Gear System
A new gear system has been added into Injustice 2 that allows you to improve your characters with gear that affects their abilities. You get the gear from Mother Boxes that are earned in-game in a variety of ways. The gear you earn improves characters in four areas: strength, ability, defense, and health.
Not only will you receive perks for equipping a full set of a single type of gear, but certain gear provides other augmentations, such as the ability to earn more in-game currency from fights or reduce damage received from stage transitions. Gear will also link to classic versions of characters and famous storylines from their respective comic books. The drop rate for high-quality gear is pretty frequent, so you’ll always be switching up what you have to find the best combination as you play through Injustice 2.
New Characters
The first Injustice game featured most of the well-known DC comic characters but the roster has been beefed up for the second installment. 15 new playable characters are included in the game, as well as two new premier skins. These premier skins give your character a whole new look and even change their dialogue lines to match their new form, too. There are also more characters and skins available for download as DLC.
Speaking to Gamespot, NetherRealm boss Ed Boon said, “there will be some somewhat obscure characters on the game’s roster. The first Injustice game covered all the high points as it relates to well-known DC characters, with the sequel diving deeper into some new ones you may not know as much about.” The full list of new playable characters is:
- Atrocitus
- Black Canary
- Blue Beetle
- Brainiac
- Captain Cold
- Cheetah
- Deadshot
- Doctor Fate
- Firestorm
- Gorilla Grodd
- Poison Ivy
- Robin/Nightwing
- Scarecrow
- Supergirl
- Swamp Thing
Multiverse
Injustice 2’s Multiverse mode is very similar to Mortal Kombat X‘s Living Tower setup. It sees you take on certain enemies in a shorter story that is separate to that of the main campaign. You will visit an ever-changing series of parallel worlds from the DC Universe to fight alternate versions of the heroes and villains from the game.
Before starting, you will be set the challenge with various handicaps and goals. The sets of battles, and the enemies you fight will frequently rotate to offer new challenges and combat variety. Each planet has between one and three objectives for you to complete, and are all set to expire in varying amounts of time. The tower challenges in Mortal Kombat X rotated weekly, so they may do the same in Injustice 2. Multiverse offers something extra for Injustice fans, that do not wish to test their skills online, to do after finishing the main story mode.
Guilds
Guilds is another of the new modes to be added to Injustice 2. The new Guild system capitalizes on the theme of alliances that runs through the game’s story mode and brings players together to complete challenges. You can join guilds of up to 50 players and, as a team, you complete challenges to work towards a place at the top of the online leaderboards.
The challenges will be set weekly and will change, allowing your guild to complete other challenges. By completing these challenges, you will earn more Mother Boxes containing gear to improve your characters. Guilds offer something extra to online play that is a little deeper than standard online fights.
Branching Story
NetherRealm Studios has always been ahead of the fighting game competition when it comes to storytelling. The stories that the Mortal Kombat games have told have always been bold and over-the-top, and Injustice 2 is no different. The difference with this sequel, compared to the first game, is that the plot features branching storylines that can be altered by player choices.
“We always want to bring something fresh, something new, so we are adding some new elements to the story mode. There’s going to be a little bit more autonomy. Some player choice that’s built into this game,” NetherRealm said. What happens to the characters can be changed by what the player chooses to do and the ending is likely to surprise you.