NetherRealm Studios, which released the reboot of Mortal Kombat, seeks to usher in a new era of fighting style video games with their highly anticipated Injustice: Gods Among Us. No longer do players have to worry about good versus evil in contemporary terms, players are encouraged to embrace their inner bloodlust. Drawing upon the ultimate fighter games, Injustice combines the bloodlust fighter-addicts long for with the added strategic appeal of its interactive scenery. Not only are players welcome to bash their opponents (other heroes and villains from the DC Universe who have forsaken their previous alliances) mercilessly with light, medium and heavy attacks, they are also encouraged to hone tactical awareness through the game’s ability to utilize and, when being approached by the enemy, avoid items in the landscape which have been presented to help inflict maximum damage during the brawl. While the game can be challenging in its objectives, it is designed to be a great game for beginners due to the lack of complex combinations. The end goal is to just go at it with other superheroes.

Only characters from the DC Universe have been featured on the game. Each has their own unique signature moves and abilities. The special moves of each character are, as with the three-option attack and two-option defense moves, simple to execute and raw in their power. In addition to unbridled carnage, players are also privy to a fairly involved and exciting storyline, in which Superman, after killing Lois Lane and their unborn child, attacks Joker violently in front of Batman. As Superman attempts to achieve virtual global domination through a new world order, Batman finds a way to transport heroes from an alternate reality to assist him in the takedown of Superman. Will he ultimately be defeated?

Available on iOS, PlayStation 3, Wii U and XBox 360, Injustice was released worldwide for iOS on April 3, 2013. For PlayStation 3, Wii U and XBox 360, the game was released in North America on April 16, 2013, in Australia the following day, in Europe on the 19th of April and not until June 9, 2013 in Japan. Prior to the release, a 10 week long marketing campaign, Injustice Battle Arena, was introduced online. Fans were able to watch match ups and vote on the character they wanted to succeed. Sales tend to hover around $59.99 for the basic edition of the game. Battle editions of the game can exceed $149.99.

The one-on-one battles are two dimensional, but the characters and scenery are designed in a 3-D manner, rendering the game 2.5-D. All in all, the graphics are elaborate enough to keep players interested and appeased. Music is effective in keeping adrenaline pumping. It has been rated T, meaning the rating is for teens and up due to the violent nature of the game. While the storyline, characters, accessible powers and layouts have been widely praised by critics, the cutaway scenes did endure some harsh criticism for their roughness on gaming consoles, while some latency issues remained to be a concern for online gamers.