Six months ago, WB and NetherRealm released Injustice 2 for the PS4 and Xbox One. Disappointingly, they skipped a PC release since their last PC project (Mortal Kombat X) was a total disaster. Eventually, they decided to port the fighting game to the PC platform anyway. Did the extra developing time influence the port in a positive way? Yes, yes it did.
For those who are not familiar with the fighting game genre, Injustice combines the hard-hitting melee combat of Mortal Kombat and combines it with the extensive universe of DC Comics. There are twenty-eight characters to play with (thirty-six when including all the DLC), ranging from obvious picks like Superman down to lesser-known ones like Cheetah. Each character has a range of normal and special moves that fit their depiction in the source material. They also have a unique super move that can do some serious damage and are presented in a cinematic way. Speaking of cinematic…
Brainiac attack
Continuing the tradition of NetherRealm fighting games, Injustice 2 features a story mode that lets you take control of several characters and battle against other fighters for story-related reasons. The plot starts with a flashback to Superman’s homeworld, Krypton, before it was destroyed. Kara Zor-el A.K.A Supergirl witnesses the invasion of Brainiac, one of DC’s most famous supervillains. Seconds before Brainiac destroys Krypton, Kara and her baby cousin Kal-El both escape the planet and are sent to Earth. However, Kara’s pod gets thrown off course, causing her to arrive on Earth years after the events of the first Injustice. She’s taken in by Black Adam and Wonder Woman, who are training her in order to free Superman from his red sun prison. Meanwhile, Batman and his small team of superheroes are trying to undo all the damage that was done by Superman and his regime. But when Brainiac suddenly invades Earth, everybody must put aside their differences and come together to put a stop to this threat.
The story is told in a cinematic way, with features like high-quality voice-acting and well-made cutscenes. However, don’t expect to find anything unique in this story. While the first Injustice’s story contained some unexpected twists, Injustice 2 is noticeably written as a Saturday-morning cartoon. Some scenes happen for no reason, like Atrocitus literally popping up out of nowhere to fight Green Lantern, only to disappear entirely from the rest of the story after he’s defeated. There were also some parts where the story felt repetitive, mostly those where you have to fight someone for the third or fourth time. In short, the story mode is nothing special, although the quality of the cutscenes themselves is great.
Brutal combat
While including a story mode in a fighting game is always welcome, the real meat of it is, of course, the combat itself. Injustice 2 does not disappoint with its deep combo system and cinematic visuals. Outside of the regular light, medium and heavy attacks, there are also throws, cancels, clashes and Super Moves. Clashes can be performed when one player uses part of his super meter to stop his opponents combo attack. Doing this will result in the Clash, which requires you to bet a set amount of your super meter. If your bet is higher than your opponent’s, then you win the Clash and either gain some health or do bonus damage. However, betting part of your super meter may not always be the smart thing to do. Charging your super meter to 100% will give you the change to activate a Super Move. This special attack does major damage and is unique to every character. For example, Superman’s Super Move lets him punch his opponent high in the sky and throws him back to the ground after hitting him two times with powerful attacks. Every single Super Move is presented in a cinematic way and looks great, although they do become repetitive after a couple of hours.
Multiverse
Even though it’s great, the main strength of Injustice 2 is not the fighting itself but the depth of content it offers. Aside from the great selection of DC characters and the story mode, there is also the Multiverse mode. This separate mode uses the lore of the famous Infinite Crisis comic event as a base for arcade mode style challenges that constantly rotate, with a variety of rewards. They also have different difficulty levels, which is great for those who want to improve their skills. There’s even a Legendary Multiverse mode that offers veteran players challenging fights with better rewards than the regular mode. It’s in these modes that you also can unlock short, unique endings for every fighter. This may not seem like anything special, but unlocking different endings does encourage players to regularly change their fighter instead of playing with the same one over and over again.
Unlocking gear
Another great addition is the gear system, which lets you equip your fighters with different pieces of armor to change their look and give them gameplay-changing buffs. Some might impact health or strength, while others offer bonus experience. Most of the gear items are catered towards DC fans since they are taken straight from the comics, animated series and movies. Batman Beyond, classic Harley Quinn or Kingdom Come Superman, think of a unique costume and there’s a high chance it’s in the game. Every piece of gear is earned by completing story chapters, leveling up, playing the Multiverse mode and by opening Mother Boxes. These boxes are basically like loot boxes found in other games like Overwatch and can be bought with in-game currency or real money. While I’m not a fan of loot boxes, I must say that it’s implemented well in Injustice 2. There are many ways to earn them without ever having to spend anything. And even though each piece of gear comes with buffs, they are automatically disabled in ranked tournaments and can be turned off in regular multiplayer matches, making them purely cosmetic skins.
Excellent PC port
The PC optimization NetherRealm and WB have done is nothing short of amazing. The game ran smoothly at 1080p/60fps on my GTX 780. It also supports ultrawide aspect ratios and offers a benchmark tool to auto-detect your system and even judge whether you’re ready for smooth online gameplay or not. Speaking of online, NetherRealm has obviously learned its lesson from Mortal Kombat X. Where MKX was an online disaster in terms of connecting to another player on PC, Injustice 2 immediately finds you a suitable opponent and connects you without any hiccups. The only time where I noticed some slight lagging was in the story mode. When a cutscene ended and transitioned to the next fight, the game would sometimes freeze for a second. Outside of that, nothing but smooth sailing.
Conclusion
Injustice 2 for the PC is simply an excellent port of a great fighting game that is filled with content. PC gamers should not fear a second Mortal Kombat X situation and play this game, especially if they are fans of the DC universe.
