How can someone actually sit there and be so wrong?
I can name a shit-ton of things that Arkham City does better, aside from the noticeable visual improvements:
- Boss fights
- Combat (thanks to the new gadgets)
- Riddler puzzles (love that most have a puzzle behind them)
- Voice acting and writing
- Soundtrack
I can't think of a single thing that Arkham Asylum did better, to be honest (I will say I enjoyed the Scarecrow sequences a lot). I much preferred the open world of Arkham City because it just felt way more Batman.
"Metroidvania" is not applicable to every fucking game, people.
How can someone actually sit there and be so wrong?
I can name a shit-ton of things that Arkham City does better, aside from the noticeable visual improvements:
- Boss fights
- Combat (thanks to the new gadgets)
- Riddler puzzles (love that most have a puzzle behind them)
- Voice acting and writing
- Soundtrack
I can't think of a single thing that Arkham Asylum did better, to be honest (I will say I enjoyed the Scarecrow sequences a lot). I much preferred the open world of Arkham City because it just felt way more Batman.
"Metroidvania" is not applicable to every fucking game, people.
It is unfocussed, full of collectible clutter and the wonderful simplicity of the combat has been affected by the complexity of the enemies and the methods required to dispatch them, especially in the later stages of the game.
I absolutely loved Arkham City, even more than Arkham Asylum, and all of the above issues didn't matter to me one bit but I would fully understand if someone's enjoyment lessened because of them.
It is unfocussed, full of collectible clutter and the wonderful simplicity of the combat has been affected by the complexity of the enemies and the methods required to dispatch them, especially in the later stages of the game.
I absolutely loved Arkham City, even more than Arkham Asylum, and all of the above issues didn't matter to me one bit but I would fully understand if someone's enjoyment lessened because of them.
Can you use different suits in New game plus? If so, are they unlockable or do you need to buy them?
I just started it and didn't see any option. Oh, and I have another question: besides not having to look for all the trophies/challenges again, is there any other change to the story?
I have to agree. The boss battles were much better in Arkahm City. Arkham Asylum had Batman fight random Titans. Bane and Ivy were the only two good boss battles in the game.
Yeah I know how you feel. I did buy and download them and I actually like them. The Blue and gray batman suit looks great. That's the Batman I grew up with. Oh and the Batman Beyond suit has retractable wings when Batman is gliding. I wish there was an option to change Catwoman's outfit.
Yeah I know how you feel. I did buy and download them and I actually like them. The Blue and gray batman suit looks great. That's the Batman I grew up with. Oh and the Batman Beyond suit has retractable wings when Batman is gliding. I wish there was an option to change Catwoman's outfit.
It is unfocussed, full of collectible clutter and the wonderful simplicity of the combat has been affected by the complexity of the enemies and the methods required to dispatch them, especially in the later stages of the game.
What? I had no issues integrating new patterns to deal with specific enemies in terms of breaking combos or anything. It's not like it required entirely new thinking. Just realizing "oh, that's another enemy type I have to deal with" should be enough to make someone realize you can't just button string your way through mindlessly.
If anything, with all the added options they give you, it's actually easier to not deal with certain enemies if you don't want to fight them at the same time with the regular enemies. If that armored guy or knife guy or riot shield guy or whatever is bugging you, either break his weapon after getting your combo up on other dudes, or triple cape stun him so he's out for a while, or use the quick ice gadget on him (still won't stop someone with a gun from shooting you if they can see you though) to also get him out of the fight for a while.
And with the move that KOs everyone on the ground, it's really easy to quickly thin out large groups of enemies (a few well-placed critical strikes can get you in a position to counter 3-4 guys at once, then you can KO 4-7 guys right after).
So you really do have a choice - if you want a super high combo, you're going to need a lot more skill and strategy when the different enemy types are mixed together. If you just want to finish the fight quickly, you have plenty of options to help you do that as well.
Yes, but the smoke bomb prompt doesn't always appear instantly whenever you're engaged with other nearby thugs, and you end up countering instead. I guess it's just safer to manually select smoke bombs from the dpad menu.
Note that the PC version automatically has the Catwoman stuff integrated in, at least on Steam. You wouldn't even think she was supposed to be DLC if you never knew otherwise.
Btw, I just played with Robin in the challenge mode and he's awesome. He has some cool gadgets too. They really should have given him at least 30 minutes of gameplay in the campaign instead of Catwoman.
Yeah, I had the same reaction when, after playing through the PC version, I was talking to my friend who played it on PS3, and told me that he hadn't played with Catwoman yet.
Btw, I just played with Robin in the challenge mode and he's awesome. He has some cool gadgets too. They really should have given him at least 30 minutes of gameplay in the campaign instead of Catwoman.
But then what would they have had material wise for that shitty comic? Yeah, Robin should have been a little playable. I enjoyed the different game play there was to be had by Catwoman, but I would have rather had one segment be her, one Robin and one Nightwing..or something like that.
I didn't feel the gadgets added anything to the combat. Outside of collecting achievements and one or two boss battles, I never used them. If you really like having more toys to play with, great, but it's not as though it fundamentally changed or evolved the combat in any significant way.
The boss battles ARE better, you're right. That is one area that Arkham City improved on Arkham Asylum.
And speaking of the Riddler trophies, at what point in the Batman lore did Riddler start giving a shit about whether Batman could hit some pressure plates. One in 5 of these trophies (maybe... that might be generous) actually required some thought to figure out. The rest were just tests of hand-eye coordination.
Finally, NONE of the areas in Arkham City are as well designed as the areas in Arkham Asylum. The areas that come closest were unsurprisingly the indoor areas like the Museum. The City itself was utterly forgettable, and generally pointless. All it added was more area to bus yourself across between objectives.
I am early going but finding this game a little overwhelming for some reason. It's like my brain just doesn't like open world. I have to mentally prepare myself to play these types of games. I get bored fast when I don't have a clear sense of direction
I didn't feel the gadgets added anything to the combat. Outside of collecting achievements and one or two boss battles, I never used them. If you really like having more toys to play with, great, but it's not as though it fundamentally changed or evolved the combat in any significant way.
Fundamentally, no. Evolved, of course it did, but how would you even know if you didn't use them? The tools at hand now made a huge difference in many areas. The biggest one that comes to mind is
freeze grenades
on brutes or whatever you call the hulking masses amongst the groups of regulars bad guys. They auto hit them when you would double tap giving you lots of time to deal with the fodder. Shit worked and wonderfully. On bosses as well.
That's just one example. It's not just "more toys' to play with. Try it out to see what you were missing. I personally wouldn't want to go back to AA's combat after this.
I didn't feel the gadgets added anything to the combat. Outside of collecting achievements and one or two boss battles, I never used them. If you really like having more toys to play with, great, but it's not as though it fundamentally changed or evolved the combat in any significant way.
Batarangs are probably the best ranged gadget AND boost your combo score from using it, unlike most other gadgets.
Batclaw and the Batclaw slam practically teleports you, or you can use Batclaw + Redirect to trip. Also, Batclaw disarm deals with gun thugs.
Explosive gel quickfire is awesome for knockdown. If you have Freeflow Focus on it practically knocks everyone in the room down for 5 ground pounds worth of time.
REC is the only thing that knocks down armoured thugs without having to do a beatdown. Juiced up, it can stun an entire group in an area.
Freeze Grenade are the best way to isolate someone you don't want in combat for a long while (since everyone is too focused on trying to punch you).
Did you just want to mash X to victory with the occasional combo takedown for those that you can't mash X to death? Gadgets are pretty helpful no matter the character. Hell, I'd wager for Catwoman they are vital when she doesn't have things like disarm and disable that Batman has.
If you mean the challenge rooms, then I guess so, because it's a damn shame in the extreme variations they didn't automatically open the gun boxes or give thugs some to start with for some waves - you have to play a custom one and turn those modifiers on. Even then, if you just critical strike chain your way through combat challenges you won't really do so well on the leaderboards/barely scraping enough for the third medal.
Why is the "punch guy on the ground" move even in the game? It gets you punched and breaks your chain nearly everytime you use it because it takes forrrreeevvvveeerrr.
Why is the "punch guy on the ground" move even in the game? It gets you punched and breaks your chain nearly everytime you use it because it takes forrrreeevvvveeerrr.
Batarangs are probably the best ranged gadget AND boost your combo score from using it, unlike most other gadgets.
Batclaw and the Batclaw slam practically teleports you, or you can use Batclaw + Redirect to trip. Also, Batclaw disarm deals with gun thugs.
Explosive gel quickfire is awesome for knockdown. If you have Freeflow Focus on it practically knocks everyone in the room down for 5 ground pounds worth of time.
REC is the only thing that knocks down armoured thugs without having to do a beatdown. Juiced up, it can stun an entire group in an area.
Freeze Grenade are the best way to isolate someone you don't want in combat for a long while (since everyone is too focused on trying to punch you).
Holy shit, I never even tried that. I hardly ever used REC come to think of it. Only to start a battle. That'll come in handy doing this NG+. I do love me some beatdowns, though. Without question it's my favorite addition to combat.
Holy shit, I never even tried that. I hardly ever used REC come to think of it. Only to start a battle. That'll come in handy doing this NG+. I do love me some beatdowns, though. Without question it's my favorite addition to combat.
-does damage to armoured goons (beatdowns on them are much shorter after a few hits)
-goons with weapons (pipes, etc.) spaz out and can hit other goons
-you can get a single hit in up front against a shield-wielder that you hit
Beatdown is always still worth 50 points, same as a combo takedown, but for doing it against an armoured goon it will boost your multiplier higher than just doing a simple combo takedown.
REC is my favourite new gadget mainly because it's instant and useful against everything. Freeze bomb is right up there.
AC has a lot of AC's problems which I will detail better when I get home and get access to my actual computer, but which mainly relate to shit not reacting like you think it should/have been lead to believe as it should.
Also being unable to cancel out of a couple of attacks, particularly the ground pound.
To be fair they nerfed the point return on ground pound to the point that you might as well farm knife dodge takedowns (which you can't cancel out but you are invincible for that time anyway, short of titan or lieutenent attacks) since those yield way better returns.
Is there a way to see which guy you're targeting? I have a terrible habit of not aiming in the exact direction needed and breaking my combo at the last minute. Also, fuck the guys that are last, across the map, and off-screen in the challenge rooms. Always breaking my combo with one hit left.
Batarangs are probably the best ranged gadget AND boost your combo score from using it, unlike most other gadgets.
Batclaw and the Batclaw slam practically teleports you, or you can use Batclaw + Redirect to trip. Also, Batclaw disarm deals with gun thugs.
Explosive gel quickfire is awesome for knockdown. If you have Freeflow Focus on it practically knocks everyone in the room down for 5 ground pounds worth of time.
REC is the only thing that knocks down armoured thugs without having to do a beatdown. Juiced up, it can stun an entire group in an area.
Freeze Grenade are the best way to isolate someone you don't want in combat for a long while (since everyone is too focused on trying to punch you).
Did you just want to mash X to victory with the occasional combo takedown for those that you can't mash X to death? Gadgets are pretty helpful no matter the character. Hell, I'd wager for Catwoman they are vital when she doesn't have things like disarm and disable that Batman has.
If you mean the challenge rooms, then I guess so, because it's a damn shame in the extreme variations they didn't automatically open the gun boxes or give thugs some to start with for some waves - you have to play a custom one and turn those modifiers on. Even then, if you just critical strike chain your way through combat challenges you won't really do so well on the leaderboards/barely scraping enough for the third medal.
No, I didn't just mash X, I just found it incredibly easy to crowd-control with the cape, dodge, and use the auto-lock distance of the standard attack to bounce from thug to thug and keep them off balance, and use the counter as necessary. Throw in a few of the special moves for AoE stuns, knock-downs, and instant disarms/knockouts, and I never felt the need to use the gadgets outside predator scenarios.
I am having real trouble finishing the AR missions especially the one were I have to pull up and glide through the tunnel at the Joker clownhouse also the one were I eed to do a 180 turn.
Is there a knack to finishing these?
Thanks.
No, I didn't just mash X, I just found it incredibly easy to crowd-control with the cape, dodge, and use the auto-lock distance of the standard attack to bounce from thug to thug and keep them off balance, and use the counter as necessary. Throw in a few of the special moves for AoE stuns, knock-downs, and instant disarms/knockouts, and I never felt the need to use the gadgets outside predator scenarios.
The group and single instant takedowns aren't really worth it except possibly for the variation bonus. I can't remember the difference from x11 and x12 though, but it's probably enough to justify using both those moves at least once. At best I would do the group take down on one goon for the variation since it only gives like 25 points. Instant takedown for the variation is good enough, especially if you leave it near the end when you've exhausted enough points out of someone anyway. Also, it has a tendency to lock-on to armoured goons, which I'd prefer to beatdown near the end for full effect.
I am having real trouble finishing the AR missions especially the one were I have to pull up and glide through the tunnel at the Joker clownhouse also the one were I eed to do a 180 turn.
Is there a knack to finishing these?
Thanks.
You aren't allowed to touch the ground/surface, so if you need to do a 180 (I can't entirely remember which one, but the one that goes through the steel mill definitely doesn't need a 180 turn, #2 I think), you can always try grapnel boosting after taking off then steering back towards it on a better vector. All it cares is you pass through the rings, it doesn't care how you get there.
It's a bit odd since points matter so much more in this game (or at least they are an extensive part of its mind-mentality...) so there has to be some risk-reward for ground pounding else you would do it every damn day. But in its current state it's complete bullshit. I'm not sure what the balance is - my initial idea was to have two forms of ground pound, one activated with the 8x or 5x multiplier that is its current instant-takedown and the other a simple hit - but I couldn't figure out how to differentiated properly.
There's 1 boss fight on New Game+ that is just masterful, easily nominated for boss fight of the generation. You pretty much have to use everything in Batman's and the environment's arsenal just to get by.
There's 1 boss fight on New Game+ that is just masterful, easily nominated for boss fight of the generation. You pretty much have to use everything in Batman's and the environment's arsenal just to get by.
There's 1 boss fight on New Game+ that is just masterful, easily nominated for boss fight of the generation. You pretty much have to use everything in Batman's and the environment's arsenal just to get by.
After it was done I couldn't think of any other possible way to hurt him, I had used everything I could think of. It's just not the same on normal 1st playthrough.
I'm done with this game. Just got the Twice Nightly achievement, now I want to go through and get Riddler challenges and finish sidequests with Batman on New Game +, but no, I have to go through the GODDAMN
Two-Face
fight, and no matter what I do he keeps getting stuck on the bottom level where there's no way for me to take him out.
I loved everything about this game, but this is basically game-breaking for me. People who bought this game USED don't have to suffer through this shitty mission, whereas I do. Thanks for forcing me to go through this crappy mission, Rocksteady.
I bought the game used and I still can play as Catwoman. That mission was easy for me, well I haven't done it on New Game + yet, but the first time through it was easy.
It's a bit odd since points matter so much more in this game (or at least they are an extensive part of its mind-mentality...) so there has to be some risk-reward for ground pounding else you would do it every damn day. But in its current state it's complete bullshit. I'm not sure what the balance is - my initial idea was to have two forms of ground pound, one activated with the 8x or 5x multiplier that is its current instant-takedown and the other a simple hit - but I couldn't figure out how to differentiated properly.
I don't get the hate for this move.
I had much more problems with the blade takedown, which is waaaay more dangerous and hard to pull off. If you properly time your bat-swarms, your freeflow focus gel explosions, your batarangs and your ultra stuns the risk for either a fail-out or an interruption is absolutely minimal.
IMO the only thing bad about the ground pound is the animation: it's boring. It's the same animation I've gone through and through in Asylum and I would have liked at least more variations in City. Instant takedowns have three or four animations, ground pound only two (and they are basically the same).
I didn't feel the gadgets added anything to the combat. Outside of collecting achievements and one or two boss battles, I never used them. If you really like having more toys to play with, great, but it's not as though it fundamentally changed or evolved the combat in any significant way.
If you would have used them, you would know they changed almost everything. Fighting style wise and score-attack wise.
Learn to crowd control a group of twenty people with three batarangs, or manage to pull a freeflow focused gel explosion, or have an armored thug flying from one block to the other with a REC shot, and you'll see.
The boss battles ARE better, you're right. That is one area that Arkham City improved on Arkham Asylum.
And speaking of the Riddler trophies, at what point in the Batman lore did Riddler start giving a shit about whether Batman could hit some pressure plates. One in 5 of these trophies (maybe... that might be generous) actually required some thought to figure out. The rest were just tests of hand-eye coordination.
One of the things in which Rocksteady managed to be awesome to the max is the way they re-invented characters to fit with the Unreal engine presentation. Robin, Riddler,
Calendar Man, Mad Hatter
have lost the corny, cartoon-style look they had in the comic book to become something almost completely different. I bet that if he wasn't dead they would have managed to make even a character like Movie-freak look threatning.
The Arkham-verse Riddler is not a character who is smarter than usual, he is a narcisisstic freak who is
convinced he's smarter than anyone.
This is very clearly outlined in the Strange therapy sessions you unlock upon solving all the riddles
. The not-so-challenging riddles are all about that: making you realize this is a guy who's basically took straight out a Cohen brothers movie, the guy who thinks himself smarther than anyone but instead gets outsmarted by everyone. You can almost hear him saying: I'm a nihilist Batman, I don't believe in nothing Batman, I will cut off your johnson Batman... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5J_kao6mwA
Finally, NONE of the areas in Arkham City are as well designed as the areas in Arkham Asylum. The areas that come closest were unsurprisingly the indoor areas like the Museum. The City itself was utterly forgettable, and generally pointless. All it added was more area to bus yourself across between objectives.
To me this setting felt much more emotionally charged.
Stumbling into Crime Alley and getting the Pay your respect achievement without knowing there was one, fighting in the Monarch Theatre with a sword
, fighting inside the court-hall while Two-Face shoots at you, flying seamlessly from one block to the other and pulling a U-turn to kick the crap out of some thug on a roof who keeps challenging you and didn't know better, all this stuff is much more in tune with what I perceive to be Batman.
Asylum was too much Metroid and Zelda-like: you had four, five dungeons, too much closed spaces, nowhere to glide, fights were too easy (too easy, I did a no-upgrade run on hard and it was absolutely boring and unchallenging) and the whole narrative felt more like an homage to everything and everyone in the Batman universe rather than a stand-on-his-own-feet plot.
