Batman Arkham Blank

[Mister Jack]

Knife takedowns are done by holding back and Y/triangle, then letting go of the button for a split second after each slash. Don't do it like the game tells you to.

[toxicitizen]

Any thoughts on these two very critical views on this game?

 

http://www.destructoid.com/review-batman-arkham-origins-264357.phtml

http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/article/batman-arkham-origins-plays-things-so-safe-they-become-boring

 

I haven't even played Arkham City yet (loved Asylum though) so I'll get back to you in 2 years with my opinion.

While I respect Sterling, I rarely agree with his harsher reviews. That being said, although I feel like 3.5 is ridiculously ridiculously too low, I agree with almost everything he says in the actual review. Haven't read the PAR one, though. I rarely visit that site anymore. Can't remember what it was about but at some point I started viewing Kuchera as kind of an idiot and just never looked back.

 

Knife takedowns are done by holding back and Y/triangle, then letting go of the button for a split second after each slash. Don't do it like the game tells you to.

Yeah, I know how it works but I still usually end up getting hit by at least one of the three strikes.

 

 

Also, I honestly didn't have a problem with the upgrade system. I can see why it might bother some people, though. Oh and having finished the game, I totally stand by my initial impression. This game had the best (or at least most fun) boss fights of the entire series (excluding Freeze). You guys are all high.

Edited October 29, 2013 by FLD

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

@FLD look at their rating scale to see why he rated it that low. They don't use the 70%-100% scale most sites use.

[toxicitizen]

Yeah, I'm aware of that. Honestly, I respect how Destructoid don't do the whole bloated score thing. 3.5 still seems kinda harsh but he does sound like he utterly hated it.

 

edit: ooh, steam downloaded an update while I was gone! *glides off to Burnley tower*

 

double edit: still not working...

Edited October 29, 2013 by FLD

[TheMightyEthan]

For PC players having trouble with the Brunley tower glitch, this worked for me:

 

[CorgiShinobi]

Even on a full 0%-100% scale, it's still harsh.

 

It's still an Arkham game, but it plays it safe. I can't truly fault them on it, what with this being a different studio, and in some ways it's comparable to the Assassin's Creed games Brotherhood and Revelations. Something that plays with a popular formula, but tries to add something new to make it not feel like filler for the next big installment.

 

Now if this was from Rocksteady, I would be sitting back with the biggest "WTF" on my face. That's where I would wonder what went wrong, and be disappointed by its shortcomings, especially the combat system. Otherwise, I'm putting this game somwhere around average, so here's hoping the story can make make up for it.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

Now if this was from Rocksteady, I would be sitting back with the biggest "WTF" on my face. That's where I would wonder what went wrong, and be disappointed by its shortcomings, especially the combat system. Otherwise, I'm putting this game somwhere around average, so here's hoping the story can make make up for it.

 

I don't know why this game gets a free pass just because it's made by a different studio. It's still a game in the series. I think AC:B is shit but AC2 is great. Just because it's not a "main game" or "the main studio" doesn't change how well made a game is.

[toxicitizen]

I wouldn't call it a free pass. Personally, my expectations were much lower so the game's quality is more or less where I expected it to be. I think there's inevitably going to be doubt when a beloved series is handed off to a new team, especially an unproven one.

 

@Ethan: I tried that a couple times but couldn't get it to work.

Edited October 29, 2013 by FLD

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

my expectations were much lower so the game's quality is more or less where I expected it to be

 

 

There you go, you just admitted it's low quality, instead of the higher quality of a Rocksteady game. So people really shouldn't be too upset by that Destructoid review.

[CorgiShinobi]

It's not a free pass, but some leniency, because it was going to be different from the Rocksteady games. It's why in all honesty there wasn't as much hype for the game. People were aware this was going to be a different experience because different people were going to be taking characters from another studio and creating an origin around them.

 

For example, the voice acting isn't terrible to me (yet), but it's different. I love Kevin Conroy as Batman's voice, but Roger Craig Smith is alright. Just sometimes I'm imagining Chris Redfield in the Batsuit. I haven't met Joker yet, so I haven't heard a lot of his voice to judge if Troy Baker can pull off a good Joker.

[Hot Heart]

I actually really like Roger Craig Smith's Batman. Sounds like a gruffer Conroy, which fits this version of Batman. Troy Baker does a really good Joker, too, though at times you can sense he's having to force it.

[toxicitizen]

 

my expectations were much lower so the game's quality is more or less where I expected it to be

 

There you go, you just admitted it's low quality, instead of the higher quality of a Rocksteady game. So people really shouldn't be too upset by that Destructoid review.

 

Lower. If Asylum was an 8 and City was a 9, I'd say Origins was somewhere in the 6-7 area. Anyway, I think 3.5 is way too low but he can rate the game whatever the hell he likes, it's his review. I'm hardly upset about it.

 

Chris Redfield in the Batsuit

Oh, goddamnit. That's why his voice sounded so familiar. I thought it sounded fine but now I'm just going to hear Chris Redfield all the time. Good job ruining this for me!

Edited October 29, 2013 by FLD

[Mr. GOH!]

I'd rate the game a 6 in the overall scheme of things.  I understand why Sterling dinged it, though.

[CorgiShinobi]

 

Chris Redfield in the Batsuit

Oh, goddamnit. That's why his voice sounded so familiar. I thought it sounded fine but now I'm just going to hear Chris Redfield all the time. Good job ruining this for me!

Hey, if anything, I just improved your experience. As a boulder punching expert, it explains why Batman can take and throw out all those punches on Christmas Eve.

 

And because he's Batman.

 

EDIT: I'm not upset by Sterling's review either. What I've played doesn't merit a 3.5 in my opinion, but that's my opinion and experience so far.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Atomsk88

[TheMightyEthan]

I haven't finished it yet, but I'm pretty far in, so unless it takes a nose dive at the end I'd give it a solid 7.

[Alex Heat]

I'd say it's solid 7 too.

 

Even after the game froze up on me three times in a half an hour, seemingly at random: once while grappling up to an AR Glide challenge, next during the cutscene with Thug Santa and finally right in the middle of the Deathstroke fight (in the middle of a counter too, so it was like a sweet splash panel full of implied action!)

[toxicitizen]

Yay, new patch fixed Burnley tower!

[TheMightyEthan]

Yay!  Although I already got it with the glitch...

[TheMightyEthan]

Well, I ran into a game-breaking glitch.  Here's what happens in my game:

 

 

Here's what's supposed to happen (start at 2:11):

 

 

I'm quite frustrated.

Edited November 1, 2013 by TheMightyEthan

[toxicitizen]

At least you can probably backtrack out and do other stuff, right? I'm saying that because it sounds like the new patch introduced a game-breaking bug in the final boss fight and when you encounter it, you're locked there and can't go back to the open world.

 

Goddamn, this studio is not off to a great start...

[Mr. GOH!]

No; you cannot backtrack from that encounter.

[staySICK]

Any thoughts on these two very critical views on this game?

 

http://www.destructoid.com/review-batman-arkham-origins-264357.phtml

http://www.penny-arcade.com/report/article/batman-arkham-origins-plays-things-so-safe-they-become-boring

 

I haven't even played Arkham City yet (loved Asylum though) so I'll get back to you in 2 years with my opinion.

 

 

I've started City, but haven't made it very far into it.

 

That said, without playing the game, I liked Sterling's assessment of the game, and the industry in general with the last two paragraphs 

[toxicitizen]

No; you cannot backtrack from that encounter.

Oh, well that fucking sucks then.

 

That said, without playing the game, I liked Sterling's assessment of the game, and the industry in general with the last two paragraphs

You might enjoy his show Jimquisition, then. New episodes are posted on The Escapist first but there's a ton of them on youtube. It's mostly him commenting on current affairs related to the games industry. Like I said earlier in the thread, Sterling and I aren't really on the same page when it comes to game reviews. But he's usually spot-on on Jimquisition. I started watching the show a couple months ago and it's made me gain a lot of respect for the man.

 

On a semi-related note, it seems he left Destructoid today. This soon after the Arkham Origins reviews, it's hard not to wonder if there isn't some kind of correlation, however small.

Edited November 1, 2013 by FLD

[TheMightyEthan]

After quiting all the way out of the game and then going back in a few times, eventually it loaded correctly and I was able to progress. The credits are playing as I write this.

 

[Hot Heart]

On a semi-related note, it seems he left Destructoid today. This soon after the Arkham Origins reviews, it's hard not to wonder if there isn't some kind of correlation, however small.

 

I think he had said he was sick of games journalism. I mean, he always wanted to be a stand-up comedian instead. He knows how to play to the circus crowd of games site commenters but he's still no more than a fucking clown.

 

And in thread-related news, I beat the game. I say this in the kindest way possible: I sincerely hope WB Games Montreal never make another Arkham game. They made a valiant effort but I thought nearly every one of their changes sucked, they have some horrible fascination with excess (fights that are too big or go on too long, repeated use of the cryptographic sequencer, sniper sniper sniper) and the game is still a bug-riddled mess (had silent takedowns stop working, ground takedowns are a joke, and I've had snipers clip through walls). They even recreated the horrible fucking Titan battles from Asylum.

 

They just don't have that Rocksteady touch.