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Batman: Arkham Asylum |OT| Steroids 'n Counters

Sanjuro

Member
People complaining about lack of villains from the rouge gallery need to shove it. This game beautifully did what no other A-list video game license did. It used a limited number of characters in proper usage so not to over saturate the game with them and have them there simply for a boss battle. They were all tied into the plot masterfully by Dini....especially the afterthought when you collect the last two Riddler pieces.
 

Zeliard

Member
mileS said:
I really don't understand all the people complaining about Detective Mode. Lots of people are saying "there's never a single reason to not be using it". Really? It's a fucking button you can turn on and off quickly whenever you want. Why in the world would you go through most of the game with it always turned on anyway? Turning it off to see what the graphics really look like is reason enough considering how much detail was put into so many parts of the game.

I agree. It's a silly criticism. You only need to turn detective mode on to see what there is at a given time - not keep it on permanently. There's no point doing that. Turn it on to survey your surroundings and then turn it off when you have a good idea of where stuff in the room is. If you see a grate or an enemy, they won't suddenly disappear when you turn off detective mode.
 
SanjuroTsubaki said:
People complaining about lack of villains from the rouge gallery need to shove it. This game beautifully did what no other A-list video game license did. It used a limited number of characters in proper usage so not to over saturate the game with them and have them there simply for a boss battle. They were all tied into the plot masterfully by Dini....especially the afterthought when you collect the last two Riddler pieces.

Agreed.
There is a line that would be easy to cross where it is just jamming in characters for the sake of doing it and there is no reason to in this game at all.
All things in their time and place, and the sequel will hopefully set up a new scenario where others will fit in and thrive.
 

Ephemeris

Member
OokieSpookie said:
Sooo good...

13yo2s6.jpg


http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/
:lol :lol
 

Downhome

Member
Earlier today I got to
Ivy and that boss fight. I did it a few times, then "cracked" it and it became so easy. I was ready to brag about how I did it without really getting hit at all...and right when I thought it was over I came to realize that it was apparently just the first "phase" of the boss fight.

For those of you that far, you'll know just what I mean. :lol
 

Ephemeris

Member
SanjuroTsubaki said:
People complaining about lack of villains from the rouge gallery need to shove it. This game beautifully did what no other A-list video game license did. It used a limited number of characters in proper usage so not to over saturate the game with them and have them there simply for a boss battle. They were all tied into the plot masterfully by Dini....especially the afterthought when you collect the last two Riddler pieces.

Concur x2
[combo followup with cape+stun plus jump over followed up with bat-claw, batarang and leg takedown.].

Plus I loved finding easter-eggs relating to other villains even though they weren't 'in the game'. Brilliant the way they did that.
 

EzLink

Banned
I have a couple questions (both somewhat spoilerific)

In the room with
Clayface in it, who is that ravenous one-armed inmate that breathes heavily in one of the cells? Scanning him doesn't do anything, but he seems to... hmm... ungeneric to not be some sort of reference

And also, for those who have collected all of the Spirit of Arkham chronicles,
where the fuck is Sharp for the last one? He was in the Clayface room up until you get the scan the last spirit of arkham stone, and now I can't find him

Also solved all the Riddles :D It was very satisfying and the perfect difficulty. I didn't use any external help on them whatsoever. I felt like I was truly outclassing Mr. Nigma :lol
 

Darkmakaimura

Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
Well, I managed to pick this one up after the ol'e rent check so I am now a proud owner of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Will probably play it tomorrow... Maybe a little bit today.
 

EzLink

Banned
SanjuroTsubaki said:
People complaining about lack of villains from the rouge gallery need to shove it. This game beautifully did what no other A-list video game license did. It used a limited number of characters in proper usage so not to over saturate the game with them and have them there simply for a boss battle. They were all tied into the plot masterfully by Dini....especially the afterthought when you collect the last two Riddler pieces.

What do you mean by that last sentence? I did all 240 Riddler challenges and I'm not sure what you are getting at
 

desertdroog

Member
Darkmakaimura said:
Well, I managed to pick this one up after the ol'e rent check so I am now a proud owner of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Will probably play it tomorrow... Maybe a little bit today.
Prepare to lose all track of time and play well into the night if you start today.
 
mileS said:
I really don't understand all the people complaining about Detective Mode. Lots of people are saying "there's never a single reason to not be using it". Really? It's a fucking button you can turn on and off quickly whenever you want. Why in the world would you go through most of the game with it always turned on anyway? Turning it off to see what the graphics really look like is reason enough considering how much detail was put into so many parts of the game.
But there is no reason to ever turn it off aside from not wanting to play the entire game in blue. Detective mode puts you at an advantage at all times. So if that's the case why even have it mapped to a button at all? It's pointless.

Zeliard said:
Play on hard.
What does hard change other than the combat difficulty? His other issues with how automated the game is will still be present regardless of the difficulty setting.

zoukka said:
Hmm I'll have to try it then, but the demos cutscenes were pretty loltastic, the controls/gameplay simple as hell and the enviroments were dead. Ok visuals and sound though.
I mostly felt the same way about the demo but I bought the game due to the Toys R Us deal. The full game is OK but the gameplay you see in the demo never really blossoms. Instead there's a variety of setpieces and gimmicks. It's all very polished but if you were already unimpressed I don't think there's anything in the full game that will change your mind.
 

Nome

Member
Rummy Bunnz said:
But there is no reason to ever turn it off aside from not wanting to play the entire game in blue. Detective mode puts you at an advantage at all times. So if that's the case why even have it mapped to a button at all? It's pointless.


What does hard change other than the combat difficulty? His other issues with how automated the game is will still be present regardless of the difficulty setting.


I mostly felt the same way about the demo but I bought the game due to the Toys R Us deal. The full game is OK but the gameplay you see in the demo never really blossoms. Instead there's a variety of setpieces and gimmicks. It's all very polished but if you were already unimpressed I don't think there's anything in the full game that will change your mind.

You're kind of looking at it from a very gamey point of view though.
A lot of people play this game so they can play *as Batman*. That's the most important part.

You could say the same about Splinter Cell's different vision modes, or how in Hitman, you could always just pick up a sniper and shoot the guy, but the real fun in these games comes from the role-playing aspect.
 
EzLink said:
And also, for those who have collected all of the Spirit of Arkham chronicles,
where the fuck is Sharp for the last one? He was in the Clayface room up until you get the scan the last spirit of arkham stone, and now I can't find him
Go into the exact spot you left Sharp at, and check out the floor.
:D
 

Facism

Member
sorry if this has been asked before, but i see a load of vents up on walls i can't actually reach (im still in first section of the game). Will i be able to reach and open them eventually? I expect i'll be able to hack those security boxes eventually, too?
 
Facism said:
sorry if this has been asked before, but i see a load of vents up on walls i can't actually reach (im still in first section of the game). Will i be able to reach and open them eventually? I expect i'll be able to hack those security boxes eventually, too?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes! :)

The answer to EVERY QUESTION regarding the game is YES :p
 

Volcynika

Member
Facism said:
sorry if this has been asked before, but i see a load of vents up on walls i can't actually reach (im still in first section of the game). Will i be able to reach and open them eventually? I expect i'll be able to hack those security boxes eventually, too?

Yep yep.
 

AniHawk

Member
Facism said:
sorry if this has been asked before, but i see a load of vents up on walls i can't actually reach (im still in first section of the game). Will i be able to reach and open them eventually? I expect i'll be able to hack those security boxes eventually, too?

Yes to everything.
 

Dave1988

Member
Facism said:
sorry if this has been asked before, but i see a load of vents up on walls i can't actually reach (im still in first section of the game). Will i be able to reach and open them eventually? I expect i'll be able to hack those security boxes eventually, too?

Yes (Batclaw) and yes (Cryptograher).
 

Darkmakaimura

Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
desertdroog said:
Prepare to lose all track of time and play well into the night if you start today.
That's why I can't start today. I got a bar and drinking with some friends to do. :p
 

Biff

Member
So I beat the game on Normal and absolutely loved it. Need another go on hard.

Is there anyway to continue my save file on Hard with all my unlocks?

When I click 'continue story' it just restarts the last level on Normal.

Thanks :)
 

Sanjuro

Member
EzLink said:
What do you mean by that last sentence? I did all 240 Riddler challenges and I'm not sure what you are getting at
When I collected the last two pieces it triggered game story to finish Eddie's role in the story.
 
ChefRamsay said:
So I beat the game on Normal and absolutely loved it. Need another go on hard.

Is there anyway to continue my save file on Hard with all my unlocks?

When I click 'continue story' it just restarts the last level on Normal.

Thanks :)
Nope.

SanjuroTsubaki said:
When I collected the last two pieces it triggered game story to finish the Eddie's role in the story.
Yeah, finishing off the the Riddler challenges was awesome and unexpected.
 

Zeliard

Member
Rummy Bunnz said:
But there is no reason to ever turn it off aside from not wanting to play the entire game in blue. Detective mode puts you at an advantage at all times. So if that's the case why even have it mapped to a button at all? It's pointless.

What did you want, some kind of timer on it? That would be idiotic. It's a technological feature of Batman's cowl and he should be able to use it whenever he wants. Since you're playing as Batman, that means you should be able to use it whenever you want. And that includes playing the entire game in blue, if you choose to. How is that even remotely a real criticism of the game (particularly when you don't have to use detective mode if you don't want to, except when you're following a trail)?

Don't start blaming the game for a weak will. Not a single thing is forcing you to play the entire game in blue except yourself.

Rummy Bunnz said:
What does hard change other than the combat difficulty? His other issues with how automated the game is will still be present regardless of the difficulty setting.

His issue is with how automated the combat is. You can't button mash on hard difficulty or the enemies will fuck you up pretty quickly since they do a lot more damage and are far, far more aggressive. Hard is much more reliant on proper timing. They can also spot you a lot more easily, and that includes when you're chilling on gargoyles (enemies on normal difficulty never look up).

It's a completely different game on hard.
 

Darkmakaimura

Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
BTW, any differences between the PS3 and 360 version besides the PS3 version playable Joker? In other words, graphics or framerate and stuffers like that?
 

EzLink

Banned
SanjuroTsubaki said:
When I collected the last two pieces it triggered game story to finish Eddie's role in the story.

Are you just talking about when
the cops come to his house and arrest him?
It was cool, but I'm not getting how it tied in to the rest of the story. Seemed kind of random and unlikely to be quite honest
 

Red

Member
Zeliard said:
What did you want, some kind of timer on it? That would be idiotic. It's a technological feature of Batman's cowl and he should be able to use it whenever he wants. Since you're playing as Batman, that means you should be able to use it whenever you want. And that includes playing the entire game in blue, if you choose to. How is that even remotely a real criticism of the game (particularly when you don't have to use detective mode if you don't want to, except when you're following a trail)?

Don't start blaming the game for a weak will. Not a single thing is forcing you to play the entire game in blue except yourself.
It's like the blue line in Dead Space or Shadow Complex, an optional guide that's there for you to reference if you ever feel the need. I'm another one who doesn't understand the criticism. If we want to really get into it, why not just get rid of easy mode? Why play on normal or hard when they take more effort?
 

batbeg

Member
DevelopmentArrested said:
i just hit a pretty fucking dumb bug (garden) where the voices completely dissappear. rest of audio is fine, voices are gone now.
2hd1ssn.jpg

I had something similar happen to me right at the beginning, following the first set of goons you fight when the Joker comes on the TV. The voices were all still there, but delayed by about half a second or so, which was kind of odd. Fixed itself by the next scene, of course. PS3 version, by the way.
 

ant_

not characteristic of ants at all
EzLink said:
Are you just talking about when
the cops come to his house and arrest him?
It was cool, but I'm not getting how it tied in to the rest of the story. Seemed kind of random and unlikely to be quite honest
If you listened to all the interview tapes, Joker helped Riddler escape. Batman got all the villians at the end besides the Riddler, but once you collect them all you get the Riddler. You tracked his signal. :D
 

EzLink

Banned
K2Valor said:
If you listened to all the interview tapes, Joker helped Riddler escape. Batman got all the villians at the end besides the Riddler, but once you collect them all you get the Riddler. You tracked his signal. :D

Oh, badass. It was kinda noisy in my house when that last bit happened so I didn't pick up on that. Very nice :D
 

Raxus

Member
K2Valor said:
If you listened to all the interview tapes, Joker helped Riddler escape. Batman got all the villians at the end besides the Riddler, but once you collect them all you get the Riddler. You tracked his signal. :D
Actually,
Batman technically assisted in half the villains escape. He knocked Bane in the water, he dropped Croc god knows where, scarecrow wound up washing ashore eventually, hence the 3 endings.
 

Plasma

Banned
Just completed it, Rocksteady deserve a big congratulations they've made a great game.

Also did anyone else think
their console had frozen on that Scarecrow part (I think its the third one?), almost thought my 360 got the 3 red rings.
:lol
 

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
Holy shit at the
scarecrow
:eek: this shit is awesome....yet really creepy.
 
i have a question.

in arkham north, there is a old broken down building where you can go on top. right to the left side of that building in between the collapsable wall(where you proceed with the mission after the batmobile), you can shoot your grappling hook to the very top of the structure but won't do anything.
can someone tell me what the deal is with that? is that a spot i will able to get to later?
 

careksims

Member
This game is too good. I really do feel like I'm Batman. I don't know how far off to the end I am, but I'm loving it. I love the silent take downs from behind and above. Voice acting is great, graphics are beautiful. Gameplay is solid. I forget there is no jumping! This game deserves the praises it gets. It's all real.
 
Plasma said:
Also did anyone else think
their console had frozen on that Scarecrow part (I think its the third one?), almost thought my 360 got the 3 red rings.
:lol
This! Holy crap. I'm on my 12th system and I was like GOD DAMN IT, NOT NOW OF ALL FUCKING PLACES.
 

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
I LOVED this game, but I do have to say that
Ivy's Titan plants
were extremely annoying.
Trying to navigate the courtyard while the damn things shit out guided poison orbs things was so annoying, and trying to batarang and punch them made it even worse.

PS - I haven't checked this thread in a couple days, has the backlash happened yet?
 
Casval said:
You're kind of looking at it from a very gamey point of view though.
Of course I am. It's a video game.

A lot of people play this game so they can play *as Batman*. That's the most important part.
Not to me it isn't. Just because AA is a more fleshed out Batman experience that previous games doesn't excuse its flaws.

You could say the same about Splinter Cell's different vision modes, or how in Hitman, you could always just pick up a sniper and shoot the guy, but the real fun in these games comes from the role-playing aspect.
No, I don't think you could say that about Splinter Cell's vision modes. Like if you use night vision in a lit room I am pretty sure you can't see a damn thing. And I haven't played Hitman but if there's one easy solution to every hit then it's a poorly designed game.

Arkham nicks a lot of features from other games, and it feels very natural. Very polished. But they're almost all as simplified as you can get without the game playing itself. As far as polish and presentation go the game is AAA, but in the story mode there's not much there for folks who value mechanics more than setpieces.

The challenges are a little more meaty at least.

Zeliard said:
What did you want, some kind of timer on it? That would be idiotic. It's a technological feature of Batman's cowl and he should be able to use it whenever he wants. Since you're playing as Batman, that means you should be able to use it whenever you want. And that includes playing the entire game in blue, if you choose to. How is that even remotely a real criticism of the game (particularly when you don't have to use detective mode if you don't want to, except when you're following a trail)?
This is what we're gonna get whenever someone says anything slightly negative about the game's mechanics, huh? "It's not a problem because you're BATMAN, duh!"

There are plenty of games with stupid features that you don't have to use if you don't want to. That doesn't make them any less stupid. I didn't want a timer specifically, but in the games Rocksteady nicked this mechanic from the different viewing modes tend to have drawbacks other than "makes the game slightly less pretty." Almost all the features in the game are tailored for living out a Bat-fantasy rather than gameplay depth. It's all window dressing. It seems like most folks are cool with that, but I'm disappointed cuz they're sooo close to making a game I'd love but they played it too safe.

Don't start blaming the game for a weak will. Not a single thing is forcing you to play the entire game in blue except yourself.
Fuck this is so stupid it hurts. People who take advantage of gameplay features are weak willed now? Is anyone who picks Sagat in SF4 weak willed? Anyone who picks up container hearts in Wind Waker? That game was too easy but let's just blame the players for using the items offered, not the developer for dumbing down the game. Right? Fuck.

His issue is with how automated the combat is.
No, that's not his only issue. Let me quote his post again:

"Cool game, but it seems like the gameplay is too automatic. Like to get out of a room or onto a high structure, all you have to do is press R and Batman will shoot his grappling hook at some random thing on the ceiling or wall, requiring no perception, accuracy or dexterity on my part. Then press R to get to the next thing, whether you know where it is or not. The fighting so far is just tappy tappy win win, too. Still a fun game, presentation and atmosphere carry it."

One line about combat. The rest was about moving through the environment. Which IS awfully automated. You can't fail. Even if hard makes the combat and stealth sections more difficult you still have the automated platforming and shallow puzzles and exploration, which makes up most of the game.

Crunched said:
It's like the blue line in Dead Space or Shadow Complex, an optional guide that's there for you to reference if you ever feel the need. I'm another one who doesn't understand the criticism. If we want to really get into it, why not just get rid of easy mode? Why play on normal or hard when they take more effort?
Oh it's a far bigger deal than either of those. It's like if you combined both of those features, but also added the ability to see through fucking walls. It's like all the required visors from Metroid Prime plus its optional hint mode rolled into one.
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
Zeliard said:
What did you want, some kind of timer on it? That would be idiotic. It's a technological feature of Batman's cowl and he should be able to use it whenever he wants. Since you're playing as Batman, that means you should be able to use it whenever you want. And that includes playing the entire game in blue, if you choose to. How is that even remotely a real criticism of the game (particularly when you don't have to use detective mode if you don't want to, except when you're following a trail)?

Don't start blaming the game for a weak will. Not a single thing is forcing you to play the entire game in blue except yourself.



His issue is with how automated the combat is. You can't button mash on hard difficulty or the enemies will fuck you up pretty quickly since they do a lot more damage and are far, far more aggressive. Hard is much more reliant on proper timing. They can also spot you a lot more easily, and that includes when you're chilling on gargoyles (enemies on normal difficulty never look up).

It's a completely different game on hard.

I agree with you, but I still see where he's coming from. This game actually reminds me of Assassin's Creed is some aspects, especially the combat. You could use the same weak will argument against that, since a lot of people seemed to just counter the whole time. It's possible, sure, but not fun so I don't see why you would do it. I had a lot of fun with the combat there, same here. You can still counter everything, or even abuse evade rolls and standard attacks. But that's not fun, using all of the moves and countering right after a takedown is fun.

I'm at the
poision ivy
boss on hard, so I'm nearing the end. I don't really agree with what you said about the stealth or combat, the timing on counters sees the same, but the lack of that counter symbol hides it well. And on the stealth side, I've only been caught on a gargoyle once, and it was in the most recent room I cleared(and I was hanging upside down). They typically don't really look, and this is especailly apparent in the predator rooms. If you go for the best times, it basically shows how they can completely miss seeing you despite hooking up onto a gargoyle and whizzing right past them.

Whether or not that annoys the player is up to them, I'm personally fine with it. I also love Hitman despite the AI in that being annoying at times.
 

Raxus

Member
Snuggler said:
I LOVED this game, but I do have to say that
Ivy's Titan plants
were extremely annoying.
Trying to navigate the courtyard while the damn things shit out guided poison orbs things was so annoying, and trying to batarang and punch them made it even worse.
You can just run up to them and punch half of them most are slow on the uptake. Or just hang around with a multiple batarang and take the spores out in one shot.
 

Prine

Banned
One thing that this games does above most, holds you responsible for the entire situation. All eyes are on you and everyone wants some of your attention. Like they're all seeking your approval.

Overwhelming sense of empowerment.
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
Raxus said:
You can just run up to them and punch half of them most are slow on the uptake. Or just hang around with a multiple batarang and take the spores out in one shot.

Some are slow, but it doesn't seem like you can tell ahead of time. I really don't like them either, and those spores HURT.
 

stupei

Member
Rummy Bunnz said:
This is what we're gonna get whenever someone says anything slightly negative about the game's mechanics, huh? "It's not a problem because you're BATMAN, duh!"

There are plenty of games with stupid features that you don't have to use if you don't want to. That doesn't make them any less stupid. I didn't want a timer specifically, but in the games Rocksteady nicked this mechanic from the different viewing modes tend to have drawbacks other than "makes the game slightly less pretty." Almost all the features in the game are tailored for living out a Bat-fantasy rather than gameplay depth. It's all window dressing. It seems like most folks are cool with that, but I'm disappointed cuz they're sooo close to making a game I'd love but they played it too safe.

Still not sure I understand what your criticism is exactly. "The game is made too easy by an optional feature that I can choose to turn off at any time"? Am I missing something?

Rummy Bunnz said:
Fuck this is so stupid it hurts. People who take advantage of gameplay features are weak willed now? Is anyone who picks Sagat in SF4 weak willed? Anyone who picks up container hearts in Wind Waker? That game was too easy but let's just blame the players for using the items offered, not the developer for dumbing down the game. Right? Fuck.

If you complain that a game is too easy because of an optional thing you are choosing to do, I guess you might not be weak willed exactly but you're kind of being irrational.
 

Zzoram

Member
Can someone tell me how far I am through the game?

I'm turning off the water pumps at the sewers to prevent Titan pollution

Early I was told that
rescuring Dr. Young was the half-way point, but it feels like I've played as least as long since then and the game isn't over
 

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
Papercuts said:
Some are slow, but it doesn't seem like you can tell ahead of time. I really don't like them either, and those spores HURT.

Yeah, killing them isn't really hard but when the landscape is littered with them the process becomes pretty tedious, plus having the orbs come out of no where and hit you in the ass is pretty shitty. Its a minor complaint, though, just one of the few things that bothered me.
 

Zzoram

Member
Snuggler said:
Yeah, killing them isn't really hard but when the landscape is littered with them the process becomes pretty tedious, plus having the orbs come out of no where and hit you in the ass is pretty shitty. Its a minor complaint, though, just one of the few things that bothered me.

You can use your batarangs to break the spores before they hit you.
 
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