I'm always a little fearful about doing blogs such as this. First of all, there's always the chance that I'll miss some obscure scrap of information which will nag at my mind later on and remind me of how the blog didn't even accomplish its own purpose. On the other hand, even if I do collect all the info on this game and make it all into a great read, I'm sure that new info will roll up right around the corner and make this thing quickly obsolete. But for the sake of the fact that I simply want to write this, I'm ignoring these worries and am about to present you with a total and complete preview for Injustice: Gods Among Us. This will be a one-stop-shop where you can read everything there is to (currently) know about the upcoming fighting game from NetherRealm Studios, the people who made Mortal Kombat. Enjoy.

Note: Gamespot's ridiculous site glitches have messed up most of the text a bit, so it might be bigger than usual. >_>

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The Premise -

Unfortunately, there isn't much known about the plot of the game just yet. All we have confirmed is that a variety of superheroes will be beating the daylights out of each other in some very iconic DC arenas. However, I did happen to read a product description from a website which states that the battle will be fought between Superman and his allies against Batman and his rebels. I'm not quite sure what would cause Batman to rebel against ol' Supes, but presuming that his forces are going to be the bad guys in this scenario, I expect the plot will have to be pretty deep to explain it all. I look forward to seeing how NR could turn an iron-willed hero such as Batman against his usual allies without resorting to something cheesy and stereotypical, such as mind control or "THE RAGE ARGARGAFLASHAFLAS!!1!1" from Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. But then again...I could be totally wrong, and Superman and his forces could be the bad ones, though that would still require just about the same amount of explanation. OR I suppose it's also possible that neither side is obviously good nor evil, which I personally think would be the best option.

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The Characters -

Confirmed characters so far include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Solomon Grundy, Harley Quinn, Nightwing, Cyborg, and Catwoman. The full roster is going to include about 20 characters as far as we know, with a very high chance for DLC additions in the future. In one way or another, Ed Boon (Creative Director at NR) has hinted at the inclusion of both Joker and Hal Jordan's Green Lantern. For the former, he was actually asked about it in an interview, and heavily implied that Joker will be in. For the latter, his hint was more subtle...he posted a picture on a social network of a Green Lantern doll, haha. It's not much to go on, but given the fact that I'm sure he knows that his fans are wanting him to give more Injustice info, it could very well be a sign.

All characters in the game are going to be split into two categories, which are "Gadget" and "Power". These terms are used loosely though, and I predict that we'll probably see a third category pop up for "Agility" at some point, because it's difficult to lump characters such as The Flash into either category. Gadget-based characters like Batman will interact differently with the environments than power-based characters will. For example, let's say there's a car in a particular arena. Superman will be able to pick up the car and smash it on top of his opponent, whereas a character like Batman would be able to grab his opponent and slam his/her head into the car instead. More agile characters like Nightwing are able to vault off of the car to attack or gain a better position in the battle. Each character will also have the ability to activate a super-attack after they build up enough of their attack bar.

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The Presentation -

Mortal Kombat games are known for their excessive violence and gore, their heavy amounts of bloodshed, and their gruesome fatalities. So predictably, some of the very first questions that NR received about Injustice were things like "Will there be fatalities? How bloody is it?". Ed Boon quickly silenced these folks as best as he could by confirming that there won't be any fatalities in Injustice, nor will there be any excessive, bloody gore. Instead, NR is working to make this game more about over-the-top blockbuster action and cinematic quality. They're also working to make the game very easy for fighting game newbs to pick up and play, and still have a good time with their favorite DC characters. Attacks are based on just three buttons for high, middle, and low moves, and there is one character specific button which activates the special ability of whatever character you're using. This is good news for those of us who can't dive deep enough into any fighting game to learn the best combos and the perfect timing necessary to take advantage of every little quirk in the system. However, NR is also working to make the game deep enough to satisfy the more hardcore fighting fans as well, albeit with a slightly less complicated formula than other titles.

In terms of visuals, the developers are providing their own tweaks to each character's appearance and outfits. Batman, for example, reminds me of a more armored version of Christian Bale's Batman in the Christopher Nolan films, though based on what I've heard, he should be easier to understand if he ever says "You'll be in a padded cell forever". And given what NR did in terms of providing alternate outfit options to characters in their latest Mortal Kombat game, I think we can definitely expect to see alternate costumes available for the heroes and villains of Injustice. But to be brutally honest now, I just hope that Warner Bros wouldn't allow them to make any overly-slutty outfits for the female characters, because unfortunately NR has that habit. Fingers crossed about that.

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The Footage -

Enough with the talking for now, I'm going to show you all some clips of the game, and in some cases I'll point out where we could find possible hints from NR. The interviews aren't really in order of date, so...yeah, just make do, haha.

Announcement Trailer
Nightwing and Cyborg Reveal Trailer
Superman Vs The Flash Gameplay
Batman, Superman, The Flash, and Solomon Grundy Super-Moves
Interview 1
Interview 2

Now, for the info about the vids that you might not know. Firstly, Batman's super-move is no longer the lame one that you can see in the video showcasing those moves. His updated move can be seen at about the 0:37 second mark of the Nightwing and Cyborg trailer. Nextly, in the first interview at about 6:20, you can hear Ed Boon questioned about the inclusion of the Joker. He pretty much confirms that he will be in the game. And finally, in the second interview at about the 0:55 second mark, the guy from NR begins talking about the characters in the game and when he starts to list them, he very slightly stumbles at the end when he begins to say "A..." and then cuts himself short. Some people take this as a slip that he was about to reveal a character beginning with "A" such as Aquaman, but honestly I think it's a long stretch to say that.

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Final Thoughts -

I've never really been a big fan of fighting games. I enjoyed the cartoony nature of Mortal Kombat Trilogy on my PS1 back in the day, and also the occasional round of Street Fighter 2, but other than that, the genre was largely off my radar. MK Vs DC didn't really change that, although I enjoyed it. I'm really anxious for Injustice: Gods Among Us, though, and mainly I think it's because NR is finally moving away from the old formula of their MK games and making something fresh, and it just happens to be almost exactly the game that I would choose to make if I was them. We still have quite a while to go before release day, given that NR has only given us a window of the year 2013, but I expect that it should at least arrive in the first half of the year. Until then, I'll be revisiting MK Vs DC to quench my desires and keeping an eye out for any new announcements.

I hope you're enjoyed the read and perhaps found something helpful. And if not...well I appreciate the fact that you still read it, and I hope you appreciate all the effort I put into it, including the fact that I had to fight against the awful glitches of this site all the way through. Thanks for reading, please comment, and God bless.