NetherRealm vs. DC Universe

NertherRealm vs. DC Universe (abbreviated as NR vs. DCU) is the eighth game from the NetherRealm Studios which was released in the date of November 16, 2008. If was developed by NetherRealm Studios and Publisher by Midway Games. The game contains characters from both the NetherRealm franchise and the DC Universe. The game's story was written by comic writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. It is available for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.

Plot
Shao Kahn has recently failed in his latest bid to merge Earthrealm with Outworld. As he regroups with his second-in-command,the sorcerer Quan Chi, Raiden confronts him directly. Quan Chi makes a bid to escape, only for Shao Kahn to tackle him out of the way. Raiden attempts to use his lightning blast to knock Shao Kahn through the portal, but this instead causes it to destablize, until it eventually explodes with Shao Kahn inside it. Raiden then takes Quan Chi to the Elder Gods, so that they may pass their judgement upon him.

At the same moment, in Metropolis, Superman has finally defeated Darkseid and his army of Parademons. Darkseid attempts to escape through a dimensional Boom Tube whilst Superman argues with Lex Luthor, who had helped Darkseid invade Earth. Superman stops him with his heat-vision, which causes the Boom Tube to become disrupted and explode with Darkseid inside it. He then turns Luthor into the authorities.

Unknown to either Raiden or Superman, the explosions do not kill either Shao Kahn or Darkseid, but instead merge them into a singular monstrosity known as "Darkhon". As a result of Darkhon's existence, the two universes start merging with each other, whilst a mysterious force known simply as "Kombat Rage" starts to spread through the various warriors.

Story Mode Chapters
The story mode of NetherRealm vs. DC Universe is told in 20 chapters: (10 for MK characters and 10 for DC characters), with one character being playable in each chapter. The order of each chapter is listed below.

NetherRealm

 * Chapter 1: Liu Kang
 * Chapter 2: Sonya Blade
 * Chapter 3: Jax Briggs
 * Chapter 4: Sub-Zero
 * Chapter 5: Scorpion
 * Chapter 6: Nuham
 * Chapter 7: Goufu
 * Chapter 8: Shang Tsung
 * Chapter 9: Quan Chi
 * Chapter 10: Raiden

DC

 * Chapter 1: The Flash
 * Chapter 2: Batman
 * Chapter 3: Wonder Woman
 * Chapter 4: Green Lantern
 * Chapter 5: Shazam
 * Chapter 6: Cyborg
 * Chapter 7: Aquaman
 * Chapter 8: The Joker
 * Chapter 9: Lex Luthor
 * Chapter 10: Superman

NetherRealm

 * 1) Baraka
 * 2) Jax Briggs
 * 3) Kano
 * 4) Kitana
 * 5) Liu Kang
 * 6) Raiden
 * 7) Scorpion
 * 8) Goufu
 * 9) Mileena
 * 10) Kung Lao
 * 11) Ermac
 * 12) Johnny Cage
 * 13) Goro (sub-boss)
 * 14) Belding
 * 15) Sektor
 * 16) Cyrax
 * 17) Noob Saibot
 * 18) Reptile
 * 19) Quan Chi
 * 20) Nuham
 * 21) Shang Tsung
 * 22) Shao Kahn (final boss)
 * 23) Sonya Blade
 * 24) Sub-Zero

DC

 * Batman
 * Shazam
 * Catwoman
 * Deathstroke
 * Darkseid (final boss)
 * The Flash
 * Green Lantern
 * Harley Quinn
 * Doomsday (sub-boss)
 * Sinestro
 * Robin
 * Swamp Thing
 * Green Arrow
 * Aquaman
 * Black Adam
 * Ares
 * Cyborg
 * Black Manta
 * Cheetah
 * Nightwing
 * The Joker
 * Lex Luthor
 * Superman
 * Wonder Woman

Arenas

 * Apokolips
 * Bat Cave
 * Gotham City
 * Graveyard
 * Metropolis
 * Netherrealm
 * Raiden's Temple
 * UN Space Station
 * Special Force Base
 * Fortress of Solitude
 * Throme Room
 * Themyscira
 * Wu Shi Academy
 * Oan Senate
 * Shao Kahn's Throme Room
 * Darkseid's Throme Room
 * Goro's Lair

Gameplay
The game features a story mode, playable from two different perspectives, one from the DC side, and one from the NetherRealm side, and depending on which side players choose, they will see the characters from the opposite universe as the invaders of their own, the player must also play as different characters which are split into chapters.

Intertwined with the fights there are new gameplay modes featuring totally different game dynamics to the usual fight. These modes are Free-fall Kombat which is activated automatically after throwing the opponent to a lower level in the arena. The player can fight in the air during the fall building up their super bar,when a player's super bar fills,they can activate a strong character specific move which slams the opponent into the ground, ultimately ending the sequence, and Klose Kombat which is a mode you can enter during a fight, causing the characters to lock with each other and the perspective to change to a close-up of the two, to make for an interval of close-quarters fighting. A new mode called Rage Mode is activated when the fighter's second gauge bar fills up and the damage to the opponent increases and the opponent cannot harm you unless both of you are in rage mode.

During fights, the characters show permanent signs of visual damage, such as bruises, blood marks, and broken or torn clothing pieces. For example, Scorpion, if attacked for long enough, will lose part of his mask, revealing his skull-like head. Test Your Might makes a return as an in-game fighting feature. By throwing an opponent through a wall, the offensive player mashes buttons to drive the opponent through a set number of walls while the player on the defense mashes buttons to decrease the damage taken.

All characters except Darkseid and Shao Kahn have finishing moves. The NetherRealm characters have 2 fatalities and brutalities, while the DC heries have 2 fatalities and heroic brutalities and the DC villains have 2 fatalities and brutalities, which function similarly to fatalities, except without killing the opponent. These finishing moves are only available in Arcade mode and Versus mode.

Development
NetherReakm vs. DC Universe was Midway Games's last project before filing for bankruptcy and selling the rights to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment the following year in 2009.[13] In February 2007, Midway Games announced they were planning a new game in the Mortal Kombat franchise, inspired by seeing a showcase of Gears of War. "Mortal Kombat 8" would have been "dark, gritty, serious" and a "back to basics reboot" of the series.[14] Eventually, during the planning process, a deal with DC Comics was made and this project was cancelled, thus leading to the development of a different game.[15] An announcement in April 2008 confirmed the game as a crossover, and a trailer was released.[16] The only notable aspect that remained from the original project was the use of the Unreal Engine 3, also used in Gears of War.

NetherRealm vs. DC Universe was co-published by Midway Games and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and was the final Mortal Kombat title to be developed under the Midway label prior to its purchase by Warner Bros. Interactive.[17] Midway used AutoDesk software to develop NetherRealm vs DC Universe, according to Maurice Patel, entertainment industry manager at AutoDesk,[18] and Illuminate Labs products for lighting.[19]

The use of a DC license in NetherRealm vs. DC Universe imposed some restrictions on the characteristic violence in Mortal Kombat games. NetherRealm vs. DC Universe was thus restricted to a "Mature" rating. Therefore, various Fatalities such as Sub-Zero's "Spine Rip" were replaced due to their violent nature.[20] In order to keep that rating, two of the Fatalities in NetherRealm vs. DC Universe were censored in North America.[21][22] In the United Kingdom version of NetherRealm vs. DC Universe, both the Joker and Deathstroke's first Fatality depict them each finishing their opponent with a gunshot to the head, both shown uncut from a distance. The North American version has the camera quickly pan toward the victor before the shot is fired, thereby cutting the victim out of the shot completely.[23][24][25][26] Additionally, one of Kitana's Fatalities which involved impaling the opponent in the head and the torso with her fanblades was modified so that both fanblades impaled her opponent's chest instead.[27][28]

According to interviews, the characters were chosen for their popularity, and for parallels between them from both universes.[3] Boon has said that some of the characters' abilities, especially those from the DC Universe, had been toned down to make them balanced within NetherRealm vs. DC Universe. For example, Boon specifically mentioned that Superman became vulnerable because of magic.[29][30] Boon revealed that two new characters were developed as downloadable content, Quan Chi from Mortal Kombat andHarley Quinn from DC comics but had been discarded.[31] He had also hinted earlier at the prospect of Kung Lao and Doomsday being downloadable characters.[32]

Release
NetherRealm vs. DC Universe received generally positive reviews from critics.[38] Adam Sessler of X-Play stated: "Whether it's a decade-late answer to the Marvel vs. Capcom team up games or an off-the-cuff boardroom joke gone wildly too far, NetherRealm vs. DC Universe is destined to make just about anyone's shortlist of bizarre video game team-ups. Still, sometimes two disparate things can merge to create a unique synergy that makes the melding work, however unlikely it may have seemed at the outset."[45] In GamePro, Sid Shuman called it "surprisingly enjoyable."[46] Wired.com's preview stated that the concept of the game was "nose-pokingly ludicrous", noting that Superman's powers could be used to easily defeat a character with the comment, "from Sub-Zero to Well-Done in eight seconds flat."[47] ABC News praised the game's story because it did "a great job of giving players a cohesive, if far-fetched, story line that's fun if not engaging," as well as "comic book-like" dialogue.[48] NetherRealm vs. DC Universe‍ '​s Kombo Challenge mode was criticized as a thin and frustrating mode with combos that required very precise timing.[6][40][45] The modes of Klose Kombat and Free-fall Kombat were praised as concepts but were criticized in their execution as they appeared to slow the gameplay down and took the player out of the fast gameplay experience.[6] Critics noted that the change in the amount of gore was disappointing to longtime fans of the series who were used to the "insane amounts of gore."[8]

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry approved of NetherRealm vs. DC Universe because of its departure from the earlier M-rated games of the series praising its "simpler play, familiar graphics and adjustable gore content" but still not recommending it for younger players.[49] In 2008, GamePro, ranked it as the 15th best fighting game out of 18.[50]

Midway Games announced that as of January 26, 2009, NetherRealm vs. DC Universe had shipped 1.8 million copies since its release in mid November 2008, not including the sales of the Kollector's Edition.[51] The chief operating officer of GameStop stated that the Kollector's Edition of NetherRealm vs. DC Universe made up 55% of the game's total sales at GameStop locations in its first week.[52] In their 10-K filing, Midway Games revealed the title had sold over 1.9 million units, making it one of the company's most successful titles since 2002.[53] According to Wired.com, NetherRealm vs. DC Universe also "holds the distinction of being the most pre-ordered MK game of all time."[54] In a ranking by Rentrak, the Xbox 360 version of NetherRealm vs. DC Universe was the sixth most rented game of 2009.[55]