I'm quite an avid fan of fighting games, so it's somewhat of a surprise that I don't play much Mortal Kombat. Ultra-violent fatalities don't bother me much, but I simply don't find the characters all that interesting, aside from Sub-Zero. I've read about every new character that gets added to the Mortal Kombat universe, but I only found the characters becoming more and more bizarre. However, when I heard that the latest entry will include characters from DC Comics, my interest level made a complete 180, and I was excited to see that Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe would be available at PAX.

The stories in these types of games aren't all that important, but there has to be a reason for these forces to clash. Apparently, some evil entity has invaded both worlds and forced the inhabitants from both sides to fight each other. That's all cool and all, but the big question is who from each universe will be participating? For now, each side consists of eight characters. Mortal Kombat's includes: Jax, Kitana, Liu Kang, Raiden, Scorpion, Shang Tsung, Sonya and Sub-Zero. On the DC side, there will be: Batman, Catwoman, The Flash, Green Lantern, The Joker, Shazam, Superman and Wonder Woman. Aside from being a little heavy on the Batman universe, the rosters look pretty good

Of all the characters on the list, Superman is probably the one I was most partial to, so I decided to give him a spin. As expected, Superman is armed with a host of superpowers — including heat vision, ice breath and super strength — and none of these abilities seems out of place. Sub-Zero has ice powers, and Scorpion has a long-range grappler. It's amusing that everyone played as DC characters during the demo and eschewed the MK characters, which makes one wonder if Midway should've just made a DC fighting game.

Two new features that have been added to the MK fighting mechanic are Freefall Kombat when you descend to lower platforms and Klose Kombat. The mid-air battles occur when you get a strong combo going, causing you to destroy the ground you're on, or ring out your opponent. Basically, you'll still be fighting, but you'll also be wrestling each other so that your opponent is the one who takes the damage from the fall. The other feature, Klose Kombat, involves a close-up view of the action, and you'll also have to follow some on-screen button commands. If you do this correctly, you'll be able to inflict some major pain to your opponent and prevent him from doing the same.

A signature feature of the Mortal Kombat series is the ultra-violent finishing moves known as fatalities. MK vs. DC features a unique set of these moves, known as Signature Attacks. Since it goes against the code of a superhero, they can't downright kill an opponent, so instead, they'll release a barrage of attacks to finish off an opponent. Supervillains, on the other hand, have other alternatives. For example, The Joker's Signature Attack involves him pulling out a trick gun that shoots a banner that says "BANG!" Amused by his joke, he prances around, laughs hysterically, and suddenly pulls out a real gun and blows off his victim's head. With finishing moves like that, you may find yourself laughing as much as The Joker himself.

With all that said, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe may seem a little cheesy at first, but fans of either universe or fighting games in general should check out this game when it releases later this year for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.