Injustice 2
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Ranked 1v1 fights and Mortal Kombat combos, specials, and Metre Burn modifiers form the backbone of Injustice 2’s online play. If you’ve pulled a punch in any of the recent Ed Boon and NetherRealm fighters, you’ll feel right at home. And making you feel right at home is where Injustice 2 really shines. Whether it’s with ping rates to show how stable the next fight will be, or the clever percentage digit that pops up to reveal your chances of winning, Injustice 2 wants to make online brawling as painless as possible – an oxymoron we can all get behind.
The real revolution comes when the match ends and your rewards are up on screen in the form of Gear. The soft RPG loot that’s usually the domain of dungeon crawlers affords Injustice 2 layers of depth, or rather piles of exotically named prizes (Black Canary’s Balanced Bombshell Bodice Of Finesse is a favourite). There’s also the chance to upgrade your online character’s underlying stats and add ability modifiers, which raise XP earned, improve health and attack stats, and even add new special moves to the roster.
In other hands the Gear system would be a gamebreaker, but here it’s a game-maker. Fairness is ensured as Gear is gated, meaning top-tier loot can only be assigned to a character when you’ve put the hours in and ranked the fighter. Ultimately loot offers a helping hand, but it won’t sway a match in your favour – good players, those online grafters who’ve put in hours of practice, will always win. But you won’t mind losing, as every match, win or lose, earns you XP and Gear.
Is Gear a placebo? Possibly; going back into the online cauldron
KNOWING YOUR HERO HAS A +35 HEALTH BOOST OFFERS THE MENTAL SPRINGBOARD TO TRY NEW COMBOS.
knowing your hero has a +35 health boost offers the mental springboard to try new combos and tactics.
If you do feel Gear and the related modifiers offer an imbalance, they can be turned off on the character select screen (but both players need to agree). Everything from Gear to character handicaps (meaning each fighter is the same rank) can be switched off in Match Options, along with interactive environments and arena transitions. If you want a clean fight you can have it, though I did miss the fun of grabbing a nearby barfly and slamming him into Batman.
It’s worth adding that Injustice 2 performs smoothly online. I noticed no game-stuttering lag and only occasionally was a match-up cancelled due to net errors. And if you are bumped from a game, a new match is arranged quickly and without fuss.
VERDICT
Polished and perfectly balanced, Injustice 2 is an online fighter for all. It’s accessible for newcomers and has enough options for experienced fighters to flourish. Ian Dean