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

Jintor

Member
The Abercrombie Bros are actually a lot of fun to fight for me, primarily because they telegraph extremely obviously and can take a shittonne of beatdown damage. I don't mind that they break certain rules quite as much, although being able to CANCEL OUT of shit would help a lot. Titans can go eff themselves though, their tells blend far too much into their regular movement.
 

Sober

Member
Yes especially as Catwoman I've had to hit them an extra time after finishing the beatdown so they don't go "I'm blind! I'm blind" and swipe like crazy while I'm trying to manage the crowd. That along with the fact I can't batarang/bola a charging titan is crazy considering I could do it in AA no problem and as far as I can tell titans didn't suddenly grow stronger faces/less tunnel vision.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
Anyone get the Perfect Freeflow 2.0 achievement? Where you have to do all of Batman's combat moves in one combo? Tried it for about half an hour and gave up - it's one of those really annoying perfectionist achievements that gets under my skin if I can't do it right.
 

Dany

Banned
Anyone get the Perfect Freeflow 2.0 achievement? Where you have to do all of Batman's combat moves in one combo? Tried it for about half an hour and gave up - it's one of those really annoying perfectionist achievements that gets under my skin if I can't do it right.

Where are you trying to do it?
 

Sober

Member
Anyone get the Perfect Freeflow 2.0 achievement? Where you have to do all of Batman's combat moves in one combo? Tried it for about half an hour and gave up - it's one of those really annoying perfectionist achievements that gets under my skin if I can't do it right.
The scoreboard should give you a 12x variation bonus. Try it on a high henchmen map with little or no titan/lieutenants. Prison Riot, Survival of the Fittest, Funhouse Brawl, Hell's Gate are probably the best.

As far as I can tell (I got it by accident), the list is something like:

Strike
Counter
Stun
Ultra Stun
Ground pound
Instant Combo Takedown
Disable and Destroy
Ground Instant Takedown (batang from air)
Batswarm
Beatdown + Finisher
Redirect/Dodge
Aerial Attack

Batclaw strike actually isn't on the list (I've gotten 11x variations before without it since I usually skip the batarang group takedown) and neither is knife dodge takedown.
 

Raxus

Member
Anyone get the Perfect Freeflow 2.0 achievement? Where you have to do all of Batman's combat moves in one combo? Tried it for about half an hour and gave up - it's one of those really annoying perfectionist achievements that gets under my skin if I can't do it right.

Try it in the combat challenges. Also you don't need to do ALL of batman's moves in order for it to succeed, just 11 out of the 12.
 

Sober

Member
Try it in the combat challenges. Also you don't need to do ALL of batman's moves in order for it to succeed, just 11 out of the 12.
You have to do all 12. I only got it because I decided out of the blue to spend my combo on A+B takedown (accidentally fat fingered it) and it popped up. 11x Variation will never get you the achievement because you usually will want to use 10 or 11 in a large enough room of goons.

Jintor said:
Is redirect/dodge catching a thrown object?
That is projectile counter.

Redirect is basically dodge (double tap jump/use/A/X) but redirect is when you hop over an enemy and dodge is when you don't. If you dodge twice you can fail out of your combo but as long as you redirect you won't fail out.
 

Jintor

Member
Oh damn, that's why I kept losing my combo on Rooftop Rumble... I was trying to figure out why the dodges were sometimes losing it and sometimes not.
 

Sober

Member
No idea how to select alternate costumes for story mode after already completing it.. Yeeeeesh.
From what I saw from some YT vids you just need to continue the story and it'll ask you to choose?

Oh damn, that's why I kept losing my combo on Rooftop Rumble... I was trying to figure out why the dodges were sometimes losing it and sometimes not.
You can basically dodge indefinitely over enemies (which is sometimes what I do if I am waiting for someone to pick up a knife or something, unless they happen to be the last one, then just hit them with a ground pound or beatdown) but as soon as you dodge out into the open you need to do something to an enemy (sometimes where gadgets are useful)
 

Jintor

Member
I just checked and I already have the achievement. I must have picked it up during my like FIVE HOURS I SPENT on Rooftop Rumble extreme.

I dropped out of the top 50 while I was in Vancouver. :T
 

Quikies83

Member
Watch this 15 seconds into the current time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=poJEkZy-IMA#t=25s

I swear to god my eyes are working he chose continue story (not NG+) and it came up

(warning: loud mofo narrator)

He's definitely just continuing a normal game -- not new game +...
How bizarre.. I don't get the option to select costumes when continuing on a new game post completion.. they're all available for challenges though.. I don't like the sound of this.
 

scitek

Member
Is there no way to just restart the story once you completed it aside from creating a new save file? I've completed both NG and NG+ and both are just post-story to collect Riddler trophies and shit. What's the use in that?
And why in Fuck's name would I choose to get the collectibles in NG+ and make it harder on myself for no reason?
 

scitek

Member
Yeah, oh well, at least I can create new files. It's just annoying that the first one is permanently stuck with two games in "collectathon" mode.
 

Jintor

Member
Is there no way to just restart the story once you completed it aside from creating a new save file? I've completed both NG and NG+ and both are just post-story to collect Riddler trophies and shit. What's the use in that?
And why in Fuck's name would I choose to get the collectibles in NG+ and make it harder on myself for no reason?

Because NG+ is fun!
 

iirate

Member
No, they definitely do keep coming no matter what.

Also, isn't it odd that he just repeatedly starts shooting his gun once it's known that you're in the area? It seems so out of place from the rest of the game.

This wasn't my experience. Having not upgraded Catwoman by that point, I had an especially difficult time here, and I flat out couldn't finish the mission until I eventually managed to take out everyone aside from the guy next to him undetected. At this point, I waited quite a long time above the two of them, looking for a double takedown opener, and there were no reinforcements until the boss was aware of my presence.
 

comrade

Member
You have to do all 12. I only got it because I decided out of the blue to spend my combo on A+B takedown (accidentally fat fingered it) and it popped up. 11x Variation will never get you the achievement because you usually will want to use 10 or 11 in a large enough room of goons.


That is projectile counter.

Redirect is basically dodge (double tap jump/use/A/X) but redirect is when you hop over an enemy and dodge is when you don't. If you dodge twice you can fail out of your combo but as long as you redirect you won't fail out.

You only need to do 11. I just got it.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
You only need to do 11. I just got it.

God DAMMIT!!! I just got a x11 variation and didn't get the fucking achievement. ARGHHHHHH!!!!!!! This thing is going to give me a fucking tumor.

Edit: Yep, I just went through a bunch more challenge rooms, aaaaand I give up on this achievement. Screw it. It's not worth the rage I am currently feeling. I really wanted to 100% the achievements in this game, but my sanity is more important.
 

Chairhome

Member
Wooooo, finally beat it. Stayed till after the credit roll and...
The catwoman sequence and character switch is just a way to complete the campaign 100%, right? I'm eventually going to return to the game, I just have other games to clear out first. Is there an extra scene or anything after 100% completion?
 

Flayer

Member
Do any of the DLCs insert themselves into the main game if you dl them before you start? Or are they all standalone addons?
 

Tsukumo

Member
Got to be honest, I'm finding NG+ to be pretty painfully difficult, to the point of it not being much fun at all.

440/440 on the riddles, and 100% complete on normal difficulty, but I'm seriously getting my ass handed to me by the mass of goons in
Penguin's coliseum
.

It takes a long time to beat them all down, and Bats' health just gets chipped away by the occasional shot that gets through. What am I doing wrong? I know most of the crowd control tricks but I can't seem to reliably execute any sort of strong special move without a high chance of taking a hit and scrubbing my flow.

Before we start: I usually hear this type of complaint from people who don't like to evade or vault over an enemy, but instead prefer to hold their ground and deal only strikes and instant takedowns like a boss. I was one of them and I learn through psychological pain, smashed joypads, and scared neighbourghs this wasn't the right way to play new game plus.
Easy (=boring) way: get to 12 strikes, use the explosive gel, get two criticals, use batarang takedown. This will destroy the game's framerate, mind you.
Other options: don't try aerial attacks, don't try ground pounds, abuse batarang takedowns instead of bat-swarm, instant takedown or weapon disarm, don't let them surround you (enemy will usually close you in a circle), hit an enemy on the left then one on the right (this will keep them scattered, expecially in street fights) learn to shoot batarangs one at the time and in different directions (took me a while to teach myself not to mash that left trigger) , or blindfire three batarangs while you are performing beatdowns (it will make you feel like an high school bully, I warn you).
Freeflow focus, in general, is the biggest help: slows enemies, gadgets result in pure mayhem, hits are more powerful (not sure about this last one).
I would avoid using counters, but the animations are so cool I can't restrain myself, don't know about you: unless you are in freeflow focus it's very difficult to time counters correctly in new game plus, and even then the eyefish view + blurred visuals during Focus will make extremely difficult to spot incoming punches when enemies are near you.
 

Orin GA

I wish I could hat you to death
God DAMMIT!!! I just got a x11 variation and didn't get the fucking achievement. ARGHHHHHH!!!!!!! This thing is going to give me a fucking tumor.

Edit: Yep, I just went through a bunch more challenge rooms, aaaaand I give up on this achievement. Screw it. It's not worth the rage I am currently feeling. I really wanted to 100% the achievements in this game, but my sanity is more important.

You need 12.
 

Orin GA

I wish I could hat you to death
How does robins mechanics work? I can get take down to work, but his throw and staff whirl dont always activate.

NM, seems to be working now... weird
 
The cheesy way to do the combat is to just punch then dodge roll ad nauseum.



I only punch and counter, is all

had to learn those jump moves to beat the shield dudes, but as soon as I could it was all leftclick fiesta. Those berks will not stand in the way of getting the bloody Riddler trophies
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
You need 12.

Yeah, just got it a few seconds ago. No wonder i was going crazy yesterday, I didn't know the Batarang counted as one of the moves you need to do. I was driving myself up the wall because I thought it was impossible, and it kinda was with the information I had.

But anyway I cheesed my way through it. Just evaded after every punch I landed in order to easily build up a x5 combo so I can use a combo move. This was my strategy, if anyone still needs to get this:

Walk towards someone until you get an option to Counter
Strike -> evade -> strike until you build up a x5 combo
Disarm and Destroy
Strike -> evade -> strike
Instant Takedown
Strike -> evade -> strike
Batarang
Air takedown (where you jump up and throw down Batarangs)
Strike -> evade -> strike
Bat swarm
Stun -> aerial attack (B, A, A on 360)
Strike -> evade -> strike
Bat swarm
Stun -> beatdown (B, X, X, X, X, X)
Strike -> evade -> strike
Bat swarm
Ultra stun (B, B, B) -> ground pound

And that should get it. I was initially just trying to pull of the moves on the spot, but I think having an order in which to do the moves really helps.
 

Riposte

Member
Well, I now feel like avoiding my responsibilities as a college student... so this might be a long, legit videogame review in very disorganized forum post format.

Pointless? It's all about the leaderboards. Arkham combat is easy to win, but difficult to master.

Batman as a game isn't all that hard, even on hard + NG+ with no indicators. But as a leaderboard challenge game? It's fucking infuriating.

Right, just as you can obsess over the most perfect speedruns on some shitty NES game. Or perhaps if Heavy Rain had a competitive scene where you play through the whole game until someone messes up, without much of an in-game penalty, or they walk too slow(I admit this is hyperbole, but you should get my point).

That hardly makes the base any good. So my 1% rate of error will cost me a 1000 points less vs the guy with .5% error. Mind you I totally respect that difference, but the game itself(assuming it isn't just fucking up on me, which it might be tbh) has very little to do with it. The game is practically throwing QTEs at you 95% of the time at me since I am largely pushing one button or one button plus arrow(QTE language) and my character's position doesn't matter after the first few hits. It is just simple. Easy to learn, easy to master, relatively hard to be on the very top of the leaderboards but probably not as hard as most games.

Not to mention how the relationship between using tools in combat(the "magic" which is suppose to make the combat system good) and score feels really forced. "Alright, I have to remember to throw a batarang at some point in this fight, I guess" x 5-10. Ultimately it is like you are juggling over dozen unrelated button combinations ("RT, then this" "LT, then this", "X+Y", "Y+A", "X+A" "dodge, A, A") - which guess what? - you don't even need. Most hilarious case of this is the stupid knife dodge. Even if you do the takedown, doesn't that just mean a lower combo? I mean I like that it is there(it is bloated, but I can do bloated), but it is handled poorly since dodge + attack still rules over EVERY enemy in the game(though you might have to use your cape once in awhile, or disarm them). Once you get that slow and useless stuff out of the way(or save it when you have only a few enemies left), you are better off just building your combo higher and higher the vanilla way(sometimes throw in a cape so you do that cheesy cool Kenshiro shit since that builds up your combo pretty well.)

And... Crowd control? Why do you need crowd control!? Aside from guns/projectiles, every enemy is going to approach you in the same way with practically the same attack and these attacks can all be avoided in the same manner. The only real variance is that you don't want to risk countering two or more enemies at once(because sometimes it just doesn't work for me) so you either: 1) Punch one dude, then counter the other if you have time, 2) dodge, punch, dodge, punch, etc. Note they are very predictable, so you will know how many enemies will attack you by the way they move while dealing with the guy before.

It is HILARIOUS that someone would compare this game's combat favorably to something like Bayonetta. Lets consider a few things out of many:
*Bayonetta has dozens upon dozens of methods of attack(more than one melee attack), with two weapon sets and accessories alone dwarfing Batman's. Moreover with some exceptions that are easily ignored, these don't feel tacked on with dozens of weird button combinations. The way the game uses "dial a combo" makes for much more flexibility.
*Bayonetta has a similar demand of accuracy with its combo system, but it actually asks you to move your character or use smart(unique) attacks to extend it instead of simply doing it for you. It also has a demanding overall time restriction(which means less dodging over and over again) per encounter.
*Bayonetta's enemies also have dozens upon dozens of attacks(ways they approach you, including fucking teleporting psycho crushers, aerial attacks, subterranean attacks), which are mixed together for a glorious spectacle. They also have more unique tactics, with completely different physical bodies.
*Bayonetta's dodge doesn't interrupt enemies, thus you can't use it shut down all offense from enemies. It must be timed well if you want to make full use of it. (If you think you know what "rhythm" is, go play around with dodge offset and wicked weaves to reset point scaling.)

That's enough about Bayonetta's details. Just dig deeper if you don't see the difference. That "rhythmic gameplay" that keeps popping up in Batman's defense? Guess what. That is in every action game. If Batman is a kid tapping on his school desk then Bayonetta is more like a symphony orchestra. Less obvious, a tenfold more stimulating.

Another crazy thing I've been hearing is that Batman Arkham Asylum is better than Arkham City. This is bullshit. Arkham City is huge leap in quality, a surprisingly good example of what a sequel should be. It is the kind of leap the Assassin's Creed or Uncharted series saw. Arkham Asylum was a poor videogame, Arkham City is an average one with some fantastic highlights which almost make it a good one. If we're talking aesthetics alone, City is a smart Batman game which does the IP proud, while Asylum is little better than any piece of shit license superhero game with some legitimately cool audio files tacked on and the cool cutscenes/interactive cutscenes you got from Scarecrow(though the game parts of Scarecrow were 100% garbage). I should just say quickly that City has better combat than Asylum. It has more enemies types, Batman has more attacks, and guns pop up much more often and remain scary(they force you to be more offensive, though only by a little). It also just seems to be a little more difficult, but that is a rough estimate. It has at least become more interesting than Assassin's Creed(lets say Brotherhood, since that's the most recent one I've played), but AC lets you fast-forward it, so it is a trade off(battles in Batman AC are quick anyway).

Now stealth in Arkham Asylum was pretty cool. It was the only thing really stopping it from being a complete shit-show. However it was repetitive and enemies' counter measures were hardly effectual. So it was a cool thing to fuck around with in the demo, but after that not so much. City changes that. Everything about it is harder. Enemies advance faster and just seem altogether more complex and more challenging. Stages feel more varied. Maybe I should go into even more detail, but really I've typed enough. Basically this might be the most fun I've had with stealth in a long, long time(not including MGO of course lol).

About halfway through the game I was starting to be impressed with this. When I reacted the game's climax
Protocol 10
I was pretty much blown away on how much they improved on Asylum's concept. Enemy tactics were just fantastic(thus all the more satisfying when you mentally break down the last guy, after disabling his weapon of course). This is the reason why this game should be played. On top of these awesome "predator" sequences, it starts raining guns. Guns which fuck Batman up. Imagine Assassin's Creed if the guards standing around the city weren't bitches(no matter your notoriety). So it is fair to say Arkham City might be better than the best Assassin's Creed, which means it is probably worth playing(b/c Assassin's Creed also has ass combat). It is for this reason when someone says Arkham Asylum was better designed they should be laughed at, like if someone says Arkham series has better combat than Bayonetta or any respectable 3D action franchise. (Now does it make up for the rest of the game? Hmm... why couldn't this just be all predator and stuff like the
elevator scene
!? Maybe one day.) (I'd say this game is a 3/5 or 4/6)

Btw, the
Freeze
fight is a straight up gimmick. Cool concept, but plays out more like a checklist than a puzzle. I guess compared to the rest of the boss fights in the series it is great, but not really.

I think AC is actually far more cameo-filled than AA, and some of them just seemed out of place, and tagged on.

Hmm you don't quite get what I am saying. The antagonists/bosses in AA were basically padded out cameos. The big antagonists in Arkham City are way more relevant to what is going on and the Joker didn't become the Hulk. That's a win. You also say it is an argument of scale: cameos in AA were pieces of paper, while in AC they are actually boss fights and whatnot.

I really don't feel like arguing about music, story, visuals, etc, but Arkham City is simply better(also free-roaming > backtracking, theme considered). You could only make a case for a few of the Scarecrow cutscenes, but that's it.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
Hahaha wow, I just went on a freaking tear with Catwoman on Prison Riot Extreme. Checked my stats afterwards - I'm ranked 82nd on Xbox Live. Pretty sick!

With that said, I have all of Batman and Catwoman's combat challenges done. Need to work on predator and campaigns next.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Yeah, just got it a few seconds ago. No wonder i was going crazy yesterday, I didn't know the Batarang counted as one of the moves you need to do. I was driving myself up the wall because I thought it was impossible, and it kinda was with the information I had.

But anyway I cheesed my way through it. Just evaded after every punch I landed in order to easily build up a x5 combo so I can use a combo move. This was my strategy, if anyone still needs to get this:

Walk towards someone until you get an option to Counter
Strike -> evade -> strike until you build up a x5 combo
Disarm and Destroy
Strike -> evade -> strike
Instant Takedown
Strike -> evade -> strike
Batarang
Air takedown (where you jump up and throw down Batarangs)
Strike -> evade -> strike
Bat swarm
Stun -> aerial attack (B, A, A on 360)
Strike -> evade -> strike
Bat swarm
Stun -> beatdown (B, X, X, X, X, X)
Strike -> evade -> strike
Bat swarm
Ultra stun (B, B, B) -> ground pound

And that should get it. I was initially just trying to pull of the moves on the spot, but I think having an order in which to do the moves really helps.
Oh, so you don't need to use the gadgets other than the batarang? For some reason I thought you did since I always noticed using the batarang counted in the variation meter.
 

Sober

Member
Oh, so you don't need to use the gadgets other than the batarang? For some reason I thought you did since I always noticed using the batarang counted in the variation meter.
I think he means the Batarang takedown, which is a special combo move (jump + cape stun on controller)
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
Oh, so you don't need to use the gadgets other than the batarang? For some reason I thought you did since I always noticed using the batarang counted in the variation meter.

Yeah you only need to use one quick-fire gadget, so I used the batarang. The aerial takedown (A + B) is a separate move that is also needed, although he does also fire a batarang.
 

Orin GA

I wish I could hat you to death
Im not liking Robin very much.

My main problem with him is his beat down. It takes too long to gain momentum, and after you counter a henchmen thats behind you, you have to gain momentum again. It's tedious with the armored henchmen when you gotta counter 8 guys before you are able to take them down.

His throw is pretty meh. I just use it to get the variation bonus up. I do like his bullet shield tho.

Nightwing>Batman>Catwoman>Robin
 
Listen to his tapes and it makes more sense what he was doing and for whom.

In fact his tapes are bloody disturbing.

I will, thanks


sooo I was doing Riddler's
hideouts
like crazy. Haha you dolt, you call yourself a genius? Like a boss I look forward to the last one and finally end his miserably long ballbreaking charade when he says

"you need more Riddler trophies"


GPjSf.jpg
 
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