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Them Batman Arkham games.

Started by Glebe, July 14, 2018, 08:01:32 PM

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Glebe

So I was playing DC Universe Online for a bit a while back, after a bit I got a bit fed up with it and was kinda thinking I'd grown out of gaming, but just recently I went a bit mad and went ahead and picked up Batman Arkham Collection for PC (plus a new gamepad - a Logitech F310 - cos me old one had developed that 'stick drift' problemo) on Amazon... it collects the GOTY editions of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, plus Arkham Origins. A mate used to have AA for the Xbox, but I'd never actually played it before, I'm about halfway through it at the mo and it certainly lives up to its reputation as a classic.

Btw, installing it caused a bit of bother... it asks you to install Games for Windows, but that's no longer in use... fortunately, the disc includes a Steam key, so I was able to install Steam and get it going.

So, yeah, Batman Arkham gubbins: discuss.

Hecate

Hate the telegraphed, quick time event combat, I never felt like I was directly involved, more like I was just keeping rhythm, tapping my foot watching a music video.
Bored the arse off me, not my sort of game.
Loads of AAA games are third person with batman combat nowadays, aren't they? Are we out of that phase yet?

Kelvin

The combat gave back what you put into it, I think. If you were just button mashing, or doing the bare minimum to get through it, if was extremely tedious and repetitive. However, if you got relatively good at it, it suddenly became a lot more satisfying, as you chained the hits and kills together. I used to complete all the combat challenges, and it really made me appreciate how great the combat was, with experience.

Edit: that reads a bit like I'm saying 'git gud', but I think it could be seen as a failing that the combat was only satisfying once you got good. Although that's probably true of all beat em ups.

Hecate

It just never felt satisfying to me, no matter how smooth and fluid it felt.

Kelvin

Now I come to think of it, I do remember thinking the original game was fairly repetitive even once you did get better. The enemies and moveset weren't varied enough. However, in the later games you had far more moves to alternate between, and move incentive to use them.

I do think it's a problem that I only really got the most out of it after finishing the main games, and playing through the various challenge maps for rewards.

Nightwing was great fun in the DLC, too, as I remember. Less so some of the other characters. I could never consistently land the timings with Catwoman, for some reason.

biggytitbo

The batman isometric game on the spectrum remains to this day the best batman game ever made.

Consignia

The fighting wasn't great, but the best bits are the stealth rooms where you need to take out the baddies. It felt the most "batman". It's a shame they pulled back for Arkham Knight in favour of the boring batmobile bits.

madhair60

They are all great. Knight is the absolute pinnacle. Because of the awesome batmobile bits.

Mobius

Quote from: Consignia on July 14, 2018, 09:53:12 PM
The fighting wasn't great, but the best bits are the stealth rooms where you need to take out the baddies. It felt the most "batman".

Yeah those were my favourite bits, and Joker comments along as you take down each guy "ohh only 3 of you left with the Bat now, shitting yourselves are ya?" that sort of banter.

biggytitbo

Quote from: madhair60 on July 14, 2018, 10:08:54 PM
They are all great. Knight is the absolute pinnacle. Because of the awesome batmobile bits.


Yeah, very good, but still not on par with the spectrum one is it?

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I've not played the subsequent games, but I absolutely love the first two. I'd say Arkham City is the better game in every other way, but Asylum possibly just pips it by having a better storyline. The Mad hatter and Ra's al Ghul sections seem too obviously like attempts at recreating the Scarecrow bits from Asylum.
Both games still look fantastic, easily holding their own against the current generation. It should also go without saying that the voice cast are excellent.
Quote from: Consignia on July 14, 2018, 09:53:12 PM
The fighting wasn't great, but the best bits are the stealth rooms where you need to take out the baddies.
I says the opposite. I loved the punching sections. Getting in the zone and chaining together a perfect unbroken combo on a roomful of thugs - magnifico. I found the stealth bits far less satisfying: Knock out a baddie, escape to the rafters/into a grate, rinse and repeat. The increasing paranoia of the baddies didn't seem to actually affect the gameplay in any meaningful way.

Paaaaul

Quote from: biggytitbo on July 14, 2018, 11:03:17 PM

Yeah, very good, but still not on par with the spectrum one is it?
Head Over Heels was better.

MojoJojo

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on July 15, 2018, 12:41:04 AM
I've not played the subsequent games, but I absolutely love the first two. I'd say Arkham City is the better game in every other way, but Asylum possibly just pips it by having a better storyline. The Mad hatter and Ra's al Ghul sections seem too obviously like attempts at recreating the Scarecrow bits from Asylum.
Both games still look fantastic, easily holding their own against the current generation. It should also go without saying that the voice cast are excellent.I says the opposite. I loved the punching sections. Getting in the zone and chaining together a perfect unbroken combo on a roomful of thugs - magnifico. I found the stealth bits far less satisfying: Knock out a baddie, escape to the rafters/into a grate, rinse and repeat. The increasing paranoia of the baddies didn't seem to actually affect the gameplay in any meaningful way.

Pretty much the same from me. For me Asylum is very nearly the better game simply because I'm not keen on open world games and really enjoyed the linear structure it has. However, Asylum is fucked by having some fucking awful boss fights. So yeah, can't really choose between the two.

Mister Six

Quote from: MojoJojo on July 16, 2018, 12:34:01 PM
Pretty much the same from me. For me Asylum is very nearly the better game simply because I'm not keen on open world games and really enjoyed the linear structure it has. However, Asylum is fucked by having some fucking awful boss fights. So yeah, can't really choose between the two.

I love open world games and loved the half-sunken No Man's Land area of Gotham, but I did appreciate the greater focus in Arkham. They're both amazing, though, and that Scarecrow dream in Asylum is a better setpiece than anything in City. City is still great though.

Never played the other two, Origins and Knight. Origins was made by another team, right? And Knight was bugged to fuckery. They both seemed like they would be stretching a good thing too far. Was I wrong?

Kelvin

I actually liked Origins the most. It's clearly the least ambitious, but I think it probably has the most consistent, well paced story, and the least back tracking. I like the Christmassy theme, too. It's more the side quests that feel a bit half arsed/copy and paste compared to the other entries.

Kelvin

Makes good use of Carol of The Bells, too.

bgmnts

Quote from: Kelvin on July 17, 2018, 03:07:15 PM
I actually liked Origins the most. It's clearly the least ambitious, but I think it probably has the most consistent, well paced story, and the least back tracking. I like the Christmassy theme, too. It's more the side quests that feel a bit half arsed/copy and paste compared to the other entries.

The Joker being the villain though.

AGAIN.


Kelvin

Quote from: bgmnts on July 17, 2018, 03:26:06 PM
The Joker being the villain though.

AGAIN.

Yeah, that was disappointing, I must admit. I just appreciated it's pacing, really. Asylum and City both suffered from tedious diversions in the plot that effectively acted as filler and busy work. With Origins, the "assassins" plot made the various villain appearances feel more organic and more central to the main story. Asylum has all that stuff with Ivy, and City feels like three plots welded together. I just thought Origins was a better told story.

Jerzy Bondov

The problem with Origins is there's a big building in the middle you can't just zip up and over. You have to go around. Bollocks. Other than that it was good.

Knight is great. John Noble Scarecrow. What more do you want?

Kelvin

Quote from: Jerzy Bondov on July 17, 2018, 04:13:49 PM
The problem with Origins is there's a big building in the middle you can't just zip up and over. You have to go around. Bollocks. Other than that it was good.

Do you mean the bridge? If so, yes, that was the shittest part of the game.

Jerzy Bondov

Quote from: Kelvin on July 17, 2018, 04:16:48 PM
Do you mean the bridge? If so, yes, that was the shittest part of the game.
The bridge is shit, but there's also a building on the north island. It's near Wonder Tower, which was all a no-go area in Arkham City as it was Hugo Strange's base, but in Origins you can go there. There's a sort of plaza there. However there's also a big dull rectangle building which you can't even get on top of.

MojoJojo

I ended up reading this thing https://shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=36555 about Arkham City - it's pretty good if you want a really long break down of the game, and has some interesting ideas about difficulty.

It mostly reminded me about how the plot completely falls apart at the end and stops making any sense. Also the completely baffling way Joker's depth is treated, where everyone is apparently sad the mass murdering psychopath is dead, while not giving a shit about the dozen or so innocent people he killed before breakfast.

The gameplay is good enough that it shouldn't really matter... but it does. Stops feeling like progress.

Glebe

So I completed it, got all Riddler's challenges and such, but I can't be arsed trying to complete all the Challenge Mode thing to get 100%.

madhair60

Origins is really good. It has a sort of sloppy first third but then picks up when Joker shows his face. Not because of him, it just generally improves.

Desirable Industrial Unit

Origins starts off feeling like it'll get everything completely right, and the 'detective' business is nicely expanded from what it was in the first two, bringing in these interludes that have a bit of an adventure game feel.  I don't think I got past that first third though - partly because it's not very compelling, but mainly because the fucking map is a nightmare.  Gliding about and zip-lining was one of the best things about the games but they really want you to knock that on the head so it's this weird, tight maze of illogically-arranged buildings that makes getting from one point to another a complete pain in the arse.  It's not just the big bugger of a building, the whole map has that kind of feel to it.

Mister Six

Quote from: MojoJojo on July 20, 2018, 12:24:29 PM
I ended up reading this thing https://shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=36555 about Arkham City - it's pretty good if you want a really long break down of the game, and has some interesting ideas about difficulty.

That's a fucking great article - thanks for sharing it. I'm going to read through his Final Fantasy and Mass Effect articles now (slowly, over the weekend).

MojoJojo

Quote from: Mister Six on July 27, 2018, 06:35:00 PM
That's a fucking great article - thanks for sharing it. I'm going to read through his Final Fantasy and Mass Effect articles now (slowly, over the weekend).

Yeah, I did that this week when I was supposed to be working. The Mass Effect one left me a bit sad - I played the first two through twice, and mostly loved them, despite how the story starts falling apart in 2, but never played the third. The way he details how the first one had a well thought out universe with a clear plot and set up for the following games, which was then all trashed in the second and third ones for apparently no real reason beyond "oh so it's like gears of war" is sad.

(that said, I just don't have the time/patience for those sort of games anymore)

FFX was less interesting to me because I haven't played it... except I realised at some point I had played at least some of it. It does have this paragraph in it which I find absolutely hilarious for some reason I can't fathom:
Quote
In the belly of Sin, Tidus at last comes face-to-face with his father. This is... strange. Jecht became Sin, but then we find Jecht is also inside of Sin? That's like Optimus Prime transforming into a truck, but then you look in the driver's seat and Optimus Prime is behind the wheel. That's confusing.

kalowski

Is it Arkham Knight with that bollocks batmobile section? If I wanted to play a driving game I'd buy a driving game. Never bothered getting past that bit. Bored.

Diminishing returns the Batman games.

gmoney

Playing through Origins at the minute, as I only played it briefly when it came out. It's very tedious, I have to say. I've just beaten Bane, which is I think the 3rd boring boss encounter. Please tell me it gets better? The combat seems a bit off compared to the other ones as well. I thought Arkham Knight was at least twice as good as this, Batmobile bits include (I actually never really minded those to be honest, though it got a bit samey towards the end).

Kelvin

Quote from: gmoney on July 30, 2018, 10:39:01 AM
Playing through Origins at the minute, as I only played it briefly when it came out. It's very tedious, I have to say. I've just beaten Bane, which is I think the 3rd boring boss encounter. Please tell me it gets better? The combat seems a bit off compared to the other ones as well. I thought Arkham Knight was at least twice as good as this, Batmobile bits include (I actually never really minded those to be honest, though it got a bit samey towards the end).

Bane is near the end, so no, it isn't going to get much better, I'm afraid.