It was just a day ago that I attempted to make predictions for EVO 2013's Injustice: Gods Among Us competition, and I simply could not complete them. I found it incomprehensible how many people registered for Injustice that I've never heard of before. The reality about this game is that it is too young to accurately predict who will place top 8, let alone who will win. Injustice is still undiscovered to some extent because just recently we've seen this outburst of strong Harley Quinn players who are doing well in tournament play. Deg and Saltface both placed top 8 at CEO 2013, and gave some highly regarded players a run for their money. Prior to CEO, Harley Quinn wasn't regarded as a character that could compete with the top tier. With the influx of Harley players, whose to say that characters such as Raven, Bane, or Hawkgirl won't have a breakout performances at EVO 2013? The possibilities are endless in terms of which characters will have their upsets at EVO. With a lot of characters on the cusp of breaking through, there are also players who are looking to make big names for themselves on the biggest fighting game stage of them all. Who are they? That's a question I really can't answer. There is a whole lot of worldwide representation at EVO 2013 for Injustice, and this means that you can't overlook anyone. It is possible that Brazil and Japan have been training hard for EVO, and who knows what other countries may shock the world this weekend in Las Vegas.
The Reception of Injustice:
According to VGChartz.com, Injustice: Gods Among Us has sold roughly 1.22 million units across all three of its platforms in just ten weeks. This is a testament to how much people enjoy fighting games that are created by NetherRealm Studios. The team behind Injustice is currently working night and day on improving gameplay to ensure that the the community is satisfied. It seemed to me that the community was split in regards to the game itself. A lot of people who were fond of Mortal Kombat, weren't accustomed to the gameplay changes that came with Injustice. For example, aspects of the game such as walk speeds, back-to-block, interractables, and the amount of unpunished jumps in the game had a good portion of the community in an uproar. Since then, NRS has addressed these issues by releasing several gameplay patches. These patches adjust the hitboxes on interractables, and they also adjust certain characters to make them more balanced. As time progresses, expect NRS to consistently update Injustice with patches, and downloadable content (DLC) to increase the number of characters on the roster. Since Injustice released on April 16th, we have seen characters such as Lobo, Batgirl, Scorpion and General Zod added to the roster. Creative director at NRS, Ed Boon, has recently announced on Twitter that the fifth DLC character will be revealed this weekend at EVO.
Scorpion:
Scorpion being included in Injustice: Gods Among Us has been the prime topic of discussion since the character was released on June 11th. The fact that Scorpion is not a DC Comics character had a large portion of the community disappointed. The general consensus was that there are many different DC characters that could be included in Injustice, and that those characters should take priority over Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat universe. Another reason he was not received well was because of how he was built as a character. With the back-to-block system included in Injustice, a lot of people did not approve of the fact that Scorpion could constantly jump without being punished for doing so. To explain it further, his teleport punch hits behind his opponent, which means that you either have to duck to block it, or you have to see it coming and walk forward to block it. Many people started to see Scorpion as a problem, and as a character that could potentially ruin the future of Injustice. Scorpion controlled the air and the ground against his opponents, and had many options for quick damage. He also would punish any character that attempted to use an interractable on him, which essentially ruined that aspect of the game when fighting against him. Scorpion was so badly received that many top players were campaigning for Scorpion to be banned at EVO to prevent people from dropping the game because of how difficult it was to outplay an opponent who mains Scorpion. Four of the top 8 finishers at CEO 2013 used Scorpion at some point during the tournament. NRS addressed the Scorpion issue by nerfing several aspects of the character, which includes both his normal teleport as well as his meter burned teleport. These nerfs came along with the most recent patch, where uppercuts were also made more effective to decrease how often players will jump. This patch will be available at EVO, and it's safe to say that competitors will no longer be complaining about Scorpion.
What To Watch For:
Expect a lot of surprises this weekend at EVO 2013. I will list recent tournament's top 8 placements, and you the readers, can formulate an opinion about who will do well, and who won't. I will also provide a list of top players that are expected to do well at EVO. As previously stated, it's extremely difficult to accurately predict who will do well in a game that is only three months old. Here are the top 8 placements of every moderately sized tournament since Injustice released.
Civil War V -
1. OBS.EMP|REO (Batman, Superman) *
2. EMP|Tom Brady (Aquaman) *
3. AGE|NYChrisG (Green Arrow, Black Adam, Raven, Batman, Killer Frost, Catwoman) *
4. PTH|Mr Aquaman (Ares)
5. RESE|Killnator (Doomsday)
5. TS|Sabin (Green Lantern) *
7. MH|AlukardNY (Nightwing)
7. TS|NerdJosh (Wonder Woman) *
Toryuken 2 -
1. GGA|Jeremiah (Doomsday) *
2. GGA|PPJeezus (Raven, Lex Luthor) *
3. EMP.OBS|Maxter (Catwoman)
4. GGA|Han (Black Adam) *
5. GGA|Soonk (Superman) *
5. STB|RipCrowley (Aquaman, Joker)
7. MTL|Jer (Killer Frost)
7. TTT|NeoRussell (Green Arrow)
East Coast Throwdown 5 -
1. EMP|Tom Brady (Aquaman) *
2. EMP|REO (Batman, Nightwing, Black Adam) *
3. AGE|NYChrisG (Green Arrow, Black Adam, Batman) *
4. EMP|CD Jr. (Superman) *
5. EMP|DragonGod (Black Adam) *
5. KN|Crazy Dominican (Doomsday)
7. VSM|Jailhouse (Green Lantern, Cyborg)
7. BIFU|Insaynne (Aquaman)
Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament 9 -
1. AGE|NYChrisG (Green Arrow) *
2. Wound Cowboy (Sinestro) *
3. TS|Arturo Sanchez (Green Lantern) *
4. GGA|Slips (Deathstroke) *
5. RDK|Godspeed (Black Adam) *
5. Forever King (Batman, Raven) *
7. CORN|AlucarD (Ares)
7. GGA|Dizzy (Aquman) *
Community Effort Orlando 2013
1. AGE|NYChrisG (Green Arrow) *
2. FNATIC|Perfect Legend (Scorpion, Batman, Doomsday, Batgirl, The Flash, Black Adam, Cyborg)*
3. VxG.EMP|KDZ (Superman) *
4. Deg (Scorpion, Harley Quinn)
5. G.EMP|CDJr (Scorpion, Superman, Killer Frost) *
5. VxG.EMP|REO (Scorpion, Batman, Wonder Woman) *
7. RG|Rico Suave (Black Adam)
7. Saltface (Harley Quinn)
* - Signifies which of the above players are attending EVO 2013 to my knowledge.
Top players that are also attending EVO 2013 are as follows:
AK|TFA|RZR Pig of the Hut
GGA 16 Bit
GGA Wafflez
GGA Moe30w
MichaelAngelo
RDK Tyrant/Tvirus
KN|EGP Krayzie
C.O.R.N. DetroitBalln
EG Floe
EG Justin Wong
coL Filipino Champ
HB FlawedZilla 88
EMP Black Mamba
STB EGP Shujinkydink
Crazy DJT 88
Crazy MIT 88
Aris
EGP MFSlayer909
EGP PboardPlayer 88
EMPR Noobe
DaddyDab 88
Satsuiyeshadou
KH Cat
KH GamerBlake
KH Showtime
Based on my knowledge, these are players that you can expect to do well at this tournament. However this is a rough list based on names that I am familiar with. I'm fully prepared to see unknown names emerge at EVO this weekend for Injustice.
To wrap this up I would like to say thank you for reading this lengthy preview of EVO 2013 for Injustice. I hope that you found it somewhat enjoyable, and that it will hype you up for a weekend that will break records for the Fighting Game Community. I hope that everyone enjoys EVO 2013 in some capacity, whether you're attending or watching the streams. Lastly I would like to wish luck to all of the competitors at EVO 2013, not just for Injustice or Mortal Kombat, but for every game. Events like these bring this community closer to more recognition and even bigger opportunities. Thanks again for reading, and have a blast this weekend! Follow me on Twitter @eXP_Crum for realtime updates this weekend.
Credit to VGChartz.com for the stats.
Credit to Shoryuken.com for the tournament results.
Photo credit to DC Comics and Shoryuken.com
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