Another day, another fighting game release to the community. This time around we have a Mortal Kombat style romp in the DC universe of Injustice: Gods Among Us. The last time MK joined DC for a title we ended up with some complete garbage. A fighter that was barely playable and most certainly didn't have any competitive hopes. Alas, it is a new dawn, and another chance has risen, and with NetherRealm Studios having just come off of their last successful MK endeavor of 2 years ago, there is a lot to look forward to with this title.
I wasn't originally going to pick this game up. I have been kind of tired of the whole fighting game genre as of late. Not that any of the games were bad or even boring, they were just not something I felt like dedicating time or effort into anymore. I haven't gone to a tournament since the 40's and staying competitive in a game for little reason just wasn't reason enough anymore. Even still, I enjoy fighting games, namely combo building in the lab. So when Injustice reared it's beautiful face, I decided to try it out for novelty sake. I expected a cheap and rushed project that was imbalanced and over the top...what I got, although probably not that far off, was an extremely playable and fun to interact with fighting game experience. See if you don't agree after you hear my thoughts.
Story:
The storyline was written in collaboration with DC, so you may know a little bit of what is to be expected if your a comic fan. The premise is that the Joker has destroyed Metropolis and angered Superman to the breaking point. Superman murders the Joker and proceeding takes over the world (that escalated quickly). Meanwhile, in an alternate universe, the Joker fails at his mission and a handfull of the super heroes who haven't died or joined Superman's regime have been transported to help otherworld's Batman's small rebellion force. Okay, so it's kinda slapped together and there isn't much room to work with. But even if you just have a cursory knowledge of the characters and their background, the concept is quite entertaining. There is nothing terrible about the storyline when you compare it to a comic book. I mean sure, you aren't exactly looking for the script to be nominated for anything, but it's a competent and playable storyline that won't have you taking breaks in the cutscenes so that you can grab something to eat. You start to become intrigued and dare I say, "invested" into what happens to this particular DC universe. Aside from its content, the story mode is executed quite well. Not many fighting games take the route Injustice has. Instead of choosing a character to play through a generic storyline with, you are forced to play chapters as specific characters such as the Joker or Green Lantern. You get to see specific parts of the tale through their colorful and unique perspectives as the story unfolds its grand eventualities. It might be a little off putting if your thrust into the shoes of an unfamiliar character as you flail about uselessly at your opponent whiffing special after special due to ignorance, but since all the characters have a handful of universal inputs and moves it never seems hopeless. The experience isn't long, you can probably finish the story in 2 well paced afternoons without trying to gun it. Its a fun story, and you gain in game xp like a mother fucker so it is probably the fastest way to unlock all of your little extras (costumes, concept art, music, etc.).
Gameplay:
This time around, the MK style and feel isn't supplemented entirely with the MK system. The game actually plays like a hybrid of a lot of modern day fighting games. It no longer has a block button like how most of the fighting games are holds the stick based system (i.e. hold back). There are 3 main attack buttons, light, medium and heavy, and a "power button" that interacts with the character specific gimmicks a la Blazblue. Each character has a forward, back, crouching, jumping (and some have up) versions of their various attacks which make it feel like a 3D fighter. The combo system is based entirely on chains with no linking possible outside of juggles. There is a button specifically meant for meter use. Tons of environmental hazards like DOA or SSB make stages half as important as characters and tons of damage being able to be tacked on to any character's combos. All of it sorta feels thrown together, but as you experiment the systems really show that time was taken to attempt to make a more unique feeling fighting game than any of the other fighters individually. I can't say if they truly succeeded in making it balanced or even good, but it is certainly different and thus interesting. 
There is plenty of content to test your abilities, 24 varied characters (more via DLC), Mortal Kombat style mini-games, survival battles with ranging and unlockable conditions, a fun and intriguing story mode, a competent online structure, training, and local vs. round out the gauntlet of modes to test your skills against the horrid AI or scrubby scrubs among the internet, and a trivial level system/online rank used to unlock all the silly extras. Standard fair for a fighter, and nobody is complaining. Outside of the individual combat systems they don't really try for anything crazy. A story, some vs., and a few time sinks for those looking to kill time when the internet is down is all anyone needs, and all anyone has ever asked for.
Presentation:
The game looks and smells great. The dark feel of the characters is obvious and well suited for the story being told. Some of the characters have far too bulky of armor to feel like you are actually playing them, but nothing too unbearable. Textures, attack effects, voices, music...it all emulates the DC experience and feels right. A few moves seem out of place, but every fighter is a home for those who disagree in a characters playstyle vs. appearance, this does not need to be any different. One place where the presentation really shines is in the story mode cutscenes. They use the in game models for all the animations so you transition fairly seamlessly between cutscene and fight. It just feels good to see it. Plenty of skins acting as in-game alt outfits keep the characters from looking stale (not to mention likely a shit ton via DLC). Right as you start the game and you transition through the ridiculously detailed 3D still action shots in the menu down to the win quotes and absurdly over the top super and stage transition animations, it is obvious that this was a top dollar bill and it was dressed to impress.
Result:
So we have a fighting game created by a veteran developer attempting to set itself aside utilizing popular DC characters and unique lore to hone in on both fans of fighters and fans of comics. If you ask me they succeeded over and over. It's far from perfect, a lot of the characters feel underpowered, there is a clear discrepancy between humans and superpowered beings when it comes to stage interaction, and there really isn't a way for players to get an idea of where to start other than an underwhelming tutorial, youtube videos, forums, and your willpower in the training room to buff out something usable in a fight.
87%
+ Fun and interesting story
+ Unique "kombat" system
+ Brilliant design and aesthetic detail
+ Large cast of characters
+ Large cast of characters
+ Tons of unlockables to keep you in the game
- Difficult to learn to play, though easy to begin
- Laggy lobbies a plenty
- Throw away mini-games- A lot has been reserved for DLC delaying content for a later date.
This game is most certainly worth your time to look into if you are a fan of anything listed above. As far as a competitive fighter goes, it is hard for me to tell. There is potential in certain areas, but a lot of the times it feels that gimmicks and certain character specific techniques (deathstroke spammers in mind) tend to run over the inexperienced and keep people from feeling motivated. It will take a while for the community to get used to it. My personal opinion leads to no. I think it will see some early tournament play, but eventually ween off and become a passing memory like Soul Calibur 5 or the MK reboot.
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