Game Mechanics - 1.5/2
Story-line - 2/2
Graphics - 1.5/2
Soundtrack - 1/2
Replay Value - 1.5/2
Total Score - 7.5/10
Well, well, well; guess who is back with more video game goodness after his little hiatus in the competitive gaming world? This guy!!! How y'all doing? Your friendly neighborhood gamer Zalgo_Cometh here with another weekly Friday video game review. This week we take a look at NetherRealm Studios newest game "Injustice: Gods Among Us". There has been much hype and anticipation leading up to and following the release of this game and from the looks of it it is well deserved. Lets see how Injustice: Gods Among Us stand up...
Injustice: Gods Among Us, known as Injustice: The Mighty Among Us in the Middle East region, is a fighting game based upon the fictional universe of DC Comics. The game was developed by NetherRealm Studios for the PlayStation 3, Wii U, and Xbox 360, and released in April 2013 in North America, Europe, and Australia. It will be released on June 2013 in Japan. An iOS variation of the game was released on April 3, 2013. The gameplay for Injustice: Gods Among Us involves one-on-one matches within a two-dimensional plane, although characters and backgrounds are rendered in a three-dimensional fashion. Each match consists of one round; however, each player has two health bars. The game uses a four-button control layout of light, medium, and heavy attacks, alongside a "character trait" button that activates a unique ability or attack designed to showcase each character. For instance, Superman's trait provides a temporary stat boost, while Batman's trait summons a swarm of robotic bats. Ed Boon, the creative director of NetherRealm Studios, stated that characters roughly fall into two categories: "power characters", who rely on brute strength and innate abilities, and "gadget characters", who use weapons, items, and other external mechanisms to win. For example, a gadget character like Batman can fire projectiles at a car to cause an explosion, while a power character like Superman can pick up the same car and smash his enemies with it. Players have the option to turn off interactive elements.
What’s Good:
Story-Line: This is the highlight and major selling point of this game. Granted there is also the comic book release you can read but it is far more engaging and rewarding playing through the campaign yourself and watching it unfold. Just like the superb work they did for Mortal Kombat 9 NetherRealm has struck single player gold again delivering an engaging and cinematic experience that keeps you on the edge of your seat and craving more.
What’s Bad:
Soundtrack: From the in-game music to the announcers voice; it all seems lackluster and non exciting given the premise and unprecedented nature of this game. Not many insane hype moments to recall a particular BGM (Background Music) playing that got you amped up. Quite frankly you are better off lowering the BGM volume and focusing on the witty banter between characters when they activate a clash sequence.
What Should Have Been Added:
Definitely more characters especially since there is the entire DC universe to choose from. Really wish there were more win quotes and super moves per character; hell maybe even have a different win quote specifically for each character you beat. Not to mention since these are all super powered individuals seeing them do the same super again and again can get old pretty fast. Better net-code is a definite necessity, as this one factor has seemingly plagued modern day fighting games and continues to do so in this game. Granted NetherRealm did a much better job with Injustice than Mortal Kombat 9 but some fine tuning is more than welcome since people are complaining of connectivity issues. Speaking of that I should also make mention that a better rage quitting penalty system needs to be put in place as having both players receive a loss on their record because of someone else's rage quit is not fair.
Final Thoughts:
To wrap things up Injustice: Gods Among Us is certainly a breath of fresh air in the current over-saturation of fighting games. Also noteworthy is that many were looking to this game to redeem and make up for the travesty that was Mortal Kombat vs. DC and it certainly did. This is what MK vs. DC should have originally been; if MK vs. DC had been more like Injustice i'm sure more people would have supported it in the long run. With a robust arrangement of heroes and villains for you to choose from and more characters incoming as DLC Injustice is definitely slated to do well. For a little preview of the game in action as always you can check out our little introductory play-through from on our YouTube channel:
