Mike already wrote about how cracking Injustice 2‘s facial animations are, but Netherrealm’s latest superhero fighter has got plenty more going on.
I’ve always loved the way Netherealm have injected a proper narrative arc into their fighting games, to the point where any fighting game that doesn’t have a story is automatically fighting a bit of an uphill battle. But Injustice 2 built on a strong foundation, where Superman had inadvertently descended the world into chaos and his downfall had left nothing but ruin behind for everyone else to rebuild from.
Having set a new standard for what fighting games can do with story, it wasn’t a surprise that Netherealm are still the experts at it. And the addition of 15 new characters is good value for those on the competitive side of the equation, even though Deadshot might be a royal pain in the arse for some players.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/05/injustice-2-might-have-a-deadshot-problem-depending-on-who-you-ask/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/w1mhm2zqnlaiqa6n9n0o.jpg” title=”Injustice 2 Might Have A Deadshot Problem, Depending On Who You Ask ” excerpt=”Injustice 2 has only been available since Wednesday, but players think they have already found its strongest — or possibly cheapest — character. Deadshot, a frequent Batman villain whose sole power is that he can shoot well, brings a wide variety of firearms to NetherRealm Studios’ latest DC Comics fighter. Some players are already frustrated with his ability to win matches without landing a single close-range attack.”]
A miserable addition, but understandable given the success of games like Overwatch, is loot boxes. Not every game needs loot boxes, but it seems like a similar environment to what happened after Call of Duty introduced XP levels: every developer will find a way to wedge it in, whether you like it or not.
For those who have been playing the multiplayer, how have you been finding the servers and quality of the matchmaking? And were you pleased with how the story wrapped up?
Comments
10 responses to “Community Review: Injustice 2”
Andromeda take notice of Injustice 2s animations. Get a pen and paper.
You might’ve seen it already but the guys from Extra Credits had a fantastic video where they explain why a huge open world, dialogue-heavy game is never going to look as good (animation-wise) as a relatively brief and linear game like Injustice. It’s fairer to compare it to something like The Witcher 3 (which is still not really a fair comparison because TW3 is, as EC point out, miraculously good).
(Disclosure: I still feel that ME:A is sub-par)
The link, if you’re interested.
eh even farcry 3and 4 have much better facial animations than ME:A and they are open world, while not dialog heavy.
The game is probably the best fighter ever released in terms of being a complete package with a tonne of content, but I have issues with two main issues and one minor annoyance.
The fact that NR feels compelled to keep adding MK characters to their games is really annoying. There are so many fan favourite DC characters that are going to be ignored so we can have what; Scorpion, Subzero or Raiden? No thank you.
Due to the game being about DC characters it was always going to include a lot of zoning, but a lot of the zoners have no short comings the current meta as all the teleports (Darkseid, Supergirl and Scarecrow) have obvious tells, allowing the zoner to either roll away free or block and push you away.
Also while not a massive issue, the slow loot box system is really boring. What is that, you haven’t signed in for two days? Well take 40 bronze mother boxes and open each one individually really slowly. Like can we please have an open all button? PLEASE?
after yesterdays article i want KITE MN! HELL YEAH!
Hell yeah.
I really wish fight games would move away from juggling. Its just boring to watch.
As opposed to what? For Honors constant stance dance meta?
I’m not a game designer so I don’t have the answer being absolutely honest.
But as someone who is sitting on the outside looking in, when half a match is someone falling to the ground repeatedly as someone else constantly hits them, its boring to watch. From memory when I was playing MKX, it also had the same problem as well.
The problem is that there are really only two main systems for prolonged fighting in games; you either have to focus hard on frame trading or juggling.
Frame trading is the pretty traditional style that Streetfighter and early MK have. Its pretty interesting to watch as the back and forth is nice, but the problem is that most casual players are screwed when they pick up a controller. Counting frames is incredibly hard for a lot of people; sure SF may be somewhat popular these days with casual crowds, but it is hard for them to get their heads around some of the more advanced plays you find at tournaments.
Juggling is good because while it requires timing, a lot of the game can be felt out. Performing a <- + X in MK pretty much consistently provides the same times for players, allowing for casual players to at least understand how to make an opening for a bit of extra punishment. SF’s underperformance in the last few years isn’t the only reason we have seen a resurgence in titles like MK and Tekken; it also has to do with the fact that they are friendlier for new players to pick up, while having the depth necessary for vets to pull off some pretty interesting combos.
Then you also have For Honor which in essence is a fighting game based around the idea of position (very much like Tekken) and stance dancing. The problem is that its design philosophy means that it is always better to defend than it is to attack, which is ever more boring to watch than the massive chains we get out of Tekken.