[360, PS3] Batman: Arkham Asylum

[Brad Grenz]

A licence even affects reviewers. It's blinding them by virtue of the miracle of a good licenced game. I'm thinking that the score should have one point detracted if you're not a reviewer who's stunned by a good licenced game, and another point detracted if you're not a Batman fan. In my case, that leaves a 7/10, which may be a bit too harsh - the demo gave me a strong 7.5 vibe.

Why shouldn't a good, well used license enhance enjoyment of a good game? Would the X-Wing/Tie Fighter games be as much fun if you weren't zooming around in the beloved Star Wars universe? Probably not. That's what's potentially good about a licensed game, replacing a potentially chinsky original IP with something far more developed, inhabited by characters we've always wanted to be.

Based on design, mechanics and execution (from my experience with the demo) Arkam Asylum would be a really great game if you were playing Beefcake Darkshadow: State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. But it's that much better cause you're fucking Batman and you're fighting the Joker voiced by the actors from the great cartoon and written by the show's creator. We don't have to subtract points because these elements actually do make it more fun to play.

No question, though, if they had made the same game with a weak, generic character and setting your score deductions might be accurate. If by some chance they created an original IP as good as Batman, they probably wouldn't. But they didn't make those games, they made this one, so it's not really worth discussing.

 

[Arwin]

We don't disagree Brad, it's just that for instance the Eurogamer makes it appear that it would be a great game even without the licence.

Whereas I still think it would be a mediocre game without the licence, or, crucially, if the licence means little to you. You're talking about the 'great cartoon' for instance, but I've never seen it, and so the voice actors don't mean anything to me either. Apart from that, I don't think the Batman licence is very cool for an action game. Now if it was an adventure game, I might be intreagued, because I've actually enjoyed some of the stories (people probably think I'm crazy but I loved Batman Forever's script, very clever and funny).

 

[obonicus]

That last thing you said there Arwin, there oughta be a law.

 

[Arwin]

That last thing you said there Arwin, there oughta be a law.

Well just think about it - the Joker and Two-Face use the accumulated intelligence of tens of thousands of TV viewers, and it's not enough to outwit Batman. It's a nice dig at couch potatoes (and not the only one in the script either).

 

[betan]

That last thing you said there Arwin, there oughta be a law.

Him being crazy or Batman Forever being clever and funny?

 

[AzBat]

Well just think about it - the Joker and Two-Face use the accumulated intelligence of tens of thousands of TV viewers, and it's not enough to outwit Batman. It's a nice dig at couch potatoes (and not the only one in the script either).

You do mean The Riddler played by Jim Carey don't you?

Still, I liked the movie, but then again I didn't know better at the time it came out either. LOL

Tommy McClain

 

[AzBat]

My lovely wife paid off my whole game today without me even asking her to. Complete surprise.

She told me that evidently that our GameStop had so many pre-orders that they are actually having a midnight launch. They told me to be really early because they were giving out codes. Umm, weren't everybody who pre-ordered suppose to get a code or this some kind of additional code I might get? Going tomorrow to find out for sure.

Tommy McClain

 

[Arwin]

You do mean The Riddler played by Jim Carey don't you?

Whoops, yes, of course.

 

[Gitaroo]

some interesting point I found here for the final version

http://www.lensoftruth.com/?p=14110

360 version is ver-? Good thing Im waiting for the PC version......... I hate ver- widescreen support.

 

[AlNom]

what is ver- widescreen?

 

[Gitaroo]

what is ver- widescreen?

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/index.php/FAQ

"Field of Vision

For a more detailed explanation, please see the article on Field of Vision

The FOV (horizontal FOV, for our discussion) determines how much we can actually see at the sides (e.g., the horizontal plane; "left to right"). With a low FOV, it's like looking through a tunnel - only a small area directly in front of you can be seen. With a high FOV, greater amounts of the surroundings can be seen, making for a more like a normal viewing experience. An unnaturally wide FOV provides distortion, and will end up with a "fish eye" effect.

Movement from a 4:3 display, to a widescreen display, should produce an appropriate increase in horizontal FOV. If the horizontal FOV is not increased, the image change will either be Vert- (a decrease in Vertical FOV) or Stretched.

Different games use a variety of different FOVs. Widescreen displays do not dictate a specific FOV. The issue is that widescreen should provide a proportional increase in FOV, versus "fullscreen.""

PS3 version is Hor+

 

[zed]

Movement from a 4:3 display, to a widescreen display, should produce an appropriate increase in horizontal FOV. If the horizontal FOV is not increased,

though if they use a vertical FOV (which suits most games better, since action typically happens on a x->z plane, thus the performance difference between say 4:3 + 16:10 modes is less ) going widescreen will actually make you see less

www.widescreengamingforum.com
seems like a site sponsered by monitor makers, thus arent likely to give a balanced viewpoint.
monitor makers prefer ppl to buy widescreen as they cost less to make than say 4:3, BTW I recently checked www.dell.co.nz and now its it looks like there starting to downgrade monitors from 16:10 monitors to 16:9 (impossible to buy 4:3)

edit - WRT what I said at the start swap vertical around with horizontal, + u shouldnt change FOV at all

http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/mod/journal/journal.asp?jn=450912&cmonth=11&cyear=2008

 

[AzBat]

Got my game last night. First in line! Out of 20 & some were there for the FF PSP game. LOL

Slightly bummed about the quality of the Batarang, but when put into context with all the other stuff you get for an extra $40, it's much easier to stomach.

The game is great. Somebody on the Eidos forums compared it to Bioshock & that's not too far off. Wished it had more of a Splinter Cell feel, but it's not big enough to complain. Graphics look excellent. Unreal Engine was a great choice. The Detective Mode is so cool. Somebody finally realised Batman is more than a brawler, he's the World's Greatest Detective! Gadgets are awesome and how you're able to upgrade them as you gain EXP(this is where the Bioshock comment comes from). Voice acting & cinematics are movie caliber and excellent. Dini was a great choice to helm this. There is one main gripe & one Rancid will have a problem with: the context sensitive in-game help screens/pop-ups seemed to be turned on all the time with no way to turn it off. Kinda makes it seem like too much hand-holding. After the first 30 mins you would think you would no longer need the help & could turn it off, but so far that's not the case. I complained about it on the Eidos forums(as a few others), so maybe we'll update to fix that. Other than that, excellent game!! Probably my favorite game since Halo 3. Hopefully Rocksteady will be asked to do another one & another one & another one. LOL

Tommy McClain

 

[AlNom]

Got my game last night. First in line! Out of 20 & some were there for the FF PSP game. LOL

I saw.

Amazon has yet to ship my order out. :|

 

[joker454]

Got my game last night. First in line! Out of 20 & some were there for the FF PSP game. LOL

Been thinking of getting this one also, but I was hoping Harley Quin would be playable

 

[AzBat]

I saw.

Amazon has yet to ship my order out. :|

Yeah, I was up way too late last night. Dead tired, yet, I'm still wanting to play it again as soon as I catch up on my forums.

Tommy McClain

 

[AzBat]

Been thinking of getting this one also, but I was hoping Harley Quin would be playable

Only 3 playable characters are allowed so far in the Challenge maps: Batman, Batman Armored Suit & Joker. Joker only available with the PS3 version. If you pre-ordered through Walmart.com you get the free code for the Armored Suit, but everybody gets that free if you finish the game.

Tommy McClain

 

[Gradthrawn]

Disappointed with the packaging of the Collectors Editions. The Batarang is plastic, and although it's not flimsy, it feels and looks more like a "toy" than a "replica" that would be placed on a stand (the stand it's "on", by the way, is also quite disappointing). I know it's a "T" for teen game, so, the safety of a true metal/composite Batarang might be an issue, but I wish people would stop thinking of the children and consider the adults for once! Especially at these prices! But I got it for about $35 shipped, so, I can't complain much.

One thing that did catch my eye is how the behind the scenes and other extra video is handled on the game BD. They show up on the video section of the XMB. I don't recall any game doing that prior to this. Definitely the preferred way to handle extra video, as with this method you gain the controls afforded by the OS' video player (controls that most in-game included extra videos don't seem to offer). I wonder if this is new functionality exposed in a recent SDK or if it just hasn't been explored up until now.

 

[patsu]

Don't forget to post impressions after you've completed the game.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

There is one main gripe & one Rancid will have a problem with: the context sensitive in-game help screens/pop-ups seemed to be turned on all the time with no way to turn it off. Kinda makes it seem like too much hand-holding.

That was exactly what I was saying I was afraid of after playing the demo.

Tell us more about the variations of the weapon modification. Do they seem robust or is it more of a 'choose how to upgrade your weapon now, but at the end you'll have them all anyway'?