Midway 'modifying fatalities' for MK vs. DC

by Ross Miller { May 8th 2008 at 3:28PM }

When Midway announced that DC characters were splicing worlds with Mortal Kombat for a T-rated fighting game, we prepared our eulogy for the fatality, a staple of the MK universe that seemed to run against the DC philosophy. Not so fast, says MK series creator Ed Boon, who hints that the violent sendoffs will still be there, albeit in a tamer fashion.

In an interview with GameTap, Boon notes that the developer never explicitly stated fatalities were going away. "We did acknowledge that we won't be able to do the same kinds of outrageous moves, like tearing someone's head off and the spine being attached to it," he says, adding, "My response is that, no, we're modifying fatalities. But I have every intention to keep finishers."

What's left is to define, then, the nature of the fatality. Are they inherently ultra-violent? So far that answer's been yes, with the extreme alternatives being Friendships and Babalities. For now, we'll just have to wait for the screenshots to show us some kind of finisher that satiates our blood-thirsty desires.

After the break, a collection of fatalities from the series.

Tags: ed-boon, fatalities, fatality, midway, mk-vs-dc, mortal-kombat, mortal-kombat-vs-dc, mortal-kombat-vs-dc-universe

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

J @ May 8th 2008 3:35PM

I always sucked at MK. Learning the moves, especially fatalities, was definitely never very intuitive.

Maybe they could just dumb it down for us retards and do a timed button press, or something.

Ghen @ May 8th 2008 8:30PM

Well fatalities yes, but quarter circle forward with a button press is very easy... even on the wii.

Mr.ESC @ May 8th 2008 8:51PM

I disagree.MK never sucked but you are correct about the moves.

In the Pc version of MK4 at least it included a Move list.I wonder why they didn't insert it in consoles.

The only thing I disliked about the new MK games was they dropped every other finisher like babalities and friendships.Maybe it wasn't much but they were fun to do if the conditions met.

ViagraFiend @ May 9th 2008 11:27AM

He didnt say MK sucked he said that he sucked at MK.

I, on the other hand was an MK master. That is until it went 3D, then I stopped giving a shit.

Zoesch @ May 8th 2008 3:38PM

This can only end badly... People play MK for the special moves, the fatalities and the over the top cartoon violence.

Why on earth didn't they split this into two games (A DC comic brawler and a new MK Universe game)? After all, Armageddon was supposed to be the last MK with the classic characters.

Christopher Exantus @ May 8th 2008 3:53PM

"This can only end badly... People play MK for the special moves, the fatalities and the over the top cartoon violence."

And this is called being shallow. yeah I understand that fatalities were a major part of the MK franchise, but it seems silly to complain about not seeing 5 seconds of Subzero ripping someone's spine out of their back.

Frankly, I really don't care about fatalities. If they can improve the gameplay to be much more fun than the previous outings, then fuck fatalities and bring on the Batman!! Personally I think part of the problem with the recent MK games is that they've been taking themselves way to seriously. Part of the fun of the old titles was just how ridiculous and goofy the games were. I mean where else can you turn someone into a baby or drop an arcade on someone's head? What midway needs to do is bring those babalities and friendship moves back(Batman's friendship move must be he turns into Adam West and dances)into the franchise, and bring back all of the crazyness from the old games. And they don't necessarily need gore and outrageous violence to do that.

StarFoxA @ May 8th 2008 4:09PM

Except for the thought that fatalities are what MK is known for. Sure, the other stuff is cool, but when I--and other fans--play MK, we expect fatalities.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ May 8th 2008 4:16PM

I understand that you'd be disappointed that there will be no bloody fatalities, I was too. But I think it's ridiculous to automatically assume this game is going to suck simply because of the lack of gore.

All I'm saying is just give this game a chance and see how it plays out. I'm just being optimistic and that if they can improve the gameplay then I don't mind the abscence of the fatalities(or at least the bloddy ones).

Zoesch @ May 8th 2008 4:18PM

@Vegeta:

I'm sure you wouldn't be saying the same thing if Halo 4 came out with all drab realistic environments and guns.

It's the fatalities and over the top violence that make MK what it is, if you don't like it there's plenty of options for you to play, for example Virtua Fighter or DOA.

Actually a better analogy, MK vs. DC without fatalities is like DOA without bouncing boobs.

samfish @ May 8th 2008 4:31PM

I'd rather have fatalities than not, even though the thought of seeing Power Girl's head ripped off breaks my heart.

MK is known for fatalities. It's what made it what it is. God knows the gameplay itself (the most important aspect to any fighter) sure as Hell isn't there anymore.

That all said, I'd still rather have a stand alone 2D DC fighter. They could have at least made this game cell shaded instead of that ugly MK style.

Christopher Exantus @ May 8th 2008 4:40PM

"I'm sure you wouldn't be saying the same thing if Halo 4 came out with all drab realistic environments and guns."

Actually yeah I would. Why? Because all I care about is the gameplay. If it's fun, I don't care if it's a more realistic version of Halo, I'll buy a copy and play the shit out of it on my 360. Which is why I really don't care about fucking fatalities. I'm hoping that with the exclusion of Fatalities, Midway will actually be forced to try making these games genuinely fun instead of relying on over the top gore in order to get people actually excited about their games.

So if you're that shallow that you refuse to play this game regardless of the quality simply because of blood and gore then fine by me, don't by it. But I'm willing to give this game a chance, and while I don't expect it to be on the same level as other fighting games, I'm hoping for a fun title where I can play as Batman and beat the shit out of everyone.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 8th 2008 4:45PM

I liked the Stance system and I hope it's THAT system they refine for this game.

Yourself @ May 8th 2008 5:57PM

I actually got the unfortunate impression that this game was going to be more serious than the recent ones. Though they haven't been quite as wacky, Deception and Armageddon don't take themselves anything close to seriously, and I still laughed all the time playing both games.

The fighting system is definitely strong enough to hold up without fatalities, though a little bit of character balancing would be nice. I also liked the special moves in the Wii version of Armageddon - everyone could figure them out in a second.

Curtis the Claw:XBL - supapaypamawio @ May 8th 2008 3:41PM

I just can't wait to find out why the hell Batman, Superman, and the whole DC crew are all in Mortal Kombat land.

rv @ May 8th 2008 4:05PM

Pizza party?

Curtis the Claw:XBL - supapaypamawio @ May 8th 2008 4:11PM

Only if the ninja turtles get to come to.

Mr.ESC @ May 8th 2008 8:55PM

Batman,Superman you are both here for the fact Spiderman and the advengers rejects us.Not that you aren't cool too but this was going to a Marvel game but Marvel Comics laugh their buttocks off when they hear our idea so that's why you are here.Take this political correct,familiy aproved finishing move card and procced to the arena.

LeadBoxx @ May 8th 2008 3:42PM

I would really be looking forward to this and the new Street Fighter if it was 1995.

Eric @ May 8th 2008 3:44PM

This is hands down one of the worst ideas for a game ever.

Phi Nguyen @ May 8th 2008 3:47PM

Wow, I forgot a lot of those fatalities.

tc @ May 8th 2008 3:49PM

they've completely missed the point. The appeal of fatalaties was having a couple of seconds of ultra-violence to utterly embarrass your vanquished enemy.

No Gore, No Point.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 8th 2008 4:09PM

Killer Instinct laughs at you...

And I do have a question, do you really think in order to humiliate your opponent, you need to double circle kick someone's head off? You don't think Batman tying Sub-Zero to the Batsignal would be hilarious?

tc @ May 8th 2008 4:51PM

I loved Killer Instinct and the awesome combo-ness! And surely if they decided to develop a new KI game without that aspect people would be unimpressed. Fans might even be insulted if developers tried to dumb down the system and say "You can only get a maximum 10 hit combo"

As it is, I'm unimpressed with the prospect of dumbed down fatalities.

But youre right, i'm probably just being militant and will reserve the degree of my hatred for this ill conceived game when it arrives.

Christ, i'm in a bad mood today...

Gehodra @ May 8th 2008 6:53PM

Double circle kick? That's a new one.

bakes @ May 8th 2008 3:51PM

how is this a bad idea for a GAME? ITS A GAME. Even if the game sucks...the idea is AMAZING on PRINCIPLE.

For GOD SAKES....lighten up. :)

PojoMofo @ May 8th 2008 3:53PM

Man I have no idea how much money I pumped into the various MK games, but it would fund a small country for a year.

I am glad they arent getting rid of fatalities, I wish they were the violent ones.

*favorite MK Fatalities*

Lui Kang (MK2 i believe)- Turns into MK arcade machine and smashes enemy.

Reptile (MK2) eating enemy in 4 sections

Scorpion- (MK2) rips mask off and flamethrowers enemy

theturtle363 @ May 8th 2008 3:53PM

http://mastersofkombat.ytmnd.com/

Roto13 @ May 8th 2008 4:12PM

I still find it hard to believe that anyone over 10 thinks fatalities are cool.

Jhongerkong @ May 8th 2008 7:30PM

I still dont understand why all the MK characters have gallons of Kool-aid inside them :P

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 8th 2008 4:14PM

If all I wanted was fatalities, I would be sad. I agree with you, Vegeta. MK, as a series, has gone great lengths to expanding their core gameplay and making a more diversified fighter. MK 1-3 basically only had the special moves to differentiate characters from one another.

Am I sad to see the Fatalities go? Considering the ones in the last game, not really. Especially not when my mind comes up with stuff like Batman leaving his "victim" bound and gagged for Gordon to claim or Green Latern basically giving a massive green boot to someone's head and watching em fly off the screen.

For me, MK has always had good character designs and an interesting theme. Fatalities were fun but in the end, I was still playing for the character designs. This is also why SNK gets my money before Capcom everytime.

CynicalStrike @ May 8th 2008 4:32PM

I'm surprised nobody has pointed out that MK vs DC is basically the goggle-eyed, flid-armed, retarded ginger cousin to the mighty Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Playing that on Dreamcast with the arcade stick; Epic.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ May 8th 2008 4:43PM

I'm not. I'm just suprised it took someone this long. Seriously, can we have at least one thread about this game without another chest fappin MvC2 fantard coming in and pissing all over it? I have news for you, SNK beat Capcoms fighting style before the first Street Fighter vs. X-Men shipped, and this was before Arc Systems came and kicked the shit out of the genre again with Guilty Gear.

If you're going to take the time to bash a fighting game, please realize that anything you could dish out as "better" still isn't the "best."

CynicalStrike @ May 8th 2008 5:00PM

A few points:

1) I didn't say that MvC2 was the best, I merely stated that I enjoyed it and that MKvDC is a cheap copy of that concept, and a rather dated one at that. Is MK really relevant at all these days?

2) If any fighting game needs bashing, it MK and it's over-reliance on special moves and OTT violence for shock value.

3) While there will always be a "chest fappin MvC2 fantard" in these threads, there is inevitably also a deranged SNK elitist spouting garbage to anyone who'll listen, about how the gameplay is infinitely better blah blah blah. They're both good for god's sake! Let's just agree to disagree.

WiNG [Life in a Game] @ May 8th 2008 4:37PM

After watching those videos I realized Fatalities were never really that cool. I guess as a kid I just thought it was awesome but in retrospect it's not even part of the gameplay. You get to input a difficult command to see a tired cinematic.

BRING ON THE FLASH!

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ May 8th 2008 4:42PM

FUCK YEAH!!!

Zsavior @ May 8th 2008 4:41PM

If they did have fatalities it would rock for one reason! BATFUCKINGMAN! He should kill somebody, out of rage, with a gun, lose his mind and before the blood thirst drives him mad Superman or Raiden Fries his mind clean!

Or from the last Sinestro Vs the Green Lantern corp books You hear Hal Jordan get the Order from OA allowing him to Kill people with his ring! All you see is the Guardians of the Universe right the new law in the Book, then the ring says "Lethal Force Approved" and Hal Jordan Rings to death Sub Zero!

The Possibilities Are ENDLESS!

Zatanna runs out wipes your Mind leaves you in Arkham where you get shivved.

I mean really all good stuff if they use enough characters and they think about it.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ May 8th 2008 4:44PM

Too bad DC would never allow this and if they did, the fanboys would riot.

Mr Khan @ May 8th 2008 4:56PM

Still, unless they want DC to go apeshit and pull the license, they won't be "fatalities"

It should say, "Midway 'modifying finishers' for MK vs DC"

CynicalStrike @ May 8th 2008 5:05PM

Unless they include Jesse Custer from the Vertigo series "Preacher", and have his fatality be him telling his opponent to go fuck himself, this game will be a crock of shit.

(If you haven't read Preacher, you should. You'll appreciate my little joke a lot more.)

Yourself @ May 8th 2008 6:02PM

Frankly I'd rather see Cassidy, or better yet, the Saint... but man Jesse was a badass.
"Son of a bitch, he's 75 years old!"
"That's okay... I hit young fucks too"
Was probably my favorite moment in comic books ever.

CynicalStrike @ May 8th 2008 6:15PM

Hell, screw MKvDC; just make it Preacher Vs Mortal Kombat. Imagine, Arseface vs Kung Lao, Saint of Killers vs Rayden, Herr Starr (in wheelchair, with colostomy bag) vs Sub Zero!!! I'd buy that.

Yourself @ May 8th 2008 6:34PM

D'Aronique vs. Bo Rai Cho
Tulip vs. Sonja
The Saint vs. God

And hey, for that last one... you wouldn't even need to take out fatalities. Oops spoiler.

CynicalStrike @ May 8th 2008 6:53PM

Main event: Goro vs Jesse's Grandma. (I'm thinking flawless victory to granny)

Cassidy would be fun though; at least his limbs grow back.

hornetscubsrule @ May 8th 2008 5:09PM

*waiting for Killer Instinct vs. Marvel* Can't wait to Orchid flash Psylocke.

Marty @ May 8th 2008 5:11PM

[Pops up in the corner]

Toasty!

[Disappears into oblivion]

Shogan @ May 8th 2008 5:19PM

I was seriously worried there wouldn't be Fatalities in this newest MK game (despite not being able to pull them off). Some kind of over-the-top finishing move, whether it's bloody or not, just HAS to be in this game. I have a bit more faith now, but it's MK and a DC game... maybe two fails can make a win?

Geoffrey Sperl @ May 8th 2008 5:21PM

It'll be special finishes... perhaps they will be opponent-specific. So, anyone fighting Batman does a little whistle after the the "Finish Him" voiceover and Bane walks out and breaks Batman's back.

Or Doomsday runs out and pummels Superman.

Or someone turns a hairdryer on Aquaman.