Batman: Arkham Asylum

[Big Gus]

Seems to have been the week for this game. I got it on launch in a supermarket deal on the strength of the reviews and tyhe chat in this thread, played through about half of it then something else shiny that was playable online came along and I never went back to it.

Started it again from scratch last week and rinsed through it in a few long sessions. I kinda agree with the earlier talk in the thead that the qualiity of the game drops off near the end with the titan/boss battles but overall it's a solid single player experience.

[Mr Ben]

Just finished this, and the one thing that annoyed was the button layout during the fighty bits. Trying to press the 2 buttons for a throw or instant takedown is a right pain when you have thugs to counter and trying to dodge at the same time. Well frustrating at times

Other than that the game felt a bit like Metroid Prime but without the speed, what with all the pickups and the various powerups. Batman seemed to move quite sluggish to me though, but it just might have been the fact I'd played Bayonetta before it

The game did seem to become a bit silly at the end, but still pretty decent. I dont think I'll bother with the challenges though, I tried one of the fight challenges and can see them being boring and repetitive fast, and stealth stuff isnt my cup of tea, though this game did it quite well admittedly. This stuff is fine in single player as the fighting and stealthing is spread out with the story, exploration and getting pickups. But I can see the challenges getting dull quickly, at least for me. Still a cracking single player adventure though. Well worth the £15 I paid

[SeanR]

Just finished it. 69%. I died a few times against Ivy so i let my 10 year old brother have a go. He did it first time.

Last boss was a lot easier. Can't wait til the next one.

has he played a lot of crash bandicoot games?

[NecroMorrius]

Replaying this at the mo and its approx 1000 times better as a stealth game than Conviction.

I only played the conviction demo, so I'm not the best judge, but I sat there for the entire time thinking "wow, this is a clunky, shit, unpolished version of Arkham Asylum, without any interesting characters".

Just finished it. 69%. I died a few times against Ivy so i let my 10 year old brother have a go. He did it first time.

Last boss was a lot easier. Can't wait til the next one.

Do the rest man. The riddler stuff after the main game is finished is great.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I really need to get back to this. After the game mauled my savegame I threw it in the corner and never returned to it. Which is a shame, because it's really very good.

[jcafarley]

I'm playing through this at the moment, it's a lot of fun so far and the pacing really does seem about right. One quick question though, I've been picking up riddler trophies and smashing joker teeth whenever I see them but I know I've probably missed a bunch, can I go back for them all later or is there a point in the game where you can't reach every area again?

[Frosty]

I'm playing through this at the moment, it's a lot of fun so far and the pacing really does seem about right. One quick question though, I've been picking up riddler trophies and smashing joker teeth whenever I see them but I know I've probably missed a bunch, can I go back for them all later or is there a point in the game where you can't reach every area again?

You can get all of that crap once the game is over.

[Vemsie]

I only played the conviction demo, so I'm not the best judge, but I sat there for the entire time thinking "wow, this is a clunky, shit, unpolished version of Arkham Asylum, without any interesting characters".

Only played the demo as well and based on that I have to agree.

[DC]

Chaps.

Is are the two priced DLC maps any good on this? I'm just revisiting some old games and have some points to spend if the quality is up with the rest of the game.

I take it they are just two brawling maps? No additional gubbins?

[Sabreman]

I finished this last night after ignoring it for most of last year (being unimpressed with the demo which made it seem to me to be another production-line action game), then dipping into it now and again over the last few months and getting frustrated with the melée combat.

Bought it on Steam last week and motored through it. Flipped a switch in my brain that made the combat flow beautifully and hugely enjoyed every last moment of it. One of the best games I've played in recent years... feels exactly the way a 3D Castlevania ought to, in fact.

[mr_rmg]

Turned this on the other night round my mates and played the challenge rooms. fucking amazing fun but my god those shock and awe levels are a right bastard.

[DarhkFox]

One of mates got this when it came out. Played the first bit, got bored and not played it since. Yet continues to play a load of shite games (or easy achievements) even after me and friends continue to tell him to play it. Idiot.

[Tunisia]

Played through this during the rllmukalypse, got to 88% so far. All that's left is doing better at challenges, though, and I'm not great at them. I can only bronze even the non-extreme brawls, and the stealths aren't much better. The scarecrow challenge in the GOTY edition is fun though- the skeletons go down so easily that once you get the combo going you can just fly around in a circle like some whirling dervish handing out destruction.

Are the rankings for the challenges common for all players of the game across different consoles? There's no reason for them not to be as it's all LIVE accounts, but I refuse to believe that there are only ~150 people ever who are better than me at one of the challenges.

[Harmunt]

Like many others here I purchased the GOTY edition in the Play.com sale. After playing the demo I was ready to pass this one by completely. I'm so glad I didn't.

It has provided me with one of the best gaming marathons I've enjoyed in a long while. I completed it in two sittings. Everything about it is super polished, with a particular mention to the combat mechanics, making me wish that this engine could be translated to an awesome 3D beat-em-up.

Fantastic experience and a shining example of a game created with a ridiculous amount of love for the subject matter...

[Sausagedog20]

Could someone tell me what happens when you turn on the Bat-goggles whilst doing a scarecrow mission, I read somewhere it's scary but can't find out any more than that.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I really need to get back to this. After the game mauled my savegame I threw it in the corner and never returned to it. Which is a shame, because it's really very good.

Thanks to a combination of the #rllmukalypse, the summer draught and playing this at a friend's, I finally got round to playing this game again. Before quitting I save to memorycard AND HDD to prevent another lost gamesave though Great game, it also wasn't that hard to return to the point where I lost my previous save as you can really zip through it if you know where to go and if your combat skillz are up to scratch. Lovely.

[Janski]

Could someone tell me what happens when you turn on the Bat-goggles whilst doing a scarecrow mission, I read somewhere it's scary but can't find out any more than that.

I think batman gets red eyes? That sounds a bit lame though so it may be something else entirely

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I'm pretty sure the first scarecrow intermezzo doesn't allow you to use detective mode.

[Ktisis]

Has there been anything more said about the sequel lately? I was sure we'd see something at E3 but (unless i'm being really thick) there was nothing

[Sausagedog20]

Has there been anything more said about the sequel lately? I was sure we'd see something at E3 but (unless i'm being really thick) there was nothing

Nothing at E3 and there's been nothing recently.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Finally completed this today after restarting it last week. Excellent stuff, loved it all the way up to the ending. I just can't believe the amount of love, detail and content they managed to cram into the game, the developers went well beyond the call of duty by including all this stuff on top of (yes, I'm going to say it) one of the best action adventure games ever conceived.

Highlight for me were

the Scarecrow levels (including the "crashing console" bit and reliving the killing of Bruce's parents bits), the huge brawls near the end of the game and the predator rooms. What I really liked was that most of the new upgrades/gadgets could totally change the way you play the game. I used the Explosive Gel a lot for example to set traps in predator rooms or to boobytrap weapon caches in brawls.

[Klaark]

I also thoroughly enjoyed Arkham Asylum but the last part of the game felt horribly rushed. It was paced beautifully up until the last boss fight which came out of the blue.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Hmm, I thought it pretty much came to its conclusion in the right way and at the right time, although I would have liked to chase the Joker a bit more (I'm thinking a cat and mouse Decker-Roy finale here) until the climax. But when it comes to difficulty level, pacing and length of the game I thought it was pretty much spot on. There wasn't a single moment in the game where I got frustrated or irritated, probably due to the excellent controls and combat. Some bits were challenging, but nothing that couldn't be handled within 5 attempts.

I had nightmares of the Joker last night though

[Sabreman]

I think the only false note in the game is the final boss, it just doesn't sit well with the gritty, semi-serious vibe of the rest of the game. Not quite realistic as such, but as close as a Batman videogame can be. Having said that, the way you dispatch said boss is awesome.

[Klaark]

His was the only fight that you pretty much strolled into - you had to work to get to the others. Given all the obstacles he shoved in your way throughout the game's duration, I expected some sort of final gauntlet. But apart from that the game was spot on.

I'd like to see Batman stumble around with two broken fingers and a handgun.

[SeanR]

His was the only fight that you pretty much strolled into - you had to work to get to the others. Given all the obstacles he shoved in your way throughout the game's duration, I expected some sort of final gauntlet. But apart from that the game was spot on.

I'd like to see Batman stumble around with two broken fingers and a handgun.

so the welcoming committee, and the waves+titans doesn't count?

saying that, the committee was easy, cos they don't attack until you do.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I didn't even realise that the welcoming party wouldn't attack you after disposing of the first 4 goons and walking in. I beat them up anyway for good measure, loads of XP and an achievement though. I think it gained me my first 30+ combo.

[Klaark]

so the welcoming committee, and the waves+titans doesn't count?

Not at all, but compared to the hard work you had to put in between the other boss fights it felt like a bit of a cop out.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

They absolutely nailed the character though, maybe even more so than the recent movies where the Bat is a bit of a wuss with his love interest and self doubt. The fact that you're nigh on invincible when you operate from the dark and stalk your victims while you have to hang on for dear life if you get noticed by armed guards is just terrific. The balance can shift the moment you neglect watching your surroundings or get cocky and you're wonderfully mortal in an instant. And of course the combo fighting is great against unarmed henchmen. Usually I'm not the 100% type, but I wouldn't mind going back to mop up some of the secrets or maybe visit the challenge modes.

[Jonnysaxc]

I am trying to finish the riddler challenges on this. I have done all but 1 without cheating. Somewhere in the mansion is 1 pair of Joker teeth and can I find them? A: no.