4/5 ★ – RawMetal's review of Injustice: Gods Among Us.

System: PlayStation 3 Started: 2013 Ended: 2016 Flashback Review A few of my friends in my gaming group are huge DC and Marvel fans. I even know one friend who collects Marvel and DC Comics and lets us read them at his place. During our weekend fighting game sessions, we played Injustice: Gods Among Us many times until the release of Injustice 2. Even my young relatives borrow my copy of this game just to play it. The first Injustice game holds a special place in my heart as a decent fighting game with a blockbuster story mode, and also kickstarted the whole trope of overpowered superheroes as main villains, even though it had been done before in the comics, even other IP’s. After NetherRealm Studios' success with the Mortal Kombat remake, along with Warner Bros. Gaming Division backing up as publishers, the studio decided to create an official DC Universe fighting game. This was not the first time, as a crossover fighting game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, had already been made. However, NetherRealm wanted to focus solely on characters from the DC Universe. Since there hadn’t been another DC Universe fighting game since Justice League Task Force in the mid-'90s, it was definitely ripe for another go. Injustice really surprised me; it was chaotic fun all around. Seeing my favorite Justice League heroes and villains going toe-to-toe in this fighting game is both awesome and funny. I loved selecting an overpowered Superman and sending Harley Quinn into orbit with his super attack. Each character has their own unique powers, and even non-superpowered characters like Deathstroke, Batman, and Lex Luthor utilize gadgets, giving them an upper hand in combat. Some may criticize how over-the-top the game is, such as buildings collapsing in the background even as the final round begins and everything is in ruins. Even the stage transitions were overexaggerated, but I found them to be pretty cool. I don’t see any reason for that to be criticized; after all, that’s what superheroes do in comic books. NetherRealm Studios used the same formula from the Mortal Kombat remake by adding a story mode to this game. The story mode takes place in an alternative universe where Superman is the main antagonist who has started his own regime. At least he dealt with the Joker, something Batman should’ve done a long time ago. So you are playing as the Heroes from another world by playing each of the selected characters as chapters. I do enjoy the story despites its flaws like the Good Superman Mini-Game that lets him laser-fire incoming cars that are being thrown at him and the cars are filled with civilians by the way. I would consider Injustice to cater to a casual fighting game fanbase. It’s really fun to play with a group of friends on the couch, but when looking at the competitive scene, like EVO or other local tournaments, it doesn’t attract the same level of participants. I remember seeing the Injustice booth in a local fighting game tournament I once spectated and participated in, but it was a much smaller group of people compared to tournaments for Street Fighter IV, Killer Instinct, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 at the time. Even the Gundam Extreme Versus booth had a bigger crowd than that. Injustice’s playable characters can be unbalanced, and players can exploit characters by spamming moves. Batman, for instance, is like the Shoto character, as he’s well-balanced, even for newcomers to fighting games. I’m sure veteran fighting game enthusiasts do not appreciate the Wager Mechanic, which essentially plays out like a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, involving a gamble with an energy bar that allows players to perform special moves and gain buffed attacks. If successful, players earn some health, giving casual players a chance to turn the tide against hardcore players but you’ll lose your chance of a super move for the round. I remember that unlocking everything in this game was a pain. While DLCs can be an exception, exclusive costumes must be obtained by playing the mobile app version of Injustice. The mobile version is a card-based fighting game that occasionally falls into a pay-to-win situation due to microtransactions. To unlock exclusive costumes like the Superman Prison Costume, players literally have to complete the entire app game. That is why it’s recommended to get the Ultimate Edition of Injustice or the PC version, where you can unlock every costume as a mod instead of spending time playing the mobile app version just to get all the costumes. With greedy microtransactions and its appeal to casual audiences, Injustice: Gods Among Us faces setbacks and prevents it from being pretty high in the DC Universe games list. On the bright side, the game’s fun factor is high due to its action-packed gameplay and a good selection of characters, allowing players to spend many hours enjoying the game with friends. Injustice truly serves as a love letter to the DC fanbase, and it's definitely worth checking out.