Batman:Arkham City

[hepcat]

Small note to fellow DC fans:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Man, I hope Jack Ryder turns into Creeper during the course of this game.

Nerd powers...Deactivate!

[Doopri]

im still totally hooked to dark souls, but please keep torturing me with delicious spoiler free teasers as i cant wait to get to this one next!

[ibdoomed]

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)

Isn't Daredevil marvel? Seems like they would probably stick with DC.

[Bullwinkle]

Small note to fellow DC fans:

Spoiler for Hiden:

Man, I hope Jack Ryder turns into Creeper during the course of this game.

Nerd powers...Deactivate!

I thought the same.

[leo8877]

I want to go home and be the goddamn batman

[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)

Isn't Daredevil marvel? Seems like they would probably stick with DC.

Yeah I know, just wishing out loud. There are a lot of DC/Marvel heroes out there that would probably be awesome to play, if made by Rocksteady or some over Dev with equal talent

[Purge]

On moves listed in the waynetech screen, some have an "i". If you enable tutorial, they will instruct you on how to execute them properly. I strongly recommend using the critical tutorial until you're used to it.

Thankfully Catwoman is faster than Bats - I feel like he's competing with Marcus Fenix to be the biggest, slowest badass on the block. Maybe not that bad, but Catwoman gets away with more hits so her combos are easier to "mash". With the Goddamned Batman, its about a button push per second to half-second. Once you start landing crit hits, you'll practically fly across the screen to hit them, so be ready to aim your hits with the L stick + X (even the "warning" enemies). Y is a good bailout, but I found it throws off my combo mojo.

I'm on the first catwoman mission in the storyline. I've been picking up some side missions, but I've not done the virtual bat ones yet (I'm assuming those are the red digital bat logos like on the top of one of the two cranes just past two-faces pad).

[leo8877]

On moves listed in the waynetech screen, some have an "i". If you enable tutorial, they will instruct you on how to execute them properly. I strongly recommend using the critical tutorial until you're used to it.

Thankfully Catwoman is faster than Bats - I feel like he's competing with Marcus Fenix to be the biggest, slowest badass on the block. Maybe not that bad, but Catwoman gets away with more hits so her combos are easier to "mash". With the Goddamned Batman, its about a button push per second to half-second. Once you start landing crit hits, you'll practically fly across the screen to hit them, so be ready to aim your hits with the L stick + X (even the "warning" enemies). Y is a good bailout, but I found it throws off my combo mojo.

X (ps3) allows backman to run.  I think it's A on Xbox?  Whatever the bottom button is.

[Caine]

I want to go home and be the goddamn batman

Agreed.  I actually had a chance at going home early until a manager scheduled a meeting right at the end of the day.

I played about four hours into it and have enjoyed every minute of it.  Only played past three of the story missions and some of the side missions.  9% of the main and 11% of the side.  Going to be a while before I complete this.  So damn good.  Getting better st combat and relearning the controls.  Can't wait to play more.

[Purge]

I'm referring to battle, not moving. If I didn't use A, I'd still be in a suit.

[leo8877]

I'm referring to battle, not moving. If I didn't use A, I'd still be in a suit.

Indeed

[PeteRock]

If you played the original and more or less recall what went on, is a replay recommended before starting Arkham City or can you jump right in and not have to worry about missing anything even if it has been a while since playing Arkham Asylum?

[leo8877]

If you played the original and more or less recall what went on, is a replay recommended before starting Arkham City or can you jump right in and not have to worry about missing anything even if it has been a while since playing Arkham Asylum?

I think you are ok just jumping right in. It had been a long time since I played AA and I was not at a loss for what's going on.

This game has a feature for this story that keeps you up to date (from the main menu) so if you step away for a bit, you can get caught up.  Also when you load a game, it gives you a couple comic style screens to catch you up.

[PeteRock]

If you played the original and more or less recall what went on, is a replay recommended before starting Arkham City or can you jump right in and not have to worry about missing anything even if it has been a while since playing Arkham Asylum?

I think you are ok just jumping right in. It had been a long time since I played AA and I was not at a loss for what's going on.

This game has a feature for this story that keeps you up to date (from the main menu) so if you step away for a bit, you can get caught up.  Also when you load a game, it gives you a couple comic style screens to catch you up.

That's a pretty sweet feature.  I'm must wavering between spending $30 on an On Demand copy of AA to pass the time and get somewhat of a goddamned Batman fix or if it would be better to put that $30 toward a copy of AC.  I have a handful of trade-ins, mainly games I just don't play anymore or have zero intention of getting back to, unfortunately they won't be worth much.  But, if I can get up to $30 toward AC then I'd pay out of pocket what I'd spend on AA. 

I'm so going to wind up having to sleep on the couch, if not outside.  Good thing I'll be the goddamned Batman.

[whiteboyskim]

Pete, the head of Arkham is now the mayor of Gotham and it's three months and change later. Aside from that and multiple references to the overall plot of the original (Titan drug), you're good to go picking this up.

I'm slowly getting back into the cobat routine and increasing my skills. It's absolutely vital to up your melee defense right from the start so you can last longer. Bullets can wait, but melee is important. I've also upped the critical hits skills and now I'm just wailing on the criminals. Overall, I'm enjoying the heck out of it.

But...

The go anywhere aspect is, surprisingly, not well suited to this story. Part of the greatness of Arkham Asylum was the go anywhere aspect because it was confined to a limited space. Blow that up to the size of this game and you lose one of AA's greatest strengths - focus. You always knew where you were going and what you had to do. Beating criminals to a pulp while en route to your goals was icing on the cake. But in AC, if you want to chase down Zasz you can do that. Oh look, Riddler prize! Hey, what's that over there? WHEEEEE!!! It's a case of focus versus a case of ADD. Again, I'm really liking AC but the mass expansion is, ironically, not working in its favor.

Also, a guy online calling himself Film Crit Hulk (great in character film writer) did a scathing critique of the gross sexism in the game. I have to agree with him and I guess the other game journos are so numbed to that aspect of gaming that they just ignored it. But Hulk made several good points, namely that this was nowhere to be found in AA but it's everywhere in AC. What's the point?

Regardless, I'm enjoying the game for the most part but not grabbing me quite the way AA did.

[PeteRock]

Despite wanting this badly right now, I'm certain that when November hits I'll wish I had the ability to pick up MW3.  Perhaps I should use my trade-ins for that and just wait to put AC on my Christmas list.  I can play SP games whenever, but MP depends entirely on popularity and the number of friends playing.  

I guess I'm just really desperate for a new game and Batman just sounds like way too much fun.  But then I take myself out of the MW3 market.  But, if I finish AC before the release of MW3, then I can always use it as a trade-in.  What to do.  Damnit.

[hepcat]

The go anywhere aspect is, surprisingly, not well suited to this story. Part of the greatness of Arkham Asylum was the go anywhere aspect because it was confined to a limited space. Blow that up to the size of this game and you lose one of AA's greatest strengths - focus. You always knew where you were going and what you had to do. Beating criminals to a pulp while en route to your goals was icing on the cake. But in AC, if you want to chase down Zasz you can do that. Oh look, Riddler prize! Hey, what's that over there? WHEEEEE!!! It's a case of focus versus a case of ADD. Again, I'm really liking AC but the mass expansion is, ironically, not working in its favor.

We'll agree to disagree I guess as the size of the environment and the fact that I have to find my way around in order to continue the main quest, and can stumble across side quests, is a huge plus for me.  It adds a sense of reality to being Batman that wasn't present in AA (although that's still a great game).  AA was pretty much on the rails from start to finish.  Given my druthers, I'll go with AC's style any day of the week.

[CeeKay]

Pete, the head of Arkham is now the mayor of Gotham and it's three months and change later. Aside from that and multiple references to the overall plot of the original (Titan drug), you're good to go picking this up.

I think the Joker said 6 months.

[whiteboyskim]

Pete, the head of Arkham is now the mayor of Gotham and it's three months and change later. Aside from that and multiple references to the overall plot of the original (Titan drug), you're good to go picking this up.

I think the Joker said 6 months.

And you're trusting the Joker over me why?

[CeeKay]

He's a much snappier dressed.

[JayDee]

Sneaking around in the steel mill to save the hostage is killing me. I suck?

Also, I haven't done any Riddler stuff yet because I have no idea what to do with them. Pressure plates everywhere and on walls and they don't seem to do anything.

[USMC Kato]

Started the campaign at hard difficulty, very good challenge and this time the counter notification is still there. Except that the reaction time to counter is drastically shortened.

[leo8877]

Sneaking around in the steel mill to save the hostage is killing me. I suck?

Also, I haven't done any Riddler stuff yet because I have no idea what to do with them. Pressure plates everywhere and on walls and they don't seem to do anything.

What are you getting stuck on with the hostage?

Some pressure plates are linked to a Riddler trophy.  Use the detective mode to check out where the pressure plate leads to.  You can sometimes follow the path.  Some of them are as simple as just stepping on the plate and using the batclaw to grab them or, even better you can just walk over.

[leo8877]

Started the campaign at hard difficulty, very good challenge and this time the counter notification is still there. Except that the reaction time to counter is drastically shortened.

OOooh!  That was the reason I didn't want to play hard this time, I really missed the counter notification.  I might have to start over....

[CeeKay]

I'm figuring the pressure plates in the walls are either zip line or Catwoman related. I did find an invisible question mark in detective mode, but even when I lined it up and took the shot it wouldn't recognize it.

[JayDee]

Sneaking around in the steel mill to save the hostage is killing me. I suck?

Also, I haven't done any Riddler stuff yet because I have no idea what to do with them. Pressure plates everywhere and on walls and they don't seem to do anything.

What are you getting stuck on with the hostage?

The part where you have to sneak your way past guys with guns to get to the room with the hostage. I always get detected and shot.

[CeeKay]

Sneaking around in the steel mill to save the hostage is killing me. I suck?

Also, I haven't done any Riddler stuff yet because I have no idea what to do with them. Pressure plates everywhere and on walls and they don't seem to do anything.

What are you getting stuck on with the hostage?

The part where you have to sneak your way past guys with guns to get to the room with the hostage. I always get detected and shot.

is this the medic?  the one that:

Spoiler for Hiden:

was treating Joker and about to get hammered before she is dragged away?

[Soulchilde]

How do you get to Mr. Freeze

Spoiler for Hiden:

I tried the remote electro charge but the door only opens half way.   I tried using a remote batarang ...but i see nothing to hit.  Am I missing something?

Duh...figured it out

[JayDee]

Sneaking around in the steel mill to save the hostage is killing me. I suck?

Also, I haven't done any Riddler stuff yet because I have no idea what to do with them. Pressure plates everywhere and on walls and they don't seem to do anything.

What are you getting stuck on with the hostage?

Yep.

The part where you have to sneak your way past guys with guns to get to the room with the hostage. I always get detected and shot.

is this the medic?  the one that:

Spoiler for Hiden:

was treating Joker and about to get hammered before she is dragged away?

Yep.

[leo8877]

Sneaking around in the steel mill to save the hostage is killing me. I suck?

Also, I haven't done any Riddler stuff yet because I have no idea what to do with them. Pressure plates everywhere and on walls and they don't seem to do anything.

What are you getting stuck on with the hostage?

Yep.

The part where you have to sneak your way past guys with guns to get to the room with the hostage. I always get detected and shot.

is this the medic?  the one that:

Spoiler for Hiden:

was treating Joker and about to get hammered before she is dragged away?

Yep.

Spoiler for Hiden:

You don't go through the door or window, there's a button in the room you can press and it takes you to the room where the guys are, then you have to grapple to a vantage point from the ceiling and you can drop down and take out one guy quietly and then the two guys down by the burned out car at once.  Is that where you are stuck?

[Bullwinkle]

Is this happening to anyone else?  I was downloading stuff in the background while playing and when it finished, an in-game message (not an Xbox one) popped up telling me that something had been downloaded and they were dropping me to the main menu.  WTF??!  The first time, it was because I'd finished with the Robin download, so I figured it was just that the game wanted to build that stuff into the world before I continued.  Still annoying, but fine.  However, it's now happened two other times with completely unrelated material.  Every single time I was right in the middle of something important.  A fight or a task or something.  I think one time I was confronting the Joker for the first time.

Why the hell would they do this?

Anyway, lesson is: Make sure you're not downloading anything while playing.

[Purge]

Yeah, catwomans download forced me to go through the opening again, since I hadn't gotten to the first checkpoint.

[Soulchilde]

Sneaking around in the steel mill to save the hostage is killing me. I suck?

Also, I haven't done any Riddler stuff yet because I have no idea what to do with them. Pressure plates everywhere and on walls and they don't seem to do anything.

What are you getting stuck on with the hostage?

Yep.

The part where you have to sneak your way past guys with guns to get to the room with the hostage. I always get detected and shot.

is this the medic?  the one that:

Spoiler for Hiden:

was treating Joker and about to get hammered before she is dragged away?

Yep.

Spoiler for Hiden:

You don't go through the door or window, there's a button in the room you can press and it takes you to the room where the guys are, then you have to grapple to a vantage point from the ceiling and you can drop down and take out one guy quietly and then the two guys down by the burned out car at once.  Is that where you are stuck?

The henchmen in this game aren't dumb this time around.  You simply can't take them out from the well placed perch points in the room.  Once you start a take down you will need to move quickly to take down the rest. Use detective mode to plan your attacks

[ibdoomed]

Pete, the head of Arkham is now the mayor of Gotham and it's three months and change later. Aside from that and multiple references to the overall plot of the original (Titan drug), you're good to go picking this up.

I'm slowly getting back into the cobat routine and increasing my skills. It's absolutely vital to up your melee defense right from the start so you can last longer. Bullets can wait, but melee is important. I've also upped the critical hits skills and now I'm just wailing on the criminals. Overall, I'm enjoying the heck out of it.

But...

The go anywhere aspect is, surprisingly, not well suited to this story. Part of the greatness of Arkham Asylum was the go anywhere aspect because it was confined to a limited space. Blow that up to the size of this game and you lose one of AA's greatest strengths - focus. You always knew where you were going and what you had to do. Beating criminals to a pulp while en route to your goals was icing on the cake. But in AC, if you want to chase down Zasz you can do that. Oh look, Riddler prize! Hey, what's that over there? WHEEEEE!!! It's a case of focus versus a case of ADD. Again, I'm really liking AC but the mass expansion is, ironically, not working in its favor.

Also, a guy online calling himself Film Crit Hulk (great in character film writer) did a scathing critique of the gross sexism in the game. I have to agree with him and I guess the other game journos are so numbed to that aspect of gaming that they just ignored it. But Hulk made several good points, namely that this was nowhere to be found in AA but it's everywhere in AC. What's the point?

Regardless, I'm enjoying the game for the most part but not grabbing me quite the way AA did.

Sorry, I've got to disagree with you as well, on numerous points. You should never need melee defense. Channel the goddamn batman better. Unless you're being snuck up on during a cutscene and conked on the head, or tied to a chair and slapped in a cutscene, or walked right up to and smacked during a cutscene, no one touches the goddamn bat. Counter better.

[hepcat]

while I don't feel quite as aggressive about my disagreement with whiteboyskim as ibdoomed  , I would like to also add that blaming a game for your own inability to stay focused on one task at a time is rather unfair.  It's not like the side missions are timed (beyond the ones that you have to commit to first before the timed part begins).  You can pick and choose to your hearts content.

[USMC Kato]

Not sure if Dark Souls has spoiled me, but starting in Hard mode seems 100% more tactical and intense. In normal mode I didn't have to really prioritize targets or plan how to take out 5-10 guys quickly.
So far in hard mode getting surrounded or not prioritizing armed thugs = dead goddamn Batman

[CeeKay]

The henchmen in this game aren't dumb this time around.  You simply can't take them out from the well placed perch points in the room.  Once you start a take down you will need to move quickly to take down the rest. Use detective mode to plan your attacks

I'm still finding them forgetful about the 'never split up' rule though.  if I get detected I grapnel away, wait a few seconds for one of them to split off from the main pack, take him down and then repeat if necessary.  another mission had me taking out 3 of them from the same section of floor grating, again because they unwisely split up.

[Harkonis]

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)

Isn't Daredevil marvel? Seems like they would probably stick with DC.

Yeah I know, just wishing out loud. There are a lot of DC/Marvel heroes out there that would probably be awesome to play, if made by Rocksteady or some over Dev with equal talent

sadly they probably will stick with DC, and Batman is the only DC character I give a shit about

[Harkonis]

Not sure if Dark Souls has spoiled me, but starting in Hard mode seems 100% more tactical and intense. In normal mode I didn't have to really prioritize targets or plan how to take out 5-10 guys quickly.
So far in hard mode getting surrounded or not prioritizing armed thugs = dead goddamn Batman

holy impossibility batman!

[hepcat]

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)

Isn't Daredevil marvel? Seems like they would probably stick with DC.

Yeah I know, just wishing out loud. There are a lot of DC/Marvel heroes out there that would probably be awesome to play, if made by Rocksteady or some over Dev with equal talent

sadly they probably will stick with DC, and Batman is the only DC character I give a shit about

Still holding out for Marvel to release a Paste Pot Pete game?