f13.net

I'm amazed that no-one has commented on how pretty the screens look (http://blog.differentpixel.com/archives/260-Batman-Arkham-Asylum-Screenshots.html).

(http://blog.differentpixel.com/uploads/Jogos/batman_arkham_asylum10.jpg)

And by pretty, I mean creepy.

I didn't mention it because I thought it looked like Bioshock with a Batman reskinning.

I will not shell out my hard-earned cash for Oblivion with batarangs!!!! !!!!!!!

!!!!!!!

I didn't even know it existed till this thread.

Bioshock with a re-skin? I disagree, from purely on looks, i know nothing of its gameplay.

I'm a whore. I will be all over it.  :heart: :heart: :heart:

I believe it will be more like Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay than Oblivion.

Yeah, i heard the same thing. That actually sounds cool. The Batman design they are using looks cool. I am liking this so far.

Bioshock, Butcher Bay, OR Oblivion --- still doesn't sound right for a Batman game to me.

I mean, none of them seem very conducive to a game needing acrobatic moves and such.

The Arkham Asylum graphic novel is hands down my favorite comic of all time.  I am so buying this.

Bonus screenshot: CROC!

Ditto.  An artist friend lent me his copy.  I loved it, went out to a comic shop convinced that I might find other stuff of the same quality, and was distraught to find that they were all shitty line-art and generally awful dialogue.  I've bought that book as a gift for several people down through the years, though.

Yeah about the only other comic that comes close for me is the four-part Books of Magic.  Not the series, that was awful.

It sounds good, but I don't want to play Batman.  If I can play Robin, Nightwing, or Catwoman I would be all over it though.

Batman is cool, but his supporting cast?
 :drill: :why_so_serious: :drill:

You scare me more than a little.

The point of Arkham Asylum is that he has no supporting cast.  He goes into the Asylum alone.  Other than for a short while before he enters, the other characters are the inamates (the Joker, Harvey Dent, Clayface and others) and the staff, with a fair amount of blurring of that line.  Given that a lot of the action is simply observed by Batman, without direct involvement, I have to say I'm a little pessimistic about the adaptation.

And you can't really use the "why_so_serious" emoticon about a game when it is based on a book called "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth"

I'm not getting my hopes up for this one, simply because the developer only has one previous game to their credit, which scored reviews that ranged from good to crap.

Doesn't seem like this is in any way related to the graphic novel.

That couple of years was great for Batman. I got The Killing Joke, Arkham Asylum, the Complete Frank Miller Batman and Digital Justice all within an 18 month span. (Digital Justice doesn't hold up but it's an interesting bit of historical trivia)

"Not born -- shit into existence" has got to be in the running for best single sentence in comic history.

Its got squat to do with the graphic novel.  Which frankly wouldn't work as anything other than a drug fueled point and click adventure game anyhow.
I've read up on the game.  Batman is bringing Joker in for the bazillionth time.  Apparently that's what the joker wants and all sorts of mayhem ensues.
They have confirmed that at least   :heart: Oracle  :heart: is in contact with Batman through the game.

But I have always liked Batman's supporting cast more than Batman.  Not just his rogue's gallery, but his allies and compatriots too. 
Of course I would rather play Tim "Somehow with my luck I haven't gone apeshit yet!" Drake, the current Robin, or Nightwing (Aka: Third biggest manslut in the DCU.), or Catwoman, or Huntress.
It would be too much to ask for Spoiler to be playable, and the current Batgirl is one of many reasons comic books kind of suck when it comes to the big two.
(And Batwoman is really lame so who cares about her, unless her ex Renee Montoya shows up. )

It's not.  I believe Paul Dini wrote the story for this one.

PC Gamer had coverage of this one this month, and on that alone: want! Even if it is Bioshock reskinned. Because there was nothing really wrong with Bioshock.

Necroing for new trailers.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/42999.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/43467.html

WANT. 

It's pretty,

but I still have no fucking clue what it was I watched, and how you can get so excited about trailers that dont' really show anything...

It reminds me of RE1.  If this game was like RE1 (with elements of RE4, but I really don't see this as a game where Batman fights off waves of enemies continuously, they are going for something more) I would be very happy. 

Interesting. Where's Harley???

Apparently Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill have been signed to provide their voices to Batman and Joker.  My interest in this title went up a little as a result.

/fanboy mode engaged  :heart:

I'll second that  :drill:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/44955.html

Get Hype!

There's Conroy and Hamill.

I don't care if this is a Riddick or a Bioshock clone. Looks hot.

Anyone else notice something a bit off with Hamill? Maybe it's because the script sounds really bad.

I like what i see in that trailer.  Batman looks a bit too roided up, but we all have our favor incarnation of his appearance.  This is definitely on the buy list. 

Well it's been, what, 10 years since he did the role? Probably not that long but the dude is getting old.  The part that sounded the most like Hamill as Joker was when he said "How's a guy supposed to break out of this place?" Maybe it's because Joker doesn't look, well, like the Joker. Strange as that sounds.

Delayed until "End of Summer 2009 for polishing".

http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=88232

Seems to be appropriately violent (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/48711.html). Plus stealth sections (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47318.html).

If they polish it up, I'll look forward to playing it.

FP demo is up today.
Thing is 2GB compressed.  Pretty hefty for a demo.

Really? I think with the art style I'd expect a hefty demo. Also depends on how lengthy it is.

Very much fun demo.  Do want. 

I hope there is some exploration content, though, and its not all strictly on rails.  Also, I wish there was a bit more environmental interaction- reading random files, opening drawers, etc.  Still, do want. 

If I was Batman, this is what I'd do.

I'm torn between the overpriced collector's edition (au$150) for the Batrang and leatherbound book, or just holding out for the regular edition which someone will have for au$78.

I can't even come close to telling if that is sarcasm.  

Demo up on Steam too. Very fun. Wish the demo wasn't a full month before release. Want now. The trailer at the end of the demo is movie trailer quality in my non-expert opinion (though there's a big flow-breaking bit in the middle). And with all the fun you can have just with the few moves in this demo, the trailer shows a lot more possibilities.

2gb is pretty big for the amount of game play there is here, but it's worth it for the textures.

I definitely dug the demo and will possibly buy the game on PC.  I dont mind the railroadeyness apparent in these types of games if the entertainment value is there, which from what I could see definitely is.  Plays like you're in a movie.  Definitely feels like '09-'10 will be the year of cinematic-style gameplay.

I kept replaying the demo to try to get all five guys in the big room at the end on inverted takedowns.  So far, four is my record  :oh_i_see:

I purposely didn't talk about this game in my E3 roundup because I didn't want people to think I was schilling for it. It had a massive presence at E3 (probably the biggest presence of the entire show) and most of the demo stations were occupied. I played it and I thought it was fun which says a lot given that I have little interest in the genre. It definitely doesn't reek of movie-game cash-in. It's also doing some interesting things, like the special vision and the way Batman deals with fighting multiple enemies.

Still there's no way it can touch Batman for the NES.  :awesome_for_real:

I loved the demo, though I had to upgrade my video drivers to get it to run right. Man is it gorgeous, and it actually does play a bit like Bioshock with Batman skins. I'm not sure how on rails it is - the demo made me think there'd be a good bit of scripting events, but that within an area there isn't one set of tactics and one set only that will work.

EDIT: Also, it definitely can't be considered a movie tie-in game, because it bears little resemblance to the movies. They are using most of the voices from the Animated Series (including Kevin Conroy!) and the look is most definitely neither the cartoon or the movie.

I get the rails from how you're moved through a linear story in a quite controlled fashion; however, they seem quite happy to let you perform objectives however the heck you feel like it. They'll lead you to the water but you can drink however you want sorta thing. But we haven't seen any boss fights much less played more than about 30 minutes of content.


How do you perform an inverted takedown? Hang upside down and ctrl-leftmouse? I now have a reason to try the demo again :-)

Maybe there are other ways, but all I did was sit on a gargoyle normally and wait for them to walk under (the guy at the far middle side of the room starts under a gargoyle and doesn't move if you don't kill someone else first in a loud way).  Then, right mouse click when the "inverted takedown" icon pops up.

EDIT:  For the guys who are walking you have to be quick, the icon will only be up for a second or so. 

Son of a gun. I thought the demo restricted players only to things it specifically showed you how to do.
Maybe I missed that demo? :-)

This game is pure sex.  All the little details blew me away.  I expected the goons in the pacification ward to just wander around, I didn't expect to hear them bitching about how the Joker's sitting safe in some room somewhere while they're trying to hunt down Batman.  Then there's the other little details like when I hung a guy from a gargoyle his buddies would just start shooting at the top of the gargoyle (although I'd already grappled to another location).  I've never seen a game where the bad guys perform reconnaissance by fire.  Damned impressive.

Preordered.

Sounds like Batman as done by Bethsoft.

Sounds like Batman done by someone familiar with Batman. You know, Detective Comics.

(http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/3286/batmandetective.jpg) (http://img196.imageshack.us/i/batmandetective.jpg/)


Edit: Ok played the demo of this and it's fan-fucking-tastic. The combat really does feel awesome and it actually seems like a case of successfully translating a console game to the PC. I just hope I can reassign control keys in the full game.

While I'm sure most people have figured it out, taking all of them out with inverted takedowns is made much easier by cutting down thugs you've already done that too by bataranging the rope holding them. I hope the actual game has a good balance of stealthy bits fighting armed thugs and nice fisticuff violence, the easy counters mean combat's pretty easy but it actually does feel like Batman the master martial artist fighting. Wonderfully cinematic.

Freaking awesome.  Torn between buying for the PC or PS3.  Or actually just buying it for the PC and putting my 360/PC controller to good use.

Yes, I am familiar with the comics. However, the detective thing isn't the key idea that attracts most to Batman.

Why would he need to look through files? He's trapped in Arkham Asylum with joker. There's no mystery.

Well, yes, pandering to the LCD is always best.

NiX, you could still add a ton of lore Irrational-style, recordings of the Riddler, interviews with Quinn, etc.

Anyway, grabbed the demo last night. The over-the-shoulder view gets in the way at times, but it controls pretty well. I preferred the 360 controller on the pc.

This title just made the must-buy list.

Looks like you're part of the LCD, too!  :why_so_serious:

Gonna see if this is up for XBL demoing on silver now.

That's what they're doing.  Did any of you guys go into the different character's files?  There were two Joker psych interviews in there.

 :rofl:

I was happy to see Riddler question marks on a wall but I can't get Jim Carrey out of my head.  Boo.  Edit:  I liked the other guy better from the TV show, which may not be saying much.


And the "Batman:  World's Greatest Detective" pic in this thread made me laugh pretty hard.  I just laughed again.

The original tv joker was brilliant, he always seemed like a true psychopath.

When I was telling my fiancee about this, she asked if I had to dispose of a bomb, only to be thwarted by nuns and ducks. I've totally gotten her into referencing awful movies (the batman movie with the original tv cast).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoUpF7rvfnk

So, is there any chocolate ice cream in this game?

Why the hell does Batman look like a WWE wrestler?  I much prefer TDK movie Batman.  Hell, I think I'd rather play as Adam West in tights.

Batman should not smell of meat and steroids. 

Ok, Joker....it's just me, and you, and the red white and blue.....SO WHAT YOU GONNA DO, BROTHER!!

Ok, so I haven't seen wrestling since 1983.

You and Nebu need to have a Daily Show style "Coot Off".

WOuld we be playing bass guitar in anime cosplay with some full-frontal nudity?  :rock_hard: :geezer: :cthulu:

That would be a cock-off.

Also, EWWWWW.

Sorry, I've never had a coot-off before. I do get my coot on, though.

Also, my fiancee feels I would win the coot-off.

Canadian Walmart price on release $38.83

PS3 (http://www.walmart.ca/Canada-FeaturedPage.jsp?selection=listingDetails&assetId=51979&imageId=71725&departmentId=180&categoryId=1024&tabId=22) version
360 (http://www.walmart.ca/Canada-FeaturedPage.jsp?selection=listingDetails&assetId=51978&imageId=70853&departmentId=183&categoryId=1082&tabId=22) version
Going to try to PM at BestBuy/FS on launch  :grin:

Pretty sure the fact that you even have a fiance means you lose by default.

GALDERNIT

Console releases today.
What's the word on the best platform to play this on?  PC release isnt for another 3 weeks, so I might just say screw it and buy this now probably for PS3.

Have heard that the 360 version is graphically better.  PS3 version has Joker DLC.

I don't know, the game looked gorgeous on both PS3 and PC. Haven't seen it running on 360. Not that it matters, it's probably pretty much the same.

If you don't own Lego Batman and always wanted to, buy Arkham Asylum for 360 or PS3 through Toys R Us Online and you get Lego Batman for free. Link (http://blogs.toysrus.com/videogames/2009/08/buy-the-new-batman-arkham-asylum-video-game-get-a-free-bonus-game.html)

I changed my avatar because of this game.  :grin:

Ugh, adblocked. Nasty.

It's just a fruit-eating bat species with a funny bone structure that allows it to bite through thick fruit. I think it's totally cute, looks like a little goblin!  :heart:

GiantBomb has a quick look on the game. The other guy (Ryan?) is totally nerding out over it. http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-batman-arkham-asylum/17-1245/

 

Beat the 360 version last night! Somewhat disappointing last boss fight in an otherwise terrific game. Bring on the sequel!

I'm picking this up now. hoping for good times...

Through the course of the day I've gone from being kind of unsure about this game all the way to the point where i must have this game RIGHT NOW.

Fucking good so far. Really atmospheric, smooth integration of story elements and gameplay, even when it's on rails I don't feel too railroaded. (Not the least of which because the premise is that the Joker has put Batman on the rails). Even though you're just mashing the same buttons in some basic fights, I really dig that it's not the same *looking* moves, that the game engine varies how it looks. Makes it feel much more Batman-ish.

I've only played the demo so far, but I was really struck by how it didn't feel like I was doing the same moves over and over during the fights.  They obviously put a lot of work into creating a LOT of different combat animations and having logic to trigger them at appropriate times.  Easily the best-looking combat I've seen in a brawler-type game.

Yeah, I just ordered this.  I don't, as a rule, typically get movie based games, but this looks too good to pass up.  Butcher Bay was the last move based game I played and liked. 

I'm tired of hearing people class this with movie based games. It's based off the comics and it's so far off from Dark Knight that the most they're going off of is peoples new interest in Batman.

Bad ghost, bad!

Fuck the lack of PC support until next month.  The game won't come up until a week after my short trip to America!  WANT NOW. 

Yes. And worse, calling it movie-based is an insult to the quality of this title.

And yes, boo on the effing delay for the PC port. Gnash. Teeth.

As you advance and buy upgrades you'll start to realize how much finesse you can extract from the melee system, with button mashing giving much less xp and preventing you from using the finisher moves. This'll become especially apparent in the challenge rooms.

But yes, you  can button mash to victory. Will take a bit longer to level and you'll eat more damage than needed, but it's perfectly doable.

When I see "button mashing" I think of Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Arkham has certain times when button mashing occurs, but that's not really the road to victory as far as I could tell even from the limited demo. Yea, some random dude or two in the hallway. But even three or four armed bad guys, button mashing just isn't going to work. This is yet another departure from the movies.

So personally, I think they put those random "cinematic fight sequences" in just to break up the real thinking that needs to happen in all the major and minor challenge points. And give you enough tools to be creative with sneak attacks and take downs.

Really, I just can't get over how good that demo was. If even 1/2 the actual game is that good, it'll be my own GOTY. Because my personal list matters or something...

Fair enough.  But it wouldn't be out without the success of the movies.....

Surprise of the year as far as I'm concerned.

Very, very good game so far. One that I can see myself replaying now and again for quite some time, much like Bioshock.

DEMON'S SOULS.

Demon Souls is Atlus, who I expect good games from. I don't expect good games from a place called Rocksteady based out of the UK whose only other credit is Urban Chaos.

From software is the developer. What would you expect from From. :grin:

Ohh, heh, Bioshock.   :oh_i_see:

STOP TEASING ME RASIX OR I'LL TELL MOM!

This is a bad and silly statement.

From, who is incredibly mediocre, just made what I consider the best console game ever made. Period. It is also an original IP.

Some other place makes a batman game that doesn't suck. Our bars are set so low for IP-based games that I don't know what "doesn't suck" even means anymore. Also, they released it during the summer, when nothing is released. *brilliant*

You get your monitor yet?

Why couldn't you have just said "Yea, you got me." ?

Oh sorry, you got me.

Now, your ego catered to, did you get your monitor yet?

Nah, won't be in for a couple days. They haven't even shipped it yet. Thankfully, they're shipping from Texas.

Arkham is far from "doesn't suck" and into the realm of "actually a good game" that not only has awesome game play, but is a faithful representation of even the more subtle parts of an IP.

As to the summer launch, that's probably because the average person thinks Christian Bale or Michael Keaton Batman in a year without a Batman movie. Back when they had to decide when to put this one shelf, I'm sure they didn't want to put this into the Q4 slate. No movie and up against a bunch of huge ass marketing budgets.

Of course, with so much slipping into 2010, maybe this won't be overrun after all.

Still need to get ahold of Demon Souls. And borrow a PS3.

Yeah, this goes beyond simple lack of suck.  I am by no means a Batman fanboy, but this game is loads of fun.  This is what playing Batman is supposed to feel like.  3 hours into it, it's my GOTY so far.

And we know, we know, Demon Souls.  Despite many of you having already played it, I don't think that game has had its true day in the sun just yet.  There's the nagging little detail of an actual North America release to overcome yet.

Can we make this thread about the awesomeness that is Arkham Asylum, and not about trolling by Demon Soul fanbois offended that some people also like other games?  Thanks. 

This.

I agree btw on the point that you can't just button mash. That gets hammered home the first time you have to deal with gun-toting bad guys. (Though it's not hammered home on the fight with Croc, who goes down ridiculously easily.) But what I'm admiring is that even *when* you just hit the same buttons, the game has a wide variety of animations to show you that feel visually faithful to comic-book action in general but the Batman IP in specific. I've never really seen any comic-book based video game that had that kind of alignment with its source material.

I just did a quick BiiF on this game, not to steal the thunder from this one...I just felt that a game this good needed a BiiF.  And somewhere where we can begin posting spoilers in earnest.

I really like the counters in combat and am amazed at how well implemented and animated they are.  I haven't mastered combat yet by any means, but the counter system has made me slow down and time things, rather than just bashing the whole way through.  I also only just learned that cape slash move (B on the xbox controller) is a stun move.  Couldn't figure out how I kept stunning them all the time!

Hey, I was just trying to be helpful.  :oh_i_see:

This is a planned purchase for me (well, birthday "suggestion", I can wait), and I was surprised it's any good. The fact that it uses the animated series voices is a clincher for me, even if I wasn't completely convinced by the demo.  

Feel better now?   :grin:

I keep playing the demo, but I still suck at counters. How much timing is involved?

Very little. As soon as the blue rays pop you can start pressing Y, and as long as the enemy's punch isn't 1mm away from batman's body, he'll counter it.

And by blue rays, he means the thing that goes off over the bad guys head right before he's going to attack.  I bet all your troubles are based on the fact that you didn't know they telegraphed in such an obvious fashion.

Combat is an amazing mini-game where timing and observation will keep that combo meter high instead of random mashing. The game just *feels* right. It is AMAZINGLY satisfying with the sound, intensity of the fights, and just OMG FUCK YES when you take out a crowd of 10 unarmed guys without stopping.

One thing that is annoying to me, why does he move faster crouched than normal movement? Thats kind of silly.

He's the Batman.

Less wind resistance?

Getting 5 inverted Takedowns in the last room of the demo is damn satisfying, definetly a must buy when it finally comes out on PC.

Because it's more fun than walking at a speed of half a meter per hour.

Beat me to it.

postcount++

:awesome_for_real:

Another thing that I noticed. He Maybe the Batman, but who is the Batman? Markus Fenix is appears. At least when talking to Oracle.

This game is fucking awesome.  :Love_Letters:

Seriously I could do inverted takedowns all damn day.

People who have played Demon's Souls (and logged as much time as it deserved), is it 1/10th as good or is it just awesome because it's the first real game out in 4 months?

Have you tried the demo?  I wasn't blown away by it, but I could see that something's definitely there.  Worth an eventual  purchase for me to see.

I had no intention to because they had it for like $25USD less in Canada, which makes me assume it's a $30-$35 game. As such, I'm just guessing that most of these folks have suffered from a crap summer and are not to be trusted.

It's like Splinter Cell, except you're trading Michael Ironside for Mark Hamill Kevin Conroy and more punching.

Waiting for price drop confirmed. Unless someone can make some kind of argument for me to pick this up.

Pretty much everyone on the web saying it is awesome isn't enough of an argument? 

Four months without a decent game will make a decent game an awesome game.

Naw, this summer was awesome: Prototype, Sims 3 plus Summer of XBLA shenanigans. 

Devil Summoner 2, Infamous, Devil Survivor, Ghostbusters, Bound in Blood, Street Fighter 4, Blazblue, and Bionic Commando, although I'm well aware that I'm the only one that would qualify the last one as decent.

I think perhaps there is an element of truth in that, but ultimately this game looks and feels exactly like a Batman game should feel.  If that appeals to you, then you should try it.  I have a hard time imagining anyone realistically calling this thing anything less than Very Good.

No one can offically explain the pricing here in Canada to me its really weird as the sale is effectively dead now today.

All prices have returned to $69.99 CAD. (besides Walmart but I bet their site is lagging)

It seems Walmart cut a deal to get an exclusive price vs the rest of the stores. People caught wind that it was getting released at this price with Walmart Canada and were trying to preorder with price match, if no luck they cancelled their preorders. Futureshop/Bestbuy/EBgames were effectively forced to match the price for the first three days and now everyone has reset to normal prices.

schild is just grumpy cause people are fawning over this game when he thinks they should be more excited about the US release of Demon's Souls in a little over a month.

I'd be all over Demon's Souls if a) it was released in Europe and b) the euro prices of PS3 consoles weren't such a huge fucking ripoff.

Man, we should just institute a mandatory threadjack on all PC/Console thread discussions in which we collectively admit that nothing we're talking about is really any good, because: Demon's Souls. Then we can go back to talking about something other than Demon's Souls for a few replies before we have to again affirm the holy catechism of Demon's Souls non-comparability to anything else ever played by human beings.

Hey, it's the last console action game I played. It's not like i'm saying Batman can't be good because of Deus Ex or something. All I was asking for was an opinion from someone who played it. Ironically, the only one that gave one so far was Rasix and he didn't buy Batman yet.

Edit: Oh, I guess I played InFamous too, but it would seem that was a pretty forgettable experience.


You're fucking reeeeeeeeaching.

Just get the demo on Steam and try it.  It's pretty goddamn fun.  If the full game was out on Steam I'd have bought it on release day.  Now that I've heard about the PS3 DLC I'm probably going to snag it next time I'm at a game store.  And I HATE buying console games at full price.

Mind you, I haven't played Demon's Souls yet because I'm still waiting for the US release.  So my opinion is next to worthless.   :why_so_serious:

I spent a few hours last night watching Ingmar play this (something I do not often do). If you like Batman shit, I really can't see why you wouldn't enjoy this game. It's all very ... Batmany. My only complaint about it (and bear in mind I haven't actually DONE the combat stuff but given I know Ingmar is a spaz at these types of games and he still was having a grand ol' time so I suspect I would be OK with the combat too) is that I don't like the choice of that art style with those voice actors. In my little ideal fantasy world, it would've been some sort of cel-shaded in-the-style-of-the-animated-series thing. But then I guess people would've bitched that the graphics were (oh no!) cartoony.

Because I go out of my way to buy or at least rent the games you recommend, so for the head's up on Demon's Souls, Dawn of Discovery, I say buy the fucking game and quit being such a downer, schild. It has some minor flaws but overall is very entertaining.

Just to clear up why it's so much cheaper up here: Wal-Mart Canada periodically does first day sales to draw people in, especially after long slumps in releases. Best Buy/Future Shop soon followed and so did EBStop, so the game is $20 CDN cheaper up here because of everyone playing catch up with Wal-Mart. Not the game itself being crap. This happens all the time.

You do realize they are using the same voice actors from the animated series?

I think that was the point: that Sjofn expects those voice actors to match to the animated style, not to the art style of the game.

My honest opinion is that it is an above average game, with excellent production values, and superb voice acting. Its sort of a Bioshock meets Splinter Cell type of vibe. I would rate the game in the high 80s or low 90s. The one thing thats throwing me off a little is the difficulty curve. It kind of jumps around a little bit, but over all a very fun game and worth a rental at least. I'm sure you could probably finish the game in 1 or 2 sittings Schild. But it is a game you should play, even if only for the voice acting. Sort of like Portal, even if you hated the game style and concept, you should play Portal just for the voice acting. Mark Hamil as the Joker is that good. Ok, maybe not quite Portal amazing, but it IS very very good.

*quick edit*
I am talking about the voice acting not the whole game in the above line.

Yup. My brain gets all "Mark Hamill's Joker doesn't look like that." The art style is fine, I just watched the hell out of the animated series and so the voices conjure up very specific character designs in my mind's eye, and so I get a pang of "no it's wroooooooong" every time I hear AND see, say, The Joker. When it's just his voice coming through the PA system, it's fine. :P

I suck at this game even though I am playing it on easy but it is awesome.  :awesome_for_real:

One of the early encounters reminds me of Eternal Darkness and that alone cements my love for Batman: Arkham Asylum.

delayed Australian releases suck very hard.  I rocked up at EB and JB ready to trade for batman on Friday and was denied, i then went back to work and denied some dude's loan application. 

Demons Soul's is a superior game in many ways because of the way they have merged genres and put real effort into level design and combat mechanics.  But(based on teh demo mind you) i haven't felt so entertained in a stealth or cqb bashy game in a long time, it is really a classy experience and very well realised. 

As previously stated, you really feel like a badass; without all the flagrant emo of Prototype and the corny monologues of Infamous (not to mention cowering behind cover because you aren't really a badass).

I'm currently struggling through splinter cell double agent, and Batman's stealth system seems to shit on it in every way.

There's a place in Melbourne CBD that had it in stock Friday, possibly earlier. AU$89

For the PS3 players: What's the Joker DLC like? Since I'm likely to get a PS3 this Christmas season, I might hold off on this game until then in order to get the better version if it's significantly worthwhile.

You won't try a demo because of some price differential between markets?

Not to mention the fact that the reason it was cheaper in Canada is apparently because Walmart made a huge announcement just before release that they were going to have a sale on the game for 39.98 which prompted all the other retailers to drop the price as well.  This wasn't something that was set by the publisher.

Edit: Just noticed that Nix already mentioned all that.

You guys should stop arguing that he should try it. You know schild. Once he makes a statement or decides on something, no matter how stupid it is, he won't ever give ground. Because that would be admitting that he was wrong. Also, DEMONS SOULS.

My roomie bought this.  It is a very very pretty game, with a nicely creepy atmosphere that they seem to have kinda jacked from the medical pavilion of Bioshock.  I haven't played it myself yet, unwritten rule to let the guy who bought a game finish it before other people play it, but watching him play thus far has been fairly entertaining.  Fights look impressive, there's a lot of vertical mobility for climbing around and dropping on people, and there are a goodly number of crawly air ducts for sneaking.  Getting the cartoon voice actors was a very wise decision, though I agree that seeing the very un-cartoony character models is a little jarring when paired with the voices.

Given the mature nature of the game, I don't think it'd fit well with the animated series visuals; people are kinda being murdered all over.

I might even actually finish this game! I never finish games like this!

So far the one lame thing is the WALK VERY SLOWLY FOR A LONG TIME segment. I don't have any other complaints.

What do you mean by this, exactly?  I mean, the RUN button does a pretty decent job of solving that walking issue.

There's a part where you have to walk slow.

Gotcha.  Perhaps I haven't made it to that part.

Maybe I havent ether, but I thought he was talking about the opening segment walking along next to the Joker.

There are also segments where you're talking to Oracle while going down a long hallway, and won't be able to move past the hallway onto the next story segment without the call finishing. Storyline pacing technique. It would be silly for Batman to stealth or run during the Joker escort, for example.

Might be talking about the opening to the Scarecrow segments, where you also have to walk slowly. Kind of the point, though.

None of those parts! There's a REALLY LONG part fairly late (I think, not done but things seem to be coming to a head) where you have to walk slowly to avoid [ZOMG SPOILER].

I also imagine if you are forced to walk you are being given an opportunity to take in the scenery around you without blowing past it.

I gotta say, while they telegraphed the coming of the first two scarecrow segments, the switch to the third one messed with me. 

I cannot get the demo to run on my PC. Surpass the requirements,updated my drivers to the ones that specifically mention this game, and i still get a launcher error when it tries to load. Doesn't matter if i downloaded the demo from steam or the website.

The Error?

The Batman is a thinking man's badass. I find this game incredibly satisfying on every level.

It really is satisfying.  There isn't any part of this game that I don't like a lot.  Even the damn riddle solving stuff is fun.

I just beat this finally last night. The atmosphere is really what makes this game. The story itself is passable, it's basically just a Batman comic, if that's what you're into. Anyone expecting some life changing plot should dial back their expectations a touch.

Also, the second to last fight (just before the last boss fight) was harder than the last boss itself, no joke. I was playing on Normal difficulty.

Anyone playing/played the PS3 Joker DLC? I'm quite keen to hear how good that is..

Im not sure if you are mocking my vagueness or not. BMlauncher.exe error, ive seen it mentioned a few places and none of the things provided helped. Drivers up to date,netframe whatever up to date.

Try finding the crack for the full game. It may solve your issue.

Use your zipline gadget. Just be prepared to drop and throw a batarang quickly. Also: don't fall in the water.

The one time i tried this (towards the end of this particular section) things did not go very well.  The idea and atmosphere on this part was pretty good, however they could have cut the length in half and it would have been MUCH more enjoyable.

Or just use crouch. Its about twice as fast as the walk speed, but wont trigger the event like running will.

Fuck. I finally understood why they inserted the slow-mo in between blows while in combat. It's for me to rotate the camera and update my situational awareness. Once I figured that part out, pulling off chain combo and spreading batarangs when needed seems easier.

I'm having a tough time getting maximum score in the challenge modes due to having to fight the camera along with the half-dozen opponents I need to manage. Plus I seem to always push that one wrong button that breaks a sequence.

Huh, I didn't get that impression on the PC. It's true when you're in the corner, camera can be quite stupid at times, but usually when they slow things down, it gives me around 1-2 sec just to rotate the camera around seeing which thugs get up, their relative range to me and enough info for me to chain my next move.

I must be going slow then. Certain tactics aren't good to use, that's for sure, like leaping over an opponent you Bat-Clawed to attack someone behind him, as the camera will flip around to face the thug you jumped rather than the one you attacked.

I get paid tomorrow and I am going to pick up the PS3 version of this game immediately.  I honestly can't wait the demo on steam was bad ass.  Has anyone played the joker levels?  I ask because I haven't heard really anything about it other than the joker is real fragile.

So, is this game better on the PC or PS3?

I don't think it's out yet for the PC is it...?

As far as I can tell, it would control fine without a mouse, and the only exclusive content I know of is that Joker stuff for the PS3, so I'm inclined to say PS3, but I haven't played anything but the demo.

Yeah, I guess I should have said, do the controls feel like they were designed for PC or a Console?  Game looks consolish to me, so I just figured I'd go with PS3.

The PC demo is out so you could try that. My guess is it will play better with a controller than a keyboard, but I've only played it on the xbox.

You need a digital input instead of the analog keys to do very well in combat.

I thought combat felt fine on the PC, but it was definitely designed for a console.

Yeah, I agree with Sam. It doesn't feel awkward on the PC, but you can tell it would only serve you better to have a game pad.

So, I guess this game has SecuROM...?  Should I be worried?  What's the current status on that?

Looking for logic in a comic book story:

Can anyone tell me what Dr Young though she would be achieving with the Titan formula? "Hey, you're a sociopath who's highly resistant to treatment, so let's give you steroids on steroids to fix that." I get what the Joker wanted, but for Dr Young to even start the project means she must have had some expectations of successful (read: non-super human killing machine) results.

Answer : Captain Gotham.

She didn't know it was the Joker at first, I don't think. In the emails he used an alias (can't remember what it was at the moment). She was a very ambitious person and I think she probably saw it initially as a way to make a name for herself.

Although Jack White helped finance the research, there wasn't a mention I can think of about exactly what the experiments were meant to achieve. I mean, working on Bane's Venom to turn it into something even more potent would make sense for her if it actually could have had some therapeutic benefits.

No big issue; just thought I'd ask if there was an obvious thing I'd missed that made the backstory make sense.

Found another good habit when doing combat challenges, do dodge more often (Double tap sprint) if you are unsure what to do next. This buys you another second and does not break combo, it also provides an effective defense against oncoming attacks that you might have missed.

If you have the PC version or are planning to get it, there is a patch that has to be downloaded through Games for Windows Live and sometimes is known to take anywhere from a couple minutes to an hour. So, if it seems like it's hanging at 98%, let it run and it'll eventually open the install dialogue for the patch.

Also, stun cape does not add to combo, but does not break combo either, so you can re-use it.

Throwing a quick batarang only takes one tap of the left trigger - double-tapping it can break the combo. However, you need to double-tap the right trigger for batclaw - single tapping that can break the combo.

It's a minor complaint, but whoever did the controls needs a quick chat. It's not great that some things are inconsistent - like the above, like how B is drop down unless you are hanging in which case A is drop down.

I noticed Quick Batarang also doesn't give you the full second to continue the combo, so whenever I do it, I do an evade move to buy myself some time. I finally 1000'd the game so I've moved on but there was definitely a moment where I felt like I was getting really good at fighting in the game. Just... there's no point to getting really really good. :)

I played it with a 360 controller on the pc and it was great.

My memory's a bit dodgy, because it's been a few weeks, but I think there was a commercial type deal going in the medical center about Project Titan, and how it was supposed to make it's subjects physically strong enough to be able to withstand the treatment they needed to cure their mental disease.  Joker would just be using way too strong a dose, hence the hulking out effect. 

Well, so far, loving it.  The villains really make this game, for me.  The Riddler, especially, though I am kind of annoyed at his "riddles."  Stupid crap like "Tweedledum and Tweedledee SAW it, can you SEE it?" being answered by snapping a photo of a see-saw?  Really?  The hell is this?  Worst of all are those "find the question mark" ones.  Sounded like a cool idea to me, " you see part of the question mark, and have to look around to figure out where you can see the whole thing from, and find a way to get there."  But you don't see anything unless you're running around with Joel-Schumacher-vision on all the time, even then it's usually way out of the way, and once you get there you have to futz around with the camera to line the stupid thing up.

Does anyone know what those sonic batarangs are for?  I got the upgrade, and they seem pretty useless.  The tooltip mentions something about them being in tune with the collars, which I guess using Superfriends-level science means they're supposed to lure them in, but I haven't seen it work on the rare occasions I've actually been in a position to use it.

AFter finishing it- love it.  The atmosphere makes this game for me.  The little touches, such as

 are awesome.  It would have been SO easy to try to stick in every iconic Batman villain in a series of shitty boss battles, where Two-face shoots laser beams at you or whatever.  But they just left subtle hints of the other criminals, which I like.  And they used Scarecrow in JUST the right way.

Also, I wish I would have entered that face capture contest.  I think the contest winner is located in .

My only nitpick are the boss battles.  I liked the Titan monster stuff, but the .  This wasn't a huge problem for me, since I play these games for the parts in between bosses anyway (bosses are just a necessary evil I try to get by). 

Verdict- awesome, worth full price even if there wasn't a Challenge mode. 

They're collectibles to unlock extra content, that's how it works. Also, every "riddle" is a picture. "Two DENTS on a wall" is two posters in one of the security huts in the same area where the see saw is. There isn't much else they could do without adding an entire section of the game solely for the riddler, which would deter from Arkham being manipulated as was, not before hand. You're his intellectual opponent in this setting, not trying to stop him from committing a crime.

You throw them into a place in order to help set a trap. So, you might throw one near a grate so you get one guy by himself, take him down, then head off to prep a destructible wall nearby for when his friends show up to investigate. They can also be used to separate pairs of enemies.

So this goddamn game finally gets released, and turns out that despite buying on steam I have to setup some BS microsoft account to able to save the game, and then reenter the sodding product key about a dozen time, update the 'microsoft live' software, and restart half a dozen times.

What is this bullshit?

Dunno, but you could always just torrent it.  I bought the game for the 360, but also wanted a copy on my PC, so my cheapass logic kicked in and said that it would be fine denying them a second bite of the apple.  Of course, you actually bought the PC version of the game, so your conscience should be even easier to soothe.

I don't know why you had to restart so many times. But, not that I'm promoting piracy, but your newly acquired Games for Windows Live CD Key works for every Games for Windows Live game except for Section 8 and you can activate multiple games with the same key.

Enjoy!

Yeah, that's him.

I thought the riddler thing was bullshit.

Add a scene where the riddler escapes, while explaining that the trophies are bombs and the riddle solutions are 'encrypted trigger codes', I don't know, this shit is supposed to be what professional writers do, something like that and you have a solid optional side mission.

This set up just reminds me I'm playing a console game.

And the story reminds me I'm playing a comic book game.  :oh_i_see:

I'd really like there to be a halt to all "collect 500 whatsits" as console achievements, but it won't happen because it is easy filler work that keeps players hanging on longer.

The Dr Young thing in particular seemed to be cut off in mid flow.

Bane repeatedly refers to her as 'Bruja' in a rather forced manner, and shortly afterwards there are prisoner conversations the prisoner goes on the spell out that this is Spanish for 'witch'. I assumed this was a setup for Young taking on a villian persona.

My guess is that they originally wanted Dr Young to be an original villain, then cut that part but couldn't make the story work.

This would at least explain the flimsy Titan background.

I saw the story as something that Dini probably worked backwards on - we want a big fight versus the Joker or the Joker wants a monster army, so we'll create a serum that will let that occur. Bane is the obvious candidate to kick things off with his Venom, and it is in Arkham so there are doctors so then this doctor creates the new version we need. Why? Mumble mumble mumble.

So what you're saying is, as far as overall plot, Dini phoned it in, but the individual lines of dialog that occurs throughout the game are brilliant.

Maybe he's saying it's a pretty good story in the realm of Video Game Stories and serves its purpose of letting us pretend we are Batman.  I'm not analyzing the story too much and the lack of cohesion isn't bothering me a lot, but my expectation is in line with "one-hour special in which we see many major villains" style plot: it's flimsy but we get fan service.

I'm still loving this game.  Just got the upgraded grapple.   :drill:

Somehow my savegame got corrupted, lost my file with everything unlocked.  Rrrgh.

While we're picking holes in the plot, is it ever explained how exactly the whole "we got all the secret security codes for everything" takeover actually happened?  I don't remember them ever saying anything about it, other than that Joker's gang got flown in from Blackgate because of an electrical fire.


I don't know about "brilliant."  Some of it is pretty good; the tapes and the background stuff were really neat.  But a lot of what actually happens in the game is pretty blah.  Joker's got a few good lines, but Batman himself (and almost everyone else) has nothing really memorable.  Overall, I'd say it's the game's atmosphere rather than the dialogue specifically that is really well done.

Batman has a couple jarring lines like "Gordon is smarter than he looks."  And "Harley thinks she has me trapped- she never was very bright."  They just seem strange coming from Batman- he's not usually in the business of casual insults.

I think Harley's lines were A-plus- the voice was absolutely perfect and how I always pictured her talking.  My other favorite for voice acting was Zsasz- his tapes are the best in the game. 

Some exposition can only come from Batman.  Unfortunately.

Some of my favorite lines are from Joker mocking and terrorizing his own men as Batman picks them off one by one.

"Come on bats, tell me, what is it that you really fear?' line from joker was brilliant. I had to pause and laughed out loud at the unexpected punch line.

Actually, I was pretty impressed that the story didn't overload us with boss-fights against every villain in the Rogue's Gallery.

I can work up an explanation for the doctor's work on Venom pretty readily. For one, it's pretty well established in the comics that a lot of the medical staff at Arkham either has some mental issues themselves or they start to acquire those issues in the course of trying to cope with the place. (The tapes do some good work along those lines). So in that sense maybe messing around with Venom might start to look like a good idea. It's also possible that the good doctor was thinking of marketing improved Venom to the military or some such thing until the Joker started underwriting her work.

Still, it wouldn't have hurt for them to drop a line like, "Some derivatives of Venom briefly appeared to have some useful psychoactive properties that the doctor thought might be therapeutic". There are other widely scorned drugs that have turned out to be useful in unexpected ways once the stigma of working with them was overcome, like thalidomide.

I don't know if Dini phoned it in or there were some late edits that cut things up (like a section of the game being dropped, so the plot was re-cut to fit).

It's a small thing, but it stands out to me because the rest of the production was so good.

The audio tapes were fun - the Scarecrow making every session his own, Killer Croc's inhumanity, the Spirit of Arkham. I didn't like Harley Quinn's that much - they were too obvious - but it's a minor thing.

On Zsasz, I loved the fact that he is basically Batman's bitch, but he is terrifying to those around him. He's a very realistic kind of murderer and is a threat, despite being no match for Batman.

As for the Joker taking over Arkham, I'm guessing that guard who gets killed early on probably helped, but it can also be summed up as: The Joker is magic.

They actually did do this.  As I was running around that complex of corridors in the medical facility (where you rescue three doctors from three different rooms) the voice playing over the loudspeaker (basically an advertisement for Akham) said something like that.  But it was a blink and you'll miss it sort of thing, it never really showed up in a cutscene. 

This.

Thats why always ignore those "collect 500 whatsits" achievements. Even if you care about a gamer score you can make more points by playing another game in the same time.

For me, those are added Xp boosts now and then. Thanks Riddler, yes I know you are better than me. Good for you.

It's not about Gamrescore for me, but the fact that they often unlock something pretty cool. I wish they just unlocked 20GS or whatever.

Does it in Batman? Damn

Unlocks things like character bios and trophies, which are viewable models.  Finding those things also gives Batexperience.

Weird; I always love those.  Gives me something to do with my buff, maxxed out character, aside from just beat up the final boss over and over and over.

I had no problem with the Joker taking over Arkham, just because HE IS THE FUCKING JOKER. But the story needed some kind of twist or reveal, or just something different beyond the fanboi shout outs.

As it was, it kind of jumped the shark with the electric floor fight.

The electric floor challenge (Shock and Awe) annoys me, but I found the electric floor fight in the game kinda fun - especially if you can knock some guys down with the batclaw / batarangs and get out of the way before the floor electrifies.

Finished it tonight on the PC after a couple days, and I really enjoyed it. The combat system was pretty cool and allowed for some very fancy coreography, the puzzles were mostly fair and the stealth predator element was implemented very well. I found the boss fights to be surprisingly easy, and they made more of a villain showcase than anything else, but I guess it fits better than a version where you whack at Iconic_Batman_Villain_00 for about half an hour while chucking potions. I also liked how they added the timed counter system to prevent mindless button mashing.

The things that annoyed me most were the pseudo-boss battles with brutes+henchmen where I kept throwing batarangs in the wrong direction while desperatedly trying to dodge, and the darn camera getting me stuck somewhere in a corner.

Control with the keyboard on the PC seemed actually quite solid, except for the final boss fight where I would assume arrow keys were way inferior to a thumb stick due to the fixed camera.

I *love* the combat challgenes. But seriously, how does one get gold medals on those? Best I managed was a solitary silver one so far, rest is often a struggle for bronze. It's not getting hit really, but I somehow don't rack those insane scores with beating stuff. They should allow for some replay downloads from the top 10 scorers or something.

EDIT: Oh, and this looks really good on the PC with Nvidia 3D Vision! One of the best implementations I've seen to date.

I thought it was fun too, but it was about that point that you realise that massed thug combat with a gimmick and the occasional titan is as good as it gets.


The final joker battle would have been better if it was just another round of the thugs+titan.

I had the same problem, loved the challenges but could barely get bronze. Then I found this: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/xbox360/file/952337/57661

and after reading that I have been doing a *lot* better.

Thanks for the hint! Interesting how much depth there actually is to it. That FAQ also explains why I'm having so much trouble with variation bonus and knife/stun baton thungs, because cape stun is mapped to "mouse wheel click" on the PC, and I'm finding it incredibly annoying to click the mouse wheel. I keep pushing/scrolling/whatever instead of clicking, and the window where you need to perform the click isn't terribly forgiving either.

I think cape stun is also mapped to 'E' on the PC, I found that easier to use than middle mouse.

I bit the bullet yesterday and bought a wireless X360 controller for the PC, and the difference (for me) is huge. Freeflow combos come off a lot easier because my brain seems to deal with thumbstick directions way better than all the "press any two of the WASD" keys stuff. And, what was irking me a lot, I can now move diagonally and actually do something while moving - try pressing W+A+SPACE and then C on the keyboard for a challenge!

Teaser trailer for the sequel from the Spike VGA's (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/halo-reach-spike-tv/59813).

I'm on the fence with this game.  Is it a fighting game like Force Unleashed?  Or more like Halo?  I'm not a big fan of fighting games, barely finished two levels in FU before I got bored.

I'm not sure "fighting game" means what you think it means.

Halo is a generic FPS. Force Unleashes is a third person action game.

Batman is an action game. No, it is not like Force Unleashed. Force Unleashed was trash.

I've only played the demo, but it mostly reminds me of Splinter Cell, with Bioshock graphics.

That's a pretty accurate description, except he gets into more fist fights (not the game's strong point, honestly. Pretty though.) than Sam Fischer.

 :uhrr:

The fights are more fun when you realise it is actually an exercise in button pushing. Punch, punch, powerpunch, counter, combo move like instant take-down or throw, counter, powerpunch, throw batrangs, et al.

... that said, I'm stuck on getting the last achievement on the freeflow combat challenges.

Yeah, if you treat them as button mashing exercises then fights are kind of cool looking but generally dull and definitely repetitive. Once you get the hang of combos and timing them then it becomes a pretty engaging game of figuring out which move you can do next that won't take the thug out and let you work in another variation. Plus when you're doing that you get to see Batman do some fairly insane fight combos.

Combos eh?  Sure sounds like a fighting game.

I'll put it in my Gamefly list and check it out.

:facepalm:

Not up+up+down+a+b+a+a combos but attacking with different weapons. There is only one attack button and the computer directs you towards the opponents but for those attacks to count in a combo you need a second between them. It looks cool as hell and you can just keep calmly clicking while making sure the camera has some bad guys in sight, the variation thing comes into play with you weapon choice. Switching between batarangs, rappel, etc. rack up variation bonuses.

That's also really only part of the game, it's far more stealth generally since if your opponents have guns you don't stand a chance doing anything but silent takedowns and flying away which is also cool as hell.

edit: There's a goddamn demo on Steam. It shows you exactly what the game's like just try that.

Batman: AA is on sale for $35/$60 at Amazon today.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_85833871_3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000208101&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-1&pf_rd_r=033KDR4QB7648W76BNJV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=496382711&pf_rd_i=409566

Good job on that URL, Amazon.

This is one of those games which I would put on a list of "game of historical / innovation importance that you must play in your lifetime as a gamer."

I'm not sure about innovative, but it is a damn fun game.

Innovative?  You people are just odd about this game.  Ohh wait, Lorekeep.  MW2 fan.  :awesome_for_real:

Edit: Yes, I know I have a bug up my ass about the praise heaped on this game.  It's just a Batman themed giant Splinter Cell level to me.  Keep in mind that I love Splinter Cell and had similar if a bit different fun here. 

/ was meant to be an or, not an and.

I guess I see a lot of stuff this game has going for it that made it a must-play title, like Dead Rising (probably supplanted by Dead Rising 2 once they get a more consistent, bug-free, less aggravating experience) and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. You know, unique, genre-defining games that exemplify the best we have to offer.

eh?

It is not even as innovative as Splinter Cell, God of War or the recent Princes of Persia. And these are hardly shining beacons of innovation themselves, even if they are fun for a couple of days.


This. And to be honest this is doing a disservice to the variety in splinter cell stealth puzzles.

Batman basically has 2 scenarios, the punch-people-in-face-while-dodging-titans scenario, and the hide-on-gargoyles-or-in-grates scenario. Variation after the fight with Bane was only increasingly camp locations, and occasional 2d minigame or terrible boss fight. Poison Ivy would have looked as if it was phoned in even as part of a late eighties film tie in. Game it reminded me of most at that point was Dragon's Lair. This is not a good thing.

It still worth playing. But it is an archetypal renter - you can't expect half hearted console ports to be some kind of robot jesus.



EDIT
Regarding lorekeep's post above, this isn't going to be a historic reference point. It'll be a game that everyone writes into their GOTY lists at the end of the year, but then promptly forgets about.

I submit that you guys are more intellectual and analytical about it than I am. "Worth playing" - that'll work for me.

I don't know about innovative, but its a well made, fun game that reminded me of a more easily controlled and heroic resident evil.  The voice acting was SUPERB.  I bout it on sale from steam a few weeks ago and was very pleased with the purchase.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/tgs-09-splinter-cell/57677
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/sdcc-09-splinter-cell/53101
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-splinter-cell/50011
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-splinter-cell/50193

Splinter Cell always defines the genre. Sorry, pal. It's like the only thing Ubisoft does right these days.

It's not innovative but it is a really fun Batman game that captures the atmosphere of the character really well. There really aren't enough of those, some of the Spiderman games were good fun but that's about it in terms of comic book games.

Finally got back to this one. Bane fight is pissing me off. This is usually the kind of Boss nonsense that drives me from most games. I assume I just strike+strike+dodge during each of the his three phases (each ending with one hose removed)? Seems like the additional grunts added to the fight aren't a problem.

What annoys me is that these fights generally devolve into decoding the one method the designers intended for you to solve it. And they arbitrarily remove any extra abilities to prevent emergent behavior. I could be using that grappling hook a lot during this fight. And I can think of only one time when Batman was dumb enough to try and mano-a-mano Bane (when he lost, had his back broke and passed the mantle over to Azrael for a bit).

I don't remember having much trouble with the Bane fight.  IIRC the thing to do was spend lots of time dodging around to stay the hell out of his way, and fling batarangs at him when he leaves an opening (like when he's charging).  Once you blind him, you can run up and wail on him until he recovers.  There are mini-bosses later on that require similar tactics (but they're more fun because you can also ride them around).

You're just starting, there are plenty of ways to take out the "bane type" of character in the game. In the meantime, follow the tips its giving you - you're green.

Playing AA on the PC I found the Bane fight (and the one where you first encounter the two mutant thugs) kind of hard at start, mainly because I never really got used to the mouse/keyboard scheme. One day I bought an X360 controller in order to complete challenges, and all of a sudden the game felt a lot better.

This game wins in terms of atmosphere, which I was immediately drawn into. The fighting is simple but fun, and I was instantly addicted to the challenge modes. The stealth and combat make the gameplay good, not great, and most of the bosses are fun enough even if the last boss fight leaves a ton to be desired.

I HATED running around constantly in detective mode, and the fact that half of the upgrades to Batman's arsenal were completely pointless since I used my manual controlled batarang once in the entire game. 

Ok, powered through Bane. Turned out my problem was not recognizing when he was charging up. After that, still challenging, but not impossible.

I keep passing the on hang-them-from-gargoyles powerup thinking I'll never see enough gargoyles to use it. Then I hit a new area... with gargoyles and lots of baddies.

Fun stuff. Still feels a bit on rails in most parts. But that's offset by being able to tackle large groups any number of ways, which I like.

Just started this and whoa, great atmosphere. Loved all the introduction :)

Seems worth a bump. Batman is on sale for $12.50 at Games for Windows (http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-us/games/pages/sales.aspx)

Disclaimer: You will need to install the Games for Windows Client and have a Windows Live ID account.

NECRO:


Arkham Asylum devs did something I thought was impossible- kept an ingame secret hidden for a year.  NOBODY figured it out until they revealed it in a podcast.  

So if you want to really complete the game, find Warden Sharp's secret room.  But since nobody on the Internet found it in a year, best to just google it.

EDIT:  I had to erase my harddrive, now I have a compulsion to redownload on Steam and replay the whole game to get this...  

Is there a source for that?  Because I'm finding vids that contradict it, like this one from March. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECdzZ4vB4Tk)

Edit: oh, wait, the podcast was in march?  NM, then.

Looks more like a glitch than a hidden room.

The way he got into the room was a glitch.  You can actually blow the wall down.  There's a blueprint in there that's a bit of an easter egg for the sequel.

Also the game has 'multiple' endings.  :grin:

Here's a video of the secret room: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxgAn4DkG-k&feature=fvw


Are you talking about who comes out of the water at the end?

I completed the game in 2 days last halloween weekend. I might play through it again this halloween just because the game's atmosphere makes me feel like im in The Halloween Tree or some shit like that.

The first page of this thread is hilariously cynical now. Anyway, late as I may be to the current gen of consoles (bought my friend's old 40gig PS3 a few months ago), B:AA stands out as the cream of the small crop I've invested in so far. There may be better out there but few of them have drawn me in to the same extent, no even Dead Space. I can't even pin down exactly what makes it feel so right - stealth mechanics are simple but intuitive and loads of fun, combat is bewildering at first and within time, jaw-droppingly brilliant (though I'm not sure I'll ever make the 3rd medal on any of the Freeflow challenges), visually one of the best looking games out there right now... I think part of the draw was the sheer enticement of finding all the clues. No other game I've played has made 'collecting things' feel so rewarding. I loved finding treasures in Uncharted but that was merely going through an area with a fine toothed comb. B:AA asks you to deduce. Almost at 100% complete on my Normal game, and with Haloween swiftly approaching I can see a couple of nights in my future getting to grips with the Hard mode.

Also, is it just me or was tearing the 'heart' out of Ivy's giant polyp plants almost unutterably satisfying?