Mortal Kombat 8 was revealed to be in development a year ago. The “dark, gritty, and completely reinvented fighting game” has been officially renamed to Mortal Kombat VS. DC Universe and will be released in November 2008.
Midway Games has confirmed that the first next-generation Mortal Kombat game will be a crossover with the characters and setting of DC Comics, which include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Joker, etc. A source within Midway sent Mortalkombatonline the above promotional teaser image from Mortal Kombat VS. DC Universe; it features two of the characters from the game: Sub-Zero and Batman. It also shows the official website will be Worldscollide.com, which at present forwards to none other than Midway.com.
Update: Here’s the first gameplay video!
Video via Gamesradar
The game’s story is still being kept under wraps but, generally speaking, a cataclysmic event causes the DCU and MK universe to start merging. This provides the perfect setup for the game’s story mode, which will offer two perspectives on the situation. You’ll be able to play through two separate storylines, one from each side, which lay out what the heck is going on.
The cataclysm in the story is driven by magic, which is a handy device that is tapped for the gameplay. The mystic elements that run through the story help keep the fighting balanced as it helps make a conflict between Superman, whose only vulnerability is magic, and characters like Sub-Zero and Scorpion, actually make some sense. The other key element to the game is balancing the game mechanics to ensure the whole experience plays well. As if sweating the roster and story weren’t enough, Boon and his ambitious team have opted to revamp the whole fighting system for MK’s next-gen debut. This has led to a “clean slate” approach that has the team re-examining every aspect of the combat system. While you’ll see some hints as to what’s going on with the fighting system in the teaser trailer
The three major ones that are ready to be discussed are Klose Kombat, Freefall Kombat, and stage interaction.
1. Klose Kombat is a mode you’ll initiate which pulls in the camera in close and has its own separate mechanics. Basically, when you initiate the mode you’ll be the aggressor and your opponent will be on defense. In this closer view you’ll be able to attack your foe’s upper body with different types of blows for a set period of time, the exact duration of which is still being ironed out. To keep things fair, your opponent will be able to perform a number of different defensive moves to dodge your attacks, provided they’re fast.
2. Freefall Kombat is another change of pace, tied in part to stage interaction. The mode is another player initiated sequence which is kicked off by you flinging your foe off a stage. Unlike previous games you won’t just follow them down or watch yourself drop. Instead the camera willl come in and you’ll be able to fight on the way down. You’ll have a slightly tweaked set of possible attacks in this mode, much like Klose Kombat. From what we’ve seen, it appears your big motivation in these sequences is to gain the advantage on the way down and land on your opponent, for an added damage bonus.
3. Part of this mode is tied to the stages, which appear to feature a different basic design than the previous games. The fighting areas will be a bit wider, to support throwing your opponent through walls and, in some cases, much taller, to allow enough time for fighting during freefall.
According to series creator Ed Boon, there will definitely be Fatality-like finishing moves, but they may not be called fatalities. After all, it’s doubtful that Superman or Batman would be ripping out anyone’s spines or hearts. That said, the team is hellbent on pushing the limits to what they can do with the DC characters, so you can expect to see blood and some level of damage accumulate during a fight.
Quotes from an interview with Gamespot.