Midway through May of last year, NetherRealm Studio’s second full-blown DC Comics fighting game hit store shelves and rightfully was praised for improving on nearly every front compared to the original iteration known as “Injustice”. With a promised nine DLC characters across three packs (and potentially more), NetherRealm looks to give gamers something to keep them coming back for more. Today I review “Fighter Pack 3” featuring one of the most impressive offerings in a fighting game ever.
Atom
The first offering from the potential final “Injustice 2” “Fighter Pack” brings a little chemistry into the Multiverse. Upon first seeing the Atom in-game model one wouldn’t expect the average-sized character to be so fast & tricky. But the master of science is also a master of trickery; mostly based around his character power where Atom transforms into a fairy-like light that, depending on what face button the player taps, will pull off a lightning-fast attack that can lift an opponent as his character meter quickly depletes to set up combos and even throws. If the player stops the meter before it empties Atom will be able to quickly follow up with an attack (be it a random strike or an actual special maneuver) before the opponent can even register that Atom is back to normal size. Wait too long and Atom will be the one stunned from his character power meter depleting. Depending on the gear setup, Atom can use his character power to go from simply shrinking himself to pulling objects out of the ground that can just be simple projectiles to electrified traps. Beyond his powers are Atom’s supplementary weapons including a Blaster gun that stuns, elevates, shrinks & even captures opponents upon connection, and chemical compounds in test tubes that when Atom drops on the ground can cause hazardous situations for characters who step into the liquid including health depletion. And that’s not mentioning the absolute cool factor when the player crouches with Atom the character shrinks.
Similar to other mid-to-short range characters in this game, Atom suffers from both a lack of long-range attacks and a default ability to string together combos with special maneuvers against characters that can keep him on the outside. Thanks to Atom’s character power he can close the distance a lot better than other characters limited by range, but a patient opponent can easily punish him for shrinking. Atom’s overall attacks are also pretty weak and are meant to play off of setups instead of being the setups themselves such as his ground pound attack where Atom increases in size. Atom is a very unique character and one of the best all-around fighters on the roster, but does take some work to understand how to use him to his fullest potential.
Rating: A
Enchantress
The being possessing archaeologist June Moone and fought The Suicide Squad is the second DLC offering from “Fighter Pack 3”. As expected, Enchantress’ special attacks are based around her ability to utilize her supernatural powers to fly, teleport and literally rip parts of an adversary’s soul from their body to reenergize her in the middle of battle (“Astral Soul Rip”) – the latter being a maneuver that can be the perfect way to end the simple string combo anyone can pull off with the punch buttons & a well timed back-forward direction shift. One of her best special attacks is actually a defensive measure. “Spirit of Protection” temporarily blocks any damage to her health bar as it’s diverted to her meter bar; proving to be the perfect tide shifter when being pressed with long combo strings and teleporting isn’t an option or her character as near the brink of death. Her “Hell’s Gate” pulls a Jade from “Mortal Kombat” as it can deflect projectile attack for a ricochet effect against her opposition. Enchantress’ character power also plays into her overall character depiction as she summons a creature that’ll mindlessly attack the enemy unless struck first – a power that recharges pretty quickly. To top it off is her super move that sees Enchantress uses the soul of her opponent to beat up her adversary!
Though she has powers to call upon demons and rip souls, Enchantress can’t be considered a long-range fighter. In actuality, a majority of her offense depends on both short-to-mid-range distance and the player taking their time as Enchantress is definitely a counter-based character. While pulling off her special moves are rather easy, actually putting them together in combos will definitely take some practice; meaning she’s not an easy pick up & play type of character who relies more on defensive pacing than being a magical brute. Even Enchantress’ teleporting doesn’t cover enough of the screen to close the distance full-screen if pinned against the wall by long-range characters. Using the ground-punching demon hand from out of the sky is really her only long-range attack that doesn’t have the largest hit area. And her curse attack, while effective; takes a long time to set up (though can be a great trap as the curse can be stop midway and catch an incoming enemy) Enchantress is definitely the type of character that is hard, but gratifying to play when taking on characters of similar range or those who are more aggressive than not.
Rating: B
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
When it comes to DLC offerings in “Injustice 2” it’s hard to say who is the most surprising until the announcement all four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were coming to the “Injustice 2” Multiverse for battle against the best of the best DC has to offer. Not since 1993 have “Heroes in a Half-shell” been involved in a fighting game, but they most certainly don’t feel out of place twenty-five years after their last 2D one-on-one digital appearance. And just like their previous TMNT game experiences, all four characters are playable with similar moves & traits including a cannonball strike great for wake ups a la Kano from “Mortal Kombat” with a few distinct options to separate them from one another. More than likely the player will choose Leonardo as their starter turtle, discovering his mid-to-close range attacks based around his swords are both moderately powerful & fast. Leo’s character power sees him call in his three brothers (one at a time depending on what meter is depleted and what direction the player is pressing) for a quick assist with Donatello’s being the most useful interference as his overhead bash pops an unsuspecting opponent off the ground that can begin or continue a perfectly-timed combo string. For long range fighters, Donatello is the essential turtle as he not only has his trademark staff to keep characters at bay (or to toss them into a juggle scenario), but also machinery that can begin combos from mid-to-long range as well as place traps that absorb projectiles. Michelangelo feels initially limited by the short range nature of his nunchucks, but playing around with the orange bandana-wearing pizza lover it becomes obvious he’s a pressure character similar to The Flash that can push an opponent across the screen mostly due to the usage of his skateboard that can provide an overhead pop-up strike, a low trip (perfect for wake ups) or even a full-screen projectile. Last, but not least is Raphael. While Leonardo benefits from his character power, Raphael is utterly dependent on it to be the most powerful turtle of the four. Getting hyped, Raphael’s attack power is temporarily boosted that can easily make him a terror with his powered-up auto-combo.
Not surprisingly, using the turtles isn’t the easiest experience especially when it comes to Michelangelo. Being something of a trickster style character built on 50-50 mix-ups, having fun with Mikey right off the bat is impossible and could turn off players from even using him due to whiffed combos aplenty. Leo comes across as the starter turtle that is rudimentary in execution no matter the skill level. Don is a lot slower than his brothers and has the ability to be stopped mid-combo a lot easier than the other three. And Raphael is solely for players who want to make the fight as personal as possible with a lack of anti-zoning techniques. But for all their flaws, the turtles are a perfect example of experimentation & balancing mostly done right in a fighting game while giving players the chance to get nearly four different styles for the price of less than two if someone just purchases the TMNT set.
Rating: B
“Injustice 2’s” “Fighter Pack 3” is available for Playstation 4, Xbox One & PC.
