Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PlayStation 4 (Reviewed), Xbox One
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| Fair warning, I've sunk the majority of my time with this game as Batman so I may show a slight bias |
I have played a bit as each of the characters, some are for me, some just aren't. Black Canary and Bane are both fond of counters and parries. I'm sure people with the skill and concentration can be phenomenal with them but I have a short attention span and can't make effective use of them. Robin works pretty much like Batman with the gadgets and kung-fu. (It's the Damian Wayne Robin so added assassin training and a sword to boot) Making an appearance I didn't expect is Swamp Thing. Big and tough with an emphasis on special grab attacks that are both short and long range. Fighting him with the computer AI cranked up can have you bouncing around the screen without so much as a howdy-do. Finding a character you're comfortable with is a relatively fast process. (For instance, I found I especially like Batman because even when you button mash like an n00b you still pull off awesome combos) If it's one thing I play a fighting game for it's a good roster of characters. (I don't play them for my astounding lack of skill with them surprise surprise) You're presented with an array of DC heroes and villains to hit each other with and the selection is quite tasty.
Practice makes perfect, and the special moves are mostly a short directional input followed by an attack button so it makes the combat easy to learn even if fighting games aren't really your thing. As it's NetherRealm, the good people behind Mortal Kombat, some of you will be familiar with this style of combat. Even getting the timing down for combos can be a lot easier than other fighting series. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Street Fighter. You wanna go?!)
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| Nine more players are planned to be added |
Practice makes perfect, and the special moves are mostly a short directional input followed by an attack button so it makes the combat easy to learn even if fighting games aren't really your thing. As it's NetherRealm, the good people behind Mortal Kombat, some of you will be familiar with this style of combat. Even getting the timing down for combos can be a lot easier than other fighting series. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Street Fighter. You wanna go?!)
There are instances where attacks that connect don't actually hit and ones that don't magically do. This can happen to both you and the computer so it is a real blessing/curse scenario. Not a massive issue, and by no means common, but when you've been fighting a particularly hard fight and you get screwed at the last inch of health it can get a little frustrating.
As you fight you earn gear that you can equip to your fighters. These come in three flavours: common, rare and epic. Gear not only upgrades certain stats for the chosen character (increased health/defence/damage) but also act as the alternate costumes for everyone. Pieces are broken down into head, arms, torso, legs and then a fifth aspect specific to that character. (Superman and Supergirl have their chest emblem, Deadshot has his rifle etc.) I am such a huge fan of this aspect of the game. Saving your configurations and taking them online, you can see other people with the same character in gear you haven't seen before. Maybe I get fascinated too easily, and there is a fair amount of "meh" equipment to be had, but I think it's a really clever way of encouraging a player to play a fighting game even if it's just by themselves.
A great way to earn better gear is to level up your fighters. The Story Mode, which carries on from the previous game, is a great way to not only get some practice in with the majority of the roster also gain a few levels as them. This time round Superman is in jail for being a naughty boy. (Quite right, self-righteous prick) Bruce Wayne/Batman is trying to put the world back together and the Joker is still dead. Brainiac takes this time to show up and help himself to some cities for his collection. Usual comic book chaos ensues. It's a fun wee mode that takes about 3-6 hours to blow through. (I like the trend of fighting games giving us longer, more entertaining story modes than your average FPS nowadays)
"The Multiverse" is where the majority of your time will be spent if you want to unlock lots of gear and level up your fighters. (If you're like me and play mostly by yourself *starts playing tiny violin*) Here you're given various challenges at varying difficulties to test your skills and, most importantly, have fun. Like any game, fulfilling harder goals leads to more prizes. Each of the scenarios is timed in real-time so you can miss out if half way through the clock reaches zero meaning you miss out on epic gear for specific characters. The cycle is regular enough however that this isn't an issue. It can even encourage you to fight as characters you wouldn't normally go, even just to give them a cooler look.
Speaking of looks, the game is pretty polished. Environments are pretty varied and character models are much more detailed than the last game. Occasionally this can lead to ventures into uncanny valley territory. Smiling is not the easiest thing to make a digital face to do, let's just say. Arena transitions are back. (Where you hit a guy so hard he ends up in another place, via damage inducing hazards) There aren't any locations that have more than two of these yet, but hopefully, like the fighters, the selection of stages will expand over time.
"The Multiverse" is where the majority of your time will be spent if you want to unlock lots of gear and level up your fighters. (If you're like me and play mostly by yourself *starts playing tiny violin*) Here you're given various challenges at varying difficulties to test your skills and, most importantly, have fun. Like any game, fulfilling harder goals leads to more prizes. Each of the scenarios is timed in real-time so you can miss out if half way through the clock reaches zero meaning you miss out on epic gear for specific characters. The cycle is regular enough however that this isn't an issue. It can even encourage you to fight as characters you wouldn't normally go, even just to give them a cooler look.
Speaking of looks, the game is pretty polished. Environments are pretty varied and character models are much more detailed than the last game. Occasionally this can lead to ventures into uncanny valley territory. Smiling is not the easiest thing to make a digital face to do, let's just say. Arena transitions are back. (Where you hit a guy so hard he ends up in another place, via damage inducing hazards) There aren't any locations that have more than two of these yet, but hopefully, like the fighters, the selection of stages will expand over time.
Would I recommend Injustice 2 to you? Yeah, it's a solid fighting game. You get to beat various DC heroes and villains with Batman's righteous fists. Everyone should get to do that at the end of a hard day. Especially Batman.
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