Warner Bros. and NetherRealm’s upcoming DC all stars fighting game sequel, Injustice 2, just got a new trailer, showing us the iconic deathmatch that comic book fans the world over excitedly think about- Batman, taking on Superman. As in the original Injustice, Injustice 2 will let players decide the outcome to such a match up for themselves.

That’s not the only cool matchup that this trailer shows us, however- it also shows us Wonder Woman taking on Harley Quinn, which is surprisingly not as one sided as you would think. Plus, Supergirl and Robin also make appearances here, though sadly, not too substantial ones. Cyborg’s in there too, though again, he gets overshadowed by the bigger stars (which in this case means everyone else).

You can check out the trailer for yourself. Injustice 2 will launch on Xbox One and PS4 on May 16- will you be picking this game up? Let us know in the comments section below.

Injustice 2 is the sequel to the unlikely DC fighting game that we’ve all been waiting for. But while it mostly looks to be the evolution of the first game that we all wanted, there are parts of it that are a reason for worry. Namely the new gear system, which relies on randomized loot drops, and which could very well wreck the balance of play in multiplayer games.

Speaking to Eurogamer at EGX, developers NetherRealm tried to clear the air on the new loot system.

“We anticipated what some of the hesitation might be from players and are developing intelligently to deliver something which will hopefully appeal to all of our fans, whether you’re a hardcore fighting game enthusiast or a more casual fan,” NetherRealm’s Brian Goodman told Eurogamer in an interview at EGX.

“There’s been a lot of discussion on how best to communicate this because we are, obviously, throwing a bit of a monkey wrench in the works as far as some fighting game purists might find. We’re doing things to make sure people who want a pure fighting game can get that.”

Ultimately, these drops can work because Injustice 2 does have modes which are more competitively balanced.

“We’re creating modes where it’s an even playing field and you can gear up for aesthetic reasons but your character stats are on an even plane. We also have modes where gear actually impacts your strength, which is a whole new level of strategy.

“For instance if you’re Superman you’re likely going to want to increase his offence, since he’s a character that likes to come in close and do a ton of damage then hang back and use his special power. That’s likely the type of gear you’re going to want to hunt down if you play that character.

“Online we’re going to look at matchmaking so players are matched like-for-like, but it will be fundamentally unbalanced at that point.

“For the hyper competitive tournaments, we want those to still be places people can show off the customization they have earned throughout the game but they have to be level playing fields. That’s essential for true fighting game aficionados.”

So it sounds like they want to straddle the line between appealing to a larger, casual audience – which, given this game’s content, is a sensible strategy – and nailing down a competitive fighting game for the hardcore fighting game community as well, a bit like the balancing act that Nintendo pull with Smash. Injustice 2 is due out on PS4 and Xbox One in 2017.

Update: Series co-creator Ed Boon has acknowledged our story and tweeted that the information in this article is incorrect. Given the altogether malleable nature of placeholder elements for future content in games, it’s clear that our initial research wasn’t concrete evidence of on-disc DLC. We apologize to Ed Boon, the development team and our readers for the inconvenience caused.

Original Story:

Since the initial launch Warner Bros’ Mortal Kombat X, the game has received quite a fair number of negative criticism, primarily amongst those playing on the PC. With a noticeable amount of iconic characters missing, paid DLC controversy, and the infamous Goro being locked behind a paywall for those who skipped the pre-order bonus, many of the complaints regarding the title seem rightfully so.

Taking into account the price of the initial base game along with all of the available DLC content, the game’s sheer price doubles, and that’s just the least of it’s problems. For those on the PC, it was said they would be to play the game while simultaneously installing it, thanks to Steam’s latest update.

However, as the game wasn’t actually available until the late hours of the day despite being it’s day of launch, none of the installation files where actually available, and once they where, the game experienced severe crashing issues, with most users being left to browse the main menu as opposed to actually playing the game.

Regarding the controversy over the game’s DLC content however, an interesting turn of events have risen, one born out of pure curiosity. Playing on the PC myself, the issues surrounding the game’s frame-rate cap falling from 60 to 30 which occurs during cut-scenes, x-ray combos, and the iconic fatality, I decided to fix the problem for myself.

As with games that have been plagued by frame-rates caps in the past few years, all it takes is an experienced user to simply navigate the installation folders and edit the corresponding file. Upon this search however, I came across something far more interesting. The amount of negative criticism that Capcom received for on-disc DLC, a few years back hasn’t fared well with consumers, nor has it been enough for Warner Bros to take note from.

After being redirected to download the game from Steam, since there was nothing placed on the actual physical disc, of which I had purchased to avoid any possible download interruptions, that had been plaguing PC users. Browsing the game’s installation folder in order to apply a fix to it’s disorienting frame-rate cap, half of the aforementioned content seemed to already be available.

Looking at the screenshot above, taken from my PC desktop, assets indicating Goro and Jason, as well as future DLC content regarding Kung Lao, Jax, Kenshi, Mileena, and many many others appear to already be pre-installed with the base game.

Pre-orders regarding Mortal Kombat X giving consumers access to Goro, and a season pass granting future access to four upcoming characters, two of which by the name of Jason Vorhees and John McTiernan’s Predator seem like an interesting buying option as well as an interesting fit for the Mortal Kombat series. Keeping the majority of which, being locked behind a pay wall, pre-installed from day one, doesn’t seem very consumer friendly.

Let us know what you think in the comments section below, and stay tuned for more information.

Mortal Kombat X, the newest entry in the long running visceral fighting game franchise, is almost here, and it appears that the developers and publishers are taking some cues from the trends in the gaming market that have caught on. It appears that they will be offering some DLC character or the other for free at all times, keeping them in constant rotation. While League of Legends is the immediate point of comparison that comes to mind, it is worth noting that these DLC characters will not be usable in ranked play- for that you need to buy them.

Of course, experimental free to play models are nothing new for fighting games. So far this generation, multiple fighters have tried to experiment with alternate methods of distribution, most notably the Xbox one exclusive Killer Instinct, which is practically free to play.

Mortal Kombat X launches soon on Xbox one, PS4, and PC, with a PS3 and Xbox 360 release following in the summer. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information.

Mortal Kombat X, which is the tenth installment in the long running fighting game series, is due out later this year, and we have just got our first extensive look at the game over the E3 week. The game serves as a sequel to Mortal Kombat released a few years ago, that breathed new life into the series after years and years of mediocre spin offs and mainline entries.

This is fifteen minutes of gameplay footage from the new upcoming game, and it looks just as you would expect it to- some great fighting, flashy finishing moves, and lots of blood, gore, and skin. And underneath all of that, one of the most balanced and technically sound fighting game engines in the industry.

Mortal Kombat X is due out on the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC, with a release slated for 2015. Yeah, this keeps up, literally every game ever known to mankind will be a 2015 release.

What a surprise then that the PC version of Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition runs so incredibly well. Ported over by High Voltage (who you may know as the guys behind Wii exclusive FPS The Conduit), MK Komplete is one of the better optimised PC ports I’ve come across in a long time. I’ll cover the port job in the earlier paragraphs of this review, but those who want a more general reminder of how Mortal Kombat plays should skip ahead to page two.

The first thing players will notice is the settings screen, as MK Komplete dials into your optimum settings, altering each option one by one. It takes a little while, but it demonstrates a care in visual optimisation that few games adopt. Many graphical options have been added over the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game, with FXAA processing, many levels of anti-aliasing and the usual anisotropic filtering options rounding out the package.

"I don't exactly have the most intense of gaming rigs, but even I was able to push the game to its maximum graphical settings, and the results are spectacular. "

I don’t exactly have the most intense of gaming rigs, but even I was able to push the game to its maximum graphical settings, and the results are spectacular. The visuals are detailed and rich, with a frame rate that eclipses the console versions of MK.

The optimisation too is immaculate, with nary a frame skip or graphical bug in sight. That I could run it on max settings also bodes well for users with less expensive hardware. The settings go quite low, and I’m sure this will allow a variety of players to get involved in the Kombat. The stock keyboard controls somewhat spoil the fun as, keyboard setups are never going to be especially intuitive for a fast-paced fighting game.

That said, the ability to rebind all keys (including system functions like the pause button) adds to an impressive versatility that is already made by simple controller integration. It was all very faff-free to get my controllers set up, which sadly can’t be said for all modern PC ports.

There are a few glaring faults to be noted though, primarily in the story mode film sequences. Something about them is very grainy, almost as if they’ve been remastered in a lower resolution. It’s not as bad as the cut-scenes in the HD remakes of older games you see, but there’s a noticeable degradation in graphics quality when the in-game renders come to an end.

"Combat is fairly accessible, regardless of your choice of character, but many special moves, combo breakers, enhanced specials and the awesome X-ray attacks add up to give the game a great depth."

I couldn’t tell if the cut-scenes were also responsible, but there were some annoying audio issues where the voice acting would cut out every now and then. Not exactly game breaking issues, but frustrating if you’re playing story mode without subtitles enabled.

For a properly in depth critique of Mortal Kombat, you’d do well to read our original MK review published back in 2011. For those just looking for a quick reminder of whether the game is worth it, the answer is fairly simple. After years of mediocre Mortal Kombat sequels, the 2011 release marked a return to the fast-paced action and brutal combos that defined the original MK trilogy we know and love.

Combat is fairly accessible, regardless of your choice of character, but many special moves, combo breakers, enhanced specials and the awesome X-ray attacks add up to give the game a great depth. Add in tag team fights full of two man combos and special attack entrances and you have a fighting formula that newcomers and series fanatics alike will find appealing. Some combos are a little difficult to formulate, especially when using analogue sticks on a controller, but mastering such timings is just another part of the genre.

All of the characters are fun to play, and their signature moves offer enough variety to usher in some tactical battles if you pick the right players. I’d argue that the characters themselves aren’t especially interesting, especially compared to some of the crazier designs seen in the likes of recent Tekken and Street Fighter titles.

"A series of decent achievements lace the game's lifespan well, but the online portion of the title many will look to for sustained gameplay isn't ideal. "

I’m sure die hard Mortal Kombat fans will hate me for saying that, but the many characters that are just paletter swapped duplicates don’t exactly counter my argument. On the plus side, some of the great DLC characters added on later to the console game come with the Komplete Edition, meaning you get the likes of Freddy Krueger and Kenshi to add to the roster. You also get all the alternate costumes which is great for the aesthetes out there.

You actually get a huge amount of content with MK Komplete, especially when you consider that it is currently retailing on Steam below the usual game RRP at $30. Alongside an already impressive roster of characters you get a challenge mode, standard arcade mode and a well fleshed out story that sees you taking control of a variety of combatants. You certainly get decent bang for your buck.

A series of decent achievements lace the game’s lifespan well, but the online portion of the title many will look to for sustained gameplay isn’t ideal. The net code is fairly solid, offering a reasonably lag-free experience. The lobbies aren’t especially well populated, even at the best of times.

Still, fighting games are for local multiplayer, and your going to get a real kick out of gathering friends round for a Mortal Kombat session on PC. Even without this, the single player content is plentiful enough to more than compensate the price of admission. It may have been a long time coming, but the ninth Mortal Kombat title makes its PC debut with serious style. If you like 2D fighters, you’re going to love this.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Many people were hoping for Scorpion to appear in Injustice: Gods Among Us and now Warner Bros has announced that it will be happening. The last two downloadable characters for Injustice: Gods Among Us were Lobo and Batgirl which makes Scorpion the third.

Scorpion will cost 400 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360 and £3.99 via PlayStation Network for the PS3.

Mortal Kombat fans feel free to rejoice as your favorite character is now making a comeback in NetherRealm Studios’ latest game.

Let us know if you’re excited for Scorpion’s return in Injustice: Gods Among Us in the comments below.

Check back on GamingBolt for more updates.