Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Review: Killer Frost, Injustice - Gods Among Us


            To some, the inclusion of DC Comics villainess Killer Frost in Injustice: Gods Among Us was a bit of a head-scratcher. Though she may be remembered for appearances she’s made in cartoons, the character has always been strictly D-list in the comics. Nevertheless, she’s a character who can translate well to a fighting game if given the right gameplay. Unfortunately, Killer Frost becomes the video game equivalent to a peg-warmer in Injustice.


            NetherRealm has had a lot of time to perfect the fighting style of a character that uses ice as a power with Sub-Zero from their flagship game Mortal Kombat and yet they didn’t seem to put that to practice with Killer Frost. Frost’s gameplay depends entirely on the user’s capability to create and utilize her ice attacks. She is able to freeze enemies and create ice daggers and swords. This is vaguely reminiscent of Sub-Zero’s moveset but somehow feels subpar in comparison. Her list of moves seems hopelessly small since her fighting style leaves little room for her user to improvise. Further more, Killer Frost’s ruthlessness only vaguely comes across in her super move where she summons a rather nasty ice trap for her opponent. Still, more work should have been done on her character. The original Killer Frost was motivated to absorb heat from others to sustain herself so why not base an attack around that? She’s a character with a lot of potential but it was sadly not fully realized.


            As with most of the females and the majority of the villains in the game, Killer Frost is but an accessory to the narrative. She crops up here and there as an opponent to fight in the story mode but no time is spent attempting to give her motive or any spotlight. Visually, her default look is based entirely off of the Louise Lincoln version of the character and features her in a nicely designed blue bodice with matching glovelets and boots with fur trim. Her alternate is more punk-inspired as it involves a rather cool looking mohawk (pun intended).


            The decision to include Killer Frost in Injustice: Gods Among Us is a bit of a disappointment. While it’s nice to include lesser known characters, it’s also best to include as many A-listers as you can. As such, some of DC Comics’ most devastatingly deceptive villainesses are left out of the game. Wonder Woman’s nemeses Cheetah and Circe aren’t included while Poison Ivy seems unfairly left out since Catwoman and Harley Quinn are in the game. Arguably, Star Sapphire also would have made a more valuable contribution than Killer Frost has. That said, Killer Frost is far from being the worst fighter in the game. She may be the least interesting of the women but she’s leaps and bounds more useful than a slow poke like Bane or dullard like Cyborg.

Grade: C+

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