So.. Batman: Arkham Asylum

[toblix]

I DID IT, I DID IT!

Right after I posted, I thought I'd give it another go, as my adrenaline level was back to normal. And I fucking nailed it. I used the tactic of always staying as far away from both titans as possible. To do that, I'd move slowly and just counter all attacks. The distance from the titans let me avoid their throwing bodies and gave me time to dodge and stun them whenever they charged. When they hit the walls I ran over and attacked them, but made sure to always counter when thugs attacked. The difference here is that I was playing it cool, and not focusing just on damaging the titans but also making sure I wasn't hurt.

So, in the end I got both titans and kicked all the thugs' asses before I proceed to the Joker fight. And that, of course, I beat right away, as it was just like the titan fight, only without the titans...

Thanks for the tips, though. I'm glad I gave it another go and finished it. What an awesome game.

Now, I'd like to talk some more about the third Scarecrow sequence.

What a brave thing to do. I'm amazed this passed through Microsoft's certification process. I actually thought my Xbox had crashed. All my frustrations from the RROD episode came back and just as I got up to reset the game, it restarted. And I was still not sure the game hadn't just reset and restarted for a couple of seconds until the giveaways became apparent.

This, and the reference to the middle stick, etc. It's almost stupid to think about it as awesome and subversive, but considering Microsoft's seemingly stringent certification process and unified user experience and all that crap, it's amazing that they got away with it. It broke the third wall so thoroughly and effectively I was, in fact, blown away.

[miffy495]

Yeah, I guess playing it on a 360 would be even more affecting. For me,

I just thought my PS3 had crashed at an inopportune time and needed a reboot. I hadn't even thought about how much more terrifying that would have been for me on an Xbox, where I've already had to send it back for one repair and have been bracing myself for a second ever since.

[elmuerte]

Now, I'd like to talk some more about the third Scarecrow sequence.

What a brave thing to do. I'm amazed this passed through Microsoft's certification process. I actually thought my Xbox had crashed. All my frustrations from the RROD episode came back and just as I got up to reset the game, it restarted. And I was still not sure the game hadn't just reset and restarted for a couple of seconds until the giveaways became apparent.

This, and the reference to the middle stick, etc. It's almost stupid to think about it as awesome and subversive, but considering Microsoft's seemingly stringent certification process and unified user experience and all that crap, it's amazing that they got away with it. It broke the third wall so thoroughly and effectively I was, in fact, blown away.

I played it on the PC, so

I'm sure it didn't reference the middle stick to dodge, but I don't know what the hint did say. But I get fooled by the crash... I really thought... WTF... this this... come on... the monitor is connected through DVI, so this kind of weird errors couldn't happen. It was that Zero Punctuation gag all over again. Of course after a few seconds I had a smile on my face only joker gas could produce. Just plain awesome.

I'm looking forward to the 3rd game of Rocksteady (and probably the 1st original game).

[miffy495]

They had a game before this? What was it? I thought they were a new studio...

[Nachimir]

They did Urban Chaos for Xbox/PS2, which got fairly poor reviews. Noone expected them to pull something as magnificent as this out of the bag, but apparently they'd been working on stealth game prototypes, and as a result of that got the batman license to use with them.

grats Toblix

Ditto on the

3rd Scarecrow bit. I just about shat myself since my 360 is a once repaired launch unit that sounds like a hoover when the disc is spinning.

[Scrobbs]

Same for me on S-3...The 360 crapped out and my heart sank. It's nearly 3 years old with no repairs.

[elmuerte]

Some how I'm pretty sure that the Rocksteady people are very satisfied with people's reaction to the third scarecrow encounter

[toblix]

Some how I'm pretty sure that the Rocksteady people are very satisfied with people's reaction to the third scarecrow encounter

They should be. Very satisfied.

Also, about the post-credits

Scarecrow

... they obviously had to have something like that, and I guess a sequel is a given considering the success (I assume) they've had with this game. However, how do you make a sequel to this? There's not much to improve on. It's like they've maxed out all the stats in the genre.

[elmuerte]

Also, about the post-credits

Scarecrow

... they obviously had to have something like that, and I guess a sequel is a given considering the success (I assume) they've had with this game. However, how do you make a sequel to this? There's not much to improve on. It's like they've maxed out all the stats in the genre.

That's random, it's either

scarecorw

,

crock

, or

bane

[Nachimir]

Plenty of unused villains to go at still, and I doubt any sequel will follow on directly, either.

[toblix]

Plenty of unused villains to go at still

Yeah, no doubt about that.

I doubt any sequel will follow on directly, either.

What do you mean?

edit: Oh, and I just found this.

[Nachimir]

What do you mean?

Oh, I just meant that it will probably not begin with

Twofaces bank robbery and the Scarecrows reappearance.

. They just seem like guff intended to add to the "What a guy! What a city!" image of Batman, rather than any kind of actual opening for a sequel. I hope ¬¬

Maybe it really is though, and will start with him beat up, double the number of his gadgets during, and end with him looking even more battered and threadbare.

[Scrobbs]

I really liked that touch; quick poll: I think I got battle damage on the left pectoral area of his armour first, followed by ragged cloak edges. Did damage appear in the same way for you lot?

[SignorSuperdouche]

I don't necessarily think a sequel needs to be an improvement for it to be justified. I'd be happy with essentially more of the same but with different baddies and environments.

That said, I wouldn't be opposed to making the detective aspects a bit more involved (instead of just following trails) or perhaps a section where you have to play as Bruce Wayne could be quite interesting too. I think there's plenty of scope here to, maybe not improve, but certainly try new things.

EDIT: Same for me, Scrobbs

[toblix]

Oh, I just meant that it will probably not begin with

Twofaces bank robbery and the Scarecrows reappearance.

. They just seem like guff intended to add to the "What a guy! What a city!" image of Batman, rather than any kind of actual opening for a sequel. I hope ¬¬

Yeah, I hope so too. I'm just afraid that the lure of the quick cash-in sequel will be too strong. Maybe they'll do the CoD and let multiple studios churn out sequels.

Maybe it really is though, and will start with him beat up, double the number of his gadgets during, and end with him looking even more battered and threadbare.

That would be totally awesome

for about five minutes...

I'm just thinking that making a sequel to this game would be harder than making one to many other games. I'm not sure why I think that, but I guess that it has to do with so much of the game being about becoming proficient with the game mechanics and acquiring the equipment and skills to complete it. In a FPS you can just add new weapons and new locations, and bob's your uncle, but that wouldn't really work in an Arkham Asylum 2. You'd need a completely new set of mechanics.

[Nachimir]

I've always hated the flimsy tactic in sequels of somehow getting rid of everything you gained in the previous game. I can see why it's necessary for new players, but I think I'd rather have a shit-ton of paid DLC for AA than a full sequel. They could make episodes based around solitary villains and set in various bits of Gotham.

[Erkki]

I finished my second playthrough of Far Cry 2 and started playing this. Really brilliant execution! It's better than I expected so far, even after all the (nearly?) unanimous praise.

[Erkki]

Just beat it. Though I'm not a big Batman fan*, I think all the characters were really well done, especially Joker, Harley Quinn and Batman himself. The final boss battle with Joker was a bit unsatisfying, though. I found the previous one

with Ivy

more challenging. I played on easy or normal, don't remember which, but the game didn't feel particularly challenging at any time (except for some riddles). Not that it's bad -- if I choose easy mode, I want to just experience the game more than be challenged.

-------------

* well, he is my favourite superhero but then I don't like superheroes and practically don't read comics

[Sinkwater]

I played on easy or normal, don't remember which, but the game didn't feel particularly challenging at any time (except for some riddles). Not that it's bad -- if I choose easy mode, I want to just experience the game more than be challenged.

If you want a challenge, try to 100% the challenges...that took me awhile.

[Erkki]

Yeah, some of those are HARD. I've done 34% of them and I can't do the rest without learning some new skills. Also found all the riddles. The last Arkham one was so obvious that I dismissed the actual solution at first but then decided to check it anyway.

[Erkki]

God damn Windows Live. I finally decided to look into why it wasn't letting me sign in during playing Batman (it was trying to download a required update but failed every time, turned out it wasn't able to process it without first downloading a fix for WinXP). Now I got it working, selected the save slot that had my 94% complete game and pressed Enter. Boom, save deleted without so much as a warning.

I guess this might lead to me replaying it on hard or giving it up...

[elmuerte]

I hate Windows Live! too. It's terrible. It's slow, it's unreliable. And it will burn you when it feels like it. I had to reinstall Fallout 3 because I installed the patch that came on the Fallout 3 DLC DVD. Apparently I wasn't supposed to do that. You're only allowed to install the patch via Windows Live. Luckily Windows Live is optional in Fallout 3.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I hate Windows Live! too. It's terrible. It's slow, it's unreliable. And it will burn you when it feels like it. I had to reinstall Fallout 3 because I installed the patch that came on the Fallout 3 DLC DVD. Apparently I wasn't supposed to do that. You're only allowed to install the patch via Windows Live. Luckily Windows Live is optional in Fallout 3.

I like Windows Live

Edited January 10, 2010 by ThunderPeel2001

[elmuerte]

I live Windows Live

Is that a typo? If not, then your joke sucks.

[Erkki]

I decided to replay on Normal instead of Hard since it warned me that hard has no hints when guys are attacking ( the first time I played was on easy ). I completed it and I've also done 65% challenges, including all off the stealth ones except DLC.

However, I'm having lots of trouble getting medals on the combat challenges. Those of you who are good at them, do you use various moves a lot? I just use counter and attack (plus cape-sweep and jumping as necessary with the knife and taser carrying guys) because I fear I might mess up the combos if I try the more advanced stuff. Of course, I usually mess up anyway.

Maybe I should read this FAQ that Nachimir linked to?

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/xbox360/file/952337/57661