New modes, sweeping (sometimes gimmicky) changes to the combat system, and shiny new coats of paint are often the broad strokes that sell players on a fighting game sequel, but sometimes – even often – the real joy is in new characters. Injustice 2 is already proving to be a great example of this fact; and of all the characters that have been revealed to this point, none of them exemplify it quite like Swamp Thing does.
In the hours I got to play Injustice 2 during my visit to NetherRealm Studios in Chicago, I could barely pull myself away from ol’ Swampy. His toolset is full of unorthodox moves that come together to form a play style that’s anything but typical. If I had to boil it down I’d say he’s a hybrid zoner/grappler that’s best played reactively, but can become aggressive under the right circumstances. Surface similarities to Injustice 1’s Solomon Grundy are completely superficial; I’ve never really played a character quite like Swamp Thing in a fighting game.
His unique feel doesn’t come from a single move, or a radical central concept either. It stems from subtleties that change how familiar move archetypes are applied. A simple example is his projectile attack, Log Kick. Just like it sounds, he kicks a log across the screen towards his opponent, but this is no Hadouken.
...this is no Hadouken.
Log kick travels at an odd velocity: it starts out fast, but decelerates as it travels further, until it comes to a stop and falls off into the foreground. It can’t travel the full length of the screen, but the way it loses speed creates the impression that it will stop a lot shorter than it does. It also hits low and causes a knockdown as well, making it highly disruptive to players who want to stand at long range and just blast away at you.
Bio Fission is another way the lumbering guardian of Mother Earth can keep long-range zoners honest. He creates a clone of himself that appear behind his opponent to strike at them. Unlike Supergirl’s teleportation move, Bio Fission is relatively slow, and doesn’t actually reposition you when you use it. The only exception is if you meter-burn it and connect with it, in which case you score a knockdown, and replace your clone. Neat.
Projectiles and teleport-style attacks are staples of NRS games, but neither Log Kick or Bio Fission is of the “do it until your opponent figures it out” variety. They aren’t powerful, safe tools to impose your will with; they have specific use cases for punishing the types of tactics that are typically very strong against big, slow, grappler types, which makes them feel more thoughtful and rewarding to use.
Swampy doesn’t need to take insane risks to threaten with his signature command grab.
At the end of the day though, Swamp Thing is still a grappler, but unlike others of his kind, he need not rely on getting up in his opponent’s face. His Vine Grab has three variations, the farthest-reaching of which can snag a standing opponent from one step shy of full screen. This nets you a nice chunk of damage, especially if you choose to meter-burn it, and it can even be directed upward to act as an anti-air from about half screen.
This is pretty game-changing for a grappler. Swampy doesn’t need to take insane risks to threaten with his signature grab like, say, Zangief has to in order to land a Spinning Piledriver. Not only that, but the presence of an anti-air version means that the usual method for escaping command grabs (jumping) doesn’t save you from it either.
So he doesn’t need to be in your face to give you a big, mossy hug, but if he is, he has another grab to use altogether. Green Thumb is relatively quick, and has three possible follow ups.
...there’s no range at which you can totally ignore Swamp Thing’s options...
One deals maximum damage and leaves your target in front of you, another sacrifices a little damage for a side switch (great for putting opponents into the corner), and the third does the least damage but leaves the opponent standing. The last one is the most interesting, since it allows you to avoid having to deal with an invincible wake-up move.
These options are all available for the meter-burned version as well, which actually heals Swamp Thing before you execute a follow-up. Green Thumb is fast enough to tick into, like after your opponent blocks a crouching light attack, making it a versatile command grab that allows you to heal and create situations as opposed to inflicting maximum damage.
As you begin to put all the pieces together, you realize that there’s no range at which you can totally ignore Swamp Thing’s options, which is a crazy notion to consider for a grappler. The guessing game that grapplers usually play is being played across almost the entire level, so despite his combo potential being relatively low, he continually rewards defensive players who can make good reads. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a grappler like him, and it’s this outside-the-box approach to character design that really sets Injustice 2 apart from its contemporaries.
Vincent Ingenito is IGN's foremost fighting game nerd. Follow him on Twitter and help him sort out his Street Fighter 5 character crisis.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire