As pillars continue to topple all around Midway, the company has begun to search for new ways to stay relevant, reaching out to one of the last remaining assets left in the struggling publisher's corner. Despite reportedly offering up company darling Mortal Kombat for sale, The Cut Scene reports that Midway hopes to keep series co-creator Ed Boon around -- at least for a while longer -- by continuing to pay bonuses for his role in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and an unannounced series entry in 2009's fourth quarter.

Midway has apparently asked bankruptcy court for approval to pay the designer some $900,000 for sales of last year's comic book crossover. Another $105,000 is promised for other MK franchise revenue to Boon, whom Midway describes as "critical to maximizing the value of one of the Debtors' primary assets." The report suggests that keeping Boon around makes Mortal Kombat more attractive to potential suitors, assuming that he tags along if a company happens to open up its wallet.

Still, critical or not, paying out bonuses seems like a tall order to fill for an outfit that's up to its eyeballs in debt.

Midway announced today that Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe has shipped "approximately" 1.8 million units for Xbox 360 and PS3. Unlike another publisher, Midway is taking the shipped figure as a positive sign for the franchise. Ed Boon, creative director for Mortal Kombat, stated the group is already working on the "next version of Mortal Kombat," with details forthcoming.

As much as this is positive news for the Mortal Kombat franchise, Death is still knocking on Midway's door. Can one moderately successful franchise pay for all those executive salaries?

Looking for a little healthy competition? Midway devs are inviting gamers to throw down for a few friendly rounds of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe between 8PM - 11PM (EST) today, January 23. Developers of MK vs. DC will be on hand, including series co-creator Ed Boon, for the exclusive event, taking place over Xbox Live. To join, players should look for select Xbox Live Gamertags making the rounds in ranked matches later today. Interested to test your might? Jump in for a full list of developers taking part in the event as well as all of the Midway Gamertags to look out for.

With Midway's holiday hopes (and financial future) pinned on Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, it appears the reviewers aren't going to help the company out. Barring major outlier Giant Bomb and its 5/5, most outlets appear to be sticking around 80 and below. If it does well at retail, MK vs. DC may help prevent the publisher from hearing an ominous voice-over: "Finish him!"

• GamePro (80/100): "Though far from a technical fighting game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe exceeds expectations by delivering a solidly enjoyable casual fighter. The Mature-rated gore is missed, but the core combat here feels more confident and energetic than it has in years."
• IGN (75/100): "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is fun and a solid entry into the franchise, but I doubt many folks will find it entertaining past a rental. Casual players will punch through the storyline before burning out after getting stumped by one or two Kombo Challenges, while Mortal Kombat fans will have trouble accepting the toned down Fatalities and somewhat slower gameplay."
• GameSpy (70/100): "Though MK vs. DC purports to shake up the franchise, the reality is that among the many new touches that the game adds it still lacks the depth of other fighters available today. Again, it doesn't feel dramatically different from its predecessors, save for new mini-game modes and a big facelift. The movesets are rather generic (most are a variation of "down, forward, button") and feel a tad antiquated. Its big hook (the crossover license) can't justify the relatively shallow fighting on hand."
• 1UP (B-): (Calculated as 67 on Metacritic) "MK vs. DCU is an oddly enjoyable distraction from "real" fighters. Its masher-friendly controls appeal to me in a casual-gamer way, and the midmatch minigames (damage-percentage tugs-of-war, airborne ass-kickings with the defender mirroring the aggressor's button-presses in a bid for dominance) give the fights a sort of party-game vibe."

Writing this post, we were fully ready to laugh heartily at the "story" of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. We were ready to lambast the cheesiness of it. And yet, strangely, we find ourselves reveling in it. The idea that the universes of Mortal Kombat and DC are merging together seems appropriate enough, especially given the comic book context. The explanation that Superman can be hurt by magic and, thus, Scorpion, seems plausible enough. In fact, forget the cheese, forget the cliches, the shear amount of fanboy minutia being flung about is all that really matters. Check out the trailer above and tell us what you make of it.

Sad news DC and Mortal Kombat fans, Midway's quest for a Teen ESRB rating has taken its first victims. Some of the content in Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, you see, has been scaled back in order to keep the dreaded 'M' rating off of the box. According to Kotaku, who spoke with Midway's Ed Boon, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe has been submitted to the ESRB three times, making minor changes each time in order to move the game from a Mature rating to Teen. The most painful fatality in this process (pun intented), is that the Joker's awesome, awesome "bang" fatality (see it after the break) has been changed, as the final headshot is now performed offscreen.

So, in a nutshell, the series that spawned the ESRB is now bound to it. Midway needs its money though, and a T rating will sell more copies, which explains why the company is so serious about it.

[Via Joystiq]

November 16. That's the day that Midway will impale Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe onto retail shelves, at least in North America. European players, on the other hand, will have to wait until November 21 to see a newly frozen Supes served a painful uppercut to his chiseled Kryptonian jaw. Now all that remains to be seen is if Alex Ross alone has enough power in his brush to make us overlook such a ridiculous crossover, or if the pairing of magical ninjas and superheroes in tights is just too much to resist.

Not only does it have Shazam, but Ross as well. No, not that Ross, the other one. Midway announced that the upcoming "Kollector's Edition" of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe will feature cover art by legenday comic painter, Alex Ross. Also included will be a 16-page prequel comic illustrated by Mortal Kombat co-creator, John Tobias, as well as extra videos of some sort. But just look at that cover!?

And if that isn't enough to relieve your wallet of an extra $10, the Kingdom Come artist's work will also be included as a seperate, removable print, which you can watch come to life in the video above while waiting for Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe to drop in from the Outworld this November.

They said it was impossible. They pointed and laughed, and called it names. But, just as Batman's license holders have every right to pit him in a crossover battle against an alien hunter will dreadlocks, they may also call upon the Dark Knight to beat a fire-burping, undead ninja within an inch of its tortured life -- just as long as he doesn't go that extra inch, ya know? (Off topic: So is Two-Face dead or what?) Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is very real folks, and here's the box art to prove it:

I confess. I haven't touched the Mortal Kombat series since Trilogy on N64, and even then my interest had waned. The peak came in 1993 or thereabouts with MKII, so you can imagine the eyebrow raise when associate producer Hector Sanchez told me Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe was taking it back to that iconic memory. Stopping short of digitized sprites and random outbursts of weirdness, MK vs. DC does succeed as an accessible fighter that's mostly contained on a two-dimensional plane. Call it "casual" -- Midway does.

Game development has become ridonkulously expensive, and if you're creating a project within a niche genre, like a fighting game, you'd best sell out if you want to be around long enough to make another game. That's a harsh way to qualify what's happening all around the industry -- and let's be clear: MK vs. DC in no way stoops to the level of Castlevania Judgment -- but somehow "casual" has become careless, as if developers are afraid ordinary consumers won't appreciate good art. A certain amount of color, call it the "Noob Saibot" effect, seems wiped from the MK canvas. Gone is that unsophisticated humor that was always charming, if not entirely professional. (Where's that "Toasty" guy? What ever happened to reverting opponents to diapered infants?) With this in mind, and DC legal breathing down Midway's neck (we wouldn't want Supe's golden-boy reputation tarnished, not with a movie reboot possible, would we?), the team is tiptoeing to a final release.

The queue of people looking to take advantage of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe's plot devices and punch Superman to death continues to grow, with a unconfirmed list of Xbox 360 Achievements revealing several previously unannounced characters. The relatively straightforward challenges task players with performing the "expert combos" for several kombatants, both known -- Batman, The Joker, Scorpion etc. -- and until now, unknown.

The latter category features intergalactic menace Darkseid, sinister slap-head Lex Luthor and Outworld favorite Baraka, who probably wasn't hugged much as a child. Peer past the break for the complete list of known characters while we poke Midway for confirmation.

Update: One curt comment: "Midway has not officially released the Xbox 360 achievements for MK vs. DCU."
Update 2: Midway has just confirmed the full lineup of characters. You'll find 'em all after the break.

So what's the problem with the Joker's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe fatality (seen at about 3:40 into the video after the break)? Well, nothing per se, it's a perfectly silly, violent way for the criminal mastermind to finish off his foes, and is actually surprisingly brutal for the game's Teen rating.

No, the only real problem is what the attack isn't. As fans of The Dark Knight know, the Joker's real fatality is blindingly obvious. Because, honestly, who doesn't love a good magic trick?

Let's put a smile on that face by checking out Midway's latest batch of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe screenshots, rife with cross-dimensional brawling and enough continuity issues to drive fanboys round the bend. While you enjoy the sight of The Joker blasting Scorpion right out of the Batcave or the Green Lantern putting the squeeze on Shang Tsung, we'll frantically attempt to figure out how Ed Boon managed to steal all our closeted fan fictions.

If these guys don't pummel your fancy, Midway has also informed us that series stalwarts Raiden and Kano will join the game's kombatants, along with the DC universe's Wonder Woman and Deathstoke.

We don't know how you feel about Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe but we've gone from absolute bewilderment to an almost embarrassing desire for the full version. If you're still on the doubters' side of the fence, we'd like to humbly suggest only that you watch the above video, a boatload of gameplay narrated by your friend and ours, Ed Boon.

It all looks sort of cool, but we have a hard time getting past the part where Superman runs Scorpion through seven walls without picking up the phone to pre-order the game. We can't even watch it anymore because after call number 9, the guy at Gamestop was starting to get downright rude. What say you on it?