Batman: Arkham City - Reviews - Post #882

[deKay]

Which is why I'm so grateful to Rocksteady for how they handled Arkham Asylum, and why that short scene in which you controlled a very young and recently orphaned Bruce Wayne for a few minutes is just about one of the greatest moments I've ever experienced in a videogame.

I actually said "Oh... my... god..." aloud at that bit. Utterly amazing.

[Professor Puzzles]

That sequence was brilliantly handled. I loved the way that the corridor of Arkham Mansion slowly metamorphosed into an alley of Gotham. It was a truly cinematic experience, and as you say one of the best videogame storytelling moments I've witnessed.

Actually, when you think about it, it wasn't a cinematic experience at all, but a pure videogamey experience that wouldn't work as well in any other medium, and is therefore even better! Hurrah!

[SM47]

I hope they use the 'polishing time' to make the stealth segments a bit more 'sandboxy', as in more sophisticated AI behaviour for the patrolling guards (not necessarily in their ability to track and take down the Battermang, just in how they react to shadowy bat-probing), arguments breaking out amid the goons as their numbers dwindle, more ways to 'toy' with them, such as one of them catching sight of you in the shadows, spraying wildly and then running off screaming to tell his friends about how he caught a glimpse of a ten foot tall bat creature that's going to kill them all if they don't get the hell outta this abandoned warehouse.

[Sarlaccfood]

That's fair enough, but I always thought Batman was at his best when he wasn't battling costumed buffoons anyway. I loved those occasional one-shot complete stories of Bats using his detective skills to solve everyday crimes before beating down a few 'normal' criminal types with his superior fighting skills.

But I stopped reading comics along time ago. After - in my opinion - the rot set in with Bane 'breaking' the Batman and months of Jean-Paul Valley followed by endless crossovers, etc., I became heartily sick of upstart writers and blatant rip-offs, so comics and I parted company.

oh oh oh! You have to check out the Batman: Black and White series of oneshots. (they're free through the various comics apps on iTunes at the mo)

They're just like you described, and I'm trying not to go through them more than one at a time to make them last.

Batman at his best.

[amanset]

Christ those screen are fantastic!!! Definetely the game to watch next year.

Maybe I'm getting old, but pre-rendered non-game stuff just bores me. Basically, if you can't see the HUD then the "screenshot" is pointless.

How they managed to make a woman in leather with massive cleavage not sexy is beyond me.

[bobontheway]

Gameinformer.com have put their Batman: Arkham City cover story online for all to read. I've yet to read it myself but I presume it'll contain spoiler elements.

[The Sarge]

Gameinformer.com have put their Batman: Arkham City cover story online for all to read. I've yet to read it myself but I presume it'll contain spoiler elements.

There are a few spoilers, but all of them are based around the opening hour of the game. The rest is general info about improvements, the city, Bats new equipment, skills, etc.

It's definitely worth the read if you have the time.

And some new screens/concept art. (some of these might look familiar, they are direct feed shots of scans posted last month)

Edited October 11, 2010 by The Sarge

[bobontheway]

I just finished reading it and, just as The Sarge says, the spoilers are concerning the opening section of the game. The first game was such a surprisingly great game that I was a little concerned when I heard it was going to be set in a city but that article has put my fears to rest. I cannae wait!

[The Sarge]

Newish details. (and round up of all old info, translated using GT)

Combat and gameplay details

- Batman will now be able to block two attacks at once.

-There are special moves that can hit up to three enemies at once

- Batman will be able to use all your gadgets into combat. The example shown was the Batman jumping on top of a bandit, spraying gel explosive in his back, can put gel in various enemies in the middle of the fight and blow them up later. Hitting use gel, use gel, dodge ...

- Batman will be able to insult his enemies, which can generate fear in enemies or even draw them into battle with provocations

- Batman will have new air strikes from a higher point, Batman is one of them hanging by the cord and jump over the enemies who are armed disarming them and throwing their arms, then you can return to the starting point of the jump or detachment to fight, there is also a diving Swivel which hits two enemies to trez

- It is also possible to dodge objects thrown at you, or throw them back

- The combat animations more than doubled since the last game

- Batman now has special moves (or terminators) combo one of them is called "Fallen," a combination of quick punches with a vertical kick that launches the enemy then ends up in a second aerial shot, also there will be others where Batman combines combos and equipment to complete

- Batman will be able to climb all the objects, climbing on buildings, including wireless (Batman will be able to balance them) something similar to what was seen in the assassins creed II, will be able to slide underneath objects, cling to poles, rods or performing gymnastics maneuvers and also slide down ramps to grab an enemy, or even a flying start to break a window

-Batman also received funds dodge that allows him to dodge projectiles from firearms, is also used for normal attacks, a general avoidance

- When Batman is in the air he will be able to make a dive at an alarming rate. with this you can reach the enemy causing great impact pushing the others were not involved back, igniting a great combo

- Batman will be able to grab enemies in flight, or a slip

- Batman will be able to stay in an almost perpetual state of flight, a flight completely free in a much faster speed, you can land on a building to fight the bad guys jump out of the building again planar circular building where the rising and falling again after a dive. When Batman is soaring, if you go toward a window he runs a diving motion with his feet to smash the window and execute a surprise attack

-Batman could run and use gadgets at the same time, you can also run, jump and hit at the same time, batarangs may be thrown even if or when Batman jumps into the air is

- In Arkham city-there is also a movement to trap, Batman can disarm enemies who carry knives, guns, shields, batons, etc. ..

-A Grapple gun can also be used even when Batman is hanging on something

- There is a type of jump where you can start out from a wall to another.

STEALTH

- Batman will have many new falls silent, confirmed so far are a drop that leads to the top two enemies at once, and one where Batman drops falling silently over the enemy and he twists his head with his legs (the leg in the braiding enemy's head), turning up again

- Some are frail walls can be torn down with a swim up to execute a surprise attack on the enemies that are behind the wall

- Batman will now be able to silently grab two enemies at once

NOTE: This time the players need not wait the entire process so that the enemy is asleep, it disturbed a lot, especially when you did this and had an armed enemy that you saw, Batman hanging and taking the enemy bullet, it was very frustrating in Batman Arkham City may simply disagree with the enemy with a secondary attack when it clings to him, speeding up the movement with several different attacks that had not in AA, ie you can now hit the attack again at the right time to overthrow the enemies faster instead of waiting like before. Or simply have the option to disarm him and then immediately drop it.

GADGETS

- Batman will have all its equipment from the previous game early on.

* Smoke Bomb

* Booster that increases the leap of Batman, this booster when used in air play Batman for a big dip after this you can pop open their wings in a last moment before crashing to the ground and climb to the skies in a great speed, is also used to attack enemies in diving

* You will need a machine that puts an enemy upside down

* Has one second Grapple Gun, or second hook that is used in the air, Batman can swing by your SWR launching one after another, similar to what man does to the spider web, you can tour the city by swinging cables and alternating with the flight, you can perform aerobatics between one shot and another

* There will be a sonar Batman invoked where a large colony of bats

* There is now another hook that attaches a high point, you can run down an attack and rise again without anyone noticing

* An analyzer transmission, to find the location of transmissions.

GENERAL

- The map of Arkham City is five times larger than the map of Arkham Asylum, this map will be free, but at the same linear time, the game promises to revolutionize the game by putting in a new category

- There will be multiplayer, although not confirmed if he is the co-op or not, Catwoman is a strong candidate to pair with Batman

- There will be many side quests or secondary, at the DEMO find two, where one is related to Victor Zsaz, you meet a series of links throughout the city and connecting the dots will, amassing information on places and people, when you have investigated all the information and met all the links Zsaz an abandoned mansion will be open for him a new mission Zsaz where is the BOSS.

All Buildings are highly detailed inside and everyone will have a role in the game is the main story, or in side missions, or even just for fun

- Probably because we play with Bruce Wayne has been revealed that it will be possible to mingle among the crowd (not confirmed)

-Probable presence of the bat-cave for the exchange of specific equipment for each mission, are only possible because the loading of equipment 8 at a time with some variations and different functions in the same or even go to wayne manor (unconfirmed)

- Could there be a database with all the chips of all prisoners on the island, as that particular detainee criminal faction they belong or to which villain he works, its history, face (all will be different), to which Batman will have access, but You can access this database as is finding the inmates in the city, the more you find and analyze more your list will grow until the complete database

-Alfred replace Oracle as his sidekick

Note: The story takes place in Arkham city one year after the events of Arkham Asylum. Quincy Sharp is now mayor of Gotham and acquired a large area of the city to build a city jail. Arkham City is home to all prisoners insane previously seen in Arkham Asylum, the Joker before leaving it in ruins. The psychiatrist Hugo Strange is heading the place now, and the only rule that prisoners have to follow is to not run away, leaving them to fend for themselves within the city.

Detective Mode

- Scenes of crime more complicated than in the first game, worthy of CSI.

- "Many crime scenes demanding puzzles to be solved

- There will be crime scenes where they need to question detainees to gather information to use the database to find possible informants, some crime scenes will have their clues scattered throughout the city

- There will be various other gadgets to assist in investigations such as blood sampling, recordings of conversations, etc. .. fingerprints

- There will be analysis of statistics and also ballistic

ENEMIES

All detainees will now have different appearances, there will be a huge variety of weapons far greater than in the first game, some enemies will have more agility while others will have more defense, including some even will use shields

- Most robbers will be grouped into groups, each headed by a villain in the game, if Talia Al Ghul is confirmed then we will also have ninjas in the game

- You can track the gangs and all detainees in its criminal database, face criminal faction and each one (it shows that they all have different appearances)

- Bandits who are not related to any group are to roam the streets

- Bandits of the Riddler's riddle replace the tips, which will require interrogations to discover the secrets and plans of the Riddler

(This puts a harder, be careful not to let an informant unconscious, it can greatly delay its mission analysis before any fight with the local detective mode to see if a possible informant, they will be included in the database to whom it belongs, after it is located in another color when the detective mode is activated, after defeating all the enemies you pick up the informant and takes you everywhere, like on top of a building and it makes you talk about it)

- There will be more enemies in every battle against the previous game (in the confrontation DEMO appear about 40), and there will be many cases in which there will be many armed bandits and unarmed at the same time can give

- Detainees are more aggressive and attack simultaneously

- Bandits have more realistic AI, and may even run away or seek reinforcements

- Have a much greater variety of different weapons and attacks, some enemies to block normal attacks

VILLAINS

- Confirmed so far are Joker (Trailer), Harley Quinn (Gameinformer), Two-Face (Gameinformer), Talia Al Ghul (Confirmation VA), Mr. Freeze (Confirmation VA) Calendar Man (OXM), with Black Mask and Penguin suggested in the trailer.

[Vemsie]

Batman versus ninjas?

Thanks for posting, Sarge. GT aside, the game itself sounds mighty great.

[The Sarge]

Geoff Keighley has just confirmed that we'll be seeing this at VGA. Hopefully we'll get a first look at the gameplay.

[moosegrinder]

Have I told you how much I love you, Sarge? I do. I expect mad ninja skills when the video goes up, don't let me down.

[Chadruharazzeb]

Gosh this is exciting. Whenever it's out it's not soon enough.

[The Sarge]

:OMG:

Teaser video tomorrow @ 2pm. (this will be a teaser of the trailer that's due to air at the VGA on Saturday)

Coming soon: new Batman Arkham City teaser trailer: exclusive to MSN Games: tomorrow Dec 8 at 2pm #arkhamcity

Watch it at the below site.

http://games.uk.msn.com/gaming/

Edited December 7, 2010 by The Sarge

[Bojangle]

I just played through AA for the first time after buying it in the Steam sale. Utterly fantastic game which I found incredibly difficult to stop playing which led to me completing it over the weekend. Some genuinely impressive moments, namely the Scarecrow hallucinations which were done so so well. Well excited for this now!

[BrerLappin]

While i enjoyed the 360 version of AA, im fucking loving the PC version. And im not even a bat-fan. Never read any comics and the only films ive seen are batman begins and the one with michelle pfeiffer, and i saw the dark knight but didnt really like it

But now im looking forward to this bigtime

[Petrousgyre]

While i enjoyed the 360 version of AA, im fucking loving the PC version.

What's improved with the PC version - graphics aside? Was considering playing through AA again on 360 but should be able to pick up the PC version for tupence now.

[BrerLappin]

What's improved with the PC version - graphics aside? Was considering playing through AA again on 360 but should be able to pick up the PC version for tupence now.

Well lots of people will cry 'bullshit' on this, but im finding the controls so much better with KB&M. Controlling the camera is so much faster that in big fights you can see alot more of whats going on around you and can see where all attacks are coming from much easier. And also, DEM GRAFFIX

Console

PC

[The Sarge]

Teaser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-fwxJMFkNo

[Kayin Amoh]

'Teaser' is right, sadly... >:|

[RubberJohnny]

I didn't read those month-old spoilers because I was playing through the first game at the time, and aside from the hilariously broken english they're written in, I was rather disheartened in the fact that it was linear.

The rest sounds cool though, at least the parts I could understand (apparently there are several features where batman jumps down but then can go up, and there's something to do with a rope?)

[Trigg]

:OMG:

[Petrousgyre]

Well lots of people will cry 'bullshit' on this, but im finding the controls so much better with KB&M. Controlling the camera is so much faster that in big fights you can see alot more of whats going on around you and can see where all attacks are coming from much easier. And also, DEM GRAFFIX

It does look pretty sweet, you're on your own with the KBM thing though - you lunatic.

[Tzigone]

Nah, he's right about that. It works extremely well with the keyboard and mouse. It's a great PC port in general, GFWL aside.

[Vemsie]

It's a horses for courses thing. I too prefer a pad for all things combat. I just prefer the feel of it.

[Sabreman]

I never even thought about controlling it via keyboard and mouse, but it might actually be pretty good that way. I do feel very comfortable with that control scheme in general. Might reinstall and give it a go.

[The Sarge]

Hugo Strange Reveal Trailer

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/vga-10-batman-arkham/708341

[Vel]

Well lots of people will cry 'bullshit' on this, but im finding the controls so much better with KB&M. Controlling the camera is so much faster that in big fights you can see alot more of whats going on around you and can see where all attacks are coming from much easier. And also, DEM GRAFFIX

PC

That PC screenshot is so lovely!

[Pob]

God, the CGI in that latest teaser is amazing. Imagine a whole film like that! It'd be nice to see some gameplay, seeing as Rocksteady reckon the game is pretty much finished already.

[Vemsie]

My guess would be that it's done by Blur Studio.They are rather good at what they do.