Injustice Demo Impressions (XBOX)

Even for someone who is only mildly into fighting games or DC comics, I find Injustice to be an oddly compelling package. Fighting games have always fascinated me with pretty fancy attack moves. I am not ashamed to admit that my attention to this genre completely depends on how awesome an ultramegasuperduperfinaldashpicnhmeinthecheek attack is. Challenge is low on the totem pole when choosing fighting games and my lack of skill with them only shames me ever so slightly. Granted, setting the bar very low for myself does allow me to enjoy the game even when another player is handing me my ass on a platter.

Since comics these days are all about being as flashy as possible, Injustice did make a lot of sense. I have to say that I did find the game rather fun.

The demo itself was pretty light with only 3 playable characters and one battle mode, but it should be sufficient to preview the most important aspect of the game - the fighting. I liked how playstyles differed with each character; Lex Luthor did feel like someone in a giant mech suit would be and is not as agile as Batman. Even without a change of difficulty, Doomsday felt like a more powerful and sturdy opponent than those before him. Controls were responsive and, thankfully, not too punishing to my clumsy fingers. I manage to pull off moves I wanted more so than most other fighting games.

Speaking of moves, I have to just prostrate myself in praise of this game in the fact that you can pin move lists in the fighting screen. One of the biggest difficultiesI have with this genre is the fact that I cannot memorize the more complex or more powerful moves. Being able to see specific moves without having to pause and go through multiple screens every time is something that ALL fighting games should do. No more excuses.  

The superduperspecial attacks are also pretty nice and flashy as expected and easy enough to execute once the special bar is full (just press both trigger buttons on the XBOX). These attacks can be blocked however and, really, can end up being a disadvantage, even if it does succeed.

One thing I did notice was that the special power bar has more uses than charging the megabeatdown attack. Parts of it can be consumed to make character specific attacks more powerful like adding an explosion to Batman's batarang attack, and it can be used to even regenerate health via the wager system.

True to many, MANY, mainstream comics, the game allows for a head on head attack by both players trough a wager. Each player wagers parts of his/her power bar and they go charge each other. The one who wagers more power ends up the winner and can regain a certain amount of health. Not sure what happens when there's a tie as I've never actually won a wager yet. All this does introduce a level of strategy with, sadly, is way beyond me but is welcome all the same.

All in all, I had fun with the demo and I do want to see more of it. It won't be a priority purchase though and my getting it will depend on whether I am enthralled by another game or not.