Injustice: Gods Among Us Review

Injustice: Gods Among Us / Version Played: PS3/WiiU
NetherRealm Studios / Warnerbros / PS3-360-WiiU / April 17th / RRP $79

story

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a fighting game by NetherRealm Studios the same studio that created Mortal Kombat. The game pits the Super Heroes and Villians of Earth against each other. Their colossal and deadly battles threaten the world with their sheer force.

graphics

The graphics in this are absolutely amazing. The amount of detail placed into every single character and their unique moves is absolutely incredible. The animation of everything from the simplicity of the movement of the character, to the fast paced level transitions are just completely smooth time and time again and look straight out of a movie. The amount of detail in the level design is out of this world. The developers were very careful to stay true to the franchises of the game and there is so many little touches that fans of the DC Universe will be overwhelmed on their first time playing.

Sound design is great in this game. Sound effects are not repetitive and they chance based on what sort of attack you’re doing and how much damage your opponent is taking. Injustice’s soundtrack does what it should in building suspense and heightening the senses to anticipate the stories next turning point. All of these things add to the high presentation values of the game.

gameplay

When I began playing Injustice, the gameplay felt a little bit slow and clunky for my liking. This wore off a little as I continued to play however compared to Mortal Kombat, I just felt that it didn’t have that same fluidness that we’d come to know. The thing that shocked me the most about the game was the variety in specific characters attacks. Every player has 3 unique special moves, one character power and then one mega epic super move. Going through each character and finding out their unique abilities was some of the best fun i’ve had in a video game. These moves are so true to their character and universe that it just works incredibly well.

There is a small downside to so many unique abilities though. At times I felt like there were slight balance issues. When using the character power(Circle or B), I found that some characters were extremely more useful than others. Whilst it’s great to have these specific character abilities, sometimes it felt a bit unfair that my opponent could attack me with a powerful attack from the other side of the stage whilst my ability was just to swap weapons. I also felt that certain characters were a lot easier to pull off combo with than others. For instance making combos with Batman felt like more than a breeze then some of the other characters. In the traditional fighting sense it felt that it was a tiny step back from Mortal Kombat in this regard.

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It completely makes up in all other areas though! The arenas in this game are absolutely incredible. Every single arena has its own set of animations and is constantly changing from start to finish of every battle. You can use parts of the arena against your opponent and there are so many destructible things in the level that it just feels more alive than any fighter i’ve ever played. There are 15 arenas, all which have multiple sections which are activated by performing the Back + Cross / A move. This just adds even more replayability to the game and adds a new dimension to every fight. Another inclusion I really liked

The main story mode is quite a treat. It is set out in the form of a movie featuring DC characters. It features several chapters. In each Chapter you take over the role of a new character and then proceed through multiple scenes until you reach the next chapter. There is also a number of QTE just to change up the pace of the story mode. The cutscenes are well put together and will be extremely appreciated by DC fans.

As far as other modes go you are spoilt for choice. There are 240 S.T.A.R missions all with three different objectives. The objectives are things such as winning with more than a minute remaining, not getting hit, make a certain number of combos etc. Next up we have Battle mode which features 20 different battles. on the surface it will similar to arcade style fighting but it is quite a lot more. Each battle features multiple enemies to get through but the catch is for each battle there is different stipulations. An example is getting through a series of battles with a continuing health bar. Fighting fans also will be happy to see an in depth hero card which allows you to see a ton of individual stats for each fighter in the game and your playing time with each of them.

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As you play through the modes mode you will find yourself leveling up. Leveling up unlocks things such as backgrounds and icon for your profile. You also gain access cards throughout your play time which will allow you to unlock things such as concept art, music, backgrounds(which are interactive and destructible) and alternative costumes. You also use these cards to buy things such as bonus XP for a set number of matches and unlock the remaining battles.

When entering online I was greeted with the surprise of a daily challenge. This consists of a challenge that has you doing version things to earn XP. An example of this is playing as raven and besting 5 other raven players online in any game mode. This was a nice surprise And just another nice touch among many. When playing online you have the option to play in a player match. Ranked magch or a private match. Ranked matches are always 1v1 and when playing in non ranked matches you have the option to play 1v1, koth and survivor. Online system was extremely clean and extremely easy to get into a match.

I really enjoyed the WiiU version. Playing on the WiiU gamepad gives you the option to either display your move list on the gameplay, or you can play the entire game with OFF-TV play on the gamepad. The game also supports local multiplayer with the other player using either the Pro controller or a Classic controller.

conclusion

From the moment I started playing Injustice: Gods Among Us it was clear that the game was an extremely well thought out game that would appeal to the masses. NeatherRealm were extremely careful in staying true to the character and worlds of these DC characters and they did so brilliantly. Even though I felt that the traditional fighting aspect may have been a small step from Mortal Kombat, There are so many little extra touches that will make you keep going back for weeks to come. If you’re into fighting games or have even the slightest interest in the DC universe then you have to pick this up.

REVIEW CONCLUSION