Injustice: Gods Among Us from NetherRealm

[STORMSHADOW__210]

Again ,i really think different news about a subject should have seperate threads,really sucks for someone to go through pages and pages and pages....and pages just to read some news on a game.However,seems quite a few of the "thread police" either A: Like to just be negative and troll and bait someone into a thread fight or B: Gets annoyed because someone made a new thread with news.So with that in mind here is................

[STORMSHADOW__210]

Critic Review Round Up! DC Injustice: Gods Among Us'

It's time to finally shut the hell up and open up a can of ass whoop and start serving it buffet style to gamers online across the world. If you ever wanted to finally take that nicely tailor made 12 inch batboot and shove it firmly up Supermans boyscout candy ass....then now is the time to head to your local retailer and look that register boy firmly in the eyes and say "one copy of DC: Injustice: Gods Among Us and make it snappy!" followed by a "Hell Yeah!"DC Injustice: Gods Among Us is available today!

Source: IGN



Source:GameInformer.com

9 out of 10

Concept:A finely tuned fighter that embraces DC universe’s powerful heroes and villains just as much as it focuses on the best elements from the latest Mortal Kombat game.

Graphics:The sights of the DC universe are beautifully captured and destroyed. An exceptional amount of detail is included in the super attacks and environment transitions

Sound:Many famed voice actors reprise their roles, including Kevin Conroy as Batman. While Mark Hamill is nowhere to be found, Richard Epcar’s Joker isn’t half bad. The banter between characters with shared histories is a highlight

Playability:The combat mechanics fit like a glove for any MK fanatic. Characters are unique and the powers tied to each of them provide a wealth of strategies

Entertainment:NetherRealm once again delivers a great fighting experience backed by an abundance of must-see content

The Joker detonates a nuclear device in the heart of Metropolis, leaving millions of people dead and the city in ruin. Two of the casualties are Superman's family: Lois Lane and the son they brought into the world. Joker’s laughter echoes through the halls of Gotham City’s police department. “First Krypton, now Metropolis. People you love tend to blow up,” the Joker says derisively to Superman. “I know it’s soon, but think you’ll ever love again? Maybe you won’t kill your next family.” Superman’s eyes ignite, turning a hellish red. He raises his hand and plunges it into Joker’s chest. As the screen fades to black, The Joker laughs maniacally, but not loud enough to bury the sound of Superman ripping out his heart.

This is how Injustice: Gods Among Us begins. For NetherRealm Studios, the developer behind all of the decapitations and spinal injuries in the long-running Mortal Kombat series, Superman’s heart-crushing descent into madness is a routine event. For DC Comics, this is a side of an iconic hero rarely seen. The event turns heroes against heroes and generates a universe-spanning war.

Joker's final stand has NetherRealm’s bloody fingerprint all over it, but it isn’t indicative of Injustice’s overall tone. Outside of this shocking incident, the game plays out like a DC comic book, with little blood and gore. The famed capes and cowls of the DC universe take center stage, and NetherRealm pays homage in the arenas and through extensive comic book-related fan service.

Whether Doomsday is knocking Superman into the core of the planet or Bane is breaking Batman's back, a stratospheric level of violence accompanies almost every fight. The carnage towers over the combat seen in NetherRealm's previous venture in spandex, 2009's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

Injustice nails the spectacle of a superhero brawl. If Superman punches an opponent with all of his might, that character is rightfully launched into space. NetherRealm treats this gawk-worthy blow as an event, stopping the fight so the player can sit back and view a cinematic shot of planet Earth jettisoning a small speck from its atmosphere.

Over the course of each fight, buildings crumble, statues are obliterated, vehicles are routinely used as weapons. Most arenas look dramatically different by the match’s end; environmental destruction doesn't just come at the hands of the two combatants – the world behind them is often being torn asunder by warring heroes. I didn’t catch all of the little touches NetherRealm gave the backdrops until I watched other people play the game. Being a spectator is just as fun as being in the ring.

The combat mechanics follow NetherRealm's well-worn blueprint. If you aren't familiar with DC's characters, you'd probably think it was another Mortal Kombat game. In a way, it is. The combatants move the exact same way as they do in Mortal Kombat, and players access their superpowers by tapping two directions followed by a button press. Sweeps, jump kicks, the ability to knock opponents into hidden arenas, and Batman saying "Get down here" when shooting his grappling hook all bring back memories of MK games. Regardless of the familiarity, the combat is frantic, fun, and loaded with depth. The super-powered fury each character unleashes gives it flavor.

NetherRealm does a fantastic job of balancing the strength, speed, and ranges of each character. Superman can land blows from any range, whereas someone like Catwoman is bound to mid- and close-range attacks.

Environmental interaction generates a surprising amount of strategy for the different character classes. Shazam can easily lift a missile and throw it across the arena. Nightwing doesn't possess that kind of strength, but he can use perform a flip off of the missile, potentially catching a foe off guard. These little touches are the difference between feeling like a God-like character or an ordinary person in tights.

While most of the combat relies on light, medium, and hard attacks, the designated "power" button gives each character a unique ability. These powers are game-changers that, depending on the character, can create more devastating combos or generate much-needed defense. Batman's power, which regenerates slowly mid-battle, gives him the ability to summon mechanical bat-helpers. I used these little devices to open up the first hit in a lengthy combo sequence that includes MK’s familiar juggles and environment bounces.

The wager system is the only combat element that didn't click for me. Giving the player health back by simply sacrificing meter energy is a cheap way to keep a fight going. Computer foes annoyingly use it right before a final blow can be dealt, even if the player still has two full health meters. The wagers also take a fair amount of time to unfold. With super attacks already freezing the action, some of my matches concluded with me watching the action more than I had a hand in it.

NetherRealm always includes a wealth of content in each of its games, and Injustice is no different, offering four lengthy modes each consisting of unique challenges and rewards. Story mode serves as a great introduction to Injustice's crazed combat. The opening moment shared by Superman and Joker made me think the plot would be as cerebral and dark as a David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan Batman treatment, but most of the events that happens after it are excuses to get heroes and villains to fight. The reasons are pretty cheesy, but it plays out like an ultraviolent version of DC's famed Crisis on Infinite Earths comic book series. I enjoyed the bevy of comic references, and found some of the banter between specific characters entertaining.

The story bleeds over into Battle mode, offering a different “what if?” ending for each of the 20 characters at the conclusion of a classically designed ladder of eight foes. Battle mode showcases plenty of depth with 24 different ladders, all offering different challenges and difficulties, though the character endings are oddly only obtained through the “Classic Battle” ladder.

The third mode, S.T.A.R. Labs, hooked me the most. This is where NetherRealm has the most fun with all of the heroes and villains. S.T.A.R. Labs offers 240 challenges (10 for each character) that balance intense character-specific showdowns with absolute absurdity. For every regular versus battle, you have unique opportunities to play as Catwoman’s cat, Isis; to see if Flash can beat Superman in a race around the planet 200 times; and to smash through asteroids in a side-scrolling shooter sequence with Shazam.

Each challenge consists of three different objectives. At the end, stars are handed out for each objective met. Stars unlock new challenges. You need to work if you want to unlock everything this mode offers, but you also need to complete difficult goals with characters whose play style you may not enjoy. The difficulty tied to many of these challenges is brutal. I’m also not a fan of all the challenges for each character being lumped together; if Wonder Woman is your favorite character, you won’t be able to reach her challenges until you obtain 319 stars.

Every match fought generates experience and the chance to rank up and unlock new hero images, icons, and banners for an online profile. Online multiplayer is handled exceptionally well. The daily challenges are fantastic, and the ability to create personal rooms can keep a group of friends together. I ran into a bit of lag in several matches, but the game was quick to recognize the problem and terminated the bouts.

NetherRealm clearly had a blast creating Injustice. The team’s appreciation of the DC universe blends nicely with their well-worn Mortal Kombat formula to create an experience that is a success on both fighting and comic book levels.

[STORMSHADOW__210]

Source:New York Daily News

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a must-play video game for DC Comics fans

LOVED IT: Well-crafted story mode, character and fighting style diversity, impressive level design, solid mechanics

HATED IT: QTEs can be jarring – but that’s nitpicking

GRAB IT IF: You enjoyed Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and Mortal Kombat

You generally don’t play a fighting game for its story mode. Then again, that’s only because you haven’t played Injustice: Gods Among Us just yet.

This is a vastly different brand of arcade fighter, one destined to be defined as much by its mechanics as by the uniquely nuanced story. Developer NetherRealms crafts a narrative worthy of a DC Comics’ animated film, and then it fully lures you in, immersing you in a superhero tale that just happens to be a pretty good fighting game, too.

NetherRealms has some experience in these fighting games that are more than fighting games; its first foray into deeper arcade fighter storylines came two years ago in its impressive Mortal Kombat revival. But the developer is at its best here, bringing a stellar cast of superheroes to Unreal 3 engine life.

This tale revolves around an alternate-dimension Superman who, following a disconcerting turn of events involving the Joker, takes the law into his all-too-powerful hands with good intentions, and the superheroes of “our” dimension are quickly pulled into the fray. The ensuing conflict, while at times predictable, is flawlessly comic-book blockbuster, giving core heroes and villains adequate spotlight within a superheroic framework.

You can’t overstate how well this works. Traditional fighting games – think Street Fighter and Tekken – essentially feature excuses for narratives, and even NetherRealms’ previous efforts (Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and Mortal Kombat) tried to break that mold with only mild success.

But here, it all comes together. The heroes and villains and various dopplegangers are imbued with a sense of personality and one strangely garish-looking Wonder Woman aside, they all look and move and feel as you could expect. With nary a load time, the story mode shifts you from cutscene to one-on-one battle, then back to cutscene again, and the execution is so fluid that at times, you forget you’re even playing an arcade fighter

For the record, though, you are playing an arcade fighter, and a robustly featured one with a magnificent cast at that. The usual superhero suspects (Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash and Lex Luthor) are here, and they’re accompanied by other, equally interesting characters (think Harley Quinn, Killer Frost and Nightwing).

The roster is well-balanced, too. Characters essentially fall into two classes: The powerful, slightly slower fellas (Doomsday and Grundy) and the speedier, more gadget-equipped guys (Deathstroke and Catwoman). All will have their appeal, and each has a few moves that will make comic fans smile. Their most well-known abilities are appreciably teased during a Super Move, which can only be used once a Super Meter near the bottom of the screen has filled up.

That’s all standard fighting game fare these days, as are the multiple single-player modes (get ready for S.T.A.R. Labs, a challenge-based setting much like Mortal Kombat’s Tower), the unlockables and the multiplayer suite. But Injustice introduces a few of its own conventions, too. Environments are built to be interactive: By tapping the right bumper, you can pick up and hurl gas tanks at your enemy, or throw cars on top of your opponent.

Much like Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, arenas have a variety of areas, too, and if you execute the proper combat move, you’ll knock your enemy into another section of the arena, complete with a fittingly over-the-top sequence that does your opponent damage. It’s not always easy to knock your opponent into the next area, though – it sometimes requires a perfectly well-placed kick at the right time – so you can’t rely on the maneuver as a cheap way of dealing damage.

The overall Injustice experience is so engaging that it’s easy to look past the game’s few flaws. The tutorial gets the job done teaching you the basics, but, like many fighting game tutorials, it doesn’t completely prepare you for online battle. And while the story is brilliant, once it’s over, it’s completely over, with no carryover into the rest of Injustice. Granted, that’s better than some half-baked story-driven “reason” to engage in multiplayer battles, but once the tale is done, this simply becomes another garden-variety fighting game, albeit a very fun one with plenty of eye candy and Superman’s backing.

The Man of Steel’s presence alone may not sustain Injustice for five years of online gameplay, but it certainly makes this a must-play for any DC Comics fan. If you’re not a fan of the game genre but you love DC, you owe it to yourself to at the very least rent Injustice in the same way you might rent “Justice League: Doom,” simply to experience the adventure.

You just may uncover a fighting game worth keeping, too

[TheCanadiandrome]

seems the reviews are good then

[The Stryker]

I guess if that wall of text and pictures says so.

[STORMSHADOW__210]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

I guess if that wall of text and pictures says so.

Well its a lot easier to just be smug and say "that sucks" than actually taking the time to join a discussion and explain WHY YOU think it sucks,as for the reviews....all the critics across the board love this game,so I would have to believe that ....wait for it....its a good game

Now that doesn't mean everyone will like it and thats fine.In the meantime,i guess the world will have to wait for your review before the world can make its decision to buy or not buy this game.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by STORMSHADOW__210

Well its a lot easier to just be smug and say "that sucks" than actually taking the time to join a discussion and explain WHY YOU think it sucks,as for the reviews....all the critics across the board love this game,so I would have to believe that ....wait for it....its a good game

Now that doesn't mean everyone will like it and thats fine.In the meantime,i guess the world will have to wait for your review before the world can make its decision to buy or not buy this game.

Eh, its about as easy as copying and pasting from other sites and acting like you've done something.

Anywhooooo .....been playing for a bit. Pretty fun stuff. Still need to get the hang of certain peeps but it's good.

[Chris]

I'm torn. I thought the game was looking really good but then I learnt about the whole Superman being tricked by Joker into killing Lois and his child and becoming a dictator set up and it really put me off the game. That's just NOT my Superman. I'll wait and see what the story spoilers say, but it'll take a lot to convince me now.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by Chris

I'm torn. I thought the game was looking really good but then I learnt about the whole Superman being tricked by Joker into killing Lois and his child and becoming a dictator set up and it really put me off the game. That's just NOT my Superman. I'll wait and see what the story spoilers say, but it'll take a lot to convince me now.

It's been said numerous times that this is an elseworlds kind of story.

[STORMSHADOW__210]

@the stryker
Do u play on ps3? I think we should mewt in gotham for a "duel"

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by STORMSHADOW__210

@the stryker
Do u play on ps3? I think we should mewt in gotham for a "duel"

You mean my blu-ray player also plays games?!

I'm just kidding, you're alright.

[STORMSHADOW__210]

Oh my hazing ritual is over? Am i finally "in"? Lol i was beginning to think i wasn't turtley enough for the Turtle club lol

Psn id STORMSHADOW__210

[Chris]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

It's been said numerous times that this is an elseworlds kind of story.

Oh I know it is. But there's elseworlds like Vampire Batman and Soviet Superman, where things are drastically different, then there's stuff like this where it's much more "this universe was exactly like ours then Superman had a really bad day". That's why I don't like it (the story's premise anyway, the gameplay could be amazing for all I know). The story of Lois' death has been done before and much better (see Ending Battle for a perfect example of how Superman would handle the death of Lois). Here it just seems like it's being used as a cheap way of making Superman into the villain.

[Cure]

Because the story in a fighting game is so important.

I got this today. It's really fun. The different powers certainly mix it up.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by STORMSHADOW__210

Oh my hazing ritual is over? Am i finally "in"? Lol i was beginning to think i wasn't turtley enough for the Turtle club lol

Psn id STORMSHADOW__210

Hahaha....

No.

[FlogginMcMurryZombiePizza]

So my time with the game since about midnight to 2am... and then about 5pm up to now-ish (with breaks to eat/bathroom/draw).

It's a fun game and it's getting more fun as I figure out how to play it.
It's the same as Mortal Kombat as far as combos but that's basically where the comparisons stop. Aside from Cyborg who just feels like Jax from MK.

The game feels very different and because of that I can't just pick up and play the game so easily. All the characters feel unique and require me multiple attempts before I "get" the character.
So far the most awkward for me is Harley Quinn, Grundy and Green Lantern (I have not played as anyone).

The characters I feel the best with right now are The Flash and Green Arrow, then Nightwing (I just unlocked his New 52 costume) and Aquaman.

[Brodie]

I feel like I enjoy it, I'm just not very good. Is there a way to train with just specific characters, or just the Bat/Supes tutorial?

[Slade]

There's practice mode or you can go to star labs

[TheCanadiandrome]

Originally Posted by Raph_tha_Dude

There's practice mode or you can go to star labs

That's good to know, I'll be usin it

[FlogginMcMurryZombiePizza]

Originally Posted by Brodie

I feel like I enjoy it, I'm just not very good. Is there a way to train with just specific characters, or just the Bat/Supes tutorial?

Ya, as mentioned... Star Labs are like challenges that also work on a type of training level.
If you played Mortal Kombat, it's basically the Challenge Ladder. You can't move forward until you complete certain objectives on the previous challenge.

And then there is Practice or Training. One runs you through a tutorial with Batman and Superman and the other allows you to pick your character and opponent and then have at it.

This game is easy enough to pick up but REALLY challenging!!
I been trying to play on harder difficulties but I am getting WHOPPED, especially by Sinestro, Lantern, Cyborg and a couple others (but those guys especially).