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This game looks like it will be good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCH3BgcPH78...rom=PL&index=22

I've never really been excited about a Batman game, but this one shows a lot of promise. Originally, a Dark Knight video game was planned, but for some reason it didn't work out, and now that looks like a good thing because it allowed the developers to draw on a variety of sources: Batman's costume design and bruiser fighting style seem to be from the Nolan movies; several voice actors from Batman: the Animated Series return, including Kevin Conroy as Batman and, yes, Mark Hamil as the Joker; and the story is drawn primarily from the comic mythos, particularly Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth.

The enemy roster is also well beyond what they could have used from the Dark Knight. Enemies I've seen in videos so far: Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Bane, Killer Croc, Zsas, and I think Aymgdala. Everyone from Penguin and Riddler to Tweedledee and Tweedledum are rumored, but I haven't seen footage of anyone else yet. Fighting system I played at a store demo used a pretty simple system of attack, jump, counter, and stun. E3 footage shows a lot more use of stealth, including grappling around gargoyles in the rafters, and silent takedowns of enemies. Oh yeah, and batarangs.

All the things you say, I agree with. I would love to see Scarecrow get added to the list, though, as an official announcement, but having Joker, Harley, and Ivy is still a great start.

Since I'm cheap and won't buy it until I can get it at a good price used, though, I worry that it will compete for my dollar with Dante's Inferno; it kind of comes down to whether having the awesome setting and characters of Batman trumps the amazing art direction I've seen from DI so far. Or if I buy either game, since they're both kind of outside of my typical game-buying comfort zone in terms of genre.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

It really does look good. It reminds me a lot of Riddick on the Xbox: prison setting, plenty of fighting, quite frightening bad guys, good graphics used to make the fighting more enjoyable, and a very similar dialogue system.

I'm in the same leaky boat as R51 regarding buying it however. There is a massive backlog of games I need to get through yet, most are under £5. New games just can't compete.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Quote (Rangers51 @ 10th July 2009 08:31)

I worry that it will compete for my dollar with Dante's Inferno; it kind of comes down to whether having the awesome setting and characters of Batman trumps the amazing art direction I've seen from DI so far.

Just wait until both games come out, and buy whichever one sucks less. Problem solved.

I know where both you guys are coming from, though my problem has more to do with time than money. With my schedule what it is these days, I find that one epic game can tie me up for months. It's been GTA4 for awhile and, while I'm sure I'll eventually get around to beating it, it's time for something new. I'm a huge Batman fan and this game looks well developed, and delaying the release date to August actually works out great for my current schedule, so it's the clear choice for my next pick up.

Oh, and I'd like to see more villains too, though not so many that it gets ridiculous. Scarecrow is perfect because he's an evil psychiatrist, who better to put in an insane asylum? I hear there are more unannounced villains and saw a definite "Riddler clue" in one video. But it remains to be seen whether the other rogues will only make their presence felt through easter eggs or if they make in game appearances and, if the latter, the extent of their involvement in the game. So far the major enemies seem to be the ones I mentioned.

Does this video answer any villain questions? Arkham Asylum.

I really like that trailer. Surely the Riddler would be included in that list if he was in the game, unless he's a secret for now.

I've read a few preview of the game. The stealth gameplay is very well designed, with the goons being noticeably frightened when their friends go missing all of a sudden. We've not had enough games that do stealth properly.

Edit

The Scarecrow is in it. Xbox 360 achievements prove it. Reading comments on trailer videos is not such a bad way to find information apparently!

This post has been edited by sweetdude on 22nd July 2009 12:13

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

That trailer is all the confirmed villains, but supposedly there are others who have not yet been revealed. Check this recent article that contains the following:

Quote

And what would Batman be without a good roster of villains to oppose him? While I can't tell you about all the villains I saw and fought (nasty embargoes!) what I can say is that I felt damn cool when I beat the first one! And the second one kind of flipped the game on its head, changing the gameplay in some interesting ways.

So apparently there are more villains but they're just keeping it under wraps and not letting the press say. This guy's not so coded language to me indicates that one of them is Mr. Freeze ("I felt damn cool") and another is Two Face ("kind of flipped the game on its head").

IMDB lists voice actors for Penguin, Riddler, Two Face, Mr. Freeze, Ratcatcher, and Ra's Al Ghul, in addition to the confirmed villains, but I'm not sure where that information came from or if its accurate. There are, however, a few other things that indicate Riddler, including a Riddler challenge in the link you provided, this picture, and this video which shows a riddle covered in green question marks. If he's not in the game, he definitely makes his presence felt.

Oh. My. Yes.

http://kotaku.com/5323674/arkham-asylums-s...bioshock-creepy

Loving the art direction of this game more and more.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Oh yes, pre-order from Gamestop here I come. That's how you get the bonus Scarecrow level, apparently. Hopefully he is also in the actual game.

So, I just won a copy of this game at a gaming trivia competition, but I don't own a 360 to play it on.

...Maybe it's time to pick up a 360?

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this is a blog mostly about comics and videogames
END SPOILER

Quote (laszlow @ 17th September 2009 00:23)

...Maybe it's time to pick up a 360?

Do it!

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Wha? Thanks to me?

Quote (laszlow @ 17th September 2009 00:23)

So, I just won a copy of this game at a gaming trivia competition, but I don't own a 360 to play it on.

...Maybe it's time to pick up a 360?

Or: mail it to me for safekeeping for a while. Since, true to form, picking up the actual game has kinda fallen off my radar.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

Quote (Rangers51 @ 17th September 2009 10:57)

Since, true to form, picking up the actual game has kinda fallen off my radar.

That's exactly how I feel whenever I see this game advertised. There was once a time when I would've bought it as soon as it came out, but now I only have the patience for one game a month. I mean, I'm still not finished with Resident Evil 5 yet.

Good win laszlow, congratulations. I don't think there's any reason not to buy an Xbox 360 other than if you have a PS3 already or you don't particularly want to play all the newest games.

MMB will have to tell us all how it plays, or anyone else that's got it.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

so, imagine gears of war with out the super mega macho soldiers and instead put batman and friends (and those who are not) in the mansion level from GoW. Now mix a God of War fighting system and add timing to it, throw in a little bit of Tomb Raider with some of Metal Gear Solid's tactical espionage with a sprinkle of nostalgia and WALA, you get Arkham Asylum. Let me just say one thing, whenever you hear gas leaking from somewhere you're in for one mind bending ride.

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PS3 tag: TipoDLuffy

"...quite possibly the greatest game ever made"

Oh, it plays awesome. Both the story mode and challenge maps are extremely fun.

If you don't have a next gen system, I would definitely consider getting a 360. Or if you want PS3 instead, just sell the game for full value and pick up the PS3 version, or see if you can trade it somewhere or with someone for a new PS3 version. Playing as Joker is a pretty cool exclusive.

This was a great game! the fighting, the graphics, bat-hanging take down, bleeping awesome. my only complains were it was too short i think i finished it in 7 hours.... and this is a game that you could flesh out a nice 27 hour intricate detective story you go to the batcave, you train, get new weapons and abilities etc. i expect a longer sequel

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~ A Hero Is Someone Who Stands When Their Legs Are Gone~

B:AA has probably bumped Chrono Trigger from the top spot of my "great games that were too short" list. I beat the game in one weekend sitting. Spent a lot of time after that playing the challenge maps, enough that I was ranked number 14 out of all PS3 players in one time trial; not too shabby, although overall most of the best times posted online tended to be 360 players.

It's good for what it is, the first video game to truly capture the Batman experience. Game gets repetitive awfully fast though, including the challenge maps. It was nice when they offered free DLC at first, but that has come to a standstill and even then the challenge maps were mostly rehashing of one another with little variety. Good game, but way too short and once the novelty of being Batman wears off not much reason to play it anymore. I also hope the sequel will be better, and longer, since they now have a tested and viable gameplay template.

Quote (SaffireWeapon @ 18th September 2009 17:38)

Let me just say one thing, whenever you hear gas leaking from somewhere you're in for one mind bending ride.

Lol yes.

I decided to break down and get this game, and played through it oh-so-quickly. I'm not sure on official times, but I did do ALL of the riddles first.

However, rather than have me butcher the game and what I liked, I found a review that really says it all... except the riddles.

I'm sure everyone knows who Yahtzee is, and what Zero Punctuation is...

I liked the riddles. I liked finding the riddles, I liked how cleverly hidden they were, and I really like that they added in area maps that would let you see WHERE the riddles were if you really wanted to give in on one. Sorry if it's cheap, but that saved me hours of grinding and searching. It's a nice addition, since you can play hardcore and not touch the map and never get the hints if you want to, but the rest of us trying to make it in the real world as well as play video games fully appreciate the option.

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If internal struggles were as enjoyable and glamorous as the self conflicted wars within video game characters, we would all be statues, reveling in perpetual self war. -Me

Play me on Rock Band 2, GH-WT, or any other Xbox GH!
Xbox Gamertag-MeanJerry

Sequel?

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177284
http://www.arkhamhasmoved.com/us/
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177304

Quote (MetroidMorphBall @ 15th December 2009 08:51)

Sequel?

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177284
http://www.arkhamhasmoved.com/us/
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177304

1. Eagerly anticipating
2. They made the Joker look a bit more like the one in "The Dark Knight", which sucks.
3. I want Two-Face in this game.

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"I fell off the mountain of words at around the 10,000ft mark. Tell my family...they owe me money." -Narratorway

"If you retort against this, so help me God I'll shove any part of your anatomy I can find into some other part. Figuratively, of course." - Josh

"We have more, can deliver tuesday." - Del S

Good old CoN

wow!! ive only played a little part of the first one since i got to wait till after x-mas but dahm. a part 2 is already in the mix.

I consider the first to be the single best game to be released in 2009, bar none. It was a true-to-source homage to everything it means to be part of the Batman mythos. It felt the same way reading the comic does; a perfect blend of action and excellent story-telling.

I hope the sequel is longer, includes more villains and maybe a few more options in terms of gadgetry. I liked the concept or relying on Oracle for information, as Batman often does in his comics and I hope they expand on the Gotham Network.

And as much as I love Nightwing, Robin III or Cassandra Cain, I hope they leave the side-kicks out.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

Quote (SilverMaduin @ 15th December 2009 09:56)

2. They made the Joker look a bit more like the one in "The Dark Knight", which sucks.

I don't think Joker's appearance has anything to do with Dark Knight, but with the ending of the first game.

Possible spoilers: highlight to view

At the end of the first game Joker injects himself with a Bane venom derivative called Titan, and transforms into a monster. Batman defeats him and, at the end of the game, Commisioner Gordon narrates that "recovering was harder for some than others," while you see a picture of the Joker all bruised up, indicating that the Joker suffered some kind of side effect when he reverted back (and Gordon's tone of voice sounding pretty darned happy about it, lol). My guess is that's why he's all bruised and hooked up to an I.V. in the video, and the developers are planning to tie the end of the first game into this one somehow.

I just got my hands on this for 360 a couple weeks ago, when my brother in law gave me his copy when he came to visit. Didn't have time to try it out until last night, though, but when I did I was immediately grabbed. I quite like that it's a bit dumbed down for someone like me, who is not very good at action games, with fairly easy button combos for basic attacks. I am really enjoying the plot so far, even though it feels a bit like the plot is attached directly to the introduction of new gameplay mechanics early in the game. I'm also not super-enthused about how much screen space Batman takes up during basic exploration, as I find maneuvering when not in combat to be a bit clumsy as I can't see all of my surroundings.

Other than that, though, I think it's as great as everyone says, at least for the part I've played; I wish I could get away from work right now to have some more, in fact.

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?