“Injustice†brings justice to DC comic heroes

“Injustice†brings justice to DC comic heroes

By Anthony Pickens

DC Comics has finally acquired a good videogame where Batman isn’t the center of attention.

“Injustice: Gods Among Us” offers a deep and satisfying fighting system while bringing justice to DC comics characters who suffered from bad videogames. It may not be the best fighting game on the market, but it certainly is looking like this year’s best fighting game.

Up to 24 characters are available to play as, with four more mystery characters coming through downloadable content.

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The way the characters are portrayed is well done, as all of them fight with the same abilities fans expect from the comic books.

Superman is an overpowered juggernaut who is capable of punching his opponents into space while The Flash is fast enough to run around the earth before delivering a devastating punch to his adversaries face.

Green Lantern is able to spam many projectiles with the power of his ring and Batman kicks butt as usual, even without powers.

This is easily the best game Superman, Green Lantern and The Flash have ever starred in — all of these characters play smoothly thanks to the game’s responsive controls.

The fighting system is very similar to the last “Mortal Kombat,” as the game is made by the same developers, NetherRealm Studios. But don’t be fooled; the game isn’t just a copycat with comic book characters. “Injustice: Gods Among Us” runs on the “Mortal Kombat” engine but, some things have changed.

Objects in the game’s environments can be used as weapons; players are allowed to string combos together by throwing propane tanks, dumpsters and all sorts of random things at their opponents. Gamers can now kick adversaries to different sections of a map if they catch their opponents in the right corner, opening up damaging combo opportunities.

Each character is given a special ability that can drastically change tide of a fight. For example, Superman can receive a damage boost for a shortened period, the Green Arrow can change the type of arrows he shoots and Hawkgirl can fly away from conflict to play keep away.

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To top things off, the game’s training mode is one of the best available for fighting games. The standard training mode most fighting games have is available, but the game also offers players the chance to train with people online instead of a motionless dummy. This allows players to test their combos and strategy against real opposition without it counting against their online record.

“Injustice” does many things different than most fighting games, but there are some things preventing it from being just as good as other top notch genre games like “Super Street Fighter IV” or “Mortal Kombat.”

One of the game’s weak points is that some of the character abilities are unfair in battle. Deathstroke can shoot unblockable bullets for a short period of time and Lex Luther can emit a shield to go around his mechanical suit, which allows him to absorb attacks and even take no damage at times.

Another weakness is the games “wager system,” which gives players a chance to gain back health if they win it. As a result, fights drag on longer.

However, the developers have done an overall good job balancing the characters as much as possible. After all, what good fighting game doesn’t have over-powered characters for newcomers?

Updates and online patches are sure to come in the future and over-powered characters shouldn’t turn anyone away from experiencing what is sure to be this year’s best fighting game.

Rating: Teen

 

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