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'Injustice: Gods Among Us' Demo Impressions

The demo is out today on XBL and PSN. Come find out what Gregg thinks about it!

Injustice: Gods Among Us is two weeks away, but today we -- we being Americans with XBLA or PSN -- are lucky enough to get a demo (it'll be out tomorrow for everyone else). It's no secret I've been extremely excited for the game, but now that I've had an extended hands-on experience with the fighter, am I still optimistic? Read on to find out, friends.

So it begins...
So it begins...

Prior to this demo, I only had the opportunity to play one quick match at New York Comic-Con (against none other than Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero). If you're familiar with NetherRealm's last effort (Mortal Kombat 9), then you know this is a game that doesn't benefit button mashers. It's not as fast-paced or hectic as games like Marvel vs. Capcom, but it plants a key focus on a unique combos for each character and, of course, juggling. To truly master a character, it's going to take a lot of practice. Because of this, it was a little off-putting to see the limited options the demo immediately presented. You can do a small single player ladder or local multiplayer which is what I expected, but when it comes to options, you can't even view the general controller layout or have access to a basic training mode. However, just like the studio's other games, you can pause to get a full list of special moves, combos and basic attacks. So if you're a perfectionist like me, odds are you're going to spend a lot of time paused when you're testing out the characters for the first time. But if you lack patience and think you can get away with spamming buttons, you're probably gonna have a bad time.

Protip: Don't go easy on Doomsday or he'll pummel you through the Earth.
Protip: Don't go easy on Doomsday or he'll pummel you through the Earth.

While this demo won't hold your hand and teach you how to dive into its universe, figuring out the basics isn't challenging and it's not long before you'll be connecting combos. The feeling of studying a few combos and then dishing them out against the likes of Doomsday is immensely satisfying and had me grinning like a total idiot. There's only three playable characters here but each bring a drastically different play style to the table. Wonder Woman is without question the most challenging to use because you can switch between equipping her lasso and sword. Based on which one is being used, she has an entirely different set of standard attacks, combos and special moves. Out of this trio, she's easily the hardest to master if you want to fully utilize her variety of moves, but switching between the weapons to dish out all kinds of pain was a real treat. Batman and Lex Luthor clearly focus on gadgets, but as you'd expect, Batman is far faster and more fluid while Lex is slower yet dishes out more damaging attacks. In just one match for each, I was able to memorize the basics for both characters and, before I knew it, I was having a great time smacking around the A.I. I won't lie, being Batman is incredibly entertaining once you learn to tie his moves together. Doomsday, I know you should wreck me, but man, using a grappling line and then kicking you into next week is way too fun.

Yes, it's disappointing there's only three characters and one stage, but it's still ridiculously pleasing and part is me is happy the demo's so limited. It's thrilling to see the vicious stage hazards or successfully land a juggle for the first time, so I'm glad this is essentially a tease because it successfully makes me even more excited to experience everything else the game has to offer. That said, one downside is you're forced to watch a fairly long cinematic every time you beat the single player ladder. This can grow tiring if you don't have a buddy for local multiplayer and the ladder's your only option. All things considered, that's a fairly minor complaint.

Overall, I'm thoroughly pleased with this demo. The combat is energetic and, once you get good with a character, the slugfests become hugely satisfying. Sure, the graphics aren't going to impress, but we've known what this game looks like for quite some time now and it still does a more than adequate job making the more absurd moves a blast to witness. Did you download the demo, and if so, what do you think so far? Additionally, who's your favorite to use out of the three provided characters? Sound off about the demo below!

Gregg Katzman is a freelance writer for Comic Vine and IGN Entertainment. This is the part where he shamelessly plugs his Google+ and Twitter page in hopes of getting a new follower or two.

64 Comments

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Deranged Midget

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Completely agreed! The lack of characters makes you only more anticipated for the full game! And while the different combat system might put new comers off at first, take a little time to learn the basics and once you learn how to pull off some insane combo's which look and feel incredibly fluid on screen, you'll be grinning like a mad-man because nothing will make you feel better than putting another character's face in the dirt!

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Tellumo

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Edited By Tellumo

Honestly I think the game is far too rigid, the learning curve will immediately throw off unfamiliar players, the characters fighting styles leave much to be desired and overall the game feels unpolished.

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SmashBrawler

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I had a lot of fun with this demo, after playing it I'm looking forward to this game now more than ever. And I liked playing as Batman better as well since I'm not too fond of slower and heavier characters like Luthor, and Wonder Woman definitely is a very complicated character to master. I kinda wish they had put at least one more stage since seeing the same stage transitions over and over again got a little boring after a while, but this still was a very fun demo.

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Mucklefluga

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Edited By Mucklefluga

Hmmmm, although i usually dislike fighting games i'll still download the demo. It's DC and i need another dose of pretending i'm Batman on a computer game.

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Avenging-X-Bolt

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is the demo gold member exclusive on XBL? cause its not showing up for me/

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ccraft

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Edited By ccraft

no training mode ugh, I was looking forward to that! Can't wait to play it when it finally downloads!

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YourNeighborhoodComicGeek

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@avenging_x_bolt said:

is the demo gold member exclusive on XBL? cause its not showing up for me/

I think you need Xbox Live in order to download almost anything (other than basic game updates).

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Avenging-X-Bolt

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Edited By Avenging-X-Bolt  Online

@avenging_x_bolt said:

is the demo gold member exclusive on XBL? cause its not showing up for me/

I think you need Xbox Live in order to download almost anything (other than basic game updates).

i have xbox live. im asking if i need gold membership.

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wmwadeii

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I downloaded it and enjoyed it. Had to play around to figure out what everything did, along with resetting my play style from MvC3. I'm not the best at fighting games but it was still entertaining. The STAR labs stuff seems like fun too.

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YourNeighborhoodComicGeek

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@avenging_x_bolt said:

@yourneighborhoodcomicgeek said:

@avenging_x_bolt said:

is the demo gold member exclusive on XBL? cause its not showing up for me/

I think you need Xbox Live in order to download almost anything (other than basic game updates).

i have xbox live. im asking if i need gold membership.

Not sure about that.

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SmashBrawler

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Also, going from the music in the menu, I think I'm gonna like the game's soundtrack.

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Avenging-X-Bolt

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@avenging_x_bolt said:

@yourneighborhoodcomicgeek said:

@avenging_x_bolt said:

is the demo gold member exclusive on XBL? cause its not showing up for me/

I think you need Xbox Live in order to download almost anything (other than basic game updates).

i have xbox live. im asking if i need gold membership.

Not sure about that.

ok. ill just assume thats the deal and wait till the game comes out.

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dreamfall31

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Loved MK9 despite my lack of fighting game skills. This seems very similar which is cool, but I'm not crazy about most of the character's designs. I will probably pick it up when it's super cheap near the end of this year.

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BlueLantern1995

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Hmm...this game looks fun. I usually don't like fighting games but I'll give it a chance.

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Dark_Vengeance_

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I got the demo as soon as I saw the article. lol

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Ministurt

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It would be more awesome if it where made by capcom but hey neatherreams is almost as good.

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ccraft

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So far I only played as Lex and Batman. Batman is hard to combo, Lex is pretty easy to get used to.

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spideybigtime

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The demo was awesome except I just wish that they had had at least one story mission available to play . Am I they only who thought Batman beating Doomsday was crazy?Still really fun though.

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LaserLambert

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Edited By LaserLambert

@ccraft: really? I found it to be the opposite, Batman had SOOOoo many set ups and great basic combos and ways to combine them, Luthor was a lot slower and only had a few.

love the random clash dialogue: WW: You embody the worst in men! LL: You ain't seen nothing yet!

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mcbean

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Wish there where one more player to play but it is a demo.

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lostlantern13

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Edited By lostlantern13
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Phantim555

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Edited By Phantim555

Can anyone tell me how to grab objects on playstation. I love the game but just couldn't figure that out.

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LaserLambert

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Phantim555

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@laserlambert: Thanks, I should have known since grabbing an opponent was L1. What about punching into buildings?

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IronAngelX

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Does anyone know who the season pass downloadable characters are? Still holding out for Red Hood

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JLDoom

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Well, what can I say? This was a pretty awesome demo! I actually like the gameplay of Injustice much more than Mortal Kombat's gameplay. Batman, being the fastest and more straightforward character in the demo was my favorite to play as, but I obviously wish I had the chance to play as Flash :P

Well, I don't think I can be more excited about this game now!

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DanialCarroll

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What I hate about games like this is that it makes every character the same strength, which irks me for whatever reason. When I saw the video of Harley fighting Wonder Woman, I just found myself saying, "She'd get her head ripped off!". Having said that, I'm sure I'll play it at some time when it comes down in price (but then again, I said that about MvC3 as well, and I never did) :)

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LaserLambert

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@phantim555: Punch into buildings? like scene transitions - that's holding back and press X when you're near enough the wall.

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Ninjablade09

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I felt the controls were a little clunky and I wasn't to impress which sucks cause I was looking forward to this game.

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Cavemold

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Edited By Cavemold

You need xbox gold to play it

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IamKryptonite

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Just got done getting a handle on Batman. I will try Luthor later but since I'm not great at games in general I will have to take my time with each character in order to be able to play worth a damn. Although some parts don't make a lot of sense seeing how I defeated Doomsday with Bruce Wayne the game is still a blast. I too wish I had a chance to play as flash JLDoom.

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Gambit1024

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It would've been nice to have a move list, but oh my God-- Lex Luthor is so goddamn fun to play.

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Stormbox

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Edited By Stormbox

I have to say this was a lot of fun

It would've been nice to have a move list, but oh my God-- Lex Luthor is so goddamn fun to play.

If you pause you can see your character's move list

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2chimcha3

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This game always looked good, but wasn't a must buy for me since I'm a Capcom fighting game fan. After actually playing the game with my bro, I think its a must buy now. It's a lot of fun.

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Bogey

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Edited By Bogey

It didn't feel clunky trying to perform a combo so this is a must buy.

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IamKryptonite

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I've spent more time with the demo and Lex is the character I've had the most fun playing as.

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Press Oblivion

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Good times! I was able to score the super move a couple of times with Wonder Woman!

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Zavimbe

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Edited By Zavimbe

Does anyone know how to block? lol

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evilvegeta74

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I don't want a tease!

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briyen

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ATTENTION ANYONE they made this casual for you!!

you can tag all moves in the menu with triangle so its there while you fight, THere! YOU ARE WELCOME!

great game though

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Calvalier

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I've only play as Batman so far, and the only problem I have with it is that how slow the character moves around. I know I can dash, but I would have thought they'd be a little faster.

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Mezmero

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Edited By Mezmero

No intention of playing the demo. It's cool if the game play is serviceable but to me this game's bread and butter is going to be its story mode. Never thought I'd say that about a fighting game until I played MK9. NetherRealm made a believer out of me.

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lostlantern13

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It would've been nice to have a move list, but oh my God-- Lex Luthor is so goddamn fun to play.

So much this. Luthor was the last one I played as, but I've had so much fun with him.

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IamKryptonite

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Edited By IamKryptonite

According to the roster there are still 3 characters that haven't been announced yet if I've done the math correctly.

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Aiden Cross

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Edited By Aiden Cross

I'll download the demo today but i'll probably suck. In these games i'm kind of a button. Masher :p

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jaybefre

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Maybe I need to play the demo more because I wasn't too impressed with my first time playing through it. I really wish they would've included some kind of training mode so I can work on my combos. I figured out how to use the super/ultimate move by accident. Couldn't figure out how to do the environment attacks or knock my opponent to another level of the stage (don't know if that is available in the demo or not?)

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RoTheKid

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Had a blast with the demo! I want the game even more so now! :)

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SavageDragon

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It was fun but its a bit slower than I thought it would be. I liked Batman, but couldnt get the hang of WW or Luthor yet. Luthors gravity blast is so cheap lol.

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Avenging-X-Bolt

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@lostlantern13: thanks. guess i'll just have to wait for the full game.

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Equonox

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Edited By Equonox

Batman is absolutely nasty.

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