On a seperate note, we hope you’re all enjoying your holiday break. Dan and Jon are currently smashing each others faces in while they enjoy some Mortal Kombat vs. DC action and I’ve been “an asshole” raiding my way to epic loot in the latest installment of World of Warcraft. I’ll be posting the most indepth review of the game this side of Azeroth in a few days time.

Ripten will resume regular posting on December 29th just in time for new year preperation.

It appears that the European version of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe will feature an uncensored version of the Joker’s fatality sequence. For those not in the know, the sequence featured the Joker firing a trick gun (one with a flag inside that says “BANG”) at the victim, but then taking out a real gun and shooting them right between the eyes. The American version was censored, having the victim walk off-screen before the fatal bullet hits, in order to receive a “Teen” rating.

The European version will however feature the sequence in full, with the headshot in full view. This is because in Europe, the game will receive a “15/16+” rating, and can feature more adult content. In an interview, Hans Lo, the game’s senior producer, said:

You know, for North America we have a Teen rating, and teen really means 13 and above. Thirteen is pretty young, you have to admit. For Europe we have a 15, 16+ rating – so it’s a bit different.”

Any hardcore fans of Mortal Kombat out there who want to see the fatality in full for the US version (maybe you just want to see the Joker shoot Superman, but I’m not one to judge)? Personally, I’m glad that they decided to keep it in the European version, but I’m not sure it should be different in the US version. It of course depends upon the individual but I don’t really think a shot to the head is the worst thing a 13-year-old can possibly see. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: Videogamer

Uhhh, the quirky headline and image should pretty much say it all, but if you need a little extra explaining, I’ll do my best. Midway has revealed three new MK vs. DC Universe Fatalities that I thought needed a little side by side comparison to their breakfast cereal mascot counterparts — Snap, Crackle, and Pop.

That’s right, Sonya snaps a neck, Catwoman cracks a whip, and Sub-Zero makes a frozen body go pop. I’m going to eat some Rice Krispies while I try my best to hold back tears of disappointment. ESRB for me to poop on.

Hit the jump and watch the video.

In the midst of all the Metacrtic user score bashing, you may have missed out on some fairly important Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe news. The Joker’s Gag Gun fatality that took the internet by storm has been reworked due to ESRB Teen rating scrutiny.

If you have been following our coverage of the game here at Ripten, you already know that we had a chance to sit down with Hector Sanchez (the game’s producer) at E3. He walked us through the latest MK installment, and we spent some hands-on time with it as well.

Overall, my impression was positive, and I was looking forward to the game’s release. That excitement escalated further when I saw Hector unveil the Joker’s Gag Gun fatality in late August on GameTrailers TV. He wrapped up the segment by addressing skeptics.

“So for all the people that thought that this was going to be Mortal Kombat light, you’ve seen it here first on GameTrailers TV, the Joker actually blows Katana’s head off.”

The concept was vicious and yet the blood wasn’t persistent — something Hector explained to be a key requirement in order to achieve a Teen rating. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be enough to convince the ESRB powers at be.

The Joker’s Gag Gun fatality that I fell in love with just two short months ago has been further “teen-a-fied”. Kotaku describes the new version after experiencing it first hand:

Joker still whips out his prank gun, a “BANG!” flag unfurling. Unfortunately, you won’t see the follow up of Joker shooting someone in the face; that actually happens off screen now, the headshot safely out of sight.

Meh. I’m disappointed. Personally, I find those damn Highschool Musical films more disturbing than a little non-persistent blood. It’s too bad. I’m holding out hope for Hector and the crew at Midway, but it appears that the ESRB has them right where they want them — drained, dazed, and ready for a finishing move of their own.

The trailer for the Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe collector’s edition comic, to be packaged with the release of the collector’s edition version of the game itself on November 16th, may offer a glimpse at four yet to be announced characters.

During the clip, John Tobias, illustrator and Mortal Kombat co-creator, talks about Midway’s request to get every character in the game into the 16 page comic.

“For this particular comic, the MK guys were interested in seeing all of the characters represented in some way in the book, and so it took a lot of back and forth to try to squeeze everybody in there.”

Taking his statement into consideration, it would lead one to believe that the characters shown in comic panel above (from left to right: Johnny Cage, Goro, Aquaman, The Boy Wonder) were “squeezed” into the book for a reason.

What do you think? Are you ready to summon flipper to finish off your opponent? I sure am. Check out the trailer for yourself after the jump.

Source: comicbookresources.com [Thanks Steve]

We recently stumbled on a video highlighting the “kombat modes” of Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe, and the end of the clip reveals yet another Joker fatality.

The first MK vs DC Joker fatality, which we reported two months ago, utilized a gag gun double take to brutally finish off the opponent, while the second installment gives new meaning to the saying “Jokers Wild.”

Hit the jump and see why the Joker’s version of fifty-two card pick up only needs five cards.

Some of the dudes working on the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, namely Senior Producer Hans Lo and Associate Producer Hector Sanchez, put together a little video to help us all understand this crazy new fighting game.  Arguably, the most important factor in what makes a good fighting game is good fighting (no shit), and these producer fellas give us the rundown on how exactly we can beat each other’s asses.  It also showcases another one of the Joker’s fatalities (yeah!). Video follows.

Today has been busy for me to say the least. While I have not posted anything personally to this point, I have been hard at work on a site redesign. However, when news hit that the new MK vs DC cover had been revealed, I said “what would the GEICO caveman do?” Posting articles about cover art — so easy a caveman can do it.

I got some hands-on time with Hector and the MK vs DC game at E3 this year, and while I was impressed with the amount of blood they worked into the game, the Fatalities and Brutalities demonstrated at that point were a little on the lighter side.

So when I saw the Joker’s Fatality (and yes, it appears that DC Villains will be able to perform Fatalities) I almost shit my pants. If you are one of the many gamers out there who vowed they would never buy a Teen Rated Mortal Kombat game, you may want to check this clip out before you utter another word.

The clip above was zoomed in and cut out from a GameTrailers video interview (shown in full below). I opted to feature the animated gif because it highlights the Fatality, but if you want to see the full video, and check out the rest of the Joker’s moves, have at it.

Afterthought: What say you? Are you impressed by the creativity and graphic nature of the Joker’s Fatality, or is this type of thing still not good enough?

Update: The Joker’s second fatality has surfaced online. Click here to check it out.

Source: Neogaf

“Look at it!” Destructoid’s Jim Sterling did, and his conclusion was that the latest render of Kitana, created for the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe game, had a little too much “bump” in her lower region bump map.

What do you think? Is Kitana now Midway’s unofficial spokesperson for transvestite ass-kickery, or is the girl too busy lopping off heads to trim her own hedges?

Assuming that she won’t be swinging more than her fists in the latest installment ok MK, Kitana appears to be suffering the side effects of an insane Kegel workout regimen that has gone too far, or she desperately needs to invest in a Gillette Venus.

Source: Destructoid

Midway’s Comic-Con 08 panel revealed several new MK vs DC characters today. Shazam, the Green Lantern, and the king of “why so serious?” himself – the Joker surfaced as DC additions, with Shang Tsung, Liu Kang, and Kitana rounding things off on the MK side.

We had a chat with Hector Sanchez, the game’s producer, at E3 just a few weeks ago, and were surprised to see that his childhood favorite has yet to be announced.

While the panel did not showcase any specific footage of the characters announced, it treated everyone to news of a comic (imagine that) related bundle.

The bundle, titled ” The Mortal Kombat: Kollection”, is specifc to the PS2, containing the previous three installments of the MK game, and a DC published comic. Due to hit stores in September, the bundle will kost you $29.99 in kold-hard-kash — or kredit.

What are your thoughts on the kurrent list of kharacters? Ok, no more puns, I promise — are you happy with the direction the game seems to be heading?

Andrew, JZ, and I made our way into the Midway press lounge for some hands-on MK vs DC action with the games associate producer, Hector Sanchez.

We began taking turns kicking each others’ ass as we tried to master the game’s controls. There were a ton of “cheese moves” being thrown around early (mostly by me), but it didn’t take long for us to get the hang of the characters’ signature attacks.

The MK characters are fairly familiar for those who have played previous iterations of the MK franchise. The DC lineup however, had a more comic book feel (naturally) and offered up a nice complement to the MK Universe.

Playing as Superman lets you do cool things, like hover in the air while you fire laser beams from your eyes, and take deep breaths that suck your opponent towards you. This is a great way to set up more powerful attacks. Batman drops smoke bombs that transport him to another location on the screen, and zips batarangs as a ranged attack.

If you are not familiar with the way Midway is handling the DC and MK crossover “fatality” aspect of the game, this paragraph is for you. MK characters will be able to perform “fatalities” (fatal moves that kill the opponent), while the DC characters will perform finishing moves called “brutalities” (brutal attacks that seem to render the opponent unconscious).

While only a handful of the fatality/brutalities were available in the build we played at E3, what we saw looked very nice. Superman’s brutality utilizes successive downward fist smashes to drive his opponent into the ground like a nail, and hardcore fans of the MK series will be happy to know that Scorpion’s “Toasty” fire breath fatality is in the game, and looks pretty bad ass.

Many of the other brutalities and fatalities were still being worked on. We asked about whether or not Sub-Zero “Deep Freeze Uppercut” would make the cut, being that we felt it was the least gory of his classic fatalities, and were told that they were still in the process of trying to figure out how that could work.

Aside from the fact we all agreed the game was flat out fun to play, we couldn’t believe how much blood Midway managed to cram into a Teen rating. Hector explained, that while the blood is not persistent (it doesn’t remain on screen very long after impact), it certainly doesn’t feel like you’re playing a kiddie game.

MK vs DC is a mix of classic MK head to head bruising combat, with a few welcome twists. For example, moving in close to an opponent allows you to initiate a close quarters combat sequence. During that time you will need to follow on screen button queues in order to successfully block the blows being thrown at you. We had a lot of fun playing around with this feature.

In addition to the zoomed in hand to hand combat, you will also be able to smash your opponent through walls, and grapple with them as the two of you plummet into a new zone. Wall smashing is more of a button mashing task, while mid air battles also utilize a timed on-screen button sequence.

The combination of well animated character specific attack moves, impact generated blood, and real-time character bruising made for such a satisfying gameplay experience that we all ultimately agreed we would be picking it up when the game finally hits stores.

We realize that a large part of the MK lure revolves around the game’s long line of memorable finishing moves, so as we wrapped up our visit to the Midway lounge, we began to discuss whether or not hardcore fans would be satisfied with the MK vs DC fatalities/brutalities.

It is true that the MK finishing moves are deeply rooted in gore and over-the-top dismemberment, but beyond that there is a certain level of embarrassment dished out each time to the individual being finished off. That said, you need to ask yourself which of the two aspects hold more weight with you as a gamer: Are you satisfied with embarrassing your opponent, or do you need the over-the-top gore?

The reality is that the game has plenty of on-screen blood and persistent character bruising that takes effect in real-time upon impact, but it’s not the M-rated meat grinder fatality bloodbath some gamers may have been hoping for.

The finishing moves, while brutally embarrassing for those on the receiving end, do not go beyond that in a blood-filled, in-your-face graphic nature. If you can live with that, then this game will make a great addition to your gaming library.