Injustice 2 video shows off gear system, gets the thumbs up for letting you play dress ups
Injustice 2's loot drops are more than skin-deep, but the surface part is pretty awesome.
Injustice 2 follows on from many fighting games by allowing you some customisation of your chosen character.
Normally this just means skins, possibly with multiple palettes, but Injustice 2 takes things a bit further than most versus fighters with a proper gear system. You can change colours and patterns on individual costume pieces, and even swap costume pieces and weapons in and out entirely, for a totally unique look.
Dress ups are always very welcome, but Injustice 2 has actual gameplay mechanics attached to it. Gear drops at the end of matches and through other gameplay, andhave various stat-boosting attributes, allowing you to craft ever more powerful fighters. There are set bonuses, even.
You can also customise your character just by playing; various new moves and specials will unlock after you level up by hitting particular achievements or milestones in Injustice 2. It sounds like both systems will encourage you to stick with a main or a couple of mains rather than bouncing around all the time.
If you're thinking beginners will be steamrolled by players with more gameplay hours or cash to spend, you're not alone. A bit of searching turned up a Gamespot interview in which NetherRealm says players will be able to disable gear and level bonuses in both casual and competitive play, and even if gear bonuses are enabled characters will be auto-balanced to match each other, so at least there's no level gap.
As for buying an advantage, apparently there'll be no way to buy stat-boosting gear. (There are other microtransactions in Injustice 2, though.)
Injustice 2 releases in May for PS4 and Xbox One. NetherRealm hopes gear and customisation will encourage players to explore all the modes and content the fighter has to offer, which should lengthen its lifespan.
Oh, and there won't be any super silly Batman costumes or anything like that. The Injustice 2 team is aware that comics are very serious business to some of y'all.