Like the recent DC films, Injustice 2 confuses bleakness for gravity, and it stands in stark contrast to the whimsy, humor, and colorful settings increasingly favored by media rival Marvel Comics and in games like Marvel’s own upcoming fighter, Marvel vs. Gone are the charm and black humor of the utterly mad wisecracking clown with the literally infectious laugh and flamboyant wardrobe, replaced by a Hot Topic psychopath growling generic threats and waving a knife around. At the same time, it features a Joker that has to go down in history as one of the most tone deaf and misguided takes on the Clown Prince of Crime. Injustice 2 does attempt to break up the dreary proceedings with the genuinely amusing Green Arrow and always likable Flash, the latter personifying the struggle between Batman and Superman and the things for which they stand. Batman seems to be the lone voice of reason until you consider he is chastising Superman and Wonder Woman for their actions while allying himself with someone like Harley Quinn. Even beloved symbols of light and hope advocate killing their enemies, arguing that the harrowing events around them are the result of having not permanently dispatched their villains in the past. So even though Injustice 2’s character animations in cutscenes and in-game are outstanding and border on photorealism for certain characters, I found little to love about the way they’re presented here. I found little to love about the way the heroes are presented.I wasn’t a fan of the dark take on DC’s heroes in Injustice: Gods Among Us, which is a “what if” story about Superman going off the deep end after a tragic loss. Most of it is excellent, except for the centerpiece: the story campaign. Hour for hour, Injustice 2 may have more content for solo players than any fighting game ever released. There is an incredible amount of content here for people that love fighting games but perhaps don’t enjoy competing against other people, or even for those that do like to mix it up with others but also enjoy chasing that next milestone or piece of loot. Each character has multiple ways to extend combos that are unique to them, and you can add onto that further by factoring in environmental attacks and positioning on the stage. However, when used with Meter Burn, the revolver bullet launches his foe into the air, allowing Joker to juggle his victim. Spending meter may alter the traits of a special move and open up new uses for combos: for example, Joker’s “BANG!” normally sees him pull out a revolver and fire a shot at his target. You can bounce opponents off walls or the floor and launch them high into the air for juggle combos. For someone like me who enjoys spending time just beating up the training dummy and seeing what sort of insane juggles I can put together, it’s supremely enjoyable. Injustice 2's combo options are rivaled by few other games.One of the most impressive mechanical aspects is Injustice 2’s combo options, which are rivaled by few other games. Fate and Deadshot and their strong zone control, Black Canary and her quick and technical offense, or Atrocitus and Gorilla Grodd’s more methodical, heavy-hitting styles.
Plus, the new additions to the cast ably fill a range of niches, such as Dr. New defensive options make fighting ranged specialists like Deadshot or Green Arrow less frustrating than the sometimes oppressive and seemingly endless barrages in we saw in the last game. Faster walking speed makes matches feel quick and agile, a change from the at times plodding pace of Gods Among Us.
Some of my favorites include the ability to spend meter in order to gain invulnerable movement to escape projectile-happy enemies, allowing you to block some environmental attacks, and a global increase in the speed sharpen the action.
On top of new versions of memorable environmental attacks in which you slam enemies with everything from cars to giant stuffed alligators on the detailed stages, flashy transitions between different areas of the battle locations, and a full arsenal of over-the-top Super Moves including everything from mowing over your enemies with the Batmobile to traveling through time to slam your opponent off the hide of a dinosaur, it makes several big changes. Injustice 2 strikes a fine balance between retaining the strengths of Gods Among Us and making smart changes to improve mechanics.