Warner Bros. has revealed Injustice 2, the non-subtitled sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us, with a brand-new trailer showing a glimpse of the new roster of characters to join the superhero brawl. And more importantly, it gives a sneak peek at the game's new gear system that, according to a press release, will "affect how characters will look, fight, and develop in Injustice 2."
Asking players to "build the ultimate version of your favorite DC characters," NetherRealm Studios will be providing various forms of equipment that will customize and level-up characters. This might seem to be a natural progression to the three character variations provided in Mortal Kombat X, but it's still unusual for a number of reasons.
First off, the emphasis on the word "develop" suggests that gear will impact how your character's vital stats, combos, and special skills will grow over time as they earn experience. If equipment is involved in fighting games at all, it tends to bestow a temporary effect, whereas this new gear system seems to be a deeper RPG-like loot system.
Second, gear will apply "across a variety of game modes," which leads me to believe that your character's growth can be done throughout the game. The only question is whether this will apply to versus matches, in particularly the competitive arena where enhancements like these are usually nixed in favor of character balance (e.g. the gem system in Street Fighter X Tekken). Perhaps we'll see an option in versus mode for both geared characters and non-geared characters.
Aside from that is the new story, which continues from the last Injustice, with Batman attempting to restore order while resisting the potential rebirth of Superman's regime. But then, an external threat will appear that might force these two forces to work together for the greater good. Yes, that sounds a lot like the plot of Batman v Superman, for better or worse.
Injustice 2 will swoop onto PS4 and Xbox One (no PC release yet) in 2017. We'll know much more once Warner Bros. shows the game in action at E3 2016.
