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Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate |OT| Batvania

soultron

Banned
Getting excited for this. Going to grab it on 3DS first, might grab Viter version later on depending on how much I enjoy it.
 

Peff

Member
Couple more pics:

vQT9E5Q.jpg

jJtGosm.jpg


I'm a bit concerned about length given that according to the in-game progress marker I'm 21% in with only 57 minutes of playtime. Another issue I could see becoming big is that, since you can choose which area to go to at any time, there won't be much of a difficulty curve. We'll see, I guess. I'm pretty impressed by the presentation, though. Nice graphics, solid framerate, no loading screens in the main areas... good stuff. Metroid Prime fans will also feel right at home here, because Armature have made a little addition to Detective Mode: there are two levels of DM, one which covers the entire screen and the other zooms in to actually analyze stuff by touching it. Collectables are only marked in this second, much smaller level :p They only seem to unlock artwork though, the usual Metroidvania upgrades (four pieces to improve health like in Zelda, gloves for more strength and energy bars that make Batman more powerful if he's not hit) are all much easier to see.
 

Eusis

Member
On the other hand: 5 hours is about the length of Super Metroid IF you take your time, same goes for Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission.

As a game along those lines it's actually about what you should expect, maybe a bit long actually.
 

Yanikun

Banned
On the other hand: 5 hours is about the length of Super Metroid IF you take your time, same goes for Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission.

As a game along those lines it's actually about what you should expect, maybe a bit long actually.

Mirror of Fate was a good ten hours, give or take. Considering Armature said Blackgate would be ten hours as well, I assumed it would be at least well over five hours.

We'll see. It wouldn't be a deal-breaker, but a pretty big disappointment.
 

Peff

Member
46% at 2:08, but I'm (finally) having some trouble with something, the
Penguin boss fight. Think Freeze on steroids, there are invincible minions and it gets worse with each hit
. Map layouts are never particularly complex, unfortunately, but it does open up a bit. Most secrets seem to be limited to "barrier in plain sight, come back with the right gear" as well.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
If anyone in the UK/Europe is interested in getting this a day early, the game is available NOW on PSN, but costing £34.99 [which is more than the usual retail stores]:

https://store.sonyentertainmentnetw...gate/cid=EP1018-PCSB00353_00-0000F10RLS029319

Just took a look on the AU store. $54.95 online, $44.00 if I pop into my local JB Hifi tomorrow after work.

I'm really not sold on this whole "all digital future" thing. How can a shipped, packaged cartridge cost 20% less than the downloadable alternative?
 
5hrs!? Noooooo! But they promised 10!!!

Unless they meant *gasp* multiple playthrough a to get the Riddlers challenges or other acheivements, collection, etc!
 

Eusis

Member
Mirror of Fate was a good ten hours, give or take. Considering Armature said Blackgate would be ten hours as well, I assumed it would be at least well over five hours.

We'll see. It wouldn't be a deal-breaker, but a pretty big disappointment.
Eh, it depends, 10 hours could easily be too much of a drag while 5 hours is the sweet spot. But if the game's really good then I'll deal.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
I'm honestly worried the game will be lacking in locations and variety.
If the consensus is positive I'll probably grab it on 3DS next year. 3D effect, as with most 2.5D games on 3DS, has the potential to be great and add a lot visually, but I'm curious about the framerate and how 3D off differs (or doesn't).
 

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
On the other hand: 5 hours is about the length of Super Metroid IF you take your time, same goes for Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission.

wow, I must be the slowest player ever because SM and MF lasted me way more than 15 hours then, taking my time and all
 

Peff

Member
I recorded a couple of videos. Nothing too exciting, but it's a bit awkward to do with the constant scanning :p

1

2

Something pretty cool about the end of the second video
If you've been to the Joker's area before, you can use the Shock Batarang to electrify a puddle and skip the actual "fight"
.
 
Just took a look on the AU store. $54.95 online, $44.00 if I pop into my local JB Hifi tomorrow after work.

I'm really not sold on this whole "all digital future" thing. How can a shipped, packaged cartridge cost 20% less than the downloadable alternative?


Our country makes buying games digitally a painful experience
 

Yanikun

Banned
It looks like the 3D effect is perfect for this game. Hopefully it works as well as I think.

I really dig the direction they took with this, truly halfway between a side-scroller and a full 3D game, in a (relatively) open world. I always like it when handheld gaming is different from home console gaming, but we've reached a point this gen where we can reproduce home-console production values on handhelds, so this is a nice bridge between traditional handheld gameplay and home-console presentation.

I'm only worried about length now. I thought Mirror of Fate was just about right, though I wouldn't have minded had it been a couple of hours longer, so if this is half that, it's gonna be a missed opportunity.
 

bryanee

Member
I've only done the tutorial but so far so good. Its not as sluggish as it some times seem in the videos I've watched. The combat has translated well to the handheld game as has the predator gameplay. Just got to Blackgate now.
 
My Vita copy shipped from Amazon last night. I was tempted to pass up on it until there was a sale but that 10 dollar credit was too good to pass up.
 

Peff

Member
Welp, turns out they had a trick up their sleeve regarding length.
After you finish all three bosses, someone outsmarts Batman (yes, again) and places five bombs in the entire prison which you have to disarm, but apparently you only get the location of the first one. I could see that taking a while...
.
 

Takao

Banned
Do they have a deal with Sony or something? They only mention the Vita and make no mention that it's also on the 3DS. It's like Xbox and Call of Duty or PlayStation and GTA V.

It's clearly to make up for the fact that the console game's TV ads mention 3DS but not Vita,
 

Redhood

Member
Welp, turns out they had a trick up their sleeve regarding length.
After you finish all three bosses, someone outsmarts Batman (yes, again) and places five bombs in the entire prison which you have to disarm, but apparently you only get the location of the first one. I could see that taking a while...
.

Padding the length it seems by making u go through the same areas on a
wild goose chase
 

Peff

Member
FUUUCK nevermind I'm dumb. As luck would have it,
going back to the bomb after disarming it and opening it gives you the location of the next one.Naturally I realized this after the fourth one. Sigh.
. It also seems to be behaving a little weird if you return to areas you're not really supposed to, with story scripts randomly triggering again, but luckily it doesn't seem to be game-breaking.
 

Totobeni

An blind dancing ho
damn 5 hours, I'll burn through that like nothin. I hope the game is at least 8

to be fair you can beat Arkham Asylum (story only) under 6 hours.

it was fine since it was filled with side stuff and fun to replay again, hopefully it's the same here.
 

Autofokus

Member
How big is the game?



I think thats a given that its a metroidvania game. U can choose any of the three boss routes from the start of the game.
I don't think you can. You can visit those Hubs but will hit a dead-end sooner or later - that was at least my impression.
you need the power generators from the Industrial Hub to enter the West Wing and from there entering the Administration Hub.
 
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