialogue and makes serious moments unintentionally hilarious.

I need to clear this up right away, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is NOT a serious fighting game. It is a good time and is very fun, but only in a button-mashing sort of way. There are combo juggles and ranges to learn and tier lists present, but it is just that most people that want this game won't care.

I feel silly trying to explain the story behind MK vs. DC, so I won't try too hard. Anyways, by some strange coincidence, Raiden and Superman produced an energy transfer of such immense power at the same time that it caused a rift in the 2 universes and a "Rage" virus has spread among the denizens of both universes as the 2 worlds merge together. I am little ashamed to admit that I know where this fits in the Mortal Kombat continuity (after MK3 but before MK4), but I haven't the slightest clue where this fits into the DC side. Part of me doesn't think that it is supposed to.

So now we have that amazing story just so we have a reason to beat each other senseless. There are 10 fighters on both factions and a boss for each side totaling 22 combatants. All of the big names are present on both sides and at least a few fan favorites to fill out the roster. In terms of the fighting system, this is essentially the same as the last three MK games with 3 new features fastened in.

The first feature that was added actually has a significant role in the main storyline of the game and that is "RAGE." Underneath each fighter's health bars is another bar that fills; if it gets full, you can enter "Rage" Mode. This new mode is a 10 second advantage that grants you enhanced strength and lets you take damage without going through any animations so you can keep your combo going.

The other 2 modes are "Test Your Might" and a "Klose Kombat" Mode. They both amount to same thing which is quick time events. Basically, you press buttons to cause more damage, but if your opponent presses the same button at the same time, they counter your attack. Unfortunately, button-mashing is the only real strategy I have found to be useful.

At the end of the fight is traditionally where you get one chance to humiliate your opponent with a Fatality. Well, since some of the heroes won't kill anyone (and to get a "T" rating), the finishing moves had to be changed. Honestly, most of them are simply boring. The heroes don't have any moves where they kill people and had to be changed to "Heroic Brutalities," but none of them feel special. There are a few standouts like The Joker's and Deathstroke's, but the series has always been known for its trademark gore and this feel like it should have been an "M" rated game.

Other than having a single player campaign for both the DC and the MK side, there is a traditional Arcade Mode, Training, and online play for those that want to get beaten by a stranger. The online is actually quite impressive. I rarely experienced any lag and matchmaking was fairly quick, so it kept the fights going. Honestly, I didn't have too many expectations going into Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, but I found myself impressed nearly every step of the way.

If you have played any of the previous Mortal Kombat games, then you already know that the computer cheats and it is no different in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. "Cheat" would be a strong word, the more appropriate response is: The computer reads your controller input and knows how and when to counter your attacks. The difficulty curve for this game is all over the place. One round, you won't manage to land a single hit, while the next round, the computer goes down after 26 repeated punches to the face. The A.I. is simply inconsistent.

Then they have the combo trainings. These are a series of combos for each character that you can earn an achievement if you can complete all 10 combos. The downside is that same combo moves are ridiculously hard to pull off, let alone use practically. Part of the problem is that the time window to pull off some of those moves is extremely small. I feel that the MK series has been trying to grow into a "Serious" fighter over the years and it doesn't need to. I don't want to have to count frames in order to pull of Scorpion's 10 hit combo, I should just be able to do it after I have memorized the button sequence.

Okay, there is one thing that bugged the crap out of me while playing Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and that is how the developers handle the visual plane. This is a fully 3D game and like most 3D fighters, there is an 8-way run on the visual field. However, in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe if you use the D-pad, you can only move left and right and jump or crouch. But if you are using the analog stick, then you can move left or right and upwards along the 3D plane or downwards. Normally, this isn't a problem, but for some of those ridiculous combos that I mentioned earlier, they want you to jump for some of them and move up for others. That doesn't make any sense because then you have to constantly switch between using either the D-pad or the analog stick instead of sticking with just one.

The people at Midway have hinted at DLC for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and it sounds great, but I have two requests for the people that have to test the new characters. First, test them against every character because some characters are too powerful against others and it should be a reasonably fair fight across the board. Second, please don't include Dark Kahn or Aquaman. Dark Khan is broken and unbalanced while Aquaman is... well, he is just lame.

Take it or leave it, this is a Mortal Kombat game. Some people love it and some people hate it, but it is definitely one of those rare games that you have to see for yourself. There is plenty of content on the disc and it warrants the $60 purchase only because the online play is so smooth, but an unfair computer and abysmal script writing might just make it worth a rental. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a quick and easy button-mashing fighting game that is a lot of fun, however it shouldn't be taken too seriously. I think that everyone should play it at least once, but it will be up to you to decide if you like it.