Welcome to week five of my epic quest to become competitively skilled at Injustice: Gods Among Us!
After taking a break from writing about all the practicing I have been doing last week due to lack of news, this past weekend I finally got my chance to put my money where my mouth is. A friend of mine was helping out at Top of the Food Chain 2, a tournament at the Chesapeake, Virginia establishment called The Refuge, and I was invited to join him for the ride.
I had time while waiting for Injustice to get started to watch some of the talented fighters practice against each other, and I quickly became aware of a fact I had suspected all along. I was not exactly going to blow these people away. The obvious practice these competitors had against other highly-skilled players ensured they not only knew their combos and the match-ups but also had a very finely-tuned sense of both range and timing.
By the time the tournament itself started, I had gotten over my initial hesitation at the obvious skill on display and was ready to see what I could do. I was pumped, I was motivated, and when my name was called I sat down in front of the screen with a smile. I did lose both of my tournament rounds, but I found myself unable to be disappointed in my performance.
Neither of my opponents was able to beat me without me getting some damage on them, in some cases a very significant amount of damage. While I obviously had work to do, it was proof that my efforts had not been meaningless. These players are good, excellent, capable of challenging the best in the world and giving a good showing, and I was able to just scratch at the surface of their abilities. A good start.
Self-improvement would have to wait, however. While I could have immediately jumped onto a console and started practicing my combos all over again, I decided to take advantage of the setting for its intended purpose.
I watched. As other players were eliminated, I paid attention to the mistakes they had made and the ways the people who’d beaten them had capitalized on them. When the game was down to its top eight players I was pleased to note a Black Adam player among them.
Watching this one player make his steady way towards the grand finals was an awesome experience. All the finesse and experience I had been noticing in the other players I could now see directly applied to my character of choice. I saw combo ideas I had not thought of, combinations of special moves I had not considered, and reflex-speed responses to what other characters were doing I would not have thought of.
I also saw combos I knew and had practiced. This familiarity gave me an idea of how to refine my solo regimen to be more adaptable to human players. Black Adam did not win the tournament, but he did take second place home, and I was standing right behind him cheering the whole way. It was, as such tournaments always have been for me, an exhilarating experience.
Another point on the very good side of this tournament for me was the recognition of my own bad habits. Back when Mortal Kombat 9 was new I developed some extremely bad habits playing against the AI that wound up costing me dearly against other human players. I expected to find something similar with Injustice, a few things I had picked up from my games against AI that I would need to unlearn. Much to my pleasant surprise, there were no major errors I need to correct, further boosting my confidence in my attempts.
With my first competition behind me, I return to my home dojo more confident and determined than ever. I will be even more prepared for my next bracketed contest!
