Injustice: Gods Among Us was a well received game. It was fun, easy to play and felt unique enough from other NetherRealm games that came before it to make its mark. Injustice had a unique take on some classic DC Comics ideas.
They took the idea of a Superman pushed to the edge from Earth 3’s Ultraman, mixed it with Red Son’s Soviet Superman, and threw in some other Earth 3 twists to make a really fun playing game featuring some of the most iconic DC characters.
The original game had a roster of 12 heroes and their villainous counterparts. Superman faced off against Lex Luthor, Batman fought Joker, Wonder Woman waged war against Ares. Then 6 DLC characters were thrown into the mix, Batgirl, Lobo, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, Zod, and NetherRealm’s very own Scorpion.
After a year or so you could feel the game was getting stale and the players were loosing interest. A mobile game was made which added a different feel to Injustice and added some extra content. But it wasn’t the same. Then NetherRealm moved on and continued with their pride and joy, Mortal Kombat.
Now, 4 years after the original April 3rd, 2013 release we are seeing a new Injustice. Going by the title Injustice 2, with the tag line “Every battle defines you,” the initial trailer sets high expectation. It opens with what appears to be Superman from Injustice in some sort of underground bunker.
He has a new suit and looks ominous and calm. The Flash attacks out of the shadows but is quickly taken down. During the fight Batman joins in and soon Aquaman, and even Supergirl. As the fight progresses and more characters join in, their armor upgrades and becomes more intricate. Batman first has more reinforced armor envelop him and Kryptonite gauntlets glow on his fists. Then it appears as though he is further armored in the Batman Beyond red armor.
NetherRealm decided it would introduce the world to its first glimpse of gameplay live on twitch on June 11th at 8pm Est. Ed Boon (@Noobde) himself introduced the game on stage live at the ESL MKX PRO League Season 3 Finals.
The first thing we see is Kara Kent fixing her hair and looking super confident, then Supergirl pulls her feet out from under her. Next Atrocitus barrels into the stage and taunts her. “I hit harder than my weight,” she replies before we see game play of her pummeling him with a rapid flurry of hits.
Next Grodd storms into a new stage and Aquaman is there to fight him. The rest of the trailer show cases Grodd, Atrocitus, Black Manta briefly, and Supergirl. The characters rip and roar in the trailer through new arenas such as a city, where we see Supergirl be thrown through a bullet train. The ocean where Black Manta gave Aquaman a beat down before the King of Atlantis calls on a Leviathan to strike back.
The new finishers and arenas look amazing. Graphically it is a jump up from Injustice. Throughout the trailer we see the characters in various types of armor. We get a quick clip of Batman and it cycles through at least five different armor sets. The gameplay seems the same overall, but we won’t know until we get our hands on it in 2017!
Ed Boon said that he wanted to return to the world of Injustice to get to have fun with more characters that they didn’t get to touch on last time. NetherRealm is listening to the fans, they are and will continue, to run polls to see which characters people want. The Mortal Kombat creator said that we will see a lot more at E3. He promises more cool characters, finishers, and stages.
“It will be everything you expect in a sequel.” Ed Boon.
Â
The reveal was very short though, especially for a gameplay trailer. Given where they are, at an eSport competition, it would have been great to see the competitors get to play it.
Overall, I am excited to play this game. More because it is a chance to submerge myself in the world of DC Comics again. The game play looks great, the stages are interesting and interactive, and most of all, when you hammer your opponent with a batarang, sword, trident, or bone covered fist, it feels great.
View the gameplay trailer below.
