Admittedly, I was one of the last people to get truly excited about Injustice: Gods Among Us. Outside of the Rocksteady efforts for BATMAN, games with DC comics characters have a track record of being, shall we say, less than super. And when I heard the team developing the title, Netherealm Studios, was responsible for the most recent rendition of Mortal Kombat, I instantly thought what 90% of the gaming world thought.
"Great, another Mortal Kombat game with DC comics skins and thinly crafted references to the source material. Because we totally want that."
Then I actually started seeing game play footage, story trailers, and promotional interviews and materials. It soon became apparent that NRS wanted to truly make Injustice a separate being from Mortal Kombat. Then I saw a video of my favorite super-hero, GREEN LANTERN, laying a royal smack-down on Solomon Grundy, a HULKING zombie man. It was as if a switch had been flipped, and suddenly I couldn't get enough info about this game. And after finally getting my hands and taking my favorite heroes and villains through the gauntlet, I am happy to report that Injustice: Gods Among Us is a solid, accessible fighter with something to offer for everyone. DC comics fans, hardcore fighting enthusiasts, even casual players and those who only know Batman and SUPERMAN will find something to enjoy in this game.
STORY:
Fighting games are usually not known for having gripping narratives behind all the bludgeoning and brutality. Injustice, however, seeks to separate itself from that stereotype and, for the most part, succeeds. DC Comics are no strangers to "what if" stories; alternate universes where Superman arrived in the Soviet Union instead of Kansas as a baby, Bruce Wayne got the Green Lantern's ring instead of Hal Jordan, so on and so forth. This game presents yet another one of those "what if's" as its center plot.
Superman is drugged by the Joker and deceived into thinking he is being attacked by the villain Doomsday. However, after dragging the creature into space to toss him into the eternal emptiness, Superman discovers that he is not carrying Doomsday, but Lois Lane, his wife. Lois dies in his arms, their unborn child dying with her. Simultaneously, a nuclear device hidden in the middle of Metropolis linked to Lois' heartbeat is detonated when she dies, wiping out the city and everyone in it. In one fell swoop Superman loses his family and his city. Driven mad with grief, Superman hunts down and murders the Joker. And from that day forward, the Man of Steel is forever changed.
Then the story cuts to another alternate universe. Yep, its a reality-hopping story, folks. In this universe, Superman isn't drugged and the Joker attempts to simply detonate the nuke in Metropolis on his own. When it looks like he is about to succeed, he and Batman along with half a dozen DC heroes are warped to the sister dimension to theirs, where Superman has established a single world government and rules it with a fist of steel.
While the narrative here is intriguing as our heroes get to see how their counterparts dealt with Superman's coup, it almost lessens the impact of just how far afield Superman's mind has gone. Seeing Superman as a dictator, or Batman a fugitive allied with a ragtag group of former villains, or iconic characters killed doesn't feel as tragic as it should be because, as said, it's simply an "alternate universe." If the story had simply taken place in this one universe where Superman becomes the world's ruler, any significant events in it would've struck deeper with fans. For what it's worth, though, the narrative in this story provides enough intrigue and drama to flesh out the fights that take place. The tale is divided into 12 chapters and players get control over 11 different characters total (Batman gets two whole chapters, the egotistical jerk!). The story provides a good introduction to controlling those characters, and if nothing else is certainly entertaining. If only they had kept it to ONE universe though...
7/10
GAME PLAY:
The meat of any fighting game is the controls and general flow of the combat. And I am glad to report that Injustice creates a solid control scheme that is easy to pick up and learn, while still challenging to truly master. The button layout is simple enough, with three of the four face buttons (triangle, square, and X) allowing for light, medium and heavy attacks while the circle button allows your current character to use a specific trait. These range from summoning mechanical bat drones as Batman to switching weapons as WONDER WOMAN or Nightwing, or even pumping a Venom tank as Bane. The character traits are all unique and serve different purposes tailor made to each character, which is nice to see. Every character has special attacks as well, based on their powers and gadgets in the comics. Green Lantern creates constructs with his ring, Superman has his ice breath and heat vision, Solomon Grundy has incredibly intricate grappling techniques and Deathstroke uses munitions of many kinds. Many of these special attacks are simple to use and link into other combos, and can be used quickly with very little practice.
Attacking your opponent and being attacked helps fill a super meter at the bottom of the screen, and this meter is used for much more than simple super attacks. A section can be used to power up a special attack, it can push back an opponent during a block, players can even use it as a sort of "combo breaker", causing a clash sequence where they can wager a portion of their meter to either increase damage on their opponent or repel an attacker and regain some health. And, of course, if you decide to save up your meter until it fills completely, you can choose to use the whole dang thing for an over-the-top super attack. These attacks deal heavy damage, but no so much as to completely reverse the momentum of a fight. They are incredibly fun to watch, although some may prefer to forgo these god-like attacks to keep the action going at a faster pace. The tempered damage of these moves encourages people to think more strategically with their super meter, instead of just saving it for the end to finish the opponent with a super attack.
On top of all this, there are several set pieces in every stage that can be used during a fight. See a car just sitting there? Power characters can pick it up and smash it over their foe's head. More gadget oriented characters can plant a bomb to blow it up, catching their enemy in the blast. And the most acrobatic characters can leap from these pieces to get behind an opponent. These environmental attacks can be powerful when they hit and, at least for now, are completely unblockable. Some could argue that this breaks the balance of the game, but I believe that, for the purposes of a superhero game, it makes sense for super-powerful beings to be throwing around cars, tool cabinets, even baby-grand pianos. Most stages can also transition to another area if a fighter gets knocked into the right end of the screen, causing massive damage to the poor soul that gets hit into them. This is both a hit and miss feature, because while it makes perfect sense for Superman to knock his opponents through entire buildings, seeing the Joker and Batman do the same just seems a little too silly. Regardless, if people wish not to have these environmental features during a fight, they can choose to turn them off before a fight.
Overall, the controls and game flow of Injustice allow for a broad range of players to enjoy it, and can serve to get some new players into the fighting genre while enticing hardcore veterans to learn the ins and outs of their preferred characters. The game is fun, plain and simple.
10/10
GRAPHICS/PRESENTATION:
DC Comics are usually not a place for gritty realism, and for the most part NRS did a good job of maintaining the over-the-top action of the comics while also bringing in the subtle punches of humor that these characters are known for. Graphics-wise, this translates into costumes for characters that, while unique to Injustice, draws heavy inspiration from the source material. Many arenas are incredibly detailed and have hidden nuggets of fan-service hidden among them. Heroes and villains appear regularly in the background in many stages, some even take part during transitions. There's nothing quite like knocking somebody through Arkham Asylum, and seeing them get jumped by the Scarecrow, or ganged up on by Batman's greatest villains. Textures carry a stunning amount of detail, which is especially apparent when you see characters faces during super attacks. It's clear that NRS wanted a game that serves as a big sappy love letter to DC fans.
Menus have several themes going for them, the main menu having a backdrop of a massive super-human fight seemingly frozen in time. The character select screen has heroes and villains on either side, and the two combatants have full portraits in the center. There is a surprising amount of polish to everything that only serves to draw in the players even more. And since Nintendo's newest console is HD capable, there is thankfully no dip in graphical quality among the three versions of this game. Graphically, the game is as strong as the heroes and villains it presents.
10/10
MUSIC/SOUND:
The sound work in this game is very much hit and miss. Apart from the theme at the main menu and the song created for the credits, most of the music in this game is incredibly forgettable. Not bad, just nothing special. It tends to fade to the background, where I suppose it is meant to be. Thankfully the music changes whenever someone uses a super attack or knocks an opponent through a stage transition. Despite the forgettable nature of the arena tunes, everything is recorded by a full orchestra and still serves to bring an epic vibe to these epic fights.
The voice acting, however, is absolutely top-notch. Many voice veterans from DC's animated works make a return here, like Kevin Conroy as Batman, George Newbern as Superman, and Alan Tudyk as Green Arrow. Tara Strong (Harley Quinn), Adam Baldwin (Green Lantern), and Phil Lamarr (AQUAMAN) also make a return, amongst an incredibly strong cast all around. One of the best parts of the voice work in this game is during the clash sequences. Many pairs of characters have unique bits of dialogue, where they often refer to each other by name or reference their past history. If Batman and Superman clash, Bats sometimes orders "That's enough, Clark!". Sinestro calls Green Lantern "human scum", and Harley cries out "I thought you loved me!" if she fights the Joker. There so many hidden gems of dialogue in these sequences alone, and overall the cast brings vivid life to the characters they seek to voice.
8/10
REPLAY VALUE:
This is a fighting game, so it is pretty much 95% replay value that keeps the game alive at all. Single player modes includes classic arcade ladders that can be applied with various rules, such as carrying over your health meter from the previous fight to enabling unlimited super meters while super attacks are disabled. Doing anything outside of training mode in this game earns you XP, and as you level up you can gain access to many things in the Archives menu, such as concept art, extra modes, and unlockable costumes for the characters. Two people can fight online and off, and the PS3 version allows for private matches between friends in addition to king of the hill and survivor challenges. There are currently 24 characters on the roster (with more coming as DLC down the line), each with their own unique playstyle that are bound to appeal to somebody out there. I'm a Green Lantern man myself, with a surprisingly good vibe with Black Adam. Strategic use of the super meter will help close the gap between veterans and new players while still allowing for a serious competitive community to thrive. With more costumes and characters to come, this game has a lot of steam behind it and won't be losing it for a while.
10/10
Overall, Injustice: Gods Among Us is the super-hero fighting title we have always wanted from DC. While there may be a couple hiccups in terms of presentation and sound, the solid, fun gameplay is more than enough to make up for it. And come on, who doesn't want to knock Batman down a peg or two? Or perhaps, knock him UP through the atmosphere into orbit? With versions available on the PS3, Wii U and XBox 360, nobody should overlook this title.
4 out of 5 stars!
Buy this product as Renewed and save $2.27 off the current New price.
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Playstation 3 (Renewed) $19.99
(2)
Works and looks like new and backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee
(2)
Works and looks like new and backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee
Frequently bought together
$22.26
Get it as soon as Thursday, Nov 3
Only 3 left in stock - order soon.
PlayStation 3
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
More items to explore
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Videos
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
Videos for this product
0:33
Click to play video
Injustice: Gods Among Us - TV Commercial
Merchant Video
Videos for this product
1:24
Click to play video
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Trailer
Warner Bros
Customer reviews
Received as described. Didn't read it didn't come with the packaging so I'm returning it. Description was accurate.
Images in this review
