Injustice: Gods Among Us

Overview

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a 2.5D fighting game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by WB Games for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U on April 16th, 2013. Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition, an updated version of the game which includes all available downloadable content, was released in November 2013 for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 as well as all previous platforms.

Injustice is based on the DC Universe and features both heroes and villains from various DC Comics franchises, most notably Batman and Superman. It is the second fighting game made by the team behind the Mortal Kombat franchise to feature characters from the DC Universe, the first being Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

In a plot involving parallel dimensions and shifting alliances, the game's storyline has various heroes and villains mysteriously transported into a near-future alternate universe where Superman has gone mad with power, establishing a new fascist regime known as One Earth, years after killing The Joker in cold blood, who previously destroyed Metropolis, along with Superman's love interest Lois Lane, in a nuclear blast. While most of the heroes, and some villains, have joined Superman's cause, others have formed a resistance known as the Insurgency, led by that universe's Batman.

Gameplay

Though running on Unreal Engine 3, like Mortal Kombat, Injustice features a different control scheme including holding back to block rather than a block button as well as a dedicated button for interacting with the environments. This feature allows for the characters to perform maneuvers involving objects within the stage. However, different characters use the same environmental objects in different ways. A character with super strength like Solomon Grundy may pick up a car and smash an opponent with it, but someone like Batman would be unable to do so, and would instead smash his opponent's face into the hood of the car. There are three main attack buttons (light, medium, strong) and one "gimmick" button that performs character-specific tasks. For Wonder Woman, it performs a stance change between sword/shield and lasso. For Superman it burns a bit of meter to enhance damage for a set period of time.

Additionally, stage transitions return from Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, allowing players to move throughout various parts of each arena over the course of the fight. The game is expected to receive a T rating and will not feature Fatalities, but instead, elaborate and over-the-top super moves such as punching an opponent into space, with the in-universe explanation that the less superhuman characters are surviving their injuries thanks to a medicine that allows human characters like Batman and Green Arrow to go toe-to-toe with metahuman characters like Black Adam and Solomon Grundy. The game will, however, feature a certain amount of blood as well as physical changes to characters to show damage.

At EVO 2012, when a brief demo was shown explaining the classes of characters and some background-based mechanics, there appeared to be twenty four slots on the character select screen and fifteen slots on the arena select screen.

Story

In an alternate universe, the Joker tricks Superman into murdering his wife Lois Lane (and their unborn son) because he perceived her as Doomsday thanks to a dose of Scarecrow's fear toxin. Additionally, Joker had attuned a nuclear bomb to Lois' pulse, and when she died, the WMD detonated, destroying the city of Metropolis. Despite Batman's efforts to calm him down, an enraged Superman murdered the Joker with his bare hands, and subsequently took it upon himself to forcibly subdue all the governments of the world, unifying them into his One Earth Regime, believing that the only way to protect mankind from themselves was to control them utterly. The Regime then sets out to kill every metahuman, hero or villain, who stands in their way, with many heroes and villains choosing to join the Regime out of fear or misplaced respect.

Superman rules with an iron fist, using his massive army to keep the planet in line, and to prevent crime no matter what the cost. Only Batman and his Insurgency, a group of rebels comprised mainly of reformed supervillains, dare to stand against this new Regime in the hopes of freeing Earth from the rule of the Man of Steel.The game properly begins five years later, in our universe, where a huge force of supervillains are waging an attack against the Justice League. While investigating Arkham Asylum to see if they freed the Joker for the attack, Batman is attacked by Deathstroke, whom he subsequently defeats in combat, before teleporting to the Watchtower, the Justice League's orbital headquarters, where he saves Nightwing and Cyborg from Bane and Lex Luthor, who is overcome despite an impressive suit of powered armour. Just as the coordinated efforts of the entire League seem to have overcome the villainous attack, a new alert is sounded as the Joker and Harley Quinn have been spotted in Metropolis, setting up a nuclear weapon. Several members of the Justice League converge on the site as the Joker sets the bomb to standby, but before it can be detonated, Batman, the Joker, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Aquaman all vanish in a burst of light.

Batman and the Joker find themselves in the alternate reality's version of Metropolis, where the Joker attacks the Dark Knight and is easily defeated, but before Batman can even catch his breath, they are immediately surrounded by soldiers of the Regime. Batman is forced to use his gadgets to escape, which allows Joker to slip away on his own in the confusion. Listening in on the military's radio chatter, Batman is horrified to learn about the tyrannical One Earth government. Meanwhile, the other heroes who vanished find themselves in Gotham City, trying to figure out what happened and how they got there. Not yet realizing they are in an alternate universe, and looking for answers, Green Arrow and Wonder Woman quietly explore Gotham, while Aquaman heads to the kingdom of Atlantis. Meanwhile, Green Lantern heads to the headquarters of Ferris Aircraft, inc. in Coast City, where he keeps his Green Lantern Battery in our world.

When he arrives, he realizes that things are different here, and stumbles across the alternate versions of Cyborg and Raven, who became bitter and twisted after the deaths of the other members of the Teen Titans, and joined Superman's Regime as two of his top enforcers. Additionally, Raven has embraced her demonic heritage, and Green Lantern comes across her using evil magic to torture their version of Deathstroke, who is a member of the Insurgency. Preventing them from killing Slade, Green Lantern is forced to fight the fallen heroes, but before he can get answers from a not-terribly-grateful Deathstroke, Hal is contacted by Wonder Woman, saying she and Green Arrow are being attacked by Green Lantern's archenemy Sinestro back in Gotham City. Upon returning, Green Lantern finally learns explicit details of the Regime as Sinestro brags that it's similar to the government he imposed over his own homeworld of Korugar. Sinestro also reveals that the Green Arrow of this universe was killed for siding with the Insurgents, and that Green Lantern's counterpart actually sided with the Regime, and works alongside Sinestro. Green Lantern manages to defeat Sinestro, only to be shocked by the arrival of said counterpart, and the revelation that this universe's version of Hal Jordan has abandoned the Green Lantern Corps. and joined the Sinestro Corps., being known to the people of Earth as Yellow Lantern.

The Green and Yellow Lanterns do battle, with our Hal Jordan being the victor, and after he, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow are forced to flee from incoming soldiers, they run into the alternate Batman. Meanwhile, back in our universe, an anxious Superman checks in with the Flash and Cyborg, who are trying to trace the signal and find out where the missing heroes went.In Atlantis, Aquaman pretends to be his counterpart in order to gain access to the Atlantean archives and learn more about this world.

After discovering the origins of the Regime, an aide informs him that envoys from Superman have arrived, and Aquaman greets the alternate versions of Captain Marvel and the Flash, who have brought a treaty to be signed formalizing an alliance between Atlantis and the Regime. However, Aquaman is unable to keep up the charade after realizing that his counterpart was willing to sign an agreement which would have subjugated Atlantis to the Regime, allowing Superman to control their armies and dictate their laws. After attacking and defeating the envoys, Aquaman is then confronted by his own counterpart, who orders his soldiers to capture 'the imposter'.

Aquaman easily fights them off before managing to defeat his own counterpart, but the armies of Atlantis are vast. However, before he could be overwhelmed, time freezes in place, and our Aquaman is confronted by the Greek god Ares, who was drawn to Atlantis by the conflict, which he feeds on to charge his magical powers. Before Ares can explain himself, Aquaman attacks, and actually manages to defeat the god in a one-on-one fight, after which the god of war reveals that he is the weakest he's ever been, since Superman's Regime has virtually eliminated conflict throughout the world, and he actually wants to help Aquaman escape from Atlantis, since the heroes from our universe are creating the most interesting conflict this world has seen in five years. He then uses his magical powers to reunite Aquaman with his friends, teleporting him to safety at the secret headquarters of the Insurgency. There, the alternate Batman reveals the Insurgency's greatest weapon, a pill that temporarily grants normal human beings the superhuman durability necessary to go toe-to-toe with metahuman opponents.

Batman then introduces his greatest ally, the alternate Lex Luthor, who was never a villain to begin with in this universe, and in fact pretends to be a close friend of Superman's, while secretly funding and aiding the Insurgents. Then, Batman reveals the reason he brought the heroes to his world; years ago he created a kryptonite-based laser weapon that would kill Superman, should the hero ever go rogue, but it's sealed in the abandoned Batcave behind a lock that required the agreement of four other founding members of the Justice League in order to open. Those four members were Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and Aquaman, but his world's Green Arrow died fighting the Regime, and the alternate versions of the other three heroes all sided with Superman, so Batman called upon the equivalents from our world, as their DNA would be identical.Meanwhile, the alternate Superman oversees the brainwashing and mind control of the monster Doomsday, while the alternate Wonder Woman, whom he is in a romantic relationship with, checks in on him, before they are interrupted by Yellow Lantern, who informs them of the existence of the 'duplicate' heroes from our world.

Characters

The game includes 24 playable characters, split up in the character select screen into heroes (left side) and villains (right side).

Alternate Skins

Regime

• Aquaman
• Ares
• Bane
• Black Adam
• Catwoman
• Cyborg
• Doomsday
• The Flash
• Green Lantern
• Hawkgirl
• Killer Frost
• Nightwing
• Raven
• Shazam
• Sinestro
• Solomon Grundy
• Superman
• Wonder Woman

Insurgency

• Batman
• Deathstroke
• Green Arrow
• Harley Quinn
• The Joker
• Lex Luthor

Other

• Aquaman: Flashpoint, Blackest Night
• Ares: Classic
• Bane: Knightfall, Luchador
• Batman: Arkham City, Batman Beyond, Blackest Night, New 52, Flashpoint, Red Son
• Catwoman: Arkham City, Selina Kyle, Ame-Comi
• Cyborg: Teen Titans
• Deathstroke: Flashpoint, Teen Titans, Red Son
• Doomsday: Containment Suit, Blackest Night
• The Flash: Elseworld, New 52, Blackest Night, Earth-2
• Green Arrow: The Arrow
• Green Lantern: New 52, Yellow Lantern, Red Son, John Stewart
• Harley Quinn: Arkham City, Classic, Ame-Comi
• Hawkgirl: Blackest Night, Earth-2
• The Joker: Arkham City, Vacation, Final Confrontation, Red Hood
• Lex Luthor: Kryptonite Suit
• Nightwing: New 52
• Raven: Teen Titans
• Shazam: New 52
• Solomon Grundy: Boss Grundy, Red Son,Earth-2
• Superman: Godfall, New 52, Lockdown, Red Son, Blackest Night, Cyborg Superman, Man of Steel
• Wonder Woman: Flashpoint, Red Son, New 52, #600, Ame-Comi
• Zod: Man of Steel

Stages

Special Editions

The special editions detailed below were released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, while the Wii U only saw the release of the standard edition.

Battle Edition

Price: US - $149.99

The Battle Edition packaging includes an Injustice: Gods Among Us fightstick, as well as the 3 DLC skins also included in the Collector's Edition. According to a press release the fightstick "is a lightweight controller that boasts a non-skid foam underside, a lockout feature for the Start, Select and Guide buttons, as well as adjustable illumination for the buttons and joystick".

This package will only be obtainable at EB Games and GameStop stores in the US and Canada.

Collector's Editions

Price: EU - £74.99/€99.99, US - $99.99

The European and American Collector's Editions of the game vary slightly. The European package includes a steelbook and a "collector box", while the American version comes with a code for a Justice League movie download instead. The collector's figurine is also different in each version: the one in the European package has Batman grabbing Wonder Woman by the neck, while the American version has Wonder Woman grabbing Batman by the neck. A comic book based on the video-game will be included in both packages, as well as the 3 DLC skins also included in the Battle Edition. The two versions of the Collector's Edition are detailed below.

European Version

• Collector's Edition Box
• Steelbook
• Injustice Comic Book
• Collector's Figurine (23 cm)
• 3 DLC Skins inspired by DC Comics' New 52

American Version

• Digital Movie Download
• Injustice Comic Book
• Collector's Figurine
• 3 DLC Skins inspired by DC Comics' New 52

Special Edition

Price: UK - £42.99, AU - 79.95$AUD

The Special Edition includes the Red Son DLC Pack, and comes in a special edition red Steelbook. The pack includes three skins based on the Red Son Superman comic, as well as 20 additional missions set within the Red Son storyline.

The Injustice: Gods Among Us Special Edition will be exclusive to EB Games stores in Australia and the UK.

Pre-Order Bonuses

As a bonus for pre-ordering, access will be granted to exclusive character skins and missions.

Red Son Pack

• Gamestop exclusive pre-order bonus based on the Red Son Superman comic.
• The Red Son pack includes alternate Red Son skins for Superman, Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy.
• The pack also includes 20 additional missions based on the Red Son comic.

Arkham City Pack

• Wal-Mart exclusive pre-order bonus based on the game Batman: Arkham City.
• The Arkham City pack includes alternate Arkham City skins for Batman, The Joker and Catwoman.

Blackest Night Pack

• Best Buy exclusive pre-order bonus based on the Blackest Night comic.
• The Blackest Night pack includes a Black Lantern skin for Batman.
• The pack also includes a zombie mode where the fighters become undead.

Downloadable Content

Injustice has a DLC Season Pass much like Mortal Kombat before it that gives players access to the first four DLC characters upon their release and three skins for the characters Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Deathstroke, all based on the DC Comics arc, Flashpoint.

The four DLC characters included in the season pass are:

• Lobo
• Batgirl
• Scorpion
• Zod

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition, a re-released version of the game that includes all downloadable content, was released in November 2013.

Martian Manhunter and Zatanna were later released as DLC characters, but are not included in the Season Pass.

Ultimate Edition

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Ultimate Edition was released for PC, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Playstation Vita and Xbox 360 on November 12, 2013 in North America and November 29th, 2013 in Europe. The version includes all costumes & characters. While a digital version of the game is available on the PSN Store, a digital version of the Ultimate Edition does not seem to be available on the Xbox Games Store.

iOS Card Game

At PAX East 2013, Injustice: Gods Among Us was announced for iOS devices. This is not a portable version of the console game, but actually a free-to-play collectable card-battle game. Players can sign in to their WBID accounts and unlock backgrounds, icons and costumes for the console version.

Unlockables for Consoles

• There are many console items that can be unlocked in the ios version including; backgrounds, icons, portraits, and skins.
• Alternative skins include; Knightfall Bane, Batman Beyond, New 52 Green Lantern, Arkham Harley, and Prison Superman.

System Requirements