Reviews// Injustice: Gods Among Us

Super moves are ridiculous and fun. Available once you've filled up your 'super meter', they'll knock out about half an opponent's energy bar and are designed to add spectacle to proceedings. A favourite of mine is The Flash's move, which involves him running around the entire planet in order to put some speed behind a punch.

Another great touch is the interactive levels. Not only are there elements you can hit opponents with or smash them into, the levels are also multi-tiered. If you nail the right combination of buttons while at the right spot, you'll move to another part of the stage, dealing out a lot of damage as you do so. The feature provides another way of doling out damage without throwing yet more combos into the mix.

Rounds have been done away with, being replaced with dual health bars. When one is drained you're down for a moment, but that's all there is to it. It's a nice streamlining move that suits the action/adventure vibe well.

Battles mode, which I mentioned earlier, is a more traditional affair. You work through a series of opponents with very little by way of cutscenes to get in the way. Adding interest are options such as 'survivor', in which you just have your two energy bars with which to try to beat a number of opponents, and 'Poisoned', in which your health is constantly draining due to... well, the clue's in the name.

The other single-player mode is 'S.T.A.R. Labs'. Similar to Mortal Kombat's 'Challenge Tower', it sets you off completing a series of odd little challenges such as trying to keep Superman in a beam of light while he fights. The mode basically functions as a series of mini-games and is diverting enough, though it won't keep you chewing like the other modes or the multiplayer.

Multiplayer comes in local and online flavours and revolves around straightforward 1V1 matches and a king of the hill mode, in which players queue up to fight and the winner stays on. The wait period wasn't too painful when I was on, although it could have been better in some instances. But I was playing in the middle of the day.

King of the hill is a nice idea, but even though you watch the match in progress while you wait the minutes sat staring at the screen will put many off. Especially if you're not that great to start with, and as you watch you realise you're waiting around for someone to cream you.

Presentation-wise Injustice does pretty well. Given the somewhat dark tone of the story, NetherRealms has opted for a grim 'n' gritty approach in keeping with the Arkham games. The 'superheroes in games look better in armour' lesson has perhaps been learned a little too well, with one or two characters (The Flash) looking a bit laden down, but for the most part the character design is solid. It tends to lift from the comics without being slavish about it.

Movement is well done as well, with animation in keeping with characters' abilities and styles. Batman's particularly impressive – there are moments when he shifts or grapples that have clearly been modelled on Christian Bale's performance in the films.

Injustice is, all in all, a success. It strikes the balance between being faithful to the source material and providing a beat-'em-up that does what it should well. There's certainly plenty there for comics fans, and it's accessible if you can't remember combos with more than four button-presses without feeling dumbed down.

Pros:
+ A careful, faithful treatment of the source material
+ Plays to the strengths and spirit of the property without sacrificing mechanics
+ Loads of content
+ Accessible

Cons:
- Balancing might upset diehard comics fans
- Dialogue can get a little hammy

SPOnG Score: 9/10