Turbine has released a trailer for its upcoming DC Comics MOBA Infinite Crisis, focusing on Green Lantern.
You can find that clip embedded at right, though I will warn you that what you’re going to see isn’t anything terribly impressive. If you’ve ever witnessed any game in the MOBA genre, you’re going to know exactly what to expect from this clip. The only really notable bit is that the video features DC Comics hero Green Lantern using his various abilities against the one-note walking incarnation of everything that was wrong with comics in the 1990s known as Doomsday.
While I remain excited for the upcoming Infinite Crisis due to Turbine’s track record of being one of the best developers in the industry for working with superhero-based games, this trailer isn’t doing anything to help the title’s case. I realize the MOBA genre is focused on tactics and strategic thinking, but there’s an absolute dearth of visceral intensity in this clip. Green Lantern drops a jet on Doomsday and the only effect is a burst of particles, a minor flash and Doomsday looking slightly inconvenienced. That last bit is faithful to the comics, but I’d still hope for a bit more violent feedback from an attack of that sort.
Compare the above trailer to this vignette featuring the Injustice: Gods Among Us incarnation of Green Lantern. I won’t compare the games or their respective styles directly as that’s unfair, but I’d like you all to notice how much more intense the Injustice trailer is. Every time an attack occurs, there’s noticeable feedback, both from the characters involved and in an auditory/visual manner for the player. Yes, that’s a component of fighting games in general, but why shouldn’t the MOBA genre adopt this same kind of visceral output? It would certainly take more effort on the development side of things, but it would also go a long way toward moving MOBA titles beyond their staid, relatively small niche.
Infinite Crisis is slated for release on Windows at some point during 2013. Expect more info soon.
Source: YouTube
