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Batman Arkham City |OT| Smashin' Faces, Glidin' Places

I'm on my second playthrough right now, and tbh, enjoying it more than the first time. A few things I would've liked more of is Robin, the Batman/Catwoman dynamic, and Two Face. These characters/relationships weren't around for long enough. The tension between Batman and Robin was great, and I wanted way more of it. He just pokes his head in, then is gone for good and is only heard over the communicator nearer the end. :/

-Pyromaniac- said:
Really enjoying this game so far. Only negatives is that Batman is a total stiff with zero personality, and some of the writing is cheesy as fuck. Besides that, awesome times.

I agree completely. some of the writing in the first was off as well too. which is weird, since the writer from TAS etc wrote it, though I'm not sure about this one. I also agree that Batman isn't a very fun character to listen to in these games, and that's mostly due to the way he's written, he's just completely boring. In TAS, he had character, knew when to make a good joke and sound enthusiastic about it. In this, he just ranges from boring to sarcrastic to condescending. Rocksteadys Batman is certainly not my favourite Batman at all.
 

LiK

Member
Solo said:
There is no real stealth in either game.
There were a few rooms in AA that had hostages where stealth was encouraged. They sorta had a few in the beginning of AC but quickly went away from that later.
 

Solo

Member
Vire said:
Did you play the challenge rooms?

In AA yes, not yet in AC. I just meant that there is no stealth in that you can't do anything undetected. You can't move bodies, so they always get found. Inverted takedown alerts the guards, etc.
 
LiK said:
Is it me or does AC not encourage stealth as much as AA? I remember so many moments where we had to sneak around in AA but in AC, I got into fights more. I think that's one thing i'm noticing more and more as I think about it.

Almost all all the big missions in this have predator gameplay.
Museum, GCPD building, Steel Mill.Heck, one of the boss fights is completely steath based.

I also think the stealth is more varied in this. New enemy types and new gadgets for you to toy with put it a few notches above the AA gameplay for me.
 

LiK

Member
Magic Mushroom said:
Almost all all the big missions in this have predator gameplay.
Museum, GCPD building, Steel Mill.Heck, one of the boss fights is completely steath based.

I also think the stealth is more varied in this. New enemy types and new gadgets for you to toy with put it a few notches above the AA gameplay for me.
Yea, but didn't seem as much as before. Maybe my playstyle changed from AA to AC. The new gadgets definitely change it up as well.
 

Duress

Member
There's an area in the Steel Mill, that I don't know how to get to. It's in the to the left of the chimney and below where you initially meet the Joker. There's two Riddler statues, one regular and a Catwoman statue. Anyone know how to get to it?
 
I also love how differently each character handles in both the combat and predator rooms. For example the gadgets. Robin has this snap-flash device. With it selected you can sneak up behind enemies and plant them on their backs or on a knocked down enemy. So you practically have a moving mine, or a setup trap that can be detonated.
 
Duress said:
There's an area in the Steel Mill, that I don't know how to get to. It's in the to the left of the chimney and below where you initially meet the Joker. There's two Riddler statues, one regular and a Catwoman statue. Anyone know how to get to it?

Use the REC to move the crane hook you used to smash in the second story door.... do it backwards instead and take of a vent on the opposite side. you can then crawl in and get them. I had trouble at the same spot.
 

Grisby

Member
Vire said:
When you resume play as Catwoman after the Two-Face encounter you need to beat up various thugs around the city and collect fat loots! If you use their vision it'll show which enemies have it
Thanks. Love the sound effect that accompanies the takedown.
 
lucius said:
I made the mistake of replaying Batman AA for about 15 hours right before this came so I think I ruined it a bit for me cause I am kind of tired of this game about halfway through. Great game still just should have only put in couple hours of AA to get ready.

i dont understand why people replay the previous game in a series RIGHT BEFORE the sequel comes out. why does anyone do that?
 

.GqueB.

Banned
Rez said:
So you mean, say, the combat? I mean, it's just Asylum with some added bells and whistles, so sure, but as far as general pacing and scenarios are concerned, I much preferred Asylum. I'll take Croc over pulling myself along water on an ice-plank any day of the week. The scarecrow over the 'alternatives' present here.

On a side-note, just thinking back, a smaller game world also allowed them to do some awesome things related to manipulating the environment in noticeable ways over time, such as Ivy taking over a whole section and so on. I didn't really notice much, if any, of that in AC.
The open-worldness pretty much kills the pacing in this game. Everything just felt so intentional in AA as far as story progression went. Here, things are just so random and weird. For instance
the whole Bane sidequest. He was just in some room hanging out and Batman says, I dont wanna fight but what are you doing and then all of a sudden Im off destroying canisters?
. Seems so off to me.

Someone also mentioned the fact that the fights are less tense because they are always available and I have to agree. Each encounter in AA was centered around the narrative. Every room to clear, every giant brawl, all of it. Now its like "oh I feel like fighting again... let me randomly attack these guys down here." So disjointed and messy to me.

This game suffers from an abundance of "stuff" that most open world games tend to suffer from which is why I tend to hate these types of games. Everything is given equal importance so as a result nothing shines or stands out. Im enjoying it (kind of) but I would love if they dialed back the scale a bit in the next game. Bigger isnt always better. Especially when it makes everything feels so weightless.
 

AEREC

Member
thecouncil said:
i dont understand why people replay the previous game in a series RIGHT BEFORE the sequel comes out. why does anyone do that?

To get in the mood for the sequel or for a recap on the story. I usually don't do it but I understand why people would do it.

Also sometimes its cool to get a better understanding of the differences made in the sequel by revisiting the previous game.
 

Dabanton

Member
LiK said:
Is it me or does AC not encourage stealth as much as AA? I remember so many moments where we had to sneak around in AA but in AC, I got into fights more. I think that's one thing i'm noticing more and more as I think about it.

The thing i love about both games is stealth is light the game seems to encourage you to toy with the enemies. I like that i can fly down take one out grapple hook away then pick the others off at my pleasure.
 
789shadow said:
Ok, I cannot find the Killer Croc riddle answer in the sewers.
Enter the subway tunnel in the industrial section of town via the hole near the Jokers Steel Mill. get to the point where you can drop down to the bridge in the lower level of the sewer. Instead of dropping down though, use your line launcher and launch yourself to the other side where there's a small alcove. Activate your detective vision and look down. You'll see the floor can be blown up using the explosive gel. Do so and you'll drop down into Killer Croc's hidden lair. Take a picture of the chains/head gear on the bed and you'll get the Riddler Challenge completed.
 

neojubei

Will drop pants for Sony.
Calavera520 said:
maybe you aren't familiar with the batman mythology. Here's a tip, Batman is the alter ego of (HUGE SPOILER)
wealthy gotham civilian Bruce Wayne
and as such he would have to make sure that his personality is not apparent as the Batman.


In any case, I thought you do get some sense of personality in his dealings with
Alfred, Oracle and Robin
I mean he's a total dick to
Robin and Oracle
, strangely enough


Isn't he always a dick to others except for Alfred.
 
Amazon has this for $55.99. You guys think in the coming weeks we can expect bomba prices, or should i just buy now?

Before i wouldn't even hesitate to buy a new game at $65. But with the way prices drop so fast i just can't do it anymore.
 

Kikarian

Member
Kung Fu Grip said:
Amazon has this for $55.99. You guys think in the coming weeks we can expect bomba prices, or should i just buy now?

Before i wouldn't even hesitate to buy a new game at $65. But with the way prices drop so fast i just can't do it anymore.
I'd expect a price drop to come. Don't know when though, should be in a few weeks. Especially with new titles to come.
 

DjangoReinhardt

Thinks he should have been the one to kill Batman's parents.
This game is a surprising disappointment. They did next to nothing to address the awkward bits of the original, and the "new" stuff isn't particularly interesting or well-executed. I don't see the point of building a detailed overworld if its only function is to house dull sidequests. I don't know if the pacing gets better later on, but the story isn't the least bit interesting for the first few hours.

Arkham City's a good game. The problem is I played a better version of it two years ago.
 

stufte

Member
DjangoReinhardt said:
This game is a surprising disappointment. They did next to nothing to address the awkward bits of the original, and the "new" stuff isn't particularly interesting or well-executed. I don't see the point of building a detailed overworld if its only function is to house dull sidequests. I don't know if the pacing gets better later on, but the story isn't the least bit interesting for the first few hours.

Arkham City's a good game. The problem is I played a better version of it two years ago.


Arkham Asylum is like a demo compared to Arkham City. Better in almost every way.
 

IzzyF3

Member
I just finished the game last night and it's one of the few games that just makes me want to play more even though I've been playing it fairly non-stop.

I agree that there isn't as much stealth in this game. There seems to be fewer rooms set up for stealth at least in its pacing between combat and stealth. In terms of improvements over the original, I can't really notice much in the stealth part of game either. That said, the improvements on the combat are pretty amazing. And playing as Catwoman is surprisingly different.

For those saying the Arkham games isn't much of a stealth game, I highly disagree. In AA, enemies with firearms were introduced to force players to play stealthily. In AC, there are more moments of using the environment to take these guys out whether it be dropping the ceiling on top of them or firing an electric shot at machinery nearby.
 
Anabuhabkuss said:
If you're looking at the city map, that's just for the city. Buildings will have their own count.
I know... it's just a lot.
Subway is particularly a pain in the ass.

I need to go fly around looking for dudes to interrogate.

I love the ones where you have to use the glide boost/dive stuff.
 

Solo

Member
TheAtomicPile said:

The truth.

Some people just like to have fun being contratians.

Or some people think that the first game is a tighter, more cohesive package with a better narrative, a very valid criticism. But hey, lets just call them contrarians!

There is a ton of merit in both the AA>AC and AC>AA camps.
 

IzzyF3

Member
DjangoReinhardt said:
This game is a surprising disappointment. They did next to nothing to address the awkward bits of the original, and the "new" stuff isn't particularly interesting or well-executed. I don't see the point of building a detailed overworld if its only function is to house dull sidequests. I don't know if the pacing gets better later on, but the story isn't the least bit interesting for the first few hours.

Arkham City's a good game. The problem is I played a better version of it two years ago.

Most open-world games have plenty of dull sidequests. It's kind of the nature of the genre. Unfortunately, AC having been turned into an open-world game, adopted these too (such as flying from one telephone booth to the next within a time limit). Some of the quests are hit or miss, but I thought they do a great job in carrying the villains in the game. The original game had Riddler in it too, but there was no real point in him being there other than throwing in another layer of gameplay. AC's side missions give the villains more context; Riddler will kill these people unless you beat him at his game, etc. I love the sidequests for that aspect.

I have a preconception that all open-world games' pacing is always off, but when I start thinking of AC as more of a Zelda game and not an Infamous 1 or GTA game (I love Infamous 2) I appreciate the pacing a lot more. Unfortunately, I don't think it reaches the same level of epicness as the original though.
 

EekTheKat

Member
I absolutely love the
environment aware
combat animations in the game. It's very sutble in the way it's integrated but it's one hell of a payoff when it does kick in.
 

eshwaaz

Member
TheAtomicPile said:

The truth.

Some people just like to have fun being contratians.
You're acting as if people are just blindly criticizing for the sake of it. There have been very valid, well-articulated reasons given by those who prefer Arkham Asylum. Better to just ignore those and dismiss them outright in support of your "correct" perspective, right?
 
Calavera520 said:
maybe you aren't familiar with the batman mythology. Here's a tip, Batman is the alter ego of (HUGE SPOILER)
wealthy gotham civilian Bruce Wayne
and as such he would have to make sure that his personality is not apparent as the Batman.


In any case, I thought you do get some sense of personality in his dealings with
Alfred, Oracle and Robin
I mean he's a total dick to
Robin and Oracle
, strangely enough
I read the comics plenty, and he still displays more emotion as batman. He only does once in the game that I've seen so far. Sounds like he is a dick to everyone in this game. I get they're playing up his IM HAVIN A BAD DAYYY GRR thing but come on brah. Even in the animated series he isn't a robot.
 
My only real gripe at this point is the riddler stuff. It was SO much fun in the first one. Now I don't even care. I don't even know how to do some of the pressure plate ones and I don't care to look it up. I'd prefer the environmental puzzles and camera placement ones. Having to hit a sequencer just right doesn't do it for me.

It's a shame too, because I was looking forward to 1000/1000 this but the riddler ones aren't getting done.
 

LiK

Member
RoninChaos said:
My only real gripe at this point is the riddler stuff. It was SO much fun in the first one. Now I don't even care. I don't even know how to do some of the pressure plate ones and I don't care to look it up. I'd prefer the environmental puzzles and camera placement ones. Having to hit a sequencer just right doesn't do it for me.

It's a shame too, because I was looking forward to 1000/1000 this but the riddler ones aren't getting done.
I didn't care until it's starting to unlock some cool interview tapes and character trophies.
 
I live in ATX, too, and found several stores in the North side of town with the yellow "Rewards" band around the top and sides. PM me if you want specific stores.

Just thought I'd ask, if anyone has a non-Batman Beyond skin they'd willing to part with, I'd be willing to come up with something to make it worth the trade.
 

GQman2121

Banned
RoninChaos said:
My only real gripe at this point is the riddler stuff. It was SO much fun in the first one. Now I don't even care. I don't even know how to do some of the pressure plate ones and I don't care to look it up. I'd prefer the environmental puzzles and camera placement ones. Having to hit a sequencer just right doesn't do it for me.

It's a shame too, because I was looking forward to 1000/1000 this but the riddler ones aren't getting done.
I actually really love the ones where you have to time & steer a remote batarang through a vent or tight opening. I feel like they're really giving the game legs and I'm going to be grinding away for the next week. This isn't leaving my Playstation until U3.

For a teen game, this has to hold the record for the number of times bitch is used, right? When you're in control of Catwoman, everything is bitch, bitch, bitch........
 

LiK

Member
GQman2121 said:
I actually really love the ones where you have to time & steer a remote batarang through a vent or tight opening. I feel like they're really giving the game legs and I'm going to be grinding away for the next week. This isn't leaving my Playstation until U3.

For a teen game, this has to hold the record for the number of times bitch is used, right? When you're in control of Catwoman, everything is bitch, bitch, bitch........
I didn't get that many bitches. So I dunno what people are talking about. I'm tired of the thugs calling Batman a freak tho.
 

GQman2121

Banned
Epyon MX said:
I live in ATX, too, and found several stores in the North side of town with the yellow "Rewards" band around the top and sides. PM me if you want specific stores.

Just thought I'd ask, if anyone has a non-Batman Beyond skin they'd willing to part with, I'd be willing to come up with something to make it worth the trade.
If you want to pay pal me the $2, I've got a store right next to my apartment where I can pick up one for you (and any one else).
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
LiK said:
I didn't get that many bitches. So I dunno what people are talking about. I'm tired of the thugs calling Batman a freak tho.
Why? It's true to the subject material.

Bitch is used an AWFUL lot in the game, though.

noire said:
I started playing this the other day, but I've let it sit. How open is the world? I stopped to look at a riddler thing on the way to catwoman and some timer popped up.

Then, in the steel mill, batman keeps reminding me of what I have to do every 5-10 seconds, so it makes exploration really annoying.

Does it become more conducive to exploration? I get kind of OCD about looking around and this is going to drive me crazy if it keeps up.
You're really really really early in the game. There's no point judging a game by your experiences in the first hour. The game is trying to deliver the impetus of the plot before you start wandering around.

DjangoReinhardt said:
This game is a surprising disappointment. They did next to nothing to address the awkward bits of the original, and the "new" stuff isn't particularly interesting or well-executed. I don't see the point of building a detailed overworld if its only function is to house dull sidequests. I don't know if the pacing gets better later on, but the story isn't the least bit interesting for the first few hours.

Arkham City's a good game. The problem is I played a better version of it two years ago.
You're so early in the game, you seriously don't know what the game has in store for you yet. If at the end of the game, you think AA is better, then more power to you. I honestly think AC is far far far better.

I have very few complaints. I still think the context sensitive nature of the gameplay stilts it in the same way it did in AA. I'm not a huge fan of it, and while it works in stealth and combat most of the time, doing simple things like hopping over a fence or landing on the right spot when you drop down from something can be a little frustrating.

I also really don't care for playing as Catwoman. I have no love for Selina as a character, and it angered me that despite
Robin showing up in the game, his part is minor, and you never get to play as him in the campaign. Nightwing's total omission is criminal.

Other than that? Loved it.
 

overcast

Member
Again, I think this is definitely better than AA. It's the more complete package overall, and I enjoy the Riddler challenges since they unlock so many different things. I loved the metroidvania feel of AA and the atmosphere is better (though this one has great atmosphere too).
 

tsigo

Member
Touch them without touching anything else. Most of them require line launching from one to the other, some require some gliding. As Catwoman you're allowed to touch the ceiling.
 

LordAlu

Member
789shadow said:
So there's this one final Riddler trophy in the Industrial District that's WAY outside the walls. Any hints?
If it's the one I'm thinking of, you have to stand on the Steel Mill so you can see the eastern edge of the walls, then dive bomb off and glide south towards that side - there's a platform you can land in and the trophy is in there.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
overcast said:
Again, I think this is definitely better than AA. It's the more complete package overall, and I enjoy the Riddler challenges since they unlock so many different things. I loved the metroidvania feel of AA and the atmosphere is better (though this one has great atmosphere too).
I will say that I enjoyed the Scarecrow segments in AA more than the
Lazarus hallucination session
.
 
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