With the ELEAGUE Injustice 2 World Championship presented by PS4 underway, the title continues to serve up audiences for a battle of DC icons (plus a few others) and $250,000 at stake. Live TBS coverage continues Friday and wraps up on Nov. 10 at 10p with the championship round. The game, from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developed by NetherRealm Studios, is looking to elevate the fighting game genre by leveraging a roster that ranges from superheroes such as Superman and Wonder Woman (and Hellboy on the horizon) to infamous villains such as the Joker and Brainiac. Last week, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment brought the game to PC (Steam and Windows Store), where fans re be able to participate in an open beta.
Cynposis asked Ed Boon, creative director at NetherRealm Studios and creator of the famed Mortal Kombat franchise, about sinking his teeth into the DC world and how it will impact esports.
Boon on the challenges of the DC universe: The biggest challenge for us was probably the size and scope of this game. We have almost 40 iconic DC heroes and villains in the game, all with their own unique powers, abilities & personalities that we feel a strong responsibility to make authentic to what their fans are expecting. Each of these characters has hundreds & hundreds of costume pieces that not only make them look different but makes them more powerful as well. Players are constantly being rewarded with costume/gear pieces which they can use to create their own custom version of their favorite heroes and villains.
Injustice 2 also has a full length (movie like) story mode that looks and feels like a feature film. The story is broken down into 12 chapters, each featuring a different DC character that the player fights with to advance the narrative. In addition we have an endless game mode called the MULTIVERSE that presents new challenges and rewards to players. Injustice 2 is easily the biggest fighting game ever made.
On his favorite character: The Flash has always been my favorite DC character since I was about 6 years old. That will never change. However, as far as which character I enjoy playing the most….right now that’s either Green Lantern or Atrocitus.
On esports and the fighting genre: Competitive gaming is great and fighting games in particular lend themselves to e-sports very naturally. Fighting games can be followed, commentated on and learned from more than any other game genre because there are only 2 characters fighting. It’s very similar to a boxing match where you can easily tell “who is winning” even if you aren’t familiar with all the rules. I hope to see e-sports growing to be featured in more televised events, although streaming online will also play a big role in watching e-sports. There is big money at stake in some of these e-sport competitions and everyone seems to be participating. It’s very exciting!
