Injustice on the Wii U? Nah, There's a Better Word for It

Like many fans of both fighting games and the DC Comics universe, I was very happy this week to welcome the release of Injustice: Gods Among Us for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii U. Developer NetherRealm Studios is the best in the business when it comes to fighters, at least as far as I’m concerned (granted I place a lot of importance on a strong single player campaign). It is refreshing to see a developer consistently increase in quality as their games develop (Mortal Kombat was considerably better than Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe) and judging by the reviews we have (I’ll get back to this in a moment) it looks like Injustice: Gods Among Us is another hit. So my question as a gamer becomes – which system do I get it for?

I purchased Mortal Kombat for the Xbox 360 and enjoyed it, but I would be lying if I said that the controls were the best for that system. See when it comes to fighting games: the D-pad is important. For those of you who don’t know, the D-pad is a collection of arrow keys (up, down, left, right) that is usually located near the joystick (if you don’t know what a joystick is, please look it up). While joysticks have generally replaced the D-pad in most games (it is far easier to move around a 3D environment using a joystick), the D-pad remains supreme when it comes to fighting games. Plain fact is that it is easier to move and execute special moves. Also, sad fact is: the D-pad on the standard North American Xbox 360 controller kinda sucks. Now I don’t own a PlayStation 3 or this would be the easy choice so I must ask myself: how is Injustice: Gods Among Us for the Wii U? I’m still asking this question.

This is embarrassing and a problem that has been with Nintendo since the Wii days. No one is reviewing their product. Go on Metacritic or Gamerankings , there is absolutely nothing. Both services are stuffed full of independent reviews for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions (although how many of those are copy-and-paste is another question) but still, nothing for the Wii U. I’m still undecided on whether or not this is better than how most critics handled the Wii. For those of you who don’t know what I mean by this, the Wii enjoyed many unique versions of games that arrived on its console (Thor: God of Thunder, Ghostbusters: the Game, Prince of Persia: the Forgotten Sands). These games all bared little-to-no resemblance to their 360 and PS3 counterparts. Problem was that, in most cases, when the review came in for the 360 or PS3 version, it was simply cut and pasted onto the Wii, despite the fact that they were different games. There’s a word for this behavior: laziness. It describes what is happening now.

This isn’t on Nintendo. True they deserve a lot of blame for the marketing of the Wii U (which I have already outlined here: http://redringsofredemption.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/a-rose-by-any-other-name-can-be-confusing-the-wii-u/) but Nintendo is not responsible for reviewing the games. Obviously not, how could we trust critics if they dropped all illusions that they weren’t being directly paid by the video game companies? No, there are many professional sites out there with one job: to review video games. IGN, Giant Bomb, Gametrailers? You guys had one job.

Really, it is the fanboys’ job to be prejudiced, not the critics. By not reviewing the Wii U version of Injustice: Gods Among Us, it sends the message that this version of the game isn’t as important as the other two. That’s crap and disrespectful to both Nintendo and NetherRealm Studios, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people out there who own a Wii U. They made it and critics are paid to play it, PAID. Seriously if someone wants to send me a copy of this game for the Wii U, I will give it a full review. I’m not a professional so I don’t have sixty dollars to throw around on a version. I only plan on purchasing one copy of Injustice: Gods Among Us, I would simply like to make an informed decision.

Sad to say but reviews aren’t the only thing lacking for this Wii U version. Right now word on whether or not Nintendo will receive the DLC characters who have been promised to the 360 and PS3 is limited. There are conflicting reports. We know that is not receiving the season pass (the whole logic of the season pass will have to be discussed at another time) but apparently the Wii U box does advertise the downloaded content on the back.

If this is to be the start of a trend for third party games on the Wii U, then it is very sad. Regardless of how you feel about Nintendo’s newest product – they have created a unique experience. While Nintendo struggles to remain relevant in the video game world, it seems like no one is willing to offer them a hand. It is a system, it does exist and critics should be ashamed for their lack of response. One job guys, you had one job.

Thoughts? Comments? Am I full of shit or onto something? Let me know now in the feedback section of this article.