Justice League: Injustice for All

If there is one genre that most gamers enjoy playing, it’s a good beat em’ up game. There’s something satisfying about being able to mash the attack button while holding forward and just obliterating all the enemies in your path. When Midway games tasked the developer Saffire to create a Justice League game for the Game Boy Advance in 2002, it’s not surprising they decided to create another beat em’ up. After all, we’re talking about the Justice League: Injustice for All! What else would they do?

Back at it Again!

If you watched the classic animated TV show of the same name, then you’ll most likely recognize the characters from Injustice for All. Each hero in the game is well designed and looks similar to what you would expect in the show.

The story is quite a simple one. It starts with Superman and Wonder Woman being sent to Metropolis to stop an attack of new advanced robots. You shortly find out that Lex Luthor has orchestrated this attack for a nefarious reason. His goal: world domination. The Justice League is then brought together once again to stop Lex’s evil plans.

Some of your favorite characters will be playable as the Justice League looks to stop the likes of Cheetah, The Joker, and Star Sapphire. The cast is actually a good size for such a short game. Playable characters include the following: Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Fans of the newest version of the Justice League – such as the recent DCU movies – should find enough characters to recognize while diehard fans should be able to recognize them all.

Take That! And That! And.. You’re Already Dead?

As stated before, Injustice for All is designed to be a side-scrolling beat em’ up game. In each stage, you’ll move through the screens while beating up enemies, finding switches and buttons to unlock doors, and eventually fighting that stage’s end boss. Stages include classic destinations in the DC Universe such as Gotham City and Metropolis, as well as random destinations such as enemy bases and caves.

When it comes to fighting these enemies, you’ll have access to a basic attack for each character, as well as special attack. These special attacks vary depending on the hero being used. Batman will toss the batarang, Green Lantern will summon his giant hammer, and Wonder Woman has her whip on her side. Each member of the Justice League has their unique feel due to these special attacks.

That being said, it doesn’t take much to kill most enemies anyways. One special attack or a few punches will do the trick. Since the game was a bit of cakewalk, I wish some of the enemies put up more of a fight. The variety is the way the enemies looked was welcome, but they all attack you in the same way. So, at the end of the day, are they really that unique?

Fly You, Fool!

What will also differentiate some characters from others is the ability to fly. Characters like Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman can fly while characters such as Batman or The Flash are left to find their way through the stages by running and jumping. Of course, the Flash can dash his way forward so at least he has that going for him. Batman on the other hand is a bit of a disappointment. His batarang isn’t that useful and since all he can do is jump like the others, you’ll find his stages are the most tedious to play.

At the end of the stage, you’ll fight one of the many villains Lex Luthor has summoned. While they aren’t household names, you should see a few you recognize, Cheetah and the Joker being the most obvious ones. Others include Shade, Solomon Grundy, and Ultra-Humanite. Once again, fans of the Justice League animated television show should at least have some sort of knowledge of these antagonists.

Sadly, none of these boss fights are very difficult. When fighting Cheetah with the Green Lantern, I sat on the side and just used my special hammer attack when she would get close. Rinse and repeat a few times and the fight was over just as quickly as it started.

Pros:

• Variety of DC superheroes to play as
• Each hero feels unique

Cons:

• Story is only a hour long
• Enemies and bosses are too easy
• Not all heroes are balanced well (Batman)
• Repetitive audio