f13.net

Gameplay Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V1ZF5cNYCs)

I haven't really read up much about this game, but Arkham Asylum was a decent game and entertaining to play, and this one doesn't look to deviate much from what worked. I like the premise of more open, free-running/free-gliding styles of level. I'm not totally sold on more Joker though, since although that worked in the first game, a little variety is nice. It's hardly a massive problem though.

First day buy for me, loved the first one. I wouldn't complain if this one is a little longer, if they can do it without losing the tight design (which is already a bit at risk with the more open levels it will presumably have.)

Yeah, "more open" isn't always an automatic plus.  Batman:AA was at its best in the somewhat claustrophobic interior of the asylum IMO.

That trailer does have me jonesing, though.  Will definitely be buying this one.

Batman is such a badass.

And $10 says the Catwoman in this is better than Anne Hathaway.  :awesome_for_real:

Want this so bad. Arkham Asylum was just, well, perfect.

Yeah, this would be worth a buy for me even if it only had the exact gameplay of the first part with a new campaign. I can't really think of a way they could mess this up too badly.

Loved the gameplay trailer, also thought the choice of music was inspired; gave it a totally new feel that a big bombastic orchestral score wouldn't have been able to achieve. Batman is down town, now. Imagine you're playing GTA IV or Saints Row, run round a corner after a bloody heist and pile into the goddamn Batman. You'd shit yourself and love every second of the sickeningly brief justice done unto you.

Arkham Asylum is my favourite game of this current gen of consoles, I think I've gone on record as saying that before. The only complaint I ever had about it was how 'hench' Batman was - I seriously couldn't work out how he could even bend, let alone dole out the harshness. I don't think he's been slimmed down that much for Arkham City but he looks sleeker somehow.

I LOLed.  Also, that would be the best multiplayer mode EVER.

What is the song they use for the trailer?


Looks awesome though!

The song is 'Short Change Hero' by The Heavy. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6eSksEp27U

Awesome, thank you!

Instant purchase of the track. Been listening to it non-stop for days. That is one of the better trailers I've seen.

It's a cinematic trailer, not gameplay, but I still thought it was nifty.  Throwing it up here in case anyone hasn't seen it, I don't think it's been posted elsewhere around here. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muCtJsy-d9w

superb

What really strikes me about the trailer and the whole Batman: AA/AC vibe is how they boil down all the excitement and coolness of the characters and world without any of the crazy backstory bullshit. It's like it exists in its own history where everything is good. I always appreciated the stories that went outside the franchise continuity. Also the voiceover work is top-notch.

It can be summed up as

"look, you know batman: here's him kicking ass"

Yeah, that really is a good point. It's not like you need to introduce the characters of Batman, the Joker, Catwoman et al, after all.

Yeah, but I could really do without the 90 second intro.

As for the trailer, while I really enjoyed the first game, they need to change the formula a bit because it was pretty much played out by the end.

Maybe the more open world can do that, but I suspect they'll need a better story to carry it. Nothing in the first game really made any sense, but the sheer density of stuff in the smallish game world pushed you on without really ever really worrying about the whys and wherefores.

True, but a lot of games fall into the trap of having to explain everything ever about the IP as though this was the first time you'd ever met the characters.

In Batman: AA you could have never heard of Batman or the Joker before and the intro section sets the scene perfectly.

It was a plot brewed up by The Joker, don't look for it to make sense.

Catwoman will be a playable character with alternate fighting system. (http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6316489/batman-arkham-city-updated-hands-on-preview?tag=topslot;img;1)

Although only for a small part of the game, according to another interview.

I question the practicality of that costume stopping a bullet to the chest, however.

Also, Robin as a pre-order bonus. (http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/167637-robin-revealed-in-batman-arkham-city)

That's not a bad version of the character. Although he should ask Batman for some head protection.

lol. 'young sam fisher joins bruce wayne in his fight against crime'

Do PS3 players get Joker levels again? because those were pretty fun!

Airbag protection?

This is out (for consoles, no PC til November), cracking it open tonight. Anyone start in last night and have any initial reviews?

I think ethically I have to choose between this and Skyrim, since I already have two console games I've bought recently that I'm not playing.   :awesome_for_real:   :|

I'm waiting for the PC version.  Last time, for Arkham Asylum, I bought the 360 version first then the PC version.  PC version was far superior, IMO, and I just ended up wasting my money on the 360.

Thumbs up so far. A little disorienting given the large amount of area you have open to you pretty much right away.

I picked it up today for the 360, but can't play it tonight since my kid is having a slumber party in the TV room. Ah well. Soon.

Its rough for us with video game OCD.  :grin:

Making PC owners wait a month, wtf is that??

At least I get it free with my new video card.  Hurray!

Yeah that's worth noting for anyone looking at PC version and a possible video card upgrade soon... If you're an nvidia fan this game is being offered free with most current gen Nvidia cards.

Yeah, though after getting through the first 5 minutes of :uhrr:, I find that "You're Batman. Here's a city/sandbox full of criminals. Enjoy!" is exactly the game that I always wanted.

But is it the game you needed?

(I'm annoyed, my xbox is misbehaving so I can't play :( )

PS3:  jaggies cut me, blurred textures have me wiping my screen, but it doesn't matter because I am The Batman.

And as Batman, I want to punch the Riddler and his challenges.  They have some kind of magnetic pull on my utility belt.  If I just catch a glimpse of one of them as I'm cruising through the air rushing to a critical mission *ZAPOW* it's challenge time.

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/318368/i-sB8GTgT-XL.jpg)

It's why the Riddler is the greatest of the Batman villains.

Got this the other day new.

Entered my Catwoman code.

"This code has already been redeemed".

So I'm only fooling around for a bit until I get a new code. Fun enough (although I'm playing on Hard, which saw a lot of early deaths until I got back into the flow of things).

My biggest complaint is that the game kind of drops you into things without any real tutorial, which is an issue because even just starting out Batman is capable of doing a lot of different things.

Btw, you get a discount on Steam if you own Arkham Asylum. Iirc it's $39.99.

Has the whole "catwoman-code" mess been sorted out yet?

Never thought I would say this but there are too many moves, too many enemies and such an absurd number of riddler trophies/entries that I've stopped caring about them.  I also don't like that half the trophies are unobtainable when you find them because you don't have the required gadget/upgrade, this usually happens deep inside building zones that I don't want to go through again just to get the trophy.

Still very good though...

I thought Yahtzee's review was interesting on the whole side-mission/Riddler trophy aspect.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4915-Batman-Arkham-City

It took me about 3 days of waiting due to time differences, but I got a new working code in the email.

B:AC is a hell of a love letter to the Batman mythos, and I agree that it tries to do too much and makes itself overly complicated as a result. Plus it does a poor job of explaining what things do.

To get the full achievement list on the Xbox requires buying the Nightwing and Robin DLCs to take on combat / predator stealth challenges, which I think is asking too much for too little. Also it has an achievement that would take at least a full year to get naturally (or you can go offline and play with the calendar date settings to get it in 15 minutes).

... but when you are on a combat roll, counter three attackers at once before doing a flying teabag / nutpunch combo to take down an opponent, it's hard not to forgive Rocksteady.

The Ra's al Ghul segment was really lame. Just like the Scarecrow's segments in the first game were really lame. I don't know why they feel they have to shoehorn some weird psychadelic shit into my Batman games but I don't care for it.

Dude, what?

I didn't like them.  Didn't care much for the boss fights either.  Weakest parts of the game, IMO.

Thirded.

I'm not talking about the 'hiding from the giant Scarecrow' sections really but all the other stuff with messing with your interface, etc., I thought was brilliant, along the lines of Eternal Darkness.

That's what I was referring to.

I didn't mind the al Ghul bit.

Solomon Grundy was a bit more annoying for me personally.

I'm not minding the boss fights so far because they at least offer more variety than Batman: AA.

So, the game unlocks, I download and it will not launch!

Some AMD cpu shit?  (I7)

Then I have to install GFWL?
Then I have to register my key twice.
NORMAL LAUNCHER NOT WORKING

Had to dig into the folders but I can play

I AM THE GODDAMN BATMAN.  This game is awesome.

In some ways I think this game is the wrong way around. The challenge maps should be available from the start, training you about all the great stuff Batman can do, then let you loose on the full game.

Like being able to do a double ledge takedown. Or a silent takedown after throwing a smoke pellet.

Jesus Christ, GFWL? Really? Again?

Steam, GFWL, and SecuROM.

I give zero fucks about SecuROM. But GFWL puts me back to 50/50 on this. Maybe I'll pick it up when steam has it cheap in a few months if you all tell me it is awesome, I can somehow use moon logic to rationalise the discount justifying GFWL.

No other acronym or four letter word causes my blood pressure to jump as high as GFWL.

You all are reminding me that I got this for PS3 and still haven't found time to play it... but now I have pie in the oven and a little time to kill.    :why_so_serious:

It doesn't say it on the Steam page but SecuROM has a 5 PC activation limit.

Edit: GFWL is used for copy protection as well as you have to associate the game key with your Live account, so the game really does have 3 forms of copy protection.

Aaaaand now the game crashes frequently for no reason I have been able to determine.  System is not unstable, might be a steam thing since Saints Row III is doing it too?  WHAT THE FUCK.

Restart Steam and delete ClientRegistry.blob

Setting aside Minecraft, B:AC is without a shadow of a doubt my Game of the Year. I'm not sure I like it more than Arkham Asylum, but I know I don't like it less. That puts Rocksteady on a very even keel for me, which is a pretty good place to be. The games aren't the same, but they allow you to feel like Batman in different ways while maintaining one of the strongest universes in any Batman media. Paul Dini keeping it compelling as ever. What gets lost is the total focus of Asylum, but what is gained is the total freedom of Batman.

It remains my GotY through every foible; each time Bats (or Cats) does something silly via a contextual control fuckup (one of my favourite wtf moments was in the steel mill, when walking vaguely near a handrail prompted Bats to hop right over it and take a bath in the same vat of hot liquid metal he just rescued some guy from being dangled over. Because I'd have wanted to even try to do that, right?), or prompted by the game UI to hit Reversal at completely wrong moments, or that utterly redundant knife evade maneuver which to date I have still never pulled off and see no reason why I should need to. Because everything else Bats can do is a better use of combat time. And my god, I know it's my GotY when I just stick it on to go crack some heads in the city, let alone get into the challenge maps...

Hold down reversal while moving away from the attacking enemy. The move becomes amazing if you buy its upgrade, which OHKO's any thug you use the evade on (with a small caveat). The best part is, after they drop the knife, some other unlucky punk will pick it up and open himself to OHKO, as well. On Hard+ difficulty the thugs have a fair chunk of hitpoints, so it's a pretty useful move in large fights.

(Of course, my favourite manoeuvre is still to knock down 5+ guys and then use the combo that instantly KO's them with shuriken).

There were too many moves by the end for my liking and the fights started getting annoying when you were expected to use all of them.  A fight with a shield, body armour, stun gun and knives?  Fuck that fight.  Throw in trying to keep a riddler informant as the last KO for extra frustration.

Catwoman is tougher to use in those group situations since she doesn't have the range of gadgets that Batman has. She's a bit quicker though, which can help.

My favourite move has to be using the Weapon Disarm and Destroy move on someone with a gun.

As far as Riddler Informants go, try to use the Ultra Stun move on them when you have it - takes them out for a long time without damaging them.