I'm a big fan of games like Injustice. Not sure I would call them fighting games but there is a certain genre of games that combine mobile controls for a simplified fight experience combined with a collection aspect. Here's a breakdown of the different games I've tried and spent significant time with all of them. A few have had updates since I stopped playing and others are still getting the bugs worked out. All-in-all I'm trying to quantify which have been the "best" for me. At the end I have scored each one as 1 to 5 in each category, with 5 being the best of the bunch and 1 being the worst. For purposes of typing I will be using the following - CoC = Marvel: Contest of Champions Immortal = WWE Immortals Injustice = Injustice: Gods Among Us MKX = Mortal Kombat X URF = Ultimate Robot Fighting Controls - Best - CoC Proving you don't have to attempt to simulate arcade controls on a touch screen to actually have a decent fighting experience. There is a certain rhythm to this game the others lack. You have to think a little more tactically than some of the others, which is fine for individual fights, but there is also a reward for fast reflexes. Runners Up (In order) - Injustice, Immortals, MKX Worst - URF Take controls that ape Injustice but are completely imprecise and QTE's that are equally imprecise. Leads to a lot of sore fingers are you futilely flail away on your device's screen in the vain hopes your robot will do as you wish. This game was updated twice while I was still playing and nothing changed about the controls at all. Gameplay - Best - CoC An easy win, CoC actually has a *gasp* story. It's not a great one, but the multiple branching paths and attempt at a plot to explain why you are having Captain America fighting Spider-Man is appreciated. Granted, it's weak, but have you read a comic book in the last 30 years? CoC actually gives you something to do and daily bonus missions are executed faithfully with the occasional event to change things up for those that don't play multi-player. Runners Up (In order) - Injustice, MKX, Immortals Worst - URF Again, it apes Injustice but recent updates unbalanced the game to where lower tier characters are essentially worthless. The game lacks a "paywall" per se but it sure pushes you to purchase high end robots to get past later fights. Added a "quest" system that is largely broken. Really doesn't add any incentive to keep coming back every day except for login rewards, which are not gameplay in my book. Graphics - Best - CoC You thought this would be Mortal Kombat X, didn't you? Honestly, I find the washed out palette of MKX to actually make it look worse than Injustice even though the overall fidelity seems higher. Still, CoC has it's own cartoony look that works really well and flows seemlessly. I think it's the best looking game of the comparison and it establishes a very consistent art style that looks great and everything seems to "fit". They did a great job here. Runners Up (In order) - Injustice, MKX, Immortals Worst - URF At this point it feels like I'm picking on the game, but I have to give it props. The game actually looks good it's just that this is an area that all of these games do well in. URF is just the worst of the best. Sound/Music - Best - Injustice All of these games are kind of annoyingly repetitive on the fighting sounds, grunts, voices, etc. Injustice is the least annoying and I love it's overly bombastic music that just sets the tone so well. No other game comes close in this regard. Runners Up (In order) - MKX, Immortals, CoC Worst - URF Clearly they didn't put much effort into this aspect of the game. Roster - Best - Injustice This is hardly fair as Injustice is the oldest and has quite a head start. However, Injustice also has every recognizable name in its IP (Intellectual Property) as well as tons of lesser knowns and fan favorites to choose from. For me, it's not just the size of the roster, but the quality of the offerings. Injustice beats all the others in both terms of sheer numbers and who they let you use. Runners Up (In order) - CoC, MKX, Immortals Worst - URF It's a tough row to hoe when you're trying to essentially create your own characters and URF does a decent job but it's hard to care when they also have to make sure none of their robots look too much like better known robots in other franchises. Honestly, they should have pursued Hasbro to give them the rights to Transformers and they would have had a money maker. Multiplayer - Best - CoC I'm not a big fan of their multiplayer events which reward 24/7 playing and leaves anyone without that kind of focus in the dust. Let's get that out of the way now. Where CoC does shine is regular events and a seemless connection experience. One thing I've never liked about Injustice is that going multiplayer slows you down. It takes too long to connect and too long to find matches where I can play offline and gain levels and currency much faster. Not to mention hackers. While some may not like CoC's always connected nature, it prevents hacking while also making multiplayer as easy to do as single-player. It simply is the best. Runners Up (In order) - MKX, Injustice, Immortals Caveat - Why is MXK listed when it hasn't gone online yet? Simple, once they get everything working MKX will actually have a point with Faction Wars. Multiplayer is pretty much just tacked on with Injustice and Immortals. Immortals falling somewhat behind due to Injustice's regular rewards. Worst - URF What multiplayer? Community Aspect - Best - MKX When it works, the Alliance system is a great way to engage other players though I do hope a future update allows me to explictly choose friends. Hopefully when Faction Wars goes live. Even in its current state though, players can take advantage or earn rewards from other players with their "Champion" fighters. Runners Up (In order) - CoC, Injustice, Immortals Worst - URF Not only is there no community/social aspect to this game, they don't even allow people to post directly to the Facebook page. No forums, no connection to other players of any kind. There is literally no incentive to get your friends involved in this game. IAP Practices - Best - Injustice By far the most player friendly game, even compared to Immortals which essentially clones it. Injustice has one currency type and an energy system that often gives free recharges but also lets you switch between fighters so you can keep playing. The single currency type can be purchased with real money but is also easily obtained in the game and the larger and more powerful your roster grows the easier it is to gather currency. Somehow this game makes money as it is still getting new content and updates, though slower right now as MKX is about to release. Runners Up (In order) - Immortals, URF, MKX Worst - CoC I'm not sure why all Marvel games are so overloaded with multiple currency types, single point energy timers, and pricey IAP's. Part of it is related to the popularity of their IP I'm sure, but it seems like these games always have their hand out for more real money. While CoC does let you grind for just about anything, or it did while I was still playing, the reward payouts are paltry compared to any of the other games out there. Overall - Best: Injustice: Gods Among Us (Total Score: 33 out of a possible score of 40) Injustice rarely scores "best" in any of the categories but as a refined game that defined the genre it still gets high marks in most areas. Combine that with the most player friendly practices and it continues to be my favorite. I was actually surprised when I totalled everything up that Injustice nudged CoC out of the top. Not by much as you'll see. I think it's a game that offers the most variety and the best rewards that really incentivizes people to keep playing despite it's age. Runner-Up: Marvel: Contest of Champions (Total Score: 31) If you want something that is closer to a traditional fighting game then CoC is simply the best of the bunch. Overall I think it is quite solid but the punishing IAP practices and dedicated lottery system of drawing characters drove me away. Still, I can't deny it is a solid game if you can tolerate the IAP practices and don't mind that you may never get to play as some of your favorite characters. Runner-Up: Mortal Kombat X (Total Score: 26, tentative) If I'm wrong about where it will fall on multiplayer expect this to get updated, but as it stands I feel pretty confident in its standing. The simpler controls and less player friendly IAP practices are not welcome changes. I still think it's a solid game that is worth trying out if you are a fan of Injustice and like the Mortal Kombat setting. However, if you're looking for a "real" fighting game, this isn't it. Runner-Up: WWE Immortals (Total Score: 20) Look, I'm not a big wrestling fan now but I did grow up in the 80's when Hulk Hogan was everywhere. A lot of the roster are unknowns to me, except for Undertaker because he's been around forever. Still, it's a fun little game combining wrestlers with superhero and fantasy motifs. What scores it so low is that it doesn't distinguish itself enough from Injustice and it also appears to be built on a much older Injustice game engine based on some of the missing features and older user interface elements. Worst: Ultimate Robot Fighting (Total Score: 10) This should be no surprise after all the above. It's a blatant attempt to copy Injustice without bothering to license the engine it runs on. Imprecise controls, fairly standard IAP practices, a roster full of unknowns that don't really stand out and after awhile I just gave up on it even though I am a huge mecha fan.
