Batman Arkham City

[DarkPrince]

Were you playing the same game as everyone else? I'm rather curious as to which games are 'far better', or, in fact, which games are even in 'this category'. I'd very, very much like to play them.

I'm pretty sure there is only one Batman AC game :)

Out of interest, which titles are you thinking about?

Both InFamous 1 and InFamous 2 do everything better than this game but for the sake of the year the titles where released InFamous 2 eclipses everything about this game yet got hardly any recognition.

They also have a quite a lot of similarities, both titles follow a super hero type stereotype, are fairly open world, except InFamous 2 is far far far bigger than AC. Both titles have something to do with curing a disease somewhere down their storyline, they have a main objective and side missions however InFamous 2 has far more things to do especially with the UGC additions, both have you upgrading certain abilities etc

For me everything in InFamous 2 was done far better than Batman, a lot of the gadgets and upgrades were pointless where as I used almost everything I was given in InFamous. The one thing I loved as well was the choices, in Batman AC there were so many points where you could make a choice but couldn't. The only time I remember actually being able to make any sort of decision in the game was in the Catwoman mission where I could choose to either save Batman or leave him by going either left or right. This should have been done a lot more through out the game to change it up.

InFamous allows for this type of decision and gets you more attached to the characters where as Batman just seems like I'm being forced to do what I need to do and not really being allowed to choose what to do apart from side missions. Controls, movements and combat is also a lot more fluid in Infamous over Batman, everything feels more polished and flows better. Enemies were also very lacking in AC there was hardly any variation apart from different skins.

Not to say Batman isn't a good game, it is I finished it so it held my attention long enough however it's not the all great game people make it out to be, there are titles that can stand on the same podium if not eclipse it and people should give them a shot. I see it turned into a game vs game comparison but yeah take it as you will.

Also for me Spiderman Shattered Dimensions while much more linear than AC was a more enjoyable experience :)

[Grimnebulin]

For me everything in InFamous 2 was done far better than Batman, a lot of the gadgets and upgrades were pointless where as I used almost everything I was given in InFamous. The one thing I loved as well was the choices, in Batman AC there were so many points where you could make a choice but couldn't. The only time I remember actually being able to make any sort of decision in the game was in the Catwoman mission where I could choose to either save Batman or leave him by going either left or right. This should have been done a lot more through out the game to change it up.

InFamous allows for this type of decision and gets you more attached to the characters where as Batman just seems like I'm being forced to do what I need to do and not really being allowed to choose what to do apart from side missions. Controls, movements and combat is also a lot more fluid in Infamous over Batman, everything feels more polished and flows better. Enemies were also very lacking in AC there was hardly any variation apart from different skins.

We're dealing with opinions here, so firstly I appreciate that there isn't really a right or wrong here, there isn't a definitive answer to a personal account of a personal experience. I can't state objectively that AC is or isn't the better game. What I can do, however, is question the line of your reasoning, and perhaps suggest that comparisons between the two games are perhaps not as valid as you'd have us believe.

I can certainly understand why you'd compare the two titles, as you say there is the superhero persona in both, but I think your first misstep is to classify AC as an open world title on the level of Infamous. Infamous was always an open world title, and the 2nd game made refinements and improvements on a foundation that had already been built. Arkham Asylum was not an open world game, so to be fair AC is their first crack at it. In terms of the tools that have been supplied, I don't think it can be argued AC's melee combat is in a different league to Infamous, and it would equally be as unfair to Infamous to say that combat isn't as polished as Arkham's. You may not have found a use for all the various types of gadgets, but isn't part of the appeal of Batman that the developers are saying, here are your toys now go have fun? It seems odd to me that a surplus could be seen as a criticism. What may or may not have been the case in your playthrough is certainly not the case for everyone else. I also don't think it's fair of you to use the example of choice as reason to elevate Infamous above AC. Infamous is designed around choice, is designed around providing the player with alternatives as often as possible with a directly related reward. Batman is not designed to be like that at all, and from that perspective takes it notes not from other open-world games as Infamous does, but from the action adventure genre, because that's what Arkham City is. You don't criticise God of War for the lack of choices it gives Kratos, or the lack of choice in Uncharted, why do so in Arkham City? Don't confuse the open-world overlay for an open-world heart.

Again, it's a personal opinion, but I'd say Batman controls considerably smoother. Infamous' combat controls are great, as well as traversal through the city via rail, but trying to scale a building in Infamous 2 is a clumsy affair.

Not to say Batman isn't a good game, it is I finished it so it held my attention long enough however it's not the all great game people make it out to be, there are titles that can stand on the same podium if not eclipse it and people should give them a shot. I see it turned into a game vs game comparison but yeah take it as you will.

Again, all you've mentioned are observations which aren't really fair or accurate, and you've said nothing about the storyline and secondary characters of Infamous 2 when compared to AC. Care to comment on that aspect?

You may have enjoyed Spiderman Shattered Dimensions more than AC, and that's fair and there's nothing wrong with that. But your enjoyment of a game doesn't suddenly render all other opinions on that title null and void. If you'd said, hey guys I didn't dig AC that much, that would have been fine. But when you then choose to point out that the game is overrated based upon only your opinion of it, that's just a little disingenuous.

[The_Furry_Cat]

Now, I'm firmly in the camp that believes this game is mostly inferior to the original (barring the far improved boss fights) for reasons I find difficult to articulate, but, um... What?

Were you playing the same game as everyone else? I'm rather curious as to which games are 'far better', or, in fact, which games are even in 'this category'. I'd very, very much like to play them.

+1111111

I thought I was alone T_T

[DarkPrince]

Batman is as much an open world game as InFamous is, part of the world in InFamous gets opened up as you progress however most of Batman is open from the start. They follow the same formula, proceed with your main story to progress just because InFamous is bigger and expands on its world doesn't make it more of an open world game than Batman AC. Neither game is linear, you are not stuck in one room having to go through the door to progress, you can move around the world freely doing whatever you want, you do not have to do the main storyline missions at certain points, you can wonder off in the world doing side missions or collecting shards/riddler trophies or beating up on enemies. this to me is open world, if you feel differently then so be it.

Just because InFamous was always an open world game doesn't give Batman AC any excuse, they went for the more open world feel and elements. It's like getting a crap Final Fantasy fighting game and saying well it was never intended to be a fighter so we can forgive it, doesn't work that way, if you make a crap game it's crap you don't sugar coat it. Learn from the mistakes and improve, and I think AC can be improved a lot. At least in this case AC isn't a crap game :) lol

With regards to the gadgets or "toys" whats the point of having them if most of them are useless? Even using them during fights seems ineffective and useless. Granted the smoke pellet for gunfire and the Ice grenades are pretty cool but apart from that I didn't use anything else outside of me having to use it to progress. The combat is brain dead in the game, this doesn't make it less fun it's just brain dead, it's cool to see him flow from enemy to enemy with knockout punches but there is nothing exciting about it. The same can be said for InFamous as well, there isn't much to do in terms of physical combat but the fun comes in with regards to the powers or rather "toys" Cole has which I feel was done better.

Choice is one of my main things I don't like about that, yes InFamous was designed around it but AC had the elements we just didn't get a chance to play through it. Had they given more time to development we may of actually had a decision in the choices Batman makes through out the game and thus changing the main story. If your going to have it in the game let us make the decisions, it's more work but it's also a criticism I can have. If Batman made no decisions through out the game I would have no reason to say that it should be in the game. However a lot of the decisions made in the game I wouldn't of made and it makes me feel cheated with regards to how the story unfolds. We get the choice to go through side missions or collect riddler trophies, save hostages etc but no choice to make with the story.

I criticize AC because it is nothing like God of War or Uncharted, those are linear games they are not trying to be open world games like AC and InFamous are. God of war is more hack 'n slash and Uncharted is more 3rd person shooter. It would be retarded to compare them over a title that is more similar to it such as why I chose InFamous. It's like me saying wow Batman plays far better in MK vs DC why didn't they make the combat more like how he played in a fighting game. It's dumb.

It's interesting you say that trying to scale a building in InFamous is clumsy, I felt it was rather easy for the most part, was only the weirdly shaped buildings where you couldn't just mash jump to get from ledge to ledge you actually had to look at where you need to go too. Batman just shoots his grapple hook and there you go, so yeah it is easier.. Also later in InFamous you do get a "Grapple Hook" type ability that will get you around buildings a lot easier if your having some troubles, give it a go.

Again I haven't said anything about InFamous story or their secondary characters because I'm not comparing that, each are their own stories. If a game story is crap it's crap, doesn't matter what genre it is. A good story is a good story plain and simple whether its done in an action game, fighter, RPG etc. If you'd like a comment then yes I really did enjoy the InFamous story line in both games, the characters themselves where great as well and I felt a connection with them. By the end of the game I wanted to try and save who I could. Even just running around and blasting some random citizen gave a feeling of right or wrong during the game and that was only because of how the character interacted with me.

But your enjoyment of a game doesn't suddenly render all other opinions on that title null and void. If you'd said, hey guys I didn't dig AC that much, that would have been fine. But when you then choose to point out that the game is overrated based upon only your opinion of it, that's just a little disingenuous.

This is one of the very reason I hardly ever comment back on forums when people disagree, never once did I say other peoples opinions did not count for anything merely that my opinion on it is that the game is very overrated. Possibly because it's Batman, and it happens from time to time with other games. People need to stop taking things so seriously honestly you like the game good for you, just because I didn't doesn't mean I need to give anyone a reasoning for it, so that they can dissect it to make themselves feel better about liking the game. I love plenty games that people think are overrated or crap I don't go around asking for opinions because I just don't care, to me the game was great and that shows that I truly don't have any reservations about my decision on that game. I don't need to write pages of arguments to make me feel better about the game, it's just a plain and simple I enjoyed the game attitude so who cares :)

So it's very unusual for me to write this mountain wall of crap text lol so I shall take my leave and move on to the next game :)

[Grimnebulin]

This is one of the very reason I hardly ever comment back on forums when people disagree, never once did I say other peoples opinions did not count for anything merely that my opinion on it is that the game is very overrated. Possibly because it's Batman, and it happens from time to time with other games. People need to stop taking things so seriously honestly you like the game good for you, just because I didn't doesn't mean I need to give anyone a reasoning for it, so that they can dissect it to make themselves feel better about liking the game. I love plenty games that people think are overrated or crap I don't go around asking for opinions because I just don't care, to me the game was great and that shows that I truly don't have any reservations about my decision on that game. I don't need to write pages of arguments to make me feel better about the game, it's just a plain and simple I enjoyed the game attitude so who cares :)

So it's very unusual for me to write this mountain wall of crap text lol so I shall take my leave and move on to the next game :)

DarkPrince, with the greatest respect; you march into a thread on a forum and state...

Finished Batman AC today and wow what an absolute horrible ending, WTF!!! Very average game though and incredibly overhyped, far better games to play in this category that don't even get half the recognition this game got, has me confused really. Sometimes the gaming world needs to wake up a bit.

Someone decides to take you up on the issue, asks you to clarify a view that is in the minority (and no, I'm not saying a minority view is by virtue of the fact wrong), puts forth their own argument in pretty decent manner without hurling insults or attempting to start a flamewar, and you decide to have a minor hissy fit.

You are entirely correct, you don't have to explain or justify your position to anyone. I asked you to clarify, as did others, purely because it is an unusual view, and I for one appreciate varying insights. This is not a 'I heart Batman and you insulted him' scenario. If you'd paid attention, you would note that I certainly found a few areas in the game that weren't up to the standard I'd hoped, and I'm not debating you because I feel a personal slight due to your dislike of a game I love. That's not the case at all.

The point is this, you're not understanding the difference between stating an opinion and stating a baseless and unfounded criticism. Those are your words I quoted, no one elses, you use the term overhyped and the comment Sometimes the gaming world needs to wake up a bit. Your distaste does not make a title 'overhyped', and don't you think calling for the gaming world to 'wake up' because it praised a title you didn't just a tiny bit arrogant?

That's what I'm taking issue with. I couldn't care less whether AC was your game of the year or not (it wasn't even mine), but what I do care about is you taking the time to substantiate a view point. And most baffling of all, is that you seem to backtrack later and start talking about how the game is actually quite fun?

If you actually are interested in debating the merits of the game further, I'll answer the related points you made. There's nothing wrong with a good debate from differing view points, especially for those who perhaps haven't played a particular title.But if you just see it as a waste of time, I'm not going to bother.

[echo]

We interrupt this heated debate for a special broadcast:

[DarkPrince]

I asked you to clarify, as did others, purely because it is an unusual view, and I for one appreciate varying insights.

And most baffling of all, is that you seem to backtrack later and start talking about how the game is actually quite fun?

If you just see it as a waste of time, I'm not going to bother.

I'm pretty sure I clarified it, the reason I usually don't is exactly for this reason, we go round and round in stupid circles over a game. I'm kind of over it, I stated why and gave you reasoning, I don't need you to agree, disagree or dissect it cause my opinion won't change. People can read mine, yours or anyone else comment and make their decision based on it. It's better for you cause you seem to really enjoy the game, take it from a persons perspective that enjoyed parts of the game but as a whole was unsatisfied, why continue to talk about it?

Of course the game is fun, I finished it, why would anyone finish a game they didn't enjoy when we now have trade-in systems at stores? Just because it's fun doesn't mean it doesn't have faults.

As I said it is a waste of time as we just go back and fourth because we have opposing viewpoints. Your more than welcome to point out yours I'm just stating my opinion on it and gave you a reason on what I thought was bad with the game and which one's I thought were better that got half the recognition of this game. That's all there is too it really.

[Grimnebulin]

Then as my closing statement, I'll simply point out again that what your initial comment was, and what your comment above states, are entirely in conflict.

If you'd simply highlighted the areas that didn't work for you, I doubt much more would have been said. But you used some fairly charged language, to the point that two other users also pointed out what they saw as an unusually aggressive stance. If it had just been me, then perhaps I am being overly sensitive, but perhaps you also just wrote what isn't a well considered opinion and others have simply pointed this out.

If your opinion is important enough for you to take the time to state it on the forum, shouldn't I take the time to mull it over and even respond if it seems appropriate to do so?

[DarkPrince]

If your opinion is important enough for you to take the time to state it on the forum, shouldn't I take the time to mull it over and even respond if it seems appropriate to do so?

No you should just tell me to shut up and go play something else :)

Seriously though, it's fine for you to want more and express your views, I'm just the wrong person to do it with. I'm sure others would be happy to continue in something like this. I honestly hate replying back to people on a game I mildly enjoyed or did not enjoy and express why I didn't enjoy the game with them because of the pure fact that the game just wasn't something I want to spend anymore time on.

I'm more than happy to do it with a game I enjoy because I enjoyed the game and most likely went further in depth with it and played it more. Hence I could probably talk for hours and hours on fighting games that I love but couldn't careless about expressing my views on a game I didn't. Might not be the best for forums since we all have different views and opinions but I'm pretty much just that type of person.

So hopefully you find someone that will go on and on about the things they don't like etc for me the best I could do was the post above and possibly play the next Batman game where I will either give another poorly descriptive statement or a review because I enjoyed the game that much :)

[Grimnebulin]

And that's a completely reasonable path of action.

As a peace-offering, I was going to link you to the lowest rated review for Arkham City I could find, but I couldn't find anything below 80%.

;)

[DarkPrince]

Plenty of user review ratings under 80% and some under 60% so it's cool, can find varied reviews on metacritic.

[Chippit]

So. Guys. Batman. ****ing awesome game, right? That part, with the fists. Yeah. That was good.

[Nferno]

Aww man, the fist was awesome! This one time, there was this guy and I totally used the fist to his face. TO THE FACE! Another guy came up and I was all like BLAM in his face too! It was righteous.

[Zoop]

As a peace-offering, I was going to link you to the lowest rated review for Arkham City I could find, but I couldn't find anything below 80%.

;)

No offense, but commercial reviews are absolutely not a good measuring stick any longer. Nowadays, if a game scores in the 90s, it's considered excellent, 80s and it's just good but has issues, 70s and it's not very good, but some might still enjoy it and 60s means it's just downright rubbish. I don't trust review scores at all any longer. I'd rather read a select few user reviews, where the user has some modicum of intelligence (meaning not the "herp consoles ruining gaming derp" **** 'reviews').

I'd even go so far as to say the majority of commercial sites' reviews are no longer of consequence at all and should not even be taken into consideration when buying a game.

[Grimnebulin]

No offense, but commercial reviews are absolutely not a good measuring stick any longer. Nowadays, if a game scores in the 90s, it's considered excellent, 80s and it's just good but has issues, 70s and it's not very good, but some might still enjoy it and 60s means it's just downright rubbish. I don't trust review scores at all any longer. I'd rather read a select few user reviews, where the user has some modicum of intelligence (meaning not the "herp consoles ruining gaming derp" **** 'reviews').

I'd even go so far as to say the majority of commercial sites' reviews are no longer of consequence at all and should not even be taken into consideration when buying a game.

Tongue was very firmly lodged in cheek, I assure you!

[The_Furry_Cat]

Hey peeps,

I have a good news for you. It's now possible to buy all the Batman AA DLCS even if your region is set to SA :D

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Pr...5-d80457520fa0

[Sir-Ominous]

New Batman: Arkham City DLC Incoming?

Now this is interesting, never-seen before AC trophies have popped up hinting that the upcoming AC DLC is focused on Robin.

[Sir-Ominous]

Came across this really cool Arkham City mod which allows you to play as Green Lantern



You can download the mod herehttp://arkhamcity.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=11880

[Sir-Ominous]

I can't imagine how awesome this would look in my room next to all my other geek stash

TriForce have finally revealed their much teased Batman: Arkham City range at PAX East. The two product series includes an authentic Riddler Trophy model, and an impressive Batman gauntlet with added Batarang!

No release date or price have been set for the two models, but we hope to see TriForce announce something soon!

also

Something for the IOS gamer

The free update has given us a new set of missions that center around the infamous Poison Ivy. The villain has taken control of the Gotham City Police Force as well as Batman's trusty side-kick Robin, it's down to you to stop her and save your friends!

As well as this the update features four new boss missions and three new DC comics available from the Comixology store.

Oh, and If you were lucky enough to pick up the new iPad then you'll find that the game has been completely optimised for the device's amazing resolution (2048 x 1536).

I'm on my third playthrough of the game and it still feels awesome, playing it on hard now.

[Grendel]

Came across this really cool Arkham City mod which allows you to play as Green Lantern

Now why would you want to play a Batman game as Green Lantern? It doesn't make sense....