Batman games don’t normally have the highest success rate in the gaming industry. Whenever a new Batman game is announced, it’s usually met with much excitement, however, when they’re released they normally disappoint without fail. Fortunately, Eidos and Rocksteady are looking to change all that with “Batman: Arkham Asylum.”

The game is being shown off on the GDC show floor, and if ya ask me, it’s looking pretty sweet. In the video below, Game Director, Sefton Hill, takes the liberty of explaining exactly how we will be disposing of the Joker’s baddies once inside Arkham. It looks like a pretty interesting take on stealth gameplay, (the explosive foam in the shape of a bat logo is a nice touch). What you see in the video is not actually part of the single player campaign, but a challenge mode that can be unlocked upon completion of the game. Apparently the game will be loaded with unlockables that will make Batman fans giddy in their pants.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum” is set for release in June for Xbox 360 and PS3. The special edition will be available for a hefty price of $100, however, it comes with a list of goodies, most notably a real live batarang.

At first glance, “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe” seems like it should have come out around 1998, to go head-to-head with the wildly popular “Marvel vs. Capcom” series, but, for whatever reason, it didn’t. Fast forward to today, and, through some wild twist of fate, or, possibly the will of the Elder Gods, 10 years after the game should have been released, gamers finally have the chance to kick Scorpion’s ass with Batman. On the plus side, waiting may have paid off; after a string of less-than-awesome “MK” games “MK vs. DC” may put the franchise back on track.

“Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe” isn’t the best “MK” game ever released (that honor goes to “Mortal Kombat 2”), but there are some redeeming factors that might make fans that soured on the series years ago think twice about this iteration. A good deal of the game has been revamped, since “Armageddon” was released, taking full advantage of this generation of consoles. The controls, gameplay, graphics, and characters were all treated to a much-needed upgrade, and the improvements show over the course of the game.

Three seconds after you hear your first battle commencing “FIGHT!” it becomes immediately apparent that some work has been done on the controls, as well as the battle mechanics. The characters move just a little bit slower, and it may take seasoned veterans a little bit of time to really become accustomed to the new pace. Also, the game is virtually impossible to play with the analog stick, forcing 360 owners to do battle with their horrendous D-pads if they want to be able to pull off any of the super-moves in the game. Even some of the series standards like the sweep and round-house kicks are a little challenging to pull off with both the analog and D-pads. It’s hard to count the controls as big strikes against the game; it’s a little bit of a unique situation, because you can’t really fault the game, for a longstanding hardware issue.

Once you adapt to these changes, the game plays really well, but it still isn’t (and has never been) on the competitive levels “Tekken” or “Virtua Fighter.” In other words, your kid brother might have a chance of taking you down just by mashing the buttons. Additionally, the newly instituted “Rage Mode” and mid-match mini-games (not necessarily bad things) can really swing the momentum of a match, making the game not as “competitive” or “skill based.”

The most obvious draw to “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe” is the fact that there’s two established universes colliding, and there’s well thought-out story behind the game. Written by seasoned comic book veterans, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, it’s nice to have a little bit of depth along with one, cohesive story line, in a franchise that’s usually just about surviving a murderous tournament. While it might seem a little odd to have The Flash, Catwoman, and Sub-Zero all together in one game, the story is actually pretty straightforward. The “MK” Universe and the DC Universe are about to collide and it’s up to the kombatants, and the superheroes to do something about it. It may not be the most complex story ever written, but it is fun to take both casts through their respective storylines and see how they intermingle with each other. It’s rather unique to get to play both sides of a storyline in games, (in fact I can’t think of any other games that do that) and it created a really unique experience, instead of just fighting one match after another. There’s one thing that the story mode is missing though – series staple Fatalities. I realize you can’t kill someone one second, and expect them to reappear in the next cut scene, but, c’mon – it is a “Mortal Kombat” game.

The game also offers the standard Arcade mode as well as online Kombat. The Arcade mode offers you the option to choose to fight only characters from either the “Mortal Kombat” or DC universes, or tackle a mixed bag on your way to Dark Khan. If you’re daring enough, you can also take your skills online, and get very quickly reminded that there are significantly better players than you out there (at least that’s how my experience went). My online matches only suffered minimal lag (Xbox LIVE was having connectivity problems), and I didn’t have much problem finding someone that was willing to lower my worldwide rank. While neither the Arcade nor online modes reinvent the wheel, it’s nice to see that there’s something else to do once you’ve run through the story modes in a few hours.

The story mode, Arcade, Kombat training, and online modes do add up to a nice package, but for some reason as I played through I still felt like there was something missing. In recent memory, the last “Mortal Kombat” had 60 plus characters, and (my second favorite) “Mortal Kombat: Deception” had numerous hours of gameplay, and tons of unlockables. I just felt like “MK vs. DC” lacked some of these incentives to dig really deep into the game. In a weird twist, I felt like had this been two separate, stand-alone titles, I would have been completely ripped off on the “Mortal Kombat” side, but I would have been really satisfied on the DC end. I think I’ve just come to expect a little more from the “MK” team, and, alternatively, good DC games are generally few and far between.

I also don’t want to it to appear like I’m complaining about the slim character list (a total of 22), because this is the first “MK” game in a very long time where it felt like each character had something unique to offer. “MK” fans have become accustomed to large rosters filled with similar looking characters who have very similar move sets, and that’s always felt like a palate swap at the hands of the developers. While there are more characters on both sides that I was secretly hoping would appear (”MK”: Reptile and DC: Dr. Manhattan) this particular list of characters felt well rounded, and fulfilling. With the promise of DLC, there’s a good chance that “MK” might get a bit of extra playing time, if the right characters get released.

Numerous “Mortal Kombat” games have graced many consoles since the series first hit the arcades in 1992; unfortunately, with every release the franchise has devolved a little bit. “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe” may not be the saving grace of the series, but it, for the most part, is pointing the franchise is the right direction – back toward mindless, bloody fun. There does seem to be a spot for it in today’s crowded fighter market, simply because it’s fun without needing to learn combos or use an arcade stick, plus the novelty factor doesn’t wear off too quickly. While it may have come off as a fan service game, both fans and newcomers should be able to get something fun out of “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe,” even if it is their brains blown out by The Joker.

[Rating:4/5]

Do you remember when “Mortal Kombat” used to be awesome? The last few games have been fun, for the most part, but thing back to a time when it was the most amazing game your parents wouldn’t buy for you? Ever reminisce about the first time you ripped someone’s head off with Sub-Zero, or their heart out with Kano? Remember the first time you saw Reptile, heard about Ermac, or convinced your friends that there was a code to play as Sonya naked? Yeah, it’s been a while since “Mortal Kombat” was at the top of a lot of people’s must play list, but all that’s about to change with “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.”

Midway knows how you feel about “MK” – how you liked it better back before the days of cyborgs, Mokap, and online play. They are throwing (almost) everything you know about the franchise out the window for their first-ever crossover title. They are going back to their roots for the upcoming game staring 10 classic “Mortal Kombat” mainstays duking it out 10 beloved comic titans from the DC archives.

In order to make the game more accessible, and make it feel more like the older titles in the series, Midway has made a few changes. The match-ups have been simplified back to what is essentially a 2D battle in a 3D environment. The controls are back to the D-pad, and off the analog stick (take that as you will 360 owners). The combos are easier. The weapons are gone, unless they belong to a superhero (Baterangs are in). Multiple fighting styles are gone. “Mortal Kombat” is going back to the way you remember things best – and they’re doing it with Superman.

I recently had the opportunity to take a few of the new characters out for a test run, and I was quite surprised at how things went. First on my list was Batman. I immediately noticed that the dev team had taken the characters into consideration when working on their mechanics. In other words, Batman felt slow, and kind of heavy. It was surprising because thinking back to most of the other “Mortal Kombat” games, all the characters, pretty much felt the same. An uppercut as Liu Kang felt the same as an uppercut as Shao Khan, but within the first few seconds, you could tell that Batman’s speed and controls had been specifically tailored to him. Comparing Batman to Catwoman, the old man’s age showed – Catwoman felt much faster and more nimble. I was more than a bit interested to see how someone like the Joker handles, but I was told everyone would have to wait until Leipzig to find out.

Midway has also put some thought into changing the actual pacing of matches. They have added in mid-match opportunities to beat the snot out of your opponent to fill in the “dead” spaces. For example, as you are flying from level of the arena to another, you get to beat up your competitor instead of just animated falling. At the same time, they have the opportunity to counter, and turn around all the accumulated damage on you.

As I watched and played the game demo, there were a few interesting tidbits that I picked up:

• Although Shang Tsung was playable, they are still working out whether or not he will be able to change into DC characters yet. It was suggested that he might be able to do a “move steal” as opposed to a complete transformation.
• Downloadable content is being considered, but there was nothing to confirm.
• Fatalities (the most important part of the “MK” experience) will be able to be performed by all the “MK” characters, and DC villains. DC heroes will only be able to perform brutalities – brutal beatings that don’t kill their opponents.
• The game will be rated “T”
• You’ll be able to play as either side (”MK” or DC) in the story mode. More on that at Leipzig.

It was one of the biggest surprises in gaming this past year; the head-on collision of the “Mortal Kombat” and DC universes. We are, only a few months away from, what are shaping up to be, epic battles between Scorpion and Superman, Sonya and Catwoman, and even Sub-Zero and The Joker. While there is a lot of potential here, and it is pretty great, in theory, a little bit of the “Wow” factor has been taken away by the fact that Capcom did do this more than a few years ago. “Marvel vs. Capcom 2″ currently reins supreme in my book as the best fighting game ever made, and, as good as it looks, it is doubtful that “MK vs. DC” is going to knock it out of the top spot. However, I’m always open to a new number 2.

Written by 2.0