Batman:Arkham City

[CeeKay]

Yeah, looks like I too am going to cave.

Dammit.

watch, it'll be sold out everywhere you go 

[leo8877]

BATMAN TONIGHT!  Gonna be a long work day!

[Harkonis]

Yeah, looks like I too am going to THE BAT cave.

Dammit.

fixed that for ya

[ibdoomed]

Be strong! Hold out just a few days and it will pass. You can do it! Keep in mind that the PC version is only half the cost of console versions at least and you could still use your xbox controller on the PC.

[hepcat]

Goddamnit.  I want to be the goddamn Batman.  

I can see how this would play out.  My wife comes home from Europe on Saturday.  She'll walk into the house to find a recycling bin full of empty beer cans, the house will be in disarray, all curtains will be drawn to make the living room my own batcave, I'll be perched on the couch with a bath towel wrapped around my neck and held in place by a large safety pin to resemble a cape, as will Simba and Nala so that my trusty Robin and Bat Girl will be by my side, she'll see that I made an unapproved video game purchase, and when she demands to know WTF is going on I'll just glare menacingly at her and say in my best deep growl, "I am the goddamn Batman."  And when her mother walks in behind her I'll have my chance to take down my dreaded nemesis Two-Face.  

Might as well start preparing the couch for an extended stay right now.

[JayDee]

Yeah, looks like I too am going to cave.

Dammit.

watch, it'll be sold out everywhere you go 

This happened to me with Batman: AA. I decided on release day that I wanted in and every EB was sold out near me. I found a Wal-Mart that had a copy left and they were selling it for $39 so I ended up winning.

[Bullwinkle]

Goddamnit.  I want to be the goddamn Batman.  

I can see how this would play out.  My wife comes home from Europe on Saturday.  She'll walk into the house to find a recycling bin full of empty beer cans, the house will be in disarray, all curtains will be drawn to make the living room my own batcave, I'll be perched on the couch with a bath towel wrapped around my neck and held in place by a large safety pin to resemble a cape, as will Simba and Nala so that my trusty Robin and Bat Girl will be by my side, she'll see that I made an unapproved video game purchase, and when she demands to know WTF is going on I'll just glare menacingly at her and say in my best deep growl, "I am the goddamn Batman."  And when her mother walks in behind her I'll have my chance to take down my dreaded nemesis Two-Face.  

Might as well start preparing the couch for an extended stay right now.

My wife is also in Europe and returning Saturday! 

Of course, I'm not scared of her, so I'll be playing the goddamned Batman game.

   She never looks in here, right?

[Zinfan]

Uh-oh UPS is claiming "adverse weather delay" and my copy of the game won't arrive from Amazon today!  Super sucky since I am leaving town tomorrow and was going to take my 360 and batman along to my mom's house.  No way I get the game until I get back either Sat or Sun.  Wonder what the adverse weather was in Sylmar?



Hmmm looks rough out there for the men in brown.

[CeeKay]

Was it coming from Texas?  I heard parts around Lubbock got a bit dusty yesterday....

[Zinfan]

Was it coming from Texas?  I heard parts around Lubbock got a bit dusty yesterday....

Nope Kentucky

But there is still hope



wonder if they will put it on a truck for a late day delivery?

[CeeKay]

Installing!

and then maybe I'll play some more RDR instead

sacrilegious heathen!  go pick flowers later, you're the goddamn batman now.

It's funny-  I'm stuck at work and I'm finding myself jonesing for some more RDR instead of AC.

[PR_GMR]

Installing!

and then maybe I'll play some more RDR instead

sacrilegious heathen!  go pick flowers later, you're the goddamn batman now.

It's funny-  I'm stuck at work and I'm finding myself jonesing for some more RDR instead of AC.

Then send me your copy. 

[CeeKay]

Installing!

and then maybe I'll play some more RDR instead

sacrilegious heathen!  go pick flowers later, you're the goddamn batman now.

It's funny-  I'm stuck at work and I'm finding myself jonesing for some more RDR instead of AC.

Then send me your copy. 

I don't think my 360 copy is compatible with your PS3.

[PR_GMR]

Installing!

and then maybe I'll play some more RDR instead

sacrilegious heathen!  go pick flowers later, you're the goddamn batman now.

It's funny-  I'm stuck at work and I'm finding myself jonesing for some more RDR instead of AC.

Then send me your copy. 

I don't think my 360 copy is compatible with your PS3.

(PR mutters: Fuckin' Ceekay!)

[JCC]

I'm a little tired from a tough work day, but I played a couple of hours tonight. Seems pretty cool. Fundamentally more, bigger Arkham Asylum.

[JayDee]

Played for a couple of hours, very cool but very overwhelming. Game doesn't hold your hand very long and then you're let loose on a giant city. It's like if Rockstar designed a Batman game (but better, so far). Open-world, tons of sidequests, etc. So far I like but I'm still not 100% sure I'm doing it right.

[leo8877]

Played for a couple of hours, very cool but very overwhelming. Game doesn't hold your hand very long and then you're let loose on a giant city. It's like if Rockstar designed a Batman game (but better, so far). Open-world, tons of sidequests, etc. So far I like but I'm still not 100% sure I'm doing it right.

Yeah the city is massive (and looks very Tim Burton Batman style).  Definitely very minimal handholding so far.

[PeteRock]

Installing!

and then maybe I'll play some more RDR instead

sacrilegious heathen!  go pick flowers later, you're the goddamn batman now.

It's funny-  I'm stuck at work and I'm finding myself jonesing for some more RDR instead of AC.

Then send me your copy. 

I don't think my 360 copy is compatible with your PS3.

But it is compatible with my 360.

[Isgrimnur]

I need to find an alternate shipping destination. UPS won't leave my stuff at the door and shipping to work would wear out my welcome.

 I get to drive across town tomorrow after work to go get my copy.

[Purge]

Installing!

and then maybe I'll play some more RDR instead

sacrilegious heathen!  go pick flowers later, you're the goddamn batman now.

It's funny-  I'm stuck at work and I'm finding myself jonesing for some more RDR instead of AC.

Then send me your copy. 

I don't think my 360 copy is compatible with your PS3.

But it is compatible with my 360.

I rented.

[Soulchilde]

Played for a couple of hours, very cool but very overwhelming. Game doesn't hold your hand very long and then you're let loose on a giant city. It's like if Rockstar designed a Batman game (but better, so far). Open-world, tons of sidequests, etc. So far I like but I'm still not 100% sure I'm doing it right.

Yeah the city is massive (and looks very Tim Burton Batman style).  Definitely very minimal handholding so far.

Yeah, I am a bit over-whelmed but just like AA gadgets are introduced during the story.   Btw,

Spoiler for Hiden:

Loving the Zsasz side mission.  It was cool to introduce by the ringing phone.   Oh do the Batman virtual mission spread out across the city to unlock equipment upgrades

All in all I am having fun.  Stringing combo's is easier, but I need to control my button mashing

[JayDee]

I heard the phone ringing but couldn't find it so I may have missed that side mission. However I did find the

Spoiler for Hiden:

Bane

side mission and am working through that.

I've also done one

Spoiler for Hiden:

virtual bat-mission

and there's another one on my map.

[Asharak]

Played for a couple of hours last night. Got partway through the Steel Mill, for those who are also playing. My impressions aren't terribly divergent from others, so far:

- I do feel a little at a loss for what to do. The "open city" structure is very different than the first game. It's not that I don't have a main objective - I do, I know what it is and I know where I'm supposed to go to do it - but I have no frame of reference for deciding how to balance the main objective with the Riddler trophies, the side quests, the Augmented Reality training, etc. Because the game doesn't bother to explain those new features before throwing you out into the city, I'm not sure if I'm playing "right" or not.

- The combat is as good as the first game at making you feel like a bad-ass and, playing on Normal, at least, it does seem like the Combo timing has been relaxed a little bit, so that you have more time to counter. One nice touch: I picked up the "Critical Strikes" upgrade (which does extra damage if you time your next attack just right after the previous one) and you can enable a "tutorial" text that appears at the correct moment after each strike, which ought to help me train away my tendency to button-mash.

- There's tons of flavor dialogue throughout the city -- as you move around, you'll pick up "local surveillance" from the various groups of thugs standing around, some of which is quite amusing. It's not Bioware-quality banter but it livens up your time grappling around the city.

- I'm still a little worried about character/villain overload. Two hours in, and I've already met Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Bane and Joker (and Hugo Strange in cutscenes). They've all been pretty much passing encounters but it's still felt like practically every second room has a supervillain in it, which seems like a bit much. Nemeses should be a little more rare, I think.

- Ash

[hepcat]

4 hours of game time and the stats page is still telling me only 3 percent done.  This is gonna be one long game.  

So far I'm loving it, but would it have killed them to include an actual instruction manual instead of a licensing disclaimer and a mini-catalog for merchandise?  The game just throws stuff at you, gives you a minimal set of instructions then expects you to go with it.  It's my only real complaint about the game, but it's certainly annoying.

I also need flight lessons as I cannot grasp the nuances of dive bombing and gaining altitude.  I keep failing one of the VR missions because I can't figure out how to give myself a boost in altitude.  

And I do need to avoid the aforementioned button mashing during combat.  I think there's a trick involved, but I'm not getting it yet.  It sounds like there are some combos that play off precise timing when pressing the attack buttons, so I don't think the devs intended it to be a complete button masher.

questions:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I picked up Zazz initial phone call but no side mission has appeared.  Did I miss something?  Also, I've come across very few side missions so far.  Considering how much hoopla I had heard about them in this game, I'm a bit disappointed so far.  Do I need to just keep exploring and listening to street thug dialog to get them?

[Bob]

Do the first 4 VR missions as soon as they appear. That item is essential.

After that they get harder, I don't know what the upgrades are if any.

[Bob]

And I do need to avoid the aforementioned button mashing during combat.  I think there's a trick involved, but I'm not getting it yet.  It sounds like there are some combos that play off precise timing when pressing the attack buttons, so I don't think the devs intended it to be a complete button masher.

Get the combat upgrade called "Critical Hit", I think it is. It gives you X2 for the combo meter when you time your strikes correctly.  As a side effect, it gives you feedback on whether you are timing your strikes optimally.

[BuckeyeShane]

4 hours of game time and the stats page is still telling me only 3 percent done.  This is gonna be one long game.  

So far I'm loving it, but would it have killed them to include an actual instruction manual instead of a licensing disclaimer and a mini-catalog for merchandise?  The game just throws stuff at you, gives you a minimal set of instructions then expects you to go with it.  It's my only real complaint about the game, but it's certainly annoying.

I also need flight lessons as I cannot grasp the nuances of dive bombing and gaining altitude.  I keep failing one of the VR missions because I can't figure out how to give myself a boost in altitude.  

And I do need to avoid the aforementioned button mashing during combat.  I think there's a trick involved, but I'm not getting it yet.  It sounds like there are some combos that play off precise timing when pressing the attack buttons, so I don't think the devs intended it to be a complete button masher.

questions:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I picked up Zazz initial phone call but no side mission has appeared.  Did I miss something?  Also, I've come across very few side missions so far.  Considering how much hoopla I had heard about them in this game, I'm a bit disappointed so far.  Do I need to just keep exploring and listening to street thug dialog to get them?

I was having problems with VR mission of dive bombing then glide.  The key is do not let go of the A button (xbox 360) when you go into a dive bomb

[Soulchilde]

When the phone rings switch to detective mode to locate the phone.

Agreed do the first four VR mission as that upgrade is essential.

[CeeKay]

the first Zsasz call is just a conversation, the second one is where the fun starts.

Spoiler for Hiden:

apparently you are supposed to move a cursor around during the tracing part after you get to the target phone.  I'm not sure if they say anything about it but I didn't realize it until it was too late.

I've run across some Riddler trophies and pressure plates where I have no farking idea how to get them.

I finished the first batch of VR missions, the second ones are definitely trickier.  I found one where I cannot figure how to gain altitude for the third ring, and another where apparently I have to turn 180 degrees in the air while diving through the second ring.

I noticed the Batsuit seems to looks pretty beat up early on this time, and I haven't been taking much damage outside of cut scenes.  oh, and combat seems to be much more easier so far on normal.

[PeteRock]

I noticed the Batsuit seems to looks pretty beat up early on this time, and I haven't been taking much damage outside of cut scenes.  oh, and combat seems to be much more easier so far on normal.

Does the game pick right up where the 1st left off?  If so, Batman was pretty battered by the end of his time in Arkham Asylum, so if things continue on from there it would make sense that his suit is fairly beat up.  At least that's the only reason I can see why the game would start with him already a little beat up.  I remember the degradation of his suit in AA, so I'm wondering if it'll only continue to get worse in AC. 

[CeeKay]

I noticed the Batsuit seems to looks pretty beat up early on this time, and I haven't been taking much damage outside of cut scenes.  oh, and combat seems to be much more easier so far on normal.

Does the game pick right up where the 1st left off?  If so, Batman was pretty battered by the end of his time in Arkham Asylum, so if things continue on from there it would make sense that his suit is fairly beat up.  At least that's the only reason I can see why the game would start with him already a little beat up.  I remember the degradation of his suit in AA, so I'm wondering if it'll only continue to get worse in AC. 

it's several months after.  I forgot to mention it, but the opening is kind of neat.

[Soulchilde]

I noticed the Batsuit seems to looks pretty beat up early on this time, and I haven't been taking much damage outside of cut scenes.  oh, and combat seems to be much more easier so far on normal.

Does the game pick right up where the 1st left off?  If so, Batman was pretty battered by the end of his time in Arkham Asylum, so if things continue on from there it would make sense that his suit is fairly beat up.  At least that's the only reason I can see why the game would start with him already a little beat up.  I remember the degradation of his suit in AA, so I'm wondering if it'll only continue to get worse in AC.

Not directly.   I won't spoil the beginning ...

[leo8877]

As far as knowing where to go, there's usually a big bat signal in the sky that tells you where the next story mission is.  The side missions are here and there, throughout Arkham City.  You can find them on your map and set them as the current objective on your compass. 

Zsasz's missions with the phones can be done in pieces, you find one phone and then have to get to another, then it stops until you pick up another phone, for example.  Most of the side missions seem to work like this.

I think they did leave too much open-ness to the game.  It's going to be a turn off for some people who liked the structure and close confines of Arkham Asylum.  There's a TON of stuff to do.

Once you finish a cat-woman episode, you can go back and replay them stand-alone from the main menu, FYI.

[hepcat]

As far as knowing where to go, there's usually a big bat signal in the sky that tells you where the next story mission is.  The side missions are here and there, throughout Arkham City.  You can find them on your map and set them as the current objective on your compass. 

Thanks leo!  Do you have to listen to conversations to kick off side missions?  Or are they just added automatically to your map as you move around the city?

[leo8877]

As far as knowing where to go, there's usually a big bat signal in the sky that tells you where the next story mission is.  The side missions are here and there, throughout Arkham City.  You can find them on your map and set them as the current objective on your compass. 

Thanks leo!  Do you have to listen to conversations to kick off side missions?  Or are they just added automatically to your map as you move around the city?

As far as I can tell the conversations are filler and or backstory, but they do not trigger missions.  Usually you have to do some event, like answer a phone or meet a character and that will in turn populate your map with missions.  The batman AR training just appeared on my map when I got to a certain location on the map. As you do those more turn up and you can go to them at your leisure.

[ras752000]

In addition to being wowed by by the quality and mass of content, I was a total dumb ass due to the lack of hand holding.  Got to my first Titan container, and bats says "need to use explosive gel".  Realized I had not even used a single d-pad gadget yet, not even a batarang.  Might should have done an recent AA replay to be ready.

[CeeKay]

In addition to being wowed by by the quality and mass of content, I was a total dumb ass due to the lack of hand holding.  Got to my first Titan container, and bats says "need to use explosive gel".  Realized I had not even used a single d-pad gadget yet, not even a batarang.  Might should have done an recent AA replay to be ready.

at least you start out with a decent assortment of gadgets;  Batman remembered to pack his utility belt this time around 

[JayDee]

There definitely needs to be a longer "tutorial intro" or a instruction manual or something. I was just browsing the options at the pause menu and HOLY SHIT there are a lot of moves/upgrades/gadgets available that I didn't even know I could do. Still feel like I'm doing things wrong. But I'm having fun, which means the game is doing something right.

[leo8877]

As I've re-familiarized myself with the game/controls I am having much more fun.  Like most open world games though, I worry about doing too much side stuff and burning on out the main story.  Flying around the city (not unlike Spidey web-slinging) is quite a treat though.

[USMC Kato]

Holy sequel Batman! Can't believe how fantastic this game is. Wonder if Rocksteady will just continue with Batman (fine by me) or take on another super hero (I vote for Daredevil)