Batman Arkham City

[robbo]

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

 

new trailer.

 

be still my beating heart. this game from what ive read is better than arkham asylum. i dont want to believe the hype and get my hopes up...but i cant wait for november!!!

[paddy]

hope thats in-game footage. looks f**king amazing

[Dazzler]

Looks absolutely outstanding, even if that isn't in game footage. I'm still more excited about Elder Scrolls V which is also out in November though. 2011 is going to be a great year for games, especially with the 3DS that comes out in March.

[dunc_afc]

Cant wait for this, its going to be epic

[robbo]

it looks magnificent. i know thatll only be a highly polished preview but arkham asylum was hardly an ugly game. so id be happy if they just reskinned the asylum with the streets of gotham, changed the enemies, and made the boss fights interesting.

 

other than that, just leave AA the way it was. fight mechanics were flawless.

[paddy]

I bought AA last year and was my favourite game of 2010 (might of come out in 2009 though?). If this game is better than Asylum then i'll be well chuffed!

[NorthernLights24]

I bought AA last year and was my favourite game of 2010 (might of come out in 2009 though?). If this game is better than Asylum then i'll be well chuffed!

 

I just got Asylum a few weeks ago and I'm really enjoying it. Quite nice to play a game where stealth and timing is the key yet the game still has a decent pace to it.

[robbo]

game is looking incredible. something about catwoman got my attention. cant put my finger on it though.

 

 

 

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/262567/news/stunning-new-batman-arkham-city-screens/

 

also found this:

 

Developer Rocksteady has revealed how the world of Batman: Arkham City will be a whopping five times bigger than Batman: Arkham Asylum.

 

Arkham City won't be an open-ended sandbox, game director Sefton Hill explained, but Rocksteady won't "hold your hand" either.

 

"The footprint of Arkham City is about five times bigger than Arkham Island, but our primary intention was never to create a bigger game world just for the sake of it," Hill explained to GameSpot.

 

"In Batman: Arkham Asylum, we really focused our effort on creating an intense, pressure-cooker atmosphere by locking Batman in the madhouse and allowing The Joker to turn up the heat. In Arkham City, we want to take that attitude to the next level, so we created an experience in which gamers will have a huge amount of navigational freedom, but they will also feel the extreme pressure of the challenges that they face.

 

"Players will be able to go anywhere at any time, but we have made sure that players will always have a very clear idea of where they are needed most if they want to just stick to the core narrative path of the game. Explore the streets of Arkham City and you will find many side missions, secrets and street brawls, so players won't find it difficult to get into some trouble if that's what they are looking for.

 

A "totally open" world wouldn't allow Hill to conjure the atmosphere he's after, he went on to say.

 

"Arkham City is its own place; a massive super-prison, jam-packed with super-villains, thugs and psychopaths. There aren't any rules, but it has a law of its own, and this is why it is a perfect setting for Batman. Gamers will have to think and act like the Dark Knight if they want to survive in a place like Arkham City," he said.

 

The events of Arkham City will take place a 18 months after those of Arkham Asylum, and there will be plenty of nods to the first game's storyline should you be a fan. Warden Quincy Sharp is now mayor of Gotham City and has expanded his Arkham Asylum into Arkham City. Hugo Strange is overseeing the City, which has barely any rules other than not to escape.

 

Batman villains Two-Face and the Joker will star, as will Catwoman, who'll be teaming up with the Dark Knight. New gadgets include the Bat Claw and a broadcast tracker.

 

Combat evolution means Bats, as he's affectionately known to me, can counter two people at once as well as counter projectiles. You can use gadgets in battle, too.

 

sounds pretty awesome, hope it lives up to be as good as Arkham Asylum.

[robbo]

so, who doesnt have this game then?

 

went without saying i was getting it on release day. course the world conspired against me so ive just started playing it today.

 

played just over 3 hours worth and...well.....

 

meh...

 

i dont know, its arkham asylum 2.0, i should love it given how much of a fan boy i was for AA but im just not really enjoying it yet. only done 9% of the story mode. as soon as i go to get back to the main story, szaz tells me to get to a phone...so ive done 63% of that but very little else.

 

combat doesnt feel as fluid imho. jumped straight back in, no problems but now that multiple folk can attack you at a time, im finding it impossible to keep streaks going. 2 or 3 will come at me, ill press counter, but half the time itll counter 1 of them but not the other. mildly annoying.

 

anyone else finding this slightly anti-climactic so far?

[Coopy100]

I'm looking forward to getting this. Don't tell me it is shit robbo.

[tup]

''Gamers will have to think and act like the Dark Knight if they want to survive in a place like Arkham City''

 

I already think and act like Batman so I'm laughing.

[woohoo]

so, who doesnt have this game then?

 

went without saying i was getting it on release day. course the world conspired against me so ive just started playing it today.

 

played just over 3 hours worth and...well.....

 

meh...

 

i dont know, its arkham asylum 2.0, i should love it given how much of a fan boy i was for AA but im just not really enjoying it yet. only done 9% of the story mode. as soon as i go to get back to the main story, szaz tells me to get to a phone...so ive done 63% of that but very little else.

 

combat doesnt feel as fluid imho. jumped straight back in, no problems but now that multiple folk can attack you at a time, im finding it impossible to keep streaks going. 2 or 3 will come at me, ill press counter, but half the time itll counter 1 of them but not the other. mildly annoying.

 

anyone else finding this slightly anti-climactic so far?

 

Release day purchase here too and after 3 hours of gameplay or so I was also feeling a bit disappointed. The 'open world' feel didn't suit the game, the screen was too cluttered with about a million things going on, it hits with you a bunch of side missions before you can get your teeth into the story, you'd already came face to face with 3 or 4 main baddies and the combat, as you say, was harder to rank up scores...

 

However, stick with the main storyline - ignore Zaasz's phones. I played it for a few more hours yesterday and it improved 10 fold. I'm still only scrathing the surface of the story but it now has me gripped. I'm used to the new weapons and roaming the city and its an absolute joy. Combat is a lot harder but even more satisfying once you get into the new required rhythm. The map is nowhere near as 'open world' as it initially seemed with places like Wonder City (absolutely amazing level I thought) opening up as you progress.

 

Fully in the groove now. Will stick it on for a few hours tonight too. Too early to give it a score, but I now believe it to be at least on a par with AA.

[robbo]

just completed it.

 

hate to say this given how much of an AA fan boy i am...but this game is piss poor.

 

aye, compared to your average game its pretty damn good like but compared to AA, its just not up to par.

 

so many pointlessly thrown in characters which you got 2 mins of interaction with then it was over. so many ideas thrown in that it became a convoluted mess.

 

the final boss battle.....jesus fucking wept. i hated the battle wi the titan joker at the end of AA but fuck me, ill happily have that back now compared to this weak, bland and very suddenly tied together pish. ending honestly just arrives. it doesnt build up the tension and make you use everything youve learned throughout to overcome countless enemies. no, it just happens and the credits roll.

 

given that weve also been told that mark hammil says this was his final time as the joker as he cant trump this performance, this "ambiguous ending" that everyone is going on about isnt very bloody ambiguous.

 

the game suffers because while AA was very linear and pretty much laid out a path of break crumbs for you start to finish, AC says heres a city, go nuts. By the end, i felt more like spiderman than i did batman. theres so much to do, but its all so short and sparse. as i say, lots of ideas, but thats all they appeared to be, ideas of how we could get X, Y and Z into the game to make it seem better than AA when in fact, their inclusion is purely fan service. For folks like me who dont read the comics, suddenly being told to track down a sniper coz hes trying to kill you, and being able to do it in 10 mins doesnt make for a very compelling story arc. it very much seems like rockstar went "right, which of batmans enemies will we use in this game" and the head honco went "ALL OF THEM".

 

 

if you hadnt guessed, im thoroughly gutted at how this game has turned out.

[thebladder]

just got this yesterday and played a few hours last night.

not gripped by it yet, but will give it a proper go over the weekend.

[robbo]

im warming to it now.

 

amazing that ive finished it and now im starting to enjoy it.

 

still dont think the story was that great but now that ive finished it and im just going back doing the side missions, its quite enjoyable. think one of the things that i didnt like was that you had too much thrown at you and it was so easy to get lost in the shuffle but now that im able to pick 1 thing, do it to completion then start another mini story, its much more interesting.

 

got totally lost in the steel mill yesterday. went to do freezes mini bomb things quest and got totally confused. got the bombs quite easily but then couldnt find an exit. wandered round for a good hour getting more and more angry that i was so confused. ended up managing to find all the riddler stuff in the mill as i did lengths of the place till i eventually realised how to get out. honestly was driving me batty walking from the water entrance to the boiler room and back MULTIPLE times. only thing more annoying is the knowledge that theres 4 catwoman things to pick up in there.

[woohoo]

just completed it.

 

hate to say this given how much of an AA fan boy i am...but this game is piss poor.

 

aye, compared to your average game its pretty damn good like but compared to AA, its just not up to par.

 

so many pointlessly thrown in characters which you got 2 mins of interaction with then it was over. so many ideas thrown in that it became a convoluted mess.

 

the final boss battle.....jesus fucking wept. i hated the battle wi the titan joker at the end of AA but fuck me, ill happily have that back now compared to this weak, bland and very suddenly tied together pish. ending honestly just arrives. it doesnt build up the tension and make you use everything youve learned throughout to overcome countless enemies. no, it just happens and the credits roll.

 

given that weve also been told that mark hammil says this was his final time as the joker as he cant trump this performance, this "ambiguous ending" that everyone is going on about isnt very bloody ambiguous.

 

the game suffers because while AA was very linear and pretty much laid out a path of break crumbs for you start to finish, AC says heres a city, go nuts. By the end, i felt more like spiderman than i did batman. theres so much to do, but its all so short and sparse. as i say, lots of ideas, but thats all they appeared to be, ideas of how we could get X, Y and Z into the game to make it seem better than AA when in fact, their inclusion is purely fan service. For folks like me who dont read the comics, suddenly being told to track down a sniper coz hes trying to kill you, and being able to do it in 10 mins doesnt make for a very compelling story arc. it very much seems like rockstar went "right, which of batmans enemies will we use in this game" and the head honco went "ALL OF THEM".

 

 

if you hadnt guessed, im thoroughly gutted at how this game has turned out.

 

Finished the story mode also. What a mess of a plot. The last 20 minutes, far from being a huge rush, were completely flat.

 

Gameplay wise this is a fantastic game. But it falls well-short of Asylum in terms of the plot. I feel like a geek picking apart a comic book plot, but the whole pacing of this game was completely off, especially in comparison with Asylum which sucked you right in at the start.

 

I agree with your post further down that this game come alives once you put the main story to one side.

[thebladder]

most of the way through the main story now, about to fecht Protocol 10, and pretty disappointed in this game.

Not a patch on Arkham Asylum and the Ra's Al Ghul level was such a poor attempt to recreate the scarecrow levels from AA (which were probably some of the best ever)

 

I have no desire to do any of the side missions.

Are they really that much more engaging than the main story?

 

If not, I will just trade this in against SR3 next week.

[robbo]

most of the way through the main story now, about to fecht Protocol 10, and pretty disappointed in this game.

Not a patch on Arkham Asylum and the Ra's Al Ghul level was such a poor attempt to recreate the scarecrow levels from AA (which were probably some of the best ever)

 

I have no desire to do any of the side missions.

Are they really that much more engaging than the main story?

 

If not, I will just trade this in against SR3 next week.

 

id say yes, its all a mess having side missions thrown at you in amongst the main story. i know every sandbox game does this but AC doesnt pull it off well at all. once you get that done though, its good being able to focus on a side mission and not have to wait to get to a certain point in the main campaign before you can continue it.

 

the only things ive got left to do is find the remaining riddler trophies which will in turn unlock more of the hostages. then theres having 12 dates wi calender man which just requires me changing the date on my ps3 12 time to match his calender next to his cell...then hearing his story. more of a pain in the arse than anything else.

 

it certainly adds more breadth to the game, but theres not much more depth. each side mission will take about 15-20 mins to do.

 

the good part about it though is doing the combat and predator challenges. i loved them in AA and they are equally as much (if not more) fun in AC. theyre much easier, no denying that. in some of them, you can quite easily get more than your 60k target score in round 3 alone.

 

 

but the key thing - is it fun? answer is yes.

[lethal707]

Started playing this game last night. Got quite into it but then the phones start ringing and it takes away from the story line.

 

Think I'll take the advise and start ignoring the calls.

 

 

I've never played AA but reckon I'll buy it cheap going by the reviews on here.

[lethal707]

Just been told there is a 3D feature for this game. Might need to try it on my 3D TV.

[King Street Loon]

I get home tomorrow, so will try and play these games.

Got both Batman games for my Birthday, but being on holiday and then offshore means I've not had a chance to while away several hours playing it.

[robbo]

for a game i panned, i havent been able to put it down since i got it.

 

really keen to give it a 2nd play but im caught chasing all the bonus stuff. dont want to start new game+ till ive got everything else finished off so that when i beat the game a 2nd time, i get that platinum ping the way its meant to happen. combat challenges were all smashed 1st time of asking (thankyou AA for countless hours of practise). Predator maps ive never been able to do so will have to sit with a youtube guide showing me how to do these things....but the biggest killer by far is going to be the campaign maps.

 

just realised today what they are....3 previous maps put together. so youll do a combat, then a predator...then a combat. 3 bats per level. 9 bats total per stage...with the modifiers to ramp up the difficulty. now im starting to get really into this. combat still isnt presenting a problem as such, just tackled the combat expert challenge which is 2 normal combats and an extreme. the extreme was the easiest one as i managed to get a 157 combo on section 4 which gave me a ridiculous score of 186,000....but it doesnt save your scores which is a killer.

 

but aye, its a bit cheeky making you do all the combat maps and all the predator maps....then being told you have to do them all again but in a sequence with difficulty modifiers.

 

some will read this and go "why bother then?" to which i reply, i want that platinum trophy. rockstar clearly put a hell of a lot of effort into making this game, itd be criminal to playthrough the story once then stick it in a drawer or trade it in without attempting all the side challenges. some say its just jumping through hoops to drag the length out, id prefer to think im getting my full moneys worth.

[robbo]

top of the world (extreme)

 

hardest predator map ever....bar none.

 

been sitting here for 2 hours...dying. both as batman, and as myself.

 

edit: finally done at 3.55. utter joke. so so so hard. when your tackling this one, the way i managed it was:

 

swing round to the left till you find the guy standing watching. wait for him to turn and walk back toward you. hell pause and turn to look into the distance about 17 secs in. quick freeze him. the jammer will come running out below you. once he reaches the rail and looks up at you, send a shock at him - hell dodge it. send a 2nd, he wont dodge that one will will send him flying into the frozen guy. if it doesnt, restart. sometimes he doesnt fly the right direction which is a total arse for the campaign since you only get 3 restarts...

 

bat 1

 

while they are lying there, throw the freeze grenade to get the pair of them and swing over to the other side. a guy will come running to check, 2nd freeze grenade

 

bat 2

 

then throw your smoke pellet down ontop of them. jump down (dont kick glide) and target the jammer, stun and beat down

 

bat 3.

 

this is where it gets hard. get the fuck out of there asap and swing to the right. a thermal tracking guy will be out that side. quick freeze him, jump down and do the ice takedown. swing away quickly. should only be 6 guys left now so just wing it.

 

best add on i found was to hang off a balcony then as a guy comes to check you can do a ledge takedown. swing to a side where guys cant see you and sit for a few seconds. if they know your up high theyll start shooting the gargoyles so use remote batarangs to knock them down a few times and for some reason this stops them targeting your gargoyles.

once theres only 3 left inside, use batarangs to hit the smoke bomb things littered around to confuse then and use silent takedowns.

 

you will die ALOT. i cant believe how long ive been sitting here. genuinely cant.