When I found out NetherRealm, the makers of MK9 were making
a DC comics fighter I was excited and it felt like an age until it came out.
I’m going to preface this by saying I enjoy fighting games but I’m not
particularly good at them, I’m better than the computer but frequently get destroyed
on Xbox Live so take anything I say about the difficulty with a pinch of salt. In
this review I’m going to try to leave my fan boy bias out of it. No promises
but I’ll try. I still love this game, so some of the negatives might seem like
nit-picking. Not that there isn't any flaws to talk about. So let us get the
negatives out of the way first before I rant about how much I love the game:
The main flaw that stands out the story mode; it was far too
short when I played Mortal Kombat 9 the story lasted around 9 hours and spanned
over a few days. Injustice lasted a mere 1 hour and 45 minutes (would have probably been
longer if I didn't play half of it on easy, but I’ll get to that later) it
seemed to be over really quickly. It lasted only one night. When I played MK9 I
thought we were seeing the future of fighting games. It had a strong and good
length story that gave the game another dimension. Fighting games, generally,
are just a multiplayer experience with the single play experience being a
ladder. So I am pleased there was an enjoyable and engaging story to follow
just slightly disappointed it was so short. On a related point; I was
disappointed at the lack of variation. You only play as a handful of the
characters. Also, the mini games existed as more of a distraction with no major
incentive for doing them, they only lasted a minute or so and some of them
still managed to be boring.
The only other thing that got adds a mark against the game
is the lack of variety. There is only one super move per character which can
get a bit boring. Some are still cool, like flash running round the world and
superman’s, some get a bit dull after a while. Although it pains me to say
Batman’s is the main super move that bores me the most it is pretty cool the
first few times but it really isn't that visually stimulating. There should
have been 2 or 3 per character. They are the only main negative I can think of,
although I will go through my nit-picks later.
So on to the positives. The controls are pretty much lifted
from MK9; you've got the light heavy and medium attacks as well as the throw,
which is unique to each character. One of the changes I didn't really like was
the back button being block. It took a while getting used to and I prefer there
to be a button but that is just personal preference. The game play is slightly
different with strong, fast and gadget characters playing differently, which
adds variety and takes you longer to master different characters. The combat is
easy to get the hang of and difficult to master which is ideal for a fighting
game and adds an extra something to the games shelf life.
The roster is a good size with a large variation, each character feeling different. You won't be able automatically play as Superman if you've just played as Batman. The interactive arenas and arena transitions are the best I have seen in a fighting game allowing you to be creative with your fighting. For a fighting game there is some variety with the S.T.A.R labs
and the battles. They add to the single player experience and are definitely a
lot of fun but to be honest I can’t really find much to say to about them. They
add to the experience and are fun but they are not brilliant.
Finally, the multiplayer is awesome. As well as 1v1 there is
King of the Hill and Survivor (same as KOTH but the king’s health decreases
each match) mode; with the latter 2 you can watch the fighting take place when
it is not your turn which means you aren't just waiting around and removes some
of the boredom King of the Hill can have while you’re waiting around. While
playing MK9 online I found there was some lag which I haven’t experienced at
all; even when playing a friend in the Middle East.
On to my nerdy nit-picks. They won’t affect my score, there
is only a couple and nobody else probably cares but I noticed them. First; the
Joker is not voiced by Mark Hamill. I knew Arkham City was going to the last
time he voiced the Joker but I still noticed the difference and it just didn't sound right to me. Next, the default story mode setting was easy. I went
through the game thinking “this game is too easy” went to change the difficulty
and realised it was on easy. There is nothing wrong with this I just expect the
default to be normal. And probably the nit-pickiest and a bit of a SPOILER so
skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to know: Harley Quinn arrests the
Joker. This is personal preference but I just didn't like it. She’s fallen out
with him before but she always goes back. The last one is the lack of dialogue
in the S.T.A.R labs; it just seems lazy that it is text instead of audio.
My final rating is a 4/5 with the story length stopping it
being a 4.5 or a full score. It is so much fun to play as your favourite comic
book hero or villain, the game play is awesome and I still play online even if
I get my arse handed to me most of the time. If you haven’t bought this game
yet buy it now. There is no question that it is worth the money and I’d
recommend the season pass as well. Lobo has already been released with Batgirl
soon to follow. So go buy this game and
if your rubbish at it tweet me your gamer-tag and I will play you because I need
a win.
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