Injustice: Gods Among Us

X-Box 360, Playstation 3, Wii U

If the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise is about seemingly endless combos and perfectly executing a series of attacks, Injustice is about Batman and Joker beating the crap out of each other. NetherRealm Studios does a great job of giving DC characters a set of moves and gameplay style that feels natural and true to the comics, so that each of the 24 characters in this fighting game plays like a badass who can go toe-to-toe with anyone on the roster. The familiar fighting arenas—such as the Hall of Justice and Wayne Manor—bring players further into the DC world and contain multiple tiers, and interactive and destructible environments. The art style pulls everything together with a realistic feel to the super-powered antics that still allow the DC universe to run wild. While many gamers will immediately jump into the multiplayer, Injustice has one of the best single-player campaigns of any fighting game. The biggest disappointment is the alternate costumes. Too many are subtle variations on the fighters’ original costumes, so while they maintain the overall style of the game, it would have been nice to see more costumes pulled from the Silver Age comics, animated series or films. Injustice may not end any comic-book fans’ “who would win between …” debates, but it’ll make the arguments much more fun.