Read our MC vs DCU Review Here
Mortal Kombat was a shock to the system when it was released in the early 1990s. Realistic graphics, brutal special moves, insane finishers, pints of blood… this arcade game had hit the mainstream like a sledgehammer to the face. Beyond the presentation was a throwaway fighting game that could be enjoyed by anyone and everyone, hence its popularity. Well, that and the extreme violence.
Since Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, though, gamers have seen a very different sort of brawler. More combo-heavy, three different types of martial arts styles per character, convoluted plotlines and more characters than the cast of Heroes. It was time for a reboot, and you couldn’t have asked for something more different than Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, which merges the two worlds together in a befittingly camp and entertaining storyline.
During a special press event for the game I spoke to senior producer, Hans Lo, to learn more about the meaning behind using the DC Universe, the fans' responses and just how much depth this game really has.
SPOnG: Hans Lo, thanks very much for taking the time out to speak with us today. First, could you give us a little bit of background to your video games career? How did you start, and how long have you been in the industry for?
Hans Lo: Oh, back in the day, when I was a boy… (laughs). Well, actually it does go back a bit, if we really want to go that far I started out in 1988. I began my videogames career working at Nintendo, in Seattle as a game counsellor. Those were the guys people called up and say, “How do I get 30 lives in Gradius?” or, “How do I get past this guy that says ‘grumble grumble’ in Zelda?”
I was the guy that’d tell ‘em, “Well, what does your stomach tell you when it says ‘grumble grumble’?” and they’d go, “It tells me that I’m hungry!".
"So..?”
“Oh! I got the bait!”
I did that for a little bit, then moved on to becoming a tester working in the R&D group.
Eventually I became the supervisor of the QA department, and from there after an almost ten-year period I went to Crave Entertainment and I worked there as a QA manager.
After they closed down their Seattle studios a buddy of mine from my Nintendo days had gotten into Midway round about that time. So, I was offered a position down at the San Diego studio to be the QA manager with the agreement that I’d move up into the production field after a couple of years.
That’s when I became an associate producer and began producing games. Five years later I’m still here (smiles). And slowly Mortal Kombat became more my ‘thing’, so now I’m looking over this series here, and it’s great fun.
Hans Lo (right) and Svend SPOnG
Since Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, though, gamers have seen a very different sort of brawler. More combo-heavy, three different types of martial arts styles per character, convoluted plotlines and more characters than the cast of Heroes. It was time for a reboot, and you couldn’t have asked for something more different than Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, which merges the two worlds together in a befittingly camp and entertaining storyline.
SPOnG: Hans Lo, thanks very much for taking the time out to speak with us today. First, could you give us a little bit of background to your video games career? How did you start, and how long have you been in the industry for?
I was the guy that’d tell ‘em, “Well, what does your stomach tell you when it says ‘grumble grumble’?” and they’d go, “It tells me that I’m hungry!".
"So..?”
“Oh! I got the bait!”
I did that for a little bit, then moved on to becoming a tester working in the R&D group.
After they closed down their Seattle studios a buddy of mine from my Nintendo days had gotten into Midway round about that time. So, I was offered a position down at the San Diego studio to be the QA manager with the agreement that I’d move up into the production field after a couple of years.
That’s when I became an associate producer and began producing games. Five years later I’m still here (smiles). And slowly Mortal Kombat became more my ‘thing’, so now I’m looking over this series here, and it’s great fun.