Midway Gamer’s Day: MK vs DC, Vegas, TNA and Wheelman

Midway’s 2008 Gamer Day has come to a close and it had its fair share of exciting news, with one particular announcement sure to electrify the gaming world– Mortal Kombat vs. DC Comics.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (PS3, Xbox 360)

News and rumours of a new Mortal Kombat being in production has been around for a little while but very little was known about it, until now. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe will be shipping out Fall 2008. You want a little Scorpion vs. Batman action? Maybe Sub-Zero vs. Superman? Well, it’ll all soon be a reality.

At this time only the four characters mentioned above have been officially confirmed for the game, but expect all your favourites from the MK universe as well as “other iconic and powerful DC Super Heroes”, according to Midway’s press release.

[youtube width="480" height="378"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmwUP6fzra8[/youtube]

Graphically, from what little gameplay footage has been released, it retains that classic Mortal Kombat feel of doom and gloom. The environments shown in the trailer are very dark, full of shadows and generally devoid of life. Dead or Alive 4 this is certainly not.

The trailer also shows Batman and Sub-Zero locked in “Kombat” hurtling through a solid brick wall and falling down to the ground below. I’m a big fan of destructible and interactive environmental elements in these sorts of games so, for me, this is another reason to get excited about it. You ever wanted to smash Johnny Cage’s annoying head through a wall? Well, go ahead and do it. Superman will surely be strong enough.

This Is Vegas (PS3, Xbox 360)

This is probably the most interesting game in Midway’s line-up this year in terms of originality. Moving from an expensive nightclub to the blackjack table and then out to the street for a quick race around town seems like an intriguing idea, especially with the vibrancy of the Vegas backdrop. From what we know, you’ll be able to gamble, race, fight, and also “party”.

However, as you’ll see from the trailer, the in-game graphics need a little touchy up if they’re to meet current standard. Street races in particular look very dated and the developers, Surreal Software, are going to have to address this if they want the game to be a success.

Obvious comparisons will be made to GTA 4 and Saints Row 2 so it will be a hard task for This Is Vegas to persuade gamers to part with there cash, hopefully it will live up to the hype.

Head over to the official website to check out the latest trailer and gameplay videos.

TNA iMPACT (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2)

For TNA wrestling fans, Midway have also released a new trailer, “making of” video, and various screen shots for TNA iMPACT. No new serious info has surfaced about the game of late apart from the fact that the release date for the game has slipped back to September.

On a positive note Midway have confirmed a number of TNA wrestlers that will appear in the game. Currently confirmed are:

Abyss, AJ Styles, Alex Shelley, Booker T, Chris Sabin, Christian Cage, Christopher Daniels, Eric Young, Hernandez, Homicide, Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Kurt Angle, Rhino, Samoa Joe, Scott Steiner, Sting and Tomko.

Having not watched wrestling, in any form, for at least five or six years most of these names mean nothing to me personally, but TNA fans will surely be excited at the prospect of facing off in the ring with their favourite superstars. In comparison to THQ’s Smackdown series this game is supposedly a lot faster in terms of character movement and with the ability to pull off big moves. This is in keeping with the high tempo wrestling style of TNA, apparently.

I would have to say that from the screens and videos of the game, graphically this looks really nice. Both the cut-scenes and in-game graphics are impressive and, from my limited knowledge (and a quick glance at a few images on the web), the character models in the game look impressively similar to their real-life counterparts.

If you’re not a wrestling fan this game will have to do a lot to get you to even try this game out, perhaps Midway have realised that and that’s the reason for the delay. On the other hand, if you’re a TNA fan, there’s probably nothing that’ll stop you picking this up. We’ll just have to wait and see if it’ll be the first wrestling game worth picking up for the neutral.

Trailer and video can be found at here.

Wheelman (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

Wheelman promises to offer “a white knuckle thrill ride that unfolds throughout the streets of Barcelona”. The game offers the player a chance to act out Hollywood-style action sequences, and the developers said they’re looking to The Bourne Identity and Ronin as direct influences.

The Hollywood connection doesn’t stop there. Vin Diesel is the star of this game, in both voice and character design. The main character, Milo Burik IS Vin Diesel.

Not only do you play Vin Diesel, you might actually be playing a game partly designed by Vin himself. Creative Director, Simon Woodroffe, claims that they have gone into “serious design debates” with Mr. Diesel on parts of the game. Lets hope Vin has more of an idea about what makes a good game than that other A-lister, 50 Cent.

While Wheelman’s version of Barcelona is not completely mapped out as the city stands in reality, the famous landmarks have all been included. The rest of the city has been mapped out and designed in “Barcelona-style” but the road layout and pedestrian heavy areas have been designed to offer the best gameplay experience.

Not a great deal is known about the game as of yet, but we can tell you that the game contains a fully working traffic lights system, day will change to night, and there will be a police presence that’ll react to crimes that you commit. As of yet the types of crimes you can undertake are not known, but the game features guns fairly heavily so I’m guessing a lot of the trouble you can get yourself into will involve firearms in one way or another.

A number of special moves will appear in the game including, “The Cyclone” and “Vehicle Melee”. The Cyclone allows the player to perform a 180 degree spin and then gives you a limited time to fire off a few rounds at the engines of your pursuers before the car swings back round and carries on in its original direction.

Vehicle Melee essentially gives you the ability to violently jerk your car left or right and smash nearby vehicles violently out of the way or into the sides of buildings. This is performed by pushing the right analogue stick in the relevant direction allowing you to carry on steering with the left stick. From the gameplay video it seems as though this can also be used to pull off fancy stunts over ramps and other scenery elements.

To give an idea of the types of missions you’ll be taking part in Midway has released details of the game’s opening mission, entitled Frantic. You’ll be playing the role of the getaway driver for a bank robbery. The mission starts with a Spanish woman (presumably the bank robber herself) jumping into the back seat of your car with cop cars swarming all around you. You’ll have to get her to safety navigating through the unfamiliar streets via some impressive looking set-piece moments; jumping over an exploded 18 wheeler for example.

One more thing to note (couldn’t resist adding this), your car’s number plate reads “MRTL KM8T”, pretty cool eh?

So maybe this’ll turn out to be one of those rare beasts indeed – a good game involving a Hollywood star. I live in hope.

You can find a new trailer and a video focusing on the features you can expect to see in the game on the official website.