Hey Speed Readers,

As the latest Justice League video game, Injustice: Gods Among Us (due out in 2013) gets further along in development, Ed Boon and the folks at NetherRealm studios are keeping us in the loop with this recent bit of extended gameplay footage. So far we’ve been privy to various bits of videos, some wallpapers and art of the confirmed characters featured in the title. Now Ed Boon via IGN brings us 15 minutes of gameplay featuring The Flash vs. Superman (As well as Grundy and Batman which can be seen HERE!

Some pics courtesy of IGN via Screencap:

From the character select screen. It looks like we will be getting a total of 12 Heroes and 12 Villains for a combined total of 24 characters. Unless they are already included in this build I could see us getting a couple more characters via DLC (Download Content). At least this time around all the characters should be DC-related.

Flash warming up before the battle with Superman. Flash kind of moves like a boxer when he is warming up before the fight. Lots of energy. You can kind of see the cockiness coming of off the Flash just by looking at this pose. For the record I am really liking the suit so far.

The Flash while doing some kind of dash move. The game has some awesome animations so far for the Scarlet Speedster and I’m betting there is still some tweaking and tightening up to do in that respect. I fully expect this game to look excellent. The Flash also takes a few cues from the latest Flash costume redesign and features a lot of glowing seams and cackling energy.

A look at some more details on the cowl and the suit straight on. I’m hoping that they also decide to include alternate uniforms like the classic iterations and even the New 52 designs if they have to. I really just want some bonus stuff! A lot more bonus stuff than last time. Due to Midway Studios folding after the release of Mortal Kombat vs. DC all of the planned DLC was scrapped and we were left with a pretty bare bones game with barely any replay value. Hopefully they remedy that this time around in a big way.

A really close up view of the cowl. For some reason this suit reminds me of a combination of Wally’s modified suit from JLA #53:

And the New 52 design:

With a splash of the armored suit from the first DC Universe Online trailer:

The more I see the suit in action though, the more I dig it. I really just wish the game would get here sooner. Cannot wait to see what rolls out of Comic-Con this weekend.

Flash revving up and preparing to do a super move (The Infinite Mass Punch is in the game!).

Some other Flash notes from the video:

• The Flash has Wally’s Infinite Mass Punch (@ 6:19)
• Every stance looks unique so far and The Flash has his appropriately speedy moves and mannerisms. The fighting style of the Flash also seems to stand out a bit more than when we last saw him in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe by Midway Studios (Now NetherRealm Studios).
• Two different kinds of characters are known to exist; Power and Gadgets. Power is more for characters like Superman and Grundy while Flash and Batman fall into the gadgets camp (I would imagine that Quinn and Wonder Woman are gadgets and power respectively).
• Just about everything in the environment is interactive and different characters interact with objects in different ways according to whether they fall into the Gadget or Strength character-type. For example there is a part in the video where barrels appear in the Flash vs. Superman fight. Superman can grab the barrels and chuck them at an opponent with little effort while a weaker character like Flash will roll them at high speed instead. I love that they are getting little details like this right already. I wonder if they will go even further in some cases and add character-specific animations.
• The stages themselves seem like they each have places where you can smash into at least two other areas/levels in the stage. It is about time we are getting these expansive environments in fighting games. Yeah we’ve had leveled stages in fighting games for years but for some reason it feels different in this one. Although the only fighting games I’ve played in recent years are hours and hours of Tekken, Marvel vs. Capcom and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. I haven’t played Soul Calibur in ages, Dead Or Alive and Virtua Fighter don’t really interest me and don’t get me started on Street Fighter. The expanded stages also make the gameplay feel more like superheroes are slugging it out as opposed to regular semi-super folks. Causing wanton collateral and property damage is such a huge part of super-heroics that they’ve had comics about the people that clean up after these lugs. It’s a big deal.
• There are at least 15 stages including the Fortress of Solitude and the Bat-Cave which both feature multiple levels. Who else is hoping for a fully realized, fully destructible Flash Museum with multiple levels of Flash goodness? We could have the first level with the Flash exhibit, maybe another for the Cosmic Treadmill (which could be interactive and do something awesome) and an exhibit for the Rogues just for some awesome easter egg action. They could even make some of the Rogue weapons interactive, like Captain Cold’s gun or Heat Wave’s flamethrower.

So who is still anxiously awaiting Injustice: Gods Among Us? Any fans of the armored suit? Any detractors? Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

–Devin ‘Flash’ Johnson

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