Injustice 2 - Xbox One Gaming Review
Posted on: 2017-06-09
Our rating:
The graphics are beautiful. This is easily the best looking fighting game I have played in the last five years the animations are fantastic with the over top super moves.
DC comics seem to be really popular these days with recent films such as Batman V Superman, Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman. Injustice 2 is a fantastic fighting game with your favourite DC characters kicking seven shades of blue out of each other with great fighting mechanics and a fantastic story mode with great voice acting and drama. The first game came out in 2013 on the PS3 and 360 from the creators of Mortal Kombat and most were expecting a reskin of the Mortal Kombat reboot from 2011 but it was more than that with interesting mechanics and a story that rivalled the comics and films.
Injustice 2 takes place in a parallel dimension where Superman becomes power hungry after the events of the first game where the Joker drugs him which makes him think he is killing Doomsday who ends up being his wife Lois Lane. That’s not all the Joker hooked up a device to Lois where if her vitals stopped a nuclear device would detonate in Metropolis. After everything that happens Superman kills the Joker, takes over the world and creates the Regime to stop all crime under the rule of an iron fist. However, Batman rebels against him as Batman has a strict no-kill policy and sets out to create a group to stop him. It’s interesting to see what would happen if Superman were to use his power for fear rather than hope, the drama and action is fantastic in the story always keeping you on the edge of your seat. It’s always amazing that NetherRealm Studios bother to include a story mode in all of their games; it’s something for people who are not terribly into fighting games and just want a good narrative.
Gameplay has been improved from the first game as I had a few issues with the original as it felt very clunky and stiff compared to the Mortal Kombat series. Everything feels tight and quick as you juggle you’re opponents in the air with devastating super moves. They have improved the clash system where you struggle with your opponent and bet some of your power meter to either defend yourself, regain health or inflicted damage. The problem with this system in the original is that people would just bet all of their power bar ending it in a draw. However in Injustice 2 it will decide how wins looking at the current fight whether it is how much health you have or how many rounds you have won so it makes the fight a bit unpredictable.
That is not the only purpose for the power meter as you can use it to make your special moves more powerful, faster and have different effects. The crowning jewel are the super moves which have exquisite detail with independent cinematics for each character and these can be extremely brutal and ridiculous, but the only issue is that you can’t skip them and they can get a tad repetitive over time.
There is a new mode called the multiverse which is a twist on the traditional tower modes you find in most one on one fighting games, but these evolve in several different time slots with daily, weekly and monthly towers. These fights add different layers of challenges and advantages which can range from The Joker helping you off screen by dropping bombs on your opponent to disadvantages where you slowly lose health throughout the fight. With each fight you win in this mode you unlock gear for the character you use and this can change their appearance and physical attributes such as strength and agility. This will keep you occupied for a while to see what new challenges come your way because they are generally unique and different each time.
The graphics are beautiful. This is easily the best looking fighting game I have played in the last five years the animations are fantastic with the over top super moves. The facial animations look very realistic with emotive expressions of anger, sadness and happiness it is amazing how much detail there is on the characters. Each location has been beautifully recreated from the sunny streets of Metropolis to the dark and dirty alleys of Gotham City it really feels as if you’re there.
Injustice 2 is a perfect example of how game developers should make a sequel by taking the foundation of the original and amplify it with new features and fixing and tweaking current features. If you’re a fighting game fan you’ll have hours of content to get through and for DC comic book fans you’ll love the engaging narrative from start to finish. This is easily one of the best fighting games I have played in the last five years.
5/5
Article by:
Sam has lived in Bristol all his life. A keen cyclist he speeds around the city but video games are his bread and butter. Whether the old Nes and Snes games or the XBox One and Playstation releases he loves them all. Sam runs his own gaming blog called Bristolian Gamer where he had been reviewing indie games, doing retro reviews and venting his anger at the industry when it does wrong since 2010. Sam joined the 365Bristol team in December 2014.
