Injustice: Gods Among Us has a chance to be next year's blockbuster fighting game. Brought to us by Warner Bros. and developed by NetherRealm – the creators of Mortal Kombat – Injustice: Gods Among Us is a brutal fighting game that pits iconic DC heroes and villains against each other for reasons unknown at this point.
Following my hands-on preview of the game at New York Comic Con, I still have no idea why these characters are fighting – aside from the Joker playing some sort of role in it – but I now have a better idea as to how the game plays.
First and foremost, combat is fluid. For anyone who has played the most recent Mortal Kombat, you'll feel right at home. Combat is quick and clean. Each character has similar weak and strong attacks (on PS3 X, Square, and Triangle are your basic attacks) and than a unique ability mapped to the Circle button.
For Green Arrow, who was recently revealed, his Circle button along with a few directional combinations would fire variations of his arrow. This allows you to zone the opponent and keep them at a distance. With Superman, his Circle gives him increased strength, making his attacks more powerful. This unique move does enough to make each character seem unique, without feeling overpowered.
In addition, each character has a different feel to them. Green Arrow is best at a range, while Catwoman is a scrappy fighter who gets in close and doesn't let up. I only played with four characters so I can't comment on how all of them play, but for the ones I did preview they all felt unique and justified to their DC history.
For those worried that Injustice might not have the brutality of Mortal Kombat, rest easy. There may not be the bone-breaking X-ray hits, but that has been replaced with bigger over-the-top superhero moves. For instance, as Superman, using my special (L2 + R2), I picked up Harley Quinn, flew her into space, and then bodyslammed her back into the ground. You still get the adrenaline from performing a big move, just without the intense gore. It's not completely with out gore; blood is still present, just not in vast amounts.
Bottom line, Injustice: Gods Among Us is shaping up to be one of the better fighting games of next year. Solid gameplay couple with what I can only assume is an intriguing story (why else would all of these characters be fighting) has me really excited for this game. Unfortunately, Injustice: Gods Among Us isn't ready to release until April 2013.
