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Don’t expect to yank out Batman’s spleen at the end of a battle in "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe."

Expect a gentler — but not necessarily kinder — fighting game when Midway releases the first T-rated edition of MK.

Hector Sanchez, one of the game’s producers, brought some test code to Stripes recently and let several of us pound each other.

The game, which is due out in late November, features fighting among classic Mortal Kombat characters and the heroes or villains from DC Comics. The battle erupts when the two worlds are brought together by a cosmic rift.

Of course your first question is: Does Superman have a really cool fatality move that leaves his foe an eviscerated pile of goo?

Answer: Of course not.

Sanchez said Superman and his buds don’t usually kill anyone. So, instead of "fatalities," DC heroes have "brutalities" — finishing moves that incapacitate foes but leave them alive.

In fact, despite numerous spurts of blood, no one actually loses any vital organs in this edition of "Mortal Kombat." That alone goes a long way toward helping the game maintain the T rating that DC and Midway were aiming for.

"The team really wanted to do this," Sanchez said. "... It’s more bizarre and disturbing, rather than just gory."

Your second question: How can Scorpion defeat the Man of Steel unless he has some Kryptonite in his pocket?

Answer: "Superman has two weaknesses: Kryptonite and magic," Sanchez said, adding that all of the MK characters use magic to some degree.

Your third question: So what?

Answer: The addition of DC characters was a stroke of genius. It pumps new vitality into the series by adding 10 new characters with new moves. For example, the Joker has some very flashy attacks — even though none of them involves a pencil.

"We kind of wanted to do something different, and it doesn’t get any more different than adding Batman," Sanchez said.

On the Web: www.worldscollide.com

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