Mortal Kombat vs. DC to Feature Milder Fatalities
Midway's intention is to 'push the boundaries of a T-rated game.'
When Midway first unveiled Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe last month, word of its T-rating logically led many to assume the usual over-the-top Mortal Kombat violence would be drastically toned down, perhaps even with the elimination of the series-standard "fatality" finishing moves. Well, the assumption was half-right -- in a lengthy interview with GameTap, Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon confirmed fatalities would still be in the game, but the level of violence (and what they'll even be called) will likely be altered.
"There was never any statement on our part that fatalities will be gone or that finishing moves will be gone," said Boon. "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. But there are a lot of assumptions that there will be no blood in the game, that there are no fatalities in the game. It's an assumption that, because the DC characters will be in there, those features will have to be dropped. My response is that, no, we're modifying fatalities... The names of these moves, and the level of violence we use, are to be determined. But it's certainly not a feature we plan on eliminating from the series."
Boon goes on to say that its Midway's intention to "push the envelope of a T-rated game as far as we can without being an M-rated game," but how far that'll be is hard to say, as there's no black-and-white guideline as to what DC will allow. "It's really a matter of us creating animations in the game and showing them to DC. We'll have Superman or Batman doing these moves and DC will identify certain moves, and we'll go back and forth with them," Boon said.
Also worth noting from the interview is Boon's explanation for how the likes of Scorpion or Sub-Zero (or Batman, for that matter) would possibly be able to survive a battle with Superman. "Well, we know the back stories to the characters. For instance, Superman has two weaknesses, Kryptonite and magic," Boon said. "The Mortal Kombat universe is surrounded by magic -- I mean, we have sorcerers, people from the Nether realms; we have chi and magic attacks. So, remember that cataclysmic event which merges the universes? The source of that is magic. When you mix that in, that explains why Superman, who can move a mountain, who can push a planet, is, in this scenario, weakened a bit."
Magic, people. Magic.