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Batman Arkham Blank


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Well, this is disappointing... I posted this review on metacritic.

 

I question sometimes, how some games get trashed in reviews for "repetitive gameplay" or "uninspired combat" while this game is praised endlessly. Whilst admittedly fun at times the flaws in this game are many and difficult to ignore. First the positives; This game is truly a realised vision of Batman. The cast of the animated show provide great voice acting, and the art style is very reminiscent of the show. The stealth elements are well integrated into the game also, giving it a somewhat unique feel. Special mention should be given to the Scarecrow sections, which are tense and very evocative. That's it I'm afraid...

 

Unfortunately, now for the negatives; First, the combat in this game is sickeningly simplified. Repeatedly tapping 'square' will solve most situations, and once you've learned to dodge with 'x' when an enemy telegraphs an attack you're unstoppable. Counterattacking is pointless as it breaks your combo to do so, actually encouraging button mashing over tactics. Secondly, movement and camera; you have to hold down either the crawl or run buttons to centre Batman in the screen, now while a slightly off centre over-the-shoulder camera is standard for these games, this goes way too far. Batman is fixed to the left hand side of the screen, effectively making you blind to anything coming at you from the left. Since when was Batman blind in one eye? Couple this with a walk speed that's too slow and a run speed that's too fast and you'll be squatting you way through the game as though Batman constantly needs the toilet. The lack of a jump button and context sensitive grapple hook controls also contribute to fiddling control that really damages the experience. Next there's the boss fights, or lack-there-of. Most bosses are little more than fighting a wave of goons while the boss cackles and watches from a window somewhere. Occasionally there's a big enemy which is beaten by dodging and having them charge into a wall, a technique used more creatively a decade ago in Spider-Man on the PSOne. Lastly for the negatives there's the 'detective' mode which is insultingly linear. Touted as a means to allow none-linear gameplay, all it actually does is mean you have to cover the screen with a blue filter and follow the trail of glowing orange lights to the next part of the story. There's no actual investigation, puzzle solving, or intrigue; whether you're searching for fingerprints, blood stains, or tobacco smoke, your detective mode can sense it from across the room and instantly gives you a straight line to follow. It's monkey see, monkey do, and using it actively detracts from the great graphics.

 

Now ow if an easy, linear, and by the book comic hero game with maybe a dozen hours of content is what you're looking for, great, but if not you'll be disappointed. It's not that it's a bad game, far from it; it was a fun game for a few hours at least, but everything it's trying to do has been done better. Honestly, the Spider-Man game on the original PSOne has more varied combat, better boss fights, a stronger storyline, more varied locations, similar stealth elements, and a far better camera... and that came out more than 10 years before Arkham Asylum. That's rather sad for a game that's supposedly a pioneer of modern gaming.

 

Score -:- 5/10 - Average

 

So, I was wondering; do people share my opinion? I seem to be massively in the minority and I just don't get what makes this game so great in so many peoples eyes. (Oh, and no, I've not played the sequels yet which I hear improve on this game significantly). What do you think of the game and why?

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There's already an Arkham thread http://forum.pressxordie.com/topic/990-batman-arkham-blank/

Might want to search first before starting threads about older games. Chances are it's already been discussed.

 

But to answer your question, I think the game's popularity was a combination of a few factors:

 

1) Batman is awesome

2) it was the first good Batman game in quite a while

3) the 3D metroidvania structure was semi-novel at the time

 

About 3, keep in mind it's a five years old game by now. It's old enough for other games to have imitated it and improved on the concept. Tomb Raider being a prime example. So while Asylum might not seem very refined by comparison, it laid the foundation pretty well for a new IP. City is definitely the better game, though.

Edited by FLD
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Yeah, City is better, but like FLD I think a big part of it is that in a lot of ways it was fairly novel at the time. Origins is okay, but it was made by a different studio and just isn't out together as well, everything just feels a little off.

 

*Edit* - I'm not sure what you mean about counter attacking breaking your combo. As long as you land a hit it continues your combo.

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Actually, reading your review more attentively, you got one major thing wrong.

 

Unfortunately, now for the negatives; First, the combat in this game is sickeningly simplified. Repeatedly tapping 'square' will solve most situations, and once you've learned to dodge with 'x' when an enemy telegraphs an attack you're unstoppable. Counterattacking is pointless as it breaks your combo to do so, actually encouraging button mashing over tactics.

The bolded is simply false. Countering doesn't break combos, it's basically the core of the combat system. I didn't mention it in my post because I thought it went without saying but the freeflow combat system is probably the biggest reason why the game was popular. It's just fucking tight. The way you seamlessly chain up hits, counters and takedowns, nothing makes you feel like Batman more than demolishing a dozen guys without taking a single hit or breaking combo. If you button-mashed your way through the game, you were doing it wrong.

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There's already an Arkham thread http://forum.pressxordie.com/topic/990-batman-arkham-blank/

Might want to search first before starting threads about older games. Chances are it's already been discussed.

 

It wasn't on the first page, and pretty much every forum ever has a "don't necro old threads" rule. If the admin/mods care that much they'll merge the threads. I'm not going to start a conversation in a thread that's already reached it's natural conclusion or derail an ongoing conversation to make my post, that's just silly (and counterintuitive if you want to encourage people to post). It is possible to have multiple conversations about the same subject especially if it's with different people...

 

Becides, I don't care if it's already been discussed by someone else... everythings already been discussed somewhere by someone. *I* haven't discussed it, which is the whole point of a message board surely.

Edited by TornadoCreator
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It wasn't on the first page, and pretty much every forum ever has a "don't necro old threads" rule.

It is and we don't.

 

If the admin/mods care that much they'll merge the threads. I'm not going to start a conversation in a thread that's already reached it's natural conclusion or derail an ongoing conversation to make my post, that's just silly (and counterintuitive if you want to encourage people to post). It is possible to have multiple conversations about the same subject especially if it's with different people...

If you had bothered to look, you'd know it's not specifically about Asylum but about the series as a whole. There's a new game on the way, the thread isn't anywhere near its "natural conclusion". We don't start a new thread whenever someone has a new thought on the series.

 

Becides, I don't care if it's already been discussed by someone else... everythings already been discussed somewhere by someone. *I* haven't discussed it, which is the whole point of a message board surely.

I'm not sure I follow you there. It's not been discussed by someone else, it's been discussed by everyone else. What makes your opinion deserving of its own thread? Everyone else's goes in the general Arkham thread, so should yours. I wasn't trying to be dick by pointing that out, you know.

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Actually, reading your review more attentively, you got one major thing wrong.

 

Unfortunately, now for the negatives; First, the combat in this game is sickeningly simplified. Repeatedly tapping 'square' will solve most situations, and once you've learned to dodge with 'x' when an enemy telegraphs an attack you're unstoppable. Counterattacking is pointless as it breaks your combo to do so, actually encouraging button mashing over tactics.

The bolded is simply false. Countering doesn't break combos, it's basically the core of the combat system. I didn't mention it in my post because I thought it went without saying but the freeflow combat system is probably the biggest reason why the game was popular. It's just fucking tight. The way you seamlessly chain up hits, counters and takedowns, nothing makes you feel like Batman more than demolishing a dozen guys without taking a single hit or breaking combo. If you button-mashed your way through the game, you were doing it wrong.

 

 

No seriously, I'm definitely right here... I was only playing it last week (and I know how to play it before you suggest I'm just doing it wrong). Countering breaks combos, fact. If you still have the game, stick it in and try it if you don't believe me. I have the game on PS3 just in case that makes a difference but I doubt it. My PS3 is connected to the internet so it doesn't need patching or anything like that. In combat, pushing 'triangle' to counter an attack resets the combo counter immediately. I thought it was a glitch at first but no, successful counters where resetting my combo every time. I'm sure counters where intended to build up the combo, and hopefully the do in the sequels but not here... perhaps you're mis-remembering. I would have marked it up considerably if counters actually worked.

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I was actually planning to merge them once I'm back at my computer, it's a pain to do it from my phone.

 

*Edit* - Either you're doing something wrong or you're getting a weird glitch, counters normally don't break combos. If you hit the button too early though, making Batman do the thing where he just grabs at the air, that'll break the combo. As long as you connect though it should continue the count.

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No seriously, I'm definitely right here... I was only playing it last week (and I know how to play it before you suggest I'm just doing it wrong). Countering breaks combos, fact. If you still have the game, stick it in and try it if you don't believe me. I have the game on PS3 just in case that makes a difference but I doubt it. My PS3 is connected to the internet so it doesn't need patching or anything like that. In combat, pushing 'triangle' to counter an attack resets the combo counter immediately. I thought it was a glitch at first but no, successful counters where resetting my combo every time. I'm sure counters where intended to build up the combo, and hopefully the do in the sequels but not here... perhaps you're mis-remembering. I would have marked it up considerably if counters actually worked.

Hahahaha jesus fucking christ, man. No, you are wrong. I've played the game to completion numerous times, both on PS3 and PC, and on the hardest difficulty. Counters do not fucking break combos. Ask anyone. If it does, then that means the combo window has elapsed. A punch would also break it at that point.

 

This is bordering on self-parody, jesus. I seriously hope you've been trolling us all this time. I sincerely do. Because the alternative is just too fucking sad.

 

Oh and look at that, thread merge.  :rolleyes:

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I've already done the merge.

Also the rules of the forum:

  • Feel free to "necro" threads: If no one has posted in a while don't be scared to reboot a thread.

I swear I have mentioned that one before. Also the search ain't no Google but it's not bad. And if you do wish to use Google that works too:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Aforum.pressxordie.com+batman

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