Toronto was the sight of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash and more from the DC Universe battling it out for supremacy of the galaxy. Warner Bros. Games held an Injustice 2 launch party in Hog Town six days before the game’s official release. The event featured the game’s director, several mixed martial arts fighters, an award winning rapper, some tasty eats, custom artwork and of course the game itself.
The Injustice 2 launch party featured multiple stations where gamers could get their greasy hands on the title. I say greasy because the mac & cheese was flowing as freely as the smooth piano tunes. Attendees had to take numbers to book their 10-minute slot to play the game as the crowd considerably outweighed available PS4 slots. The crowd didn’t seem to mind as many in attendance just enjoyed watching the multiple one vs. one battles on display.
There was also the element of unexpected celebrity on sight on multiple fronts. DC Comics artists Marcus To and Francis Manapul had several of their pieces inspired by Injustice 2 on display with Manapul producing several drawings on the spot during the event. UFC fighters Sean Pierson and Elias Theodorou also mingled with the crowd and took their turns fighting with the DC characters instead of real-world opponents in a cage for a change. Rapper Kardinal Offishall was also on hand giving Injustice 2 a spin on the turntables.
Finally, Ed Boon, the head honcho of NetherRealm was at the Injustice 2 launch party glad-handing and providing his take on what is new in Injustice 2. The Mortal Kombat legend shared that the “gear system” is what separates Injustice from Injustice 2. According to Boon it is, “thousands and thousands of costume pieces per character scattered throughout the game that you can equip your player with and not only does the character look different but plays differently so you can unlock special moves and make your character look and play, you know, your customized version of Superman, Batman, Atrocitus, Dr. Big, Flash, Wonder Woman”.
So what was my take of my preview of Injustice 2? The fighting mechanic was spectacular. My first fight was playing as Wonder Woman versus Flash. The fight was all close combat and I was able to turn the throws and close combat moves into a decisive victory despite Wonder Woman’s slower relative speed. My appreciation for the game increased during my “frustrating” battle as Superman versus Green Arrow. Arrow was a complete range fighter and I had tremendous difficulty breaking the distance to get close enough to pummel the mere human with my Krypton fists. I immediately appreciated that some fights have greater asymmetric properties than a traditional game and therefore some match-ups will play to certain styles while others won’t.
The one piece of gameplay I did not care for was the super command each character could build. This is one of the hallmarks of Injustice and can be triggered once a meter fills after dishing out a certain amount of damage to your enemy. The problem is that the lengthy scenes repeat virtually every fight (once if not twice). While I watched the super moves first time off I can’t imagine myself ever wanting to see the impressive scenes more than twice. Therefore I truly hope that these can be skipped or I fear the game will have a glaring Achilles heel.
Injustice 2 releases May 16th for Ps4 and Xbox One.
