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[Physiognomonics]

Asylum > City > Spider-man > Knights

Overall it's Batman

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Arkham Knight is my favorite of all these.

I don't like games I blitz through in a weekend.

So went with Arkham trilogy.

 

[Ogbert]

Batman is significantly better. Did it first, did it better. Incredible atmosphere and more visceral combat.

 

[nemiroff]

Bought the first Spiderman (PC) and hated it. Still play the Batman games occasionally. Arkham is like in a different and better league than SM (IMO).

 

[Synless]

The Arkham games changed my view of what Batman could be forever. Fantastic games, each and every one of them.

The first Spiderman game and Miles Morales had some of the worst content I’ve seen in modern games (sneaking missions and side quests). The story for the first game was great though. Miles Morales sounded like a douche so it ruined the game. I haven’t played Spider-Man 2 yet.

TLDR: Arkham is clearly the better game series.

 

[Kenshin775]

Spiderman I like easy and straight forward. I fucking suck at puzzles. I hate it when I have to stop playing and look up a guide how to advance to the next section. I felt I had to do that too much in the Batman games.

 

[cormack12]

I'm surprised to see people choose Spider-Man based on traversal. That's really weird to me.

..Spidey has web swing
..Batman has the grapple
..Spidey has webwings (latest game only)
..Batman always had a Cape
..Batman has the Batmobile in Knight

I mean they are top tier in each of their respective universe. But it's like saying you like Syndicate over Origins because it has cabs and a grapple.

Anyway, I like all the games in each series, even Knight. But the Arkham series is a level above as a complete package and even title for title. I'm happy to play through SM and MM and be done. But I could play Batman over again.

 

[The artful mincer]

Considering Insomniacs Spider-Man borrowed the combat system from Rocksteadys Arkham series I’d say this was an easy one. Made easier by the fact that Miles Morales had the worst antagonist ever in Tinkerer. Also, the use of split protagonists in the Spider-Man games has always been kinda lame.

Oh I am glad this thread got made!

I don't mean to pick on you but this is common sentiment held about arkham combat and I mean to challenge it.

Arkham combat was cool and innovative in 2011. It still looks and feels good other than that in 2023 the combat system mechanically speaking is an absolute joke. Take this is video an example



One button press no movement....

I know that's at the start of the game but the combat doesn't evolve nearly enough to be interesting.

There's a reason the only good boss fight in the entire series was a stealth fight.

The only thing Spider-Man really copies today is the finishers. It's its own thing these days I don't know how I would classify it. It's more like devil may cry lite than arkham.

Spider-Man combat is way more versatile and interesting in Spider-Man 2 they have shown they can do good boss fights and it can scale against loads of enemies. Spider-Man combat has shown it can work in almost level design where as arkham can only work in a big bland arena.

Traversal and graphics well that's no contest its Spider-Man.

Stealth okay I would give that to arkham

Story meh don't care enough either to comment they both do there job.

Overall there's a reason why Arkham peaked with City and declined afterwards and the combat system is no longer being copied.

Arkham was definitely the more influential but that's not the question.

Spider-Man especially 2 are the far superior games.

 

[DeaDPo0L84]

The Arkham series really laid the groundwork for what a superhero game could be. Everything that followed borrowed from its success, which is fine but I still think the Arkham games hold the crown for the superhero genre.

 

[Topher]

Batman. Like the dark environments of Gotham/Arkham. Side content is another world better in Batman. And none of the political bullshit.

 

[Big Baller]

 

[SkylineRKR]

Arkham, and Origins is the best of the lot. Fight me.

 

[Papa_Wisdom]

Quoted from another thread:

I’ve completed origins, asylum and city on the 360 and re bought asylum, city and knight to go through again on Xbox. I’ve tried several times to get into Spider-Man over the years but I can’t get past a couple of hours without getting bored and I can’t quite put my finger on why, it just doesn’t click with me.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Only Batman game I greatly enjoyed was Asylum. The rest are mid with poor stories and bad design

Spider-Man titles are all consistently great with enjoyable stories, characters, emotional beats.

Spider-Man 2 is the best superhero game of all time. Best combat, traversal, set pieces, production values, and visuals

Went back to play Batman and it’s dated as hell

 

[cormack12]

Oh I am glad this thread got made!

I don't mean to pick on you but this is common sentiment held about arkham combat and I mean to challenge it.

Arkham combat was cool and innovative in 2011. It still looks and feels good other than that in 2023 the combat system mechanically speaking is an absolute joke. Take this is video an example



One button press no movement....

I know that's at the start of the game but the combat doesn't evolve nearly enough to be interesting.

There's a reason the only good boss fight in the entire series was a stealth fight.

The only thing Spider-Man really copies today is the finishers. It's its own thing these days I don't know how I would classify it. It's more like devil may cry lite than arkham.

Spider-Man combat is way more versatile and interesting in Spider-Man 2 they have shown they can do good boss fights and it can scale against loads of enemies. Spider-Man combat has shown it can work in almost level design where as arkham can only work in a big bland arena.

Traversal and graphics well that's no contest its Spider-Man.

Stealth okay I would give that to arkham

Story meh don't care enough either to comment they both do there job.

Overall there's a reason why Arkham peaked with City and declined afterwards and the combat system is no longer being copied.

Arkham was definitely the more influential but that's not the question.

Spider-Man especially 2 are the far superior games.

Why would Insomniac (and many others) copy combat from 2011 though? That makes no sense. Spider-Man came out in 2018, 3 years after Arkham Knight. Just like Tomb Raider 2013 didn't ape Uncharted 1.

In 2011, Arkham City combat was one of the best in class (for its time). The thing is you can play both games in the same manner. You can brute force through with light, light, heavy combo attacks and rely on counter/perfect dodge and then beat down.

Or you can engage with all the powers/gadgets and stretch your own skills. That's what predator challenges were basically.

 

[NickFire]

Loved them all. But Spiderman by a mile. Swinging around the city can’t be beat.

 

[CatLady]

Said before and I'll say it again: Arkham Asylum is still the best comic book videogame of all time

So true. Batman for sure. I greatly dislike superhero games but I had a $20 voucher for a game and it just happened to cover the total cost of Arkham Asylum without any additional money from me. I was shocked at how good the game was, I totally loved the game and have played it several times. I don't like Sony's games, I actually like Batman as a superhero and can't stand Spiderman, The Spiderman games are way too woke, I don't remember any woke BS in the Arkham games so yeah Batman over Spiderman for me.

 

[mansoor1980]

love arkham knight but all the spiderman games are consistent in their quality

 

[The artful mincer]

Why would Insomniac (and many others) copy combat from 2011 though? That makes no sense. Spider-Man came out in 2018, 3 years after Arkham Knight. Just like Tomb Raider 2013 didn't ape Uncharted 1.

In 2011, Arkham City combat was one of the best in class (for its time). The thing is you can play both games in the same manner. You can brute force through with light, light, heavy combo attacks and rely on counter/perfect dodge and then beat down.

Or you can engage with all the powers/gadgets and stretch your own skills. That's what predator challenges were basically.

Well I feel there both pretty different everyone but everyone says Spider-Man copied Batman.

To be fair Spider-Man definitely copied Arkham stealth.

 

[kiphalfton]

Because everything has to turn into an argument online.

 

[The artful mincer]

I am probably alone in this but I don’t think Spider-Man 2 is as good as 1 or MM. I think I liked MM more because it was right after 1 and was easier so it felt more like a new game+

With 2 I just get bored with the same old crappy fighting system where spider man …a super human takes 40 hits to take out a normal person.

Only if you don't engage with the mechanics. There's challenges for you to take down 20 dudes in less than a minute.

 

[Hugare]

The weekest of the Arkham series is still better than what I've experienced on Spider-man 2 so far

Pacing is much better, combat is better, characters/dialogue is WAY better.

Even sidequests are much, much better in City (even Knight) than Spider-man 2

Traversal is much better in Spider-man. And thats it.

So the Arkham trilogy is still the best superhero games by far, imo

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Spider-Man especially 2 are the far superior games.

Yeah, the combat is absolutely sublime in Spider-man series.

The animations are absolutely ridiculous. It feels like you're in an actual movie with how fluid everything is. Batman feels videogamey. It's clearly a massive step below when it comes to production. I never enjoyed the Arkham combat, which is why it's interesting to here people praise it. It was serviceable at best. I never got any sort of thrill from it like I do spiderman. They're not even very similar combat systems, to be honest. Spiderman is way more fast and frenetic.

 

[SleepySlippy]

Said before and I'll say it again: Arkham Asylum is still the best comic book videogame of all time

Wait til Moon Knight before setting anything in stone

 

[tmlDan]

Hated the combat in the Batman games, love it in Spidey

yes, its an evolution but its way more fun

 

[The artful mincer]

Only Batman game I greatly enjoyed was Asylum. The rest are mid with poor stories and bad design

Spider-Man titles are all consistently great with enjoyable stories, characters, emotional beats.

Spider-Man 2 is the best superhero game of all time. Best combat, traversal, set pieces, production values, and visuals

Went back to play Batman and it’s dated as hell

I think if I went back and played them Arkham Asylum level design and pacing would still be good.

Unfortunately the other 2 are just open worlds with alot of there trappings with as you said dated gameplay.

Especially the combat I'am surprised lots on Gaf still seem to think it's good.

 

[LaughingStock]

Batman games are better. And Bats didn't get emasculated by every female character in the game. Rocksteady wins.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

I think if I went back and played them Arkham Asylum level design and pacing would still be good.

Unfortunately the other 2 are just open worlds with alot of there trappings with as you said dated gameplay.

Especially the combat I'am surprised lots on Gaf still seem to think it's good.

The reason why I started this thread is because I was playing Asylum last night. Combat is still good. It makes you feel badass.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I think if I went back and played them Arkham Asylum level design and pacing would still be good.

Unfortunately the other 2 are just open worlds with alot of there trappings with as you said dated gameplay.

Especially the combat I'am surprised lots on Gaf still seem to think it's good.

Yup. Asylum had good metroidvania design. The other two games just had completely boring cities, and the gated off "Dungeons" don't have particularly impressive designs. I concede that maybe the side content is better, but I don't really prioritize that much and I never got into that much for the Batman series.

The stories all revolved around hearing the Joker taunt you endlessly too, which I found to be pretty bland and repetitive.

 

[Sleepwalker]

For me, the Arkham trilogy is the peak of superhero games and are superior to the admittedly excellent spider-man games.

The atmosphere in Gotham is unmatched, the stories are IMO better and we dont get annoying sidekicks and missions around them. It's dark, it's gritty and it doesn't hold back punches and most important of all, it focuses only on Batman's journey.

Batman is just an infinitely cooler superhero and no amount of tech and graphical prowess can make Spider-man beat that. I am biased as I'm not the biggest Spider-man fan while Batman is easily my favorite super hero.

With that said I'm excited for Wolverine.

 

[Shut0wen]

Bigger spiderman fan then batman but ultimately batman games are a million times better, especially considering batmans side content is unique (except for the riddler stuff) insomniacs is just incredibly dull, there literally still stuck in the ps2 era

 

[TheDraconian]

 

[cormack12]

Well I feel there both pretty different everyone but everyone says Spider-Man copied Batman.

To be fair Spider-Man definitely copied Arkham stealth.

I think ultimately this comes down to how old you were when Arkham emerged and improved, or how long you'd been waiting for a decent Spider-Man game. And there will be a bias on the IP preference too. There isn't a 'right' answer. They are two excellent series and with rarely a missed beat in either. Spidey has the edge in presentation because they are coming into their peak of their franchise now, so you have to balance that against what arkham established imo (and its age).

Arkham set the stall out for a decade of refinement and mimicking of their free-flow CQC system. Sleeping Dogs, Hands of Fate, Mad Max, Remember Me, Mordor, Spider-Man and loads of others. All building on the CQC, light, heavy, counter, takedown, finisher formula. Some done it better than others obviously and Insomniac used those foundations to stylise their own implementation. But ultimately it will always be referred to as Arkham style combat and not Spider-Man style combat.

Both games have tremendous depth. Batman with stealth, batarangs, takedowns, gadgets and Spider-Man with web, melee, takedowns, powers and gadgets. If other people think either lacks depth then they haven't been playing on a hard enough difficulty where they've been pushed to use everything imo.

 

[The artful mincer]

Yeah, the combat is absolutely sublime in Spider-man series.

The animations are absolutely ridiculous. It feels like you're in an actual movie with how fluid everything is. Batman feels videogamey. It's clearly a massive step below when it comes to production. I never enjoyed the Arkham combat, which is why it's interesting to here people praise it. It was serviceable at best. I never got any sort of thrill from it like I do spiderman. They're not even very similar combat systems, to be honest. Spiderman is way more fast and frenetic.

I agree Spider-Man combat is top notch easily the best superhero combat. To get better you to go to to dedicated combat games like Nioh, God of war, Dmc etc.

I admit I was blown away by arkham combat in 2009. It looked and felt amazing we had not seen games animate like that ever before I played it about 5 times.

But its dated today and more importantly for me very shallow and easy.

It's starts to feel very silly when you have 10 guys all waiting there turn to attack and then Batman can teleport across the room without barely any input from the player.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Deadpool

 

[Ronin_7]

Agreed until today around 11AM BST.

 

[Gambit2483]

Spider by a hair. I like Spidey's sense of mobility a bit better than Batman's. Sometimes Batman feels a bit stiff and is (obviously) not a nimble as Spider-Man...and now with his Web Gliders he has even more traversal options.

So yea, I picked Spider-Man.

 

[Robb]

I prefer Spidey personally. Swinging around the city is hard to beat for me and I find the Spider-Man IP’s villains/characters more fun/interesting overall.

 

[cormack12]

With that said I'm excited for Wolverine.

That's a good shout actually. Wolverine is a lot more vicious and visceral by nature. And obviously it will lack the 'powers' part of Spidey so we may have to wait until ?2025? to see if Insomniac can refine the formula to such an extent it becomes the new base for CQC combat going forward.

 

[The artful mincer]

The reason why I started this thread is because I was playing Asylum last night. Combat is still good. It makes you feel badass.

Well it used to make me feel like a badass but not anymore. I will concede it has great game feel but not much elese.

The illusion was shattered for me was you see all the goons taking there turn to hit you it and OP counter is.

I loved Asylum, liked City and couldn't finish Knight.

 

[gow3isben]

I like Arkham’s Combat and stealth more. I like Spidey’s set pieces, traversal, and story more. Side activities slightly go to Spidey.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Well it used to make me feel like a badass but not anymore. I will concede it has great game feel but not much elese.

The illusion was shattered for me was you see all the goons taking there turn to hit you it and OP counter is.

I loved Asylum, liked City and couldn't finish Knight.

It’s literally the same thing in Insomniac games. Square, square, circle, square, square. I suggest to play these games to refresh your memory.

 

[Last Hearth]

Batman had hot Catwoman segments, Spider-Man has unattractive MJ stealth segments. So Batman.

 

[The artful mincer]

Arkham set the stall out for a decade of refinement and mimicking of their free-flow CQC system. Sleeping Dogs, Hands of Fate, Mad Max, Remember Me, Mordor, Spider-Man and loads of others. All building on the CQC, light, heavy, counter, takedown, finisher formula. Some done it better than others obviously and Insomniac used those foundations to stylise their own implementation. But ultimately it will always be referred to as Arkham style combat and not Spider-Man style combat.

It got refined but its kinda died out now what games still to use it? (Genuinely asking) I think Spider-Man is still good because it's become more hit box based and less animation paired. I.e. not the same style.

I think there's a good reason it's gone out of style. Mainly that it doesn't work well in one on one fights and and player position isn't important resulting in it being too easy.

Both games have tremendous depth. Batman with stealth, batarangs, takedowns, gadgets and Spider-Man with web, melee, takedowns, powers and gadgets. If other people think either lacks depth then they haven't been playing on a hard enough difficulty where they've been pushed to use everything imo.

Well I completed both on hard so I guess I was okay! I admit arkham had those challenge rooms which I did not do maybe there was depth there. I understand the main challenge was trying to build a combo and get a big score which has never clicked with me.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Arkham Asylum remains the GOAT imo

 

[Hugare]

Yeah, the combat is absolutely sublime in Spider-man series.

The animations are absolutely ridiculous. It feels like you're in an actual movie with how fluid everything is. Batman feels videogamey. It's clearly a massive step below when it comes to production. I never enjoyed the Arkham combat, which is why it's interesting to here people praise it. It was serviceable at best. I never got any sort of thrill from it like I do spiderman. They're not even very similar combat systems, to be honest. Spiderman is way more fast and frenetic.

Funny that you mentioned animation being great in Spider-man, 'cause I think the animation blending is really week despite the actual animation being good.

Watch Arkham Knight combat video at 0.5x speed or even 0.25x and compare to Spider-man's combat at the same speed.

Animation blending in AK is flawless. Batman goes from one move to the other with no hiccups. Dont look like that in Spider-man.

When you have to interact with a button prompt in the environment by pressing triangle you see Spider-man floating in a very janky way to the exact spot where he has to be in order to interact with the object, for example

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Funny that you mentioned animation being great in Spider-man, 'cause I think the animation blending is really week despite the actual animation being good.

Watch Arkham Knight combat video at 0.5x speed or even 0.25x and compare to Spider-man's combat at the same speed.

Animation blending in AK is flawless. Batman goes from one move to the other with no hiccups. Dont look like that in Spider-man.

When you have to interact with a button prompt in the environment by pressing triangle you see Spider-man floating in a very janky way to the exact spot where he has to be in order to interact with the object, for example

Arkham has hardly any animations to blend. the complexity is far less. That said, I didn't notice any major flaws with the blending.

Arkham feels stodgy and lacks the hollywood production intensity/powers. It feels very basic in comparison.

 

[Shakka43]

InFAMOUS series is better than both.

 

[Putonahappyface]

I loved the Batman Arkham games and they always left me yearning for more. Insomniacs Spider-man is stunning, but bored me to tears especially Miles Morales.

 

[Labolas]

Batman Arkham games for sure. Those games aged perfectly. Without the Batman Arkham games, arguably you wouldn't have insomniac Spiderman games