DC and Marvel comics’ competition is probably one of the biggest rivalries in recent history. From the comics themselves to the summer blockbuster movies, they have competed for fans’ attention and funds for more than 50 years. While both companies have had their ups and downs, Marvel has recently stolen the spotlight due to the success of their box office hits, while DC has been trailing behind. Injustice 2 has come along to prove that DC can at least make a great gaming experience from their properties, not just once, but twice.

The story picks up after the events of the first game, with Superman in prison and Batman running the Justice League show. While the cinematics and voice acting is top notch, the story itself is terribly convoluted and boring. Even as a comic book fanboy, I personally skipped each and every cinematic after the initial chapter. This route clocked the story in around 2-3 hours of gameplay. Sadly, the mini games present in the original’s story are missing. In place is the option of selecting between 2 characters in certain chapters, which does nothing more than open up alternate paths through the lackluster story.

Outside of the story mode, you’ll have access to the Multiverse and the standard online modes with King of the Hill, ranked, and player matches. The servers are the most reliable from the recent NetherRealm offerings. The only issue I encountered during my time playing online was after having a few wins under my belt (currently 36/14 Win/Loss), no one will accept a challenge, and ranked matches have resulted in a number of players disconnecting. While this is not the game’s fault, I will say the online community currently sucks. The Multiverse is the high point, which is similar to the Living Towers from Mortal Kombat X. You’ll be pitted against a number of characters with modifiers in place, and winning will grant you bonus XP and boxes which unlock the game’s new equipment.

This equipment is much like the loot you earn in Destiny and other MMORPGs. While mainly cosmetic, some items do offer additional boosts to your stats, but most buffs are limited to fights in the Multiverse. These provide a nice level of personalization that hasn’t been seen in the fighting genre since the last Soulcalibur. An additional plus is you can change the godawful haircut they gave the Joker. If Jared Leto’s portrayal of the Joker pissed you off, this version will add a kick to the nuts.

You’ll earn these packs regularly from playing any of the game modes, or you can purchase them using in-game and real currency. This brings me to my biggest complaint, which is the constant offer to purchase these packs; DLC characters that are overpriced that were announced prior to release, and were the pre-order bonus that most of us whom were on the fence avoided. While I know these are options that do not affect the core game, the constant offer to spend more money beyond the core game which was just released is a huge turn off.

The controls are responsive and make the game accessible enough for new players as well as veterans of the first entry. The roster, which consists of a number of returning fighters as well as new characters, offers well rounded options as well as provides a number of obscure characters simply for fan service, such as Swamp Thing, Dr. Fate and Gorilla Grodd. With the exception of a few characters and moves, the game is surprisingly well balanced.

Injustice 2 is essentially the summer movie blockbuster that DC Comics has never been able to accomplish. Everything from its voice acting to the facial detail is top notch and deserves the attention of any fighting game or comic book fan.

9 out of 10

Pros

• Accessible
• Impressive Level of Detail
• Customization Options
• Responsive Controls

Cons

• Convoluted Story
• The Joker’s Haircut
• Free to Play DLC System on a Premium Game

Injustice 2 was developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. The game launched on PS4 and X1 on May 16th, 2017 for $59.99. The game was purchased by us for review on X1. If you’d like to see more of Injustice 2, check out the official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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