It’s no secret that NetherRealm’s superhero fighter, Injustice 2, is an outstanding game, hell, we gave it a sparkling 9 out of 10 in our review of the vanilla game. It took the silky smooth yet fast paced fighting gameplay from the first game, Gods Among Us, threw in a wacky yet entertaining story, and injected more heroes and villains from the DC universe and whacked in a refreshing ladder mode called Multiverse, as well as introducing loot. The loot system allowed you to kit out your roster of heroes in different armour and weaponry to buff them up and make them look better than just in plain old tights and spandex. The entire game was just so much fun. Countless ways to pulverize your opponents, combos and special moves and finally finishing them off with an ultimate attack that was not only spectacular to watch but devastating to your opponents’ health bar. They served as worthy substitutes to Mortal Kombat’s X-ray moves and brutal Fatalities.
So why buy the Legendary Edition of Injustice 2? Well, that answer lies in its diverse selection of downloadable characters that comes included with it. They may seem like a weird choice of additions to the already strong roster, but each character serves a purpose and fits in superbly with the likes of Batman, Superman and Green Arrow. So, who do you get in addition to the 28-man starting line-up?
As well as the extended Multiverse mode, more generous Mother Boxes and new loot that was added to the base game as a free update, in the Legendary Edition you get a whopping 10 extra characters previously released as DLC, including the pre-order bonus character Darkseid. Darkseid stands in an intimidating way, which is his most striking feature. He slowly walks towards you with his arms folded before using a zig-zag red laser incorporated into his moveset. He’s a fantastic character to play as, a bad guy who truly makes you feel all-powerful. Other DC additions are Atom, who is DC’s version of Ant Man, just not as cool, the ever-haunting Enchantress, the enigmatic and striking Starfire with her flame-conjuring abilities, and Black Manta is a strange addition due to his unusual appearance. He sports an abnormally large helmet reminiscent of a bug; he is fun to play, and although he has enhanced strength in the comics, that obviously can’t be the case here, but he has water-based special moves, such as his Rising Tide move, which puts him closer to his opponent no matter where they are. Then there’s Red Hood, whom I consider to be the weakest member of the roster, but not as far as strength is concerned, quite the contrary, but his movesets which allow him to use his guns and martial arts abilities aren’t nearly as satisfying to use as any special moves the other guys can use. He does look cool though.
NetherRealm added characters outside of the comic book universe too, just like in Gods Among Us, and their more recent Mortal Kombat games, and they are awesome to play as, one of which basically has you play as 4 characters in one, but I’ll come to that later. First up are the Mortal Kombat crossover characters. In Injustice: Gods Among Us, the fiery spectre Scorpion made a worthy appearance, in Injustice 2, his rival Sub-Zero enters the fray alongside the protector of Earth Realm, Raiden the thunder god. Both characters are a welcome treat for MK fans. Sub-Zero takes on a more assassin-like appearance with a hood over his head, whilst Raiden has cybernetics on his face. Their moves are all here though. Sub-Zero can use his freeze abilities, and Raiden’s electric attacks and his torpedo push moves are fantastic fan service for MK boffins, but I feel that these 2 places could have been filled by stranger yet worthwhile characters. Hellboy fits in perfectly with the cast. His badass personality, cracking one-liners and a strong moveset, including using his Right Hand of Doom and his Devil Revolver, are at his disposal. These are all strong and worthy characters to add to the already rock-solid roster, but there is one, or should I say four, characters that really take the bacon (or pizza).
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are the last guys you’d expect in a NetherRealm fighting game full of comic book characters, but they are by far the best and most fun of the newbies to play with. Defaulting at Leonardo with his dual katanas, you’re able to select any one of the four Turtles by changing their weapons in the Character Customisation mode, either nunchaku for Michelangelo, deadly sai for Raphael and staff for Donatello. Each one has their own moveset to cater to the weapon chosen but also acts as a different Turtle complete with their respective personalities. Everything you know about the Turtles are here, their skateboards, love of pizza and their catchphrases, such as “Cowabunga”, and these features make them a joy to play as. They come together to unleash a barrage of team-up moves as their ultimate attack before all squishing your opponent between their shells to finish them off. Adding the Turtles was a fantastic choice for NetherRealm, they fit in perfectly and are littered with the humour they are known for.
Injustice 2: Legendary Edition is the ultimate package to one of the best fighting games in existence. All the cast are here, including the 10 DLC characters as well as special premium skins and an enhanced Multiverse mode. The wealth of modes in the base game mixed with the updates and expansive loot system make Injustice 2: Legendary Edition a whopping 10 out of 10.
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date: 27th March 2018
