ARCADE WATCH
Keeping an eye on the coin-op gaming scene
With a Justice League movie out, it’s perhaps not entirely surprising that Raw Thrills is jumping on the batshaped bandwagon with the release of Injustice Arcade, built around the pre-existing mobile version of Netherrealm’s licensed fighting game. American arcade chain Dave & Buster’s has snagged a timed-exclusive release and cabinet (boasting a 55-inch bezel-free screen and a wider control panel), with a 43-inch version for general release expected in the next couple of months.
Controls aren’t much more complex than the simplified mobile game, sadly. There are buttons for quick and strong hits, blocking, swapping out your three characters and executing special attacks. The real intrigue, however, lies in how the arcade version integrates its card system. An NFC reader lets players build their team of fighters by scanning barcodes: upon completion of a match, the cabinet spits out one of 200 unique character cards for players to add to their collections. Different versions of characters have specific stats and abilities, especially rare ones blessed with special finishes and some hilariously unbalanced perks.
It’s more of a collectible-vending machine with some light entertainment thrown in as a bonus than a thoroughbred arcade de fighter, then. But Raw aw Thrills is banking on n Injustice Arcade doing ng what card-vending arcade games have so far failed to do in the west. Fortunately, a strong IP, a gimmick and the promise of shiny merch is often enough to make a success of just about anything.