Fighting game fans have a lot to look forward to with Injustice 2 and Tekken 7 on the horizon. While there’s a bevy of information available on Tekken 7, we finally have some confirmed details on how the gameplay and roster will be shaping up for Injustice 2. The good news is, if you enjoyed Injustice: Gods Among Us, you should have a lot to look forward to in the sequel. There’s a lot of carryover from the original title and some new gameplay mechanics that you might expect from a NetherRealm Studios sequel. The new game has also taken a few nods from Mortal Kombat X.
Character Roster
The debut trailer for the game and the subsequence gameplay footage and announcements released shortly after confirms Aquaman, Atrocitus, Batman, Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Flash and Gorilla Grodd. Most of the gameplay footage shows a 28-character select screen, and NetherRealm head, Ed Boon, confirmed that Injustice 2 will launch with more playable characters than Mortal Kombat X and the first Injustice. While that may not be exactly 28, there will be more than 25 playable characters when the first hits store shelves.
DLC Characters
We’ve seen two Kombat Pack DLC bundles for Mortal Kombat X that included quite a few new characters, skins and more. NetherRealm Studios is planning a more aggressive approach to DLC with Injustice 2 so expect the DLC to release over a longer period of time. That doesn’t mean you’ll see less DLC, it simply means that NetherRealm and WB will support the game for longer than they did the first Injustice.
Customization and Gear System
One of the biggest new features in Injustice 2 is the ability to customize your character with a set of gear you can earn by playing through the game (and presumably by other means as well). The developers have talked quite a bit about how one person’s character may look completely different from another person’s character simply due to the extensive customization available. It will take time to earn the various gear available in the game, but that should be time well spent.
In addition to aesthetic changes, the gear system also gives your character different attributes. You might get more offensive power, the ability to take more damage, or other various boosts. Tournament players have been concerned that this would have a negative impact on the competitive scene, but NetherRealm has already taken that into account. While complete details are not available, the development team has confirmed that something will be done to ensure all characters are equal when it comes to the gear system and competitive play.
Online play will use the newly implemented GGPO-like netcode that Mortal Kombat XL uses. You can expect online games to be extremely smooth in that regard. The developers have also discussed the idea of disabling the gear system in online ranked matches to level the playing field. While online ranked play isn’t quite at the level of competition you’d see at a local tournament, the competitive players will be happy to hear they can practice in online ranked and not have to worry about a gear system that skews character balance.
Gameplay
Think of the transition from Injustice: Gods Among Us to Injustice 2 in the same way you’d think of the transition from Mortal Kombat 9 to Mortal Kombat X. Many of the returning characters showcase the same base set of attacks and special moves. A lot of the same combos will still work, even though there may be better, more damaging combos to discover. If you played a lot of Batman in the first game, chances are you can pick up Injustice 2 and feel comfortable with the character after a few matches.
As far as the general game mechanics go, most of the unique Injustice system mechanics have returned for the sequel. There are still stage interactables and you can burn a stock of meter to give your stage interactable one hit of armor. You can bounce opponents off walls to continue a combo, break combos with the Clash system and more. The person who lands the first hit gains one stock of meter as a reward, and generally everything you’d expect from an Injustice sequel is included.
New to the franchise is the ability to tech away from a combo at the cost of one stock of meter. You can roll along the ground, through your opponent, as a way to escape the corner, or you can jump away from a combo in mid-air. Of course there is a price to pay for these new abilities. In addition to consuming some of your meter, if the opponent anticipates you’re going to attempt a tech or roll, they can stop their attack or combo and hit you as soon as you come out of the maneuver. On the one hand it saves you the meter you might spend on a Clash, but on the other hand if the opponent guessing what you’re about to do, it can cost you severely.
Stay tuned to Prima Games as we’ll have more on Injustice 2 in the coming weeks and months. While there’s no confirmed release date for the game, most expect it to arrive around March or April of 2017.
