NetherRealm Studios have created a shining example in the world of fighting games with Injustice 2. A perfect balance of the right characters, great voice acting and an arching story blend this immaculate title together. NetherRealm seem to have perfected the way you tell stories through a truly cinematic experience in a fighting game. The bar has been set here, and with a new Marvel VS Capcom title just around the corner, the rest of the industry has some serious competition on its hands.
Video games are entertainment, but they are also art. The facial animations in Injustice 2 clearly showcase that. They’re breathtaking at times and cut further into an already deep wound left by Mass Effect Andromeda. It’s almost like the developers of Injustice 2 are screaming ‘this is how you do it’ in the face of BioWare. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such impressive animations in a video game, and I truly mean that.
Story and more.
The story of Injustice 2 is one of the best I have experienced in a video game, period, let alone a fighting game. It’s a branching adventure, with multiple options and endings – this adds replayability. The game touches on troubled friendships and the morals we all face in day-to-day life, be that with adding superheroes to the mix. It’s excellently crafted and it keeps your engaged throughout.
It can be said if anything that the good ending in Injustice 2 was slightly lacking for me and slightly cuts short of what I wanted. It feels like it’s missing an epilogue of some kind, as it sort of ends abruptly without much explanation.
The evil/bad ending however in excellent and may clearly set up the events for Injustice 3. There are no spoilers here, so you’ll just have to see for yourself.
Once the story mode is completed, you’ve only just scratched the surface of this game. Injustice 2 boasts about every mode in a fighting game you can think of. Not only that, but it includes some new fresh ones too.
There is a multiverse mode, which is similar to the Towers in Mortal Kombat. There’s daily, weekly and monthly challenges, which are things like random characters showing up to help you in a fight, or The Joker randomly appearing and dropping bombs. There are even tournament modes and guilds, which players help each other to complete challenges. Yes, guilds in a fighting game. There’s also the inclusion of what can only be described as a battle simulation mode. Players select three fighters and have them take part in scheduled matches. Players don’t actually control the fighters, but instead, watch the combat play out. This allows players to unlock extra loot, which we will talk about later. The games basically working overtime in your favour to unlock extra bits for your characters.
Loot and shoot.
Injustice 2 is one of the most innovative games of 2017 in my opinion. NetherRealm has added so many new features, whilst improving on the old ones. There is also a massive roster of 28 characters (29 if you have the DLC) all excellently voice acted and animated to perfection. There’s also another 9 characters planned, bringing a total for 38.
The interaction during fights between characters is perfect and faithfully portrayed adding a personal element and touch of humour. A personal tip of the hat goes to the Harley Quinn adaptation. Probably one of the more popular superheroes of the modern era has all her qualities and the accent to boot.
Injustice 2 also sees the return of the excellent super moves, which are deadly and often over the top, but here it works. My only criticism of this is that I want more. It would pay to have more variety of super moves and possibly two or three per character would go a long way.
The multiple fighting styles adopted in Mortal Kombat is not present in Injustice 2. Instead, the developer focused on adding loot to the game. The addition of loot is a welcomed one in Injustice. The reason I’ve left taking about loot till last is there is a lot to talk about, so here goes.
There are three types of loot in Injustice 2 – Loot that changes the colour of an outfit, loot that changes the whole look of a character and loot that adds stat bonuses.
You also get new loot when your character reaches levels 10 & 20, and this is where things really change. This loot can totally change the way a character is played by adding new combat moves. It’s an interesting mechanic, which again adds replayability and a new level of gameplay.
All we need is more.
In conclusion Injustice 2 is a brilliant game. From its characters to its story and all the way to the game modes on offer, you get what you pay for and more. The RPG elements added to compliment the title so well and don’t hinder your progress, they only add to the experience.
Following on from then excellent Mortal Kombat X NetherRealm studios have continued their fine form and have produced one of the best fighting games of all time, in my opinion.
After I finished the story mode playing through both endings, I still wanted more. I wanted to know what happens next and I’m sure we will have a continuation of this story in the next title. It can’t come soon enough.
