Batman: Arkham Asylum

[Rasix]

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

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. 

[LK]

/ 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.

[eldaec]

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."

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.

Batman themed giant Splinter Cell level

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.

[LK]

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

[Demonix]

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.

[schild]

You know, unique, genre-defining games that exemplify the best we have to offer.

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.

[NowhereMan]

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.

[Venkman]

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).

[Samwise]

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).

[BitWarrior]

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).

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.

[Kageh]

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.

[Vision]

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. 

[Venkman]

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.

[Lucas]

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

[Ragnoros]

Seems worth a bump. Batman is on sale for $12.50 at Games for Windows

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

[Triforcer]

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...  

[Kail]

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.  

Is there a source for that?  Because I'm finding vids that contradict it, like this one from March.

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

[LK]

Looks more like a glitch than a hidden room.

[Velorath]

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.

[rk47]

Also the game has 'multiple' endings. 

[UnSub]

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

Also the game has 'multiple' endings. 

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

[Vision]

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.

[Mattemeo]

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?