Last week DC, Warner Bros Interactive, and Netherrealm Studios surprised fans of 2013's "Injustice: Gods Among Us" with not one, but TWO special "Injustice 2" live streams. The first was on Thursday, April 27, and the second on Friday the 28th.
On Thursday's stream, we got a look at the new "Multiverse Mode" coming to the game. At first glance, it looks similar to the “Living Towers” of Mortal Kombat X and that's not a bad thing at all. Living Towers expanded the single-player content for MKX and the Multiverse Mode promises to do the same. With Netherrealm promising “amazing gear” for any players who find their way traversing this mode, it is one of my most anticipated features.
Thursday’s stream also gave viewers their first official look at the ruler of Apokolips, the alpha and the omega, Darkseid. Complete with overpowering strength, para-demons, boom tubes, and Omega Beams, Darkseid looks like he’s going to be a serious threat for players of all skill levels. Eagle-eyed viewers will also have noticed that Darkseid’s announcement trailer included a look at a new stage that takes place on Brainiac’s Skull Ship.
Not to be outdone, Friday’s stream opened with a trailer of the last character on the roster, Clown Prince of Crime himself - The Joker. Joker returns with a lot of his original moveset, but some of his moves have also been updated. For example, the infamous crowbar returns, but Joker can now run across the screen holding the crowbar before he wails on his opponent. Joker also gets a new super move which is reminiscent of the torture he inflicted on Jason Todd.
Friday’s stream was also packed with special guests such as Netherrealm’s very own Tyler Lansdown, Nerdist News host Jessica Chobot, Echo Cullum, who plays Mr. Terrific on Arrow, Scott Porter, voice of Damien Wayne, Malcolm Goodwin and Robert Buckley, from CW’s iZombie, and Machinima’s Chloe Dykstra joined the DC All Access team to play in a casual tournament. While there were some technical hiccups, the overall tournament was very entertaining to watch and had some genuinely hilarious moments.
Comic book legend, Jim Lee joined the stream to briefly discuss what happens within the comic book tie-in and what fans can look forward to in the coming months. I won’t get into any spoilers, but I can tell you that things are heating up and the story is full of twists.
Even though Thursday's stream gave viewers the first Darkseid trailer, Friday gave fans a look at Darkseid gameplay. Darkseid himself is a domineering force of power as he stands with his hands behind his back and towers over most opponents. He can summon parademons through boom tubes, which will kamikaze enemies or shoot projectiles. He can also use the boom tubes to teleport around the arena throwing his opponents off guard. And what would Darkseid be without his omega beams? The world will never know because he has beams for every situation. He can send them high or low, and he even has one that comes up behind his opponent. His super is one of the best I’ve seen in any game. Darkseid turns his back on the opponent, chuckles to himself and then fires off an omega beam that takes his opponent into space and hurls them through a series of asteroids before slamming against Darkseid’s giant hand. No description does it justice, it’s a true must see moment, but I’ve seen it a few times now and it never gets old.
Fans waiting eagerly to know when they can grab Injustice 2 on the go need not wait too much longer, Netherrealm announced today that the mobile tie-in will release on May 16th. Players can register now to play as Catwoman on release. You can also link your Injustice 2 and Injustice 2 mobile accounts for exclusive items, including a skin for Cyborg.
These streams were a tall glass of water for fans thirsting after more news of Injustice 2. And hopefully, they drank deeply. We need not wait much longer though, Injustice 2 releases for Playstation 4 and Xbox One on May 16th.