Creatively, the developer is challenged to venture out of its comfort zone and build a fighting experience that is a marked departure from its famous spine-ripping franchise, but not so much that it completely alienates its fans. In other words, they are trying to make a game that will make people say ‘it feels like a Netherrealm game’, rather than ‘it feels like a Mortal Kombat game’.
And Injustice is looking like it will accomplish that challenge, at the very least. For a start, Netherrealm has removed the block button, instead using a more traditional method for blocking (holding away from the opponent). There are no ‘rounds’ to speak of now, with each player having two health bars that seamlessly transition from one to another when depleted.
Characters are split between Power and Gadget type, with each holding advantages and weaknesses over the other. Interactive items in the background can be used in different ways using the controller triggers - Batman will bounce off a car in order to avoid being cornered in a stage, while Superman will just pick up the car and smash it on a foe’s head.
Add the Wager system - which allows players to ‘bet’ segments of their Super Gauge against one another during a clash, with the winner inflicting additional damage - and you have a game that not only looks definitively like a unfiltered DC universe game, but one that looks to be faithful in gameplay too.
Hector Sanchez: Well, the biggest thing was the expectation, right? When you put ‘Mortal Kombat’ in the title, there was an expectation of how the game should play and what it should involve. The blood, the gore, the fighting styles...
But taking Mortal Kombat out of the equation and just focusing on the DC Universe has opened up a number of design possibilities that might have been considered blasphemous if we tried to incorporate them into MK. Removing the block button, changing the rounds system, taking away an attack button and just having medium and hard attacks, no finishing moves... We were able to make a game that felt fresh to us, and allowed us to try and change our gameplay design approach.
That was the biggest lesson, really. But I guess another side of it would be going back to 2D, which we did on the last Mortal Kombat game. MK vs DC Universe was more 3D-based, so for a lot of the moves you had to pay attention and accommodate for being able to move in and out of the space. Now, since we’ve gone back to the more traditional 2D plane, we can incorporate classic fighting game elements such as zoning, corner pressure and things like that.
Hector Sanchez: It’s interesting. You know, I’m a traditionalist, personally. I just love the 2D fighting style. I enjoy 3D games such as Tekken and Dead or Alive, but I grew up playing Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, so I’m definitely part of the 2D generation. That’s where my heart is always going to be, I think.
But as to the evolution of fighting games, it will likely expand in terms of the number of features available online, and the different games modes that can be played. Being able to organise tournaments worldwide, where people can just hop online and track them, is where the next evolution of fighting games is going.
Although, I’m sure that there’s a kid in his home bunker in Tel Aviv right now plotting the next breakthrough step in the genre [laughs], but for us right now I think we’ve found our voice. We like going back to 2D, and once that starts getting boring we’ll try to take that next step and change it up.
Hector Sanchez: It was a good challenge. It was something that we anticipated and wanted. We all love MK, obviously - it’s our baby - but it’s refreshing to take a step back and not have to worry about what Scorpion and Sub Zero are going to do next.
Having the ability to create for DC was a dream come true, really. We did it before in MK vs DC Universe, but we weren’t able to explore some of the more niche characters in the license. We had Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern... the big hitters. But for Injustice we were able to explore Solomon Grundy, Harley Quinn, Black Adam - all these secondary and tertiary characters that might not have had a space in a game where you have a limited roster. With the addition of DLC in the future we’ll be able to explore even more characters.