Batman Arkham Asylum

V

Verd1234

Look, Ma! Two Heads!
NO UNMARKED SPOILERS IN THIS TOPIC PLEASE!!!!

Ok, So I have heard many many great things about this game everywhere. On GameFaqs, when a new game is released, there are many fanboys but many trolls also. People sometimes feel that the trolls are justified and agree with them. I think this is because most game released nowadays arent all that great...

But not this time, there are virtually NO trolls on the Gamefaqs boards for this game. The few that are there are not taken seriously. This is rare and is a sign that this game is really loved by a lot of people and may be seriously good. I have seen videos and the gameplay looks amazing! All the professional reviewers like this game as well...(although I take the gaming professional reviewers with a grain of salt after GTA4 got better reviews than San Andreas)...

The game was released August 25th for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. I think that it releases Sept. 15th for the PC..

Anyway, I have been a Batman fan since I was 6 so I am going to pay the $60 and buy this game next week for my 360...I doubt I will be dissapointed..

So, what do you guys here think about this game? Have any of yall played it? Do you like the game footage at least(if you havent played it)?

I just wanna have a discussion about this game...the good points and the bad...

So, what do you think?

EDIT: Here are the release dates for the PC version...The console versions were already released on Aug.25th...

http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/data/952339.html

EDIT 2: I forgot to say this earlier but thanks for responding to my topic! This community is very helpfull!!!
 
While the demo I played was pretty awesome and atmospheric, length and mostly repetitiveness are probably going to be a problem. After playing the demo for just 10 minutes I already got the idea that while the game looked and felt smooth and well-done, I was probably going to be repeating the same things over and over again, similar to Assassin's Creed.

I can't say this for certain, though, since I haven't played the full game yet.
 
Verd1234 said:
But not this time, there are virtually NO trolls on the Gamefaqs boards for this game. The few that are there are not taken seriously.
Click to expand...

How do you expect me to take you seriously after this kind of contradiction. Make up your mind, are there any trolls or not.
 
I've watched some gameplay vids on YouTube and it looks really bloody awesome, but as Sander says: repetitiveness has surely crept in, the combat looks annoyingly monotone after a while.

Still: if I still played games, I'd buy it immediately 'cause I love everything Batman since my 6th as well.
 
length and mostly repetitiveness are probably going to be a problem.
Click to expand...

Hmm... I hadn't thought of this....

I guess if there IS repetitiveness, I might be forced to make myself vary the style I play to give the game variety..

Still, I hope that the game itself varies the situations enough that I can't just use the same techniques throughout the game... If it doesn't, I can always force myself to vary my style but it would be much better if it does...

How do you expect me to take you seriously after this kind of contradiction. Make up your mind, are there any trolls or not.
Click to expand...

I said that there were VIRTUALLY no trolls; I didn't say there ABSOLUTELY weren't any...
 
Played the demo and liked it quite a bit. My only complaint was the combat. It looked very awesome but it was pretty much the combat equivalent of Assassin's Creed's one button platforming. All you do is choose the direction and mash one button. I was hoping it would be deeper and more challenging, seeing how awesome some of the moves are.

It probably will get repetitive but I thought it was pretty decent, overall.
 
Awesome game, I beat it a few days ago. Must buy for a Batman fan, that is for sure.

PC completely spanks consoles in terms of graphics (surprise surprise I know), Graphics on the console are pretty even, during play your not really going to see much of a difference.
The main thing the PS3 has going for it is that it has the exclusive Joker challenge maps. I have to say that these are a blast. It is not just a reskinned Batman doing the same thing. Playing as the Joker in the challenge maps has his own unique gadgets,moves,taunts,etc etc etc. They are extremely fun and I find them quite a bit more challenging than Batman.

Definitely worth a rent if not a buy.
 
my bad, apologies.
Click to expand...

One of the great things about this community is that people are willing to apologise for their mistakes... :D

Don't worry, I accept your apology...

Awesome game, I beat it a few days ago. Must buy for a Batman fan, that is for sure.

PC completely spanks consoles in terms of graphics (surprise surprise I know), Graphics on the console are pretty even, during play your not really going to see much of a difference.
The main thing the PS3 has going for it is that it has the exclusive Joker challenge maps. I have to say that these are a blast. It is not just a reskinned Batman doing the same thing. Playing as the Joker in the challenge maps has his own unique gadgets,moves,taunts,etc etc etc. They are extremely fun and I find them quite a bit more challenging than Batman.

Definitely worth a rent if not a buy.
Click to expand...

Damn, too bad I don't have a PS3 lol...

Ah well, I have been a Batman fan since I was 6....I finished the demo a few minutes ago and now I am sold..

Interesting...DC comics has one of their most popular characters(Superman) have the worst superhero game ever(Superman 64) and they have the other popular character have one of the best superhero games ever(this game)...

I guess it is games like this that show there is still talent and creativity around in the game industry....even in the most unlikely of places lol...
 
Verd1234 said:
Interesting...DC comics has one of their most popular characters(Superman) have the worst superhero game ever(Superman 64) and they have the other popular character have one of the best superhero games ever(this game)...
Click to expand...

Are you sure you've played all the superhero games out there? To be more precise, have you played all the Batman games out there?

I guess it is games like this that show there is still talent and creativity around in the game industry
Click to expand...

I may trolling a bit here, but "creativity" is not a word I would use to describe Arkham Asylum. A game containing creativity would not be so repetetive, and certainly not allow you do to stuff like this.

But talent certainly enters the picture. It's a well-crafted game that succeeds in making you feel like you're Batman. It's not a flawless game by any means, but it sure looks to be one of the better AAA-games of the year.
 
Tried the demo, and I think it was only a step from a game that completely plays it self and the players doesn't have to do anything; I mean, every time you had to do something, an icon appeared on the screen telling what you have to press to trigger some automated sequence.
 
Played the demo.

The game is good.

I don't get the "best game eva" treatment it receives though...
I understand that 2009 was a really poor year as far as videogames are concerned but come on...
 
Are you sure you've played all the superhero games out there? To be more precise, have you played all the Batman games out there?
Click to expand...

I have not played that many but it is plain that Superman 64 is the worst; this much is true...I don't know if AA is the best but it certainly is ONE of the best as I said earlier....There are great Superhero games like Spiderman 2 and that one Hulk game whose name escapes me at the moment...

The truth is that most superhero games are badly made; they don't make you feel like the character and they tend to be generic...I guess what I was really trying to say was that AA isn't like that...


It's a well-crafted game that succeeds in making you feel like you're Batman.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think this is why I like it so much...I have loved Batman since watching the cartoons as a young boy on TV...


Tried the demo, and I think it was only a step from a game that completely plays it self and the players doesn't have to do anything; I mean, every time you had to do something, an icon appeared on the screen telling what you have to press to trigger some automated sequence.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I noticed some of this too....I think that the game might handhold a little too much..

Still, you don't have to follow what the game tells you to do...While playing the demo I tried to not do what the game wanted me to do...There are many ways to go about beating the bad guys aside from what they game recommends so that's good..
 
So, I've been playing the game quite a bit, and so far it's better than I expected. I've been playing it at the Hard difficulty, where at least the combat button-press hints have been removed.

The demo offers a good overview of the basic types of gameplay:
- General melee fights, they tend to get repetitive, although the occasional addition of new moves and the pure fun of it keep it from becoming a bore.
- 'Predator' rooms, which are rooms with a number of armed men who you have to try to take out without being noticed, as guns hurt you a lot.
- Exploratory gameplay, consisting of following clues, exploring the areas, and solving 'riddles' left by the Riddler.

I've been having the most fun with the last one, as they offer a little extra challenge, a lot of additional exploratory gameplay, and additional story elements (that aren't essential to the main storyline). Some of it is pretty challenging, and the fact that you'll need gadgets you only receive later on in the game to access some of these riddles means that there is quite a bit of backtracking involved if you want to get them all. Sadly, this does require that you run around with the Detective Mode view on, which means you won't be able to enjoy the environments as much.

Then there are also the boss fights, but these have sadly been disappointing so far. The atmosphere surrounding these things is great, on the other hand.


Overall, I'd call this a great game with a few minor grievances.
 
I bought the pc version Friday, finished it last night on normal. It's fun for the most part but I wouldn't call it a great game.

The good - the story, following clues, taking out opponents one by one, the graphics and voice acting.

The bad - boss fights, the Scarecrow and Killer Croc sections, the upgrade system, detective vision, the riddle, checkpoint saves.

The combat was great when you only had two to three opponents but really becomes tedious when faced with more than that, like in the boss fights. The controls are okay, though I had to switch to using a game pad, as my arms felt like they were going to drop off. Something just feels fundamentally wrong about click, click, clicking on a keyboard. Really what does making us have to rapidly tap the space key/A button, to open a vent, add to the game? Other than doing more RSI damage in one night than years of touch typing? Plus the trouble of mapping so many functions to one key is quite often you end up doing something other than what you intended, the number of times I held space to run and got snapped into corner cover. Or double tapped to jump out of the way of a charging boss except being too close to a minor opponent I instead do a somersault over their head and don't clear the danger area of the charge.

The game looks beautiful, but you spend so much time in detective vision looking for clues or keeping track of the bad guys location you miss most of the visuals. The riddles were fun, but not really connected to the main game. So you get the usual video game conundrum of must save x from imminent danger, 'oh wait a minute I'll just go down this side corridor and see if there's some loot'.

The upgrade system felt all wrong, it didn't feel right being able to upgrade in the middle of nowhere and having to take an upgrade just to be to do some of Batman's signature moves. I felt this could of been easily rectified by removing Bat's utility belt at the start of the game, either by willingly giving it up to pass through security and then having it nicked and your tools scattered or by being knocked out during the initial breakout and waking to find it gone. Armour could of been upgraded at certain scripted points, culminating with you in the armoured batsuit by the end of the game. Batman master martial artist needing to learn new (simple) combos also lacked verisimilitude, likewise needing to upgrade to do vertical take downs.

Overall it's a good game, spoiled by too much gameyness. If you know what I mean.
 
You disliked the Scarecrow sections? Really? I felt those were some of the best parts of the game.

The gameyness of the upgrades didn't bother me much, actually, though they really didn't add that much to the game either. And the pivotal upgrades did get their own special introductions.

Also, I've played the game on a gamepad so I didn't have any of your problems, although the silliness of having to continually tap A to get something done remains.

The boss fights weren't that interesting, but I liked the massive 20-1 fights you get into, the 3-1 fights were a cakewalk, probably even moreso on Normal.
 
Sander said:
You disliked the Scarecrow sections? Really? I felt those were some of the best parts of the game.
Click to expand...
I dislike games that have non skip-able sections that incorporate a totally different game style, for instance KotOR and the turret sections. The Darkness also did dream sequences yet still kept the same style of gaming. Plus I got a real strong feeling of déjà vu, I swear I played something a few years ago that did pratically the same thing. Right down to having to duck between cover and jumping between bits of floating rubble.

Sander said:
Also, I've played the game on a gamepad so I didn't have any of your problems, although the silliness of having to continually tap A to get something done remains.
Click to expand...
Yeah I switched to using a gamepad halfway through the first big boss fight, my arms felt like they were falling off.

Sander said:
The boss fights weren't that interesting, but I liked the massive 20-1 fights you get into, the 3-1 fights were a cakewalk, probably even moreso on Normal.
Click to expand...
I thought the combat was the least interesting part of the game, it wasn't a matter of difficulty just tedium. I'd rather of fought more challenging foes than large groups.
 
requiem_for_a_starfury said:
I dislike games that have non skip-able sections that incorporate a totally different game style, for instance KotOR and the turret sections. The Darkness also did dream sequences yet still kept the same style of gaming. Plus I got a real strong feeling of déjà vu, I swear I played something a few years ago that did pratically the same thing. Right down to having to duck between cover and jumping between bits of floating rubble.
Click to expand...
You have a point, but I still really liked the section. I thought the atmosphere was great, and the break in game-style was refreshing rather than disconnected.

requiem said:
I thought the combat was the least interesting part of the game, it wasn't a matter of difficulty just tedium. I'd rather of fought more challenging foes than large groups.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'd agree that there should've been more variation, just as the boss fights should've been more varied than just being a repetition of the same format over and over again (excepting the rather annoying Killer Croc sequence, which was disappointing for different reasons).

Still, I felt the combat was natural and fun most of the time, and the addition of two different types of enemies did add some variation. Sadly, they were under-utilised and could still easily be taken down with the combo takedown moves, basically destroying their danger.

I'd also like to note the voice acting. Mark Hamill does and absolutely stellar job as The Joker (a role he's done for a very long time), and the same goes for Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. Kevin Conroy as Batman does a decent job, although I remember from the early '90s series where he seemed to do a much better job. But a lot of the dialogue was written decently, not brilliantly, but was acted out poorly: as if there were two people holding seperate parts of a conversation, instead of a real dialogue. The exceptions where the parts involving Joker and Harley.
 
'd also like to note the voice acting.
Click to expand...

I noticed that about the demo. I didn't think most of the voice acting was very good. I didn't get a chance to hear much of Harley but the Joker was definitely great. Everyone else sounded pretty crappy though. I particularly disliked Batman's voice, he sounded weak and somewhat disinterested.

Having said that, I think I'm definitely going to pick this game up at some point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top