Injustice: Gods Among Us Preview with TKT Mustard and Ketchup

 

After an exciting weekend at Insomnia 48 I had the chance to sit down with two world class Mortal Kombat 9 players, Mustard and Ketchup. Both of them had been picked up by Warner Brothers to give the UK a taste of Injustice: Gods Among Us.

 

Can you please introduce yourself and tell us how you got involved in fighting games and Warner Brothers?

Mustard: My name is Jake Neal but I go under the alias 'Mustard'. My first competitive fighting game was Mortal Kombat 9. I started playing it two years ago. It's amazed me how fast the time has gone by playing because you get so much more out of it; meeting new people, winning prizes and sharing your passion with like-minded people. We've been playing fighting games for most of our lives but it wasn't until Mortal Kombat 9 that we became competitive. We're massive Mortal Kombat fanboys.

Ketchup: My name is Ryan Neal and I go under the handle 'Ketchup'. The names came from our first game ever, Mortal Kombat 3 on the Super Nintendo. We play Cyrax and Sektor but before they had those names they were known as Mustard and Ketchup, which were their prototype names. My introduction to competitive fighting was the Warner Brothers Mortal Kombat 9 regionals. I won the Norwich event and went through to the UK finals. After that I won the European finals. We both have won a lot of tournaments even though its not about that for us, it's about supporting the game. Last year we went to Evolution, the biggest fighting game event in the world and Warner Brothers sent a film crew to document us at the event (its pending release).

 

What can you share about Injustice: Gods Among Us and its involvement at Insomnia 48 and what Warner Brothers have in store before its release.

Mustard: This is the first time in the UK Injustice has made its appearance for the public to play. Customers at Insomnia 48 had the chance to try out the game and the reception has been phenomenal. As soon as we set up the booth the cabinets filled up. Warner Brothers commissioned custom arcade cabinets to be made and they did a fantastic job making them atheistically amazing. We had players who had been following the game for months and others who had just heard about it. Everybody was enjoying it.

Ketchup: On the Friday we had your regular LAN crowd coming along to the booth, enjoying the game for what it is, doing some cool attacks. Nether Realms are very good at making their fighting games look exciting and we think it'll be a game people will want to watch. On the Saturday the Fighters at Insomnia event started so we had a lot of fighting game players who came over to play. None of them came up to me and said they didn't like the game, everybody loved it. We sat down individually we a lot of people and explained the game mechanics and walked through it with them. A lot of players pre-ordered it after getting a chance to play.

Mustard: It was nice to see it being played as a new game rather than looking at it as another Mortal Kombat. A lot of people expected it to be like Mortal Kombat vs DC or Mortal Kombat 9 but discovered it was a different game entirely. It's very much its own game which is great because nobody will have an advantage, everybody will be starting from scratch. If you're just getting into fighting games, interested in getting involved or want to become competitive but the pre-established scene is a bit intimidating, it's a great game to start with because everybody will be at the same level. We'll be supporting this game 100%, just like we did with Mortal Kombat 9 and with our affiliation with Warner Brothers, hopefully this will help us get more people involved.

Ketchup: The only stigma Injustice will get is because of Mortal Kombat Vs DC. That was made by Midway and Nether Realms Studios has proven they have what it takes to make a good game.

Mustard: We did an exhibition on the main stage at Insomnia this weekend and got a chance to show off the game. We showed off the normal attacks, special moves, super power button and how you can use the environment to your advantage. By environment we mean the stages which are full of traps and tools for you to use against your opponent, like cars, turrets, walls etc. These can all be interacted with so if a car is next to you it can be picked up and used to smash your opponent.

Ketchup: After showing the game we had a match and showed that all the things we demonstrated can be used in-game. Without any planning I managed to use the environment to extend my combos and it makes the game very exciting.

 

Can you tell us about the pre-release Injustice: Gods Among Us tournament that will be happening in April.

Ketchup: It's going to be identical to the Warner Brothers Mortal Kombat 9 Pre-Release but on a larger scale. We'll be touring around with Injustice from the 1st to 9th of April at a different city everyday and hosting regional tournaments. First place wins a PDP Arcade Stick as well as more Injustice goodies. Runners up will get Mad Catz Tritton Headsets but Warners Brothers wants to assure no one leaves empty handed so everybody who attends the event will get free merchandise. More importantly, if you win the event you get put through to the UK finals where all the regional winners will meet in a top 8 tournament. If you win the UK finals you will be sent to Paris for the European finals with a chance to win an arcade cabinet!

Mustard: We won't be competing ourselves which is a choice we made as we were given the option. Since we're touring with them we want support the game and use our understanding of the competitive scene to help Warner Brothers promote the game.

 

What characters are you interested in making your main?

Ketchup: I had two requirements for playing Lex Luthor. One, he is wearing a battle suit and two, he must look like Bruce Willis. I like the idea of Battle Suit Lex and his super combo is really cool. I've been playing Cyborg so far because he is my favourite in the game version we had available.

Mustard: I've always been more of a Batman guy when it comes to DC. My favourite character was Mister Freeze and unfortunately he hasn't been confirmed or rumoured. I want a character who uses ice in some way and Killer Frost has been rumoured. If she is playable, I'll pick her. If she isn't playable I might stick with Green Arrow who I've been playing at Insomnia all weekend. I like his super power button which is a variation of arrow types he can shoot at your opponent. They all have different properties which leads to interesting uses and combo opportunities.

 

You both go under the tag TKT. What does that mean?

Ketchup: The TKT stands for The Kombat Tabloid. It's a UK based Mortal Kombat and Injustice website. We represent them because we want to support the games as much as possible. We want to help get the site noticed so that's why we use the tag. It's not a sponsorship, it's a way for us to get the site more exposure. The website is yet to be launched but they do have a Facebook page.

 

Final Thoughts?

Mustard: If you're attending any of the regionals feel free to come by and speak to us. You can register for these tournaments by going into your GAME store or by signing up online with Multiplay.

Ketchup: Keep an eye on the UKFGC website where we both write about Injustice and Mortal Kombat 9. Our Twitter accounts will be going live shortly and you can find us at; @PNDKetchup and @PNDMustard.