Batman Arkham Asylum

[Metroid66]

They're the only comic book villains that have a resonance with the general public as far as I know, apart from Lex Luther. Even my nan knows who the penguin is.

 

And I don't want to start an argument here, as I'm possibly the only forumite who thinks all comics, Marvel and DC, are pretty much low grade trash.

[Nag]

I've got no problem with Catwoman, Penguin or Joker... but Tweedledum and Tweedledee and Humpty fucking Dumpty... I know things were a little different then but come on...

 

Are these characters a thing nowadays? 

[one-armed dwarf]

I think in certain contexts comic books are enjoyable trash, I mean their adaptations are anyway, the only one I ever read was Watchmen so I can't act informed (I suppose Berserk also counts but that's another fruitless argument I'd say).

 

But it's just that it's dominated our culture so much the past decade that it gets fucking annoying and they run out of things to say with them. But I will always find Batman cool, I like how noirish it is even while being campy at times. It's neat

 

Except these games tho, never was my thing. It's like the original PS2 God of War for me in terms of being something I'm just totally out of touch on

[Nag]

The games themselves are evergreen in my opinion... even the oldest still plays great.

[one-armed dwarf]

I played the opening hour or so of this, right up to the part where you find a pipe near your car or whatever. Things that are cool about it is how they get voice actors from the cartoon, the one with the cool art deco look. Though I don't really think Batman's VA is good at all, but it's the authenticity of having that guy in it that adds something I suppose.

 

I got the games mainly cause they were cheap on PC and also wanted to challenge myself at coming to a different PoV on them, see if I end up feeling like I got it wrong before as I really didn't think much of Asylum in 2010 or whenever. I am still sort of feeling the same way about it. There's elements I like, such as the third person camera work. The way it sticks super close to Batman and frames him as this huge, powerful object all by himself but also how it pulls the view out appropriately for its action and when running around. For how overused the RE4 camera is in modern games, they manage to give it some real flair in this for some reason

 

The part I hate about it is how it tells you everything. This is how you kill these guys, this is how you use a batarang. Batman talks to himself constantly and solves every gameplay obstacle, spelling everything out all the time. It might kill this playthrough for me, they never seem to give a moment to yourself to think, it's constant chatter from Joker, Oracle or Bats chatting to himself. There's also the cliches it establishes like detective mode, more appropriately used here than in other games but presenting the same sort of issues as it does in those

 

I'm playing on hard mode to challenge myself also with the combat and see if there's stuff I missed, and paying careful attention to the upgrades. So I hope I get a bit more out of that, though I'll be taking it slow enough with things. I got a thing which produces crits more quickly, and a grab if you get x8 on your combos. tho your combo meter seems to reset rather quickly and I can't tell if gadgets are allowed during combos or if they also reset. Maybe they're to initiate offense rather than continue it but I need to actually learn how things work with that

 

The physx stuff on PC, I wonder if Bellow used this setting. The smoke moving around as you waft your cape around is cool but seems limited to a rather small selection of areas. Feels like it exists to be put in a PC version trailer and not much else

[Maf]

The gadgets extend combos and give you a score multiplier at the end for “variety”. It isn’t like DMC where you can’t use a move twice in a row, it’s more like you have to try use everything at least once and end in a ground slam attack. You can also keep the combo meter for a bit by jumping over enemies heads by pressing X/A twice which lets you reposition and keep the score going. 
 

The combat challenges outside the main game get fucking brutal as score is the whole point. The main game is not really caring if you score well or not and is more relaxed
 

The game doesn’t really have “puzzles” on the main path because I think they want Batman to keep moving and not get stuck. It would be a bit silly if he’s this force of nature that can’t figure out how his own weapons work 

 

The “real puzzles” come more from the Riddler side stuff. Mainly when you have to line up a ? mark in an area which ranges from easy to WTF

 

You’re also going to get more out of this game if you like Metroidvania’s as essentially it’s what this is 

 

The atmosphere in the game is thick and unique and really makes it over the story. I think the stories in most of these games is pretty weak but the spooky, cartoon mansion with Batman pounding around it is so cool 

[one-armed dwarf]

Well I played a bit more and unlocked an ability which does let you combo with the batarang. What I find with the combat tho is it feels more like I'm vaguely suggesting that Bats beats that guy up over there, or it doesn't always matter who he hits and enemy prioritization isn't a thing to think about so long as Bats doesn't commit to something when he's in trouble of getting hit himself, but I guess that might change. But I just don't like this part of the game at all, it's the opposite of what a power fantasy is in gameplay terms, personally speaking cause it doesn't make it feel like you're inhabiting the character cause your actions aren't your actions (weirdly I don't have this problem at all with the 2018 Spiderman game, which is based on this system I think but it felt much better iterated on in that)

 

The thing is, this is not the case at all with the stealth stuff with armed enemies. Which is very basic stealth, but it makes use of verticality and knowing when to pick them off and so it does feel like you're doing the thing and each decision translates into the kind of clobbering and dispatching of justice that you imagine it should. I am the Batman, but not whenever I'm doing any fighting, where Bats takes the wheel and I offer some guidance on input or something

 

I do like the style of the game though, I remember liking that part originally. I've remembered now that there was a hacking device and that explains why some doors are locked right now. 

[Maryokutai]

Probably posted this before but I don't see that point of critique about the combat at all. I'm not saying it's flawless, but to me it never felt like I was just watching Batman do stuff. Whenever you flick around enemies it's very rare he goes for one I wasn't directing the stick towards and every button has its appropriate action. Maybe you're referring to the fact that it feels more like a turn-based game where all the time-stops have been removed, compared to a classic character action game that translates inputs into animations in a split-second. I guess if you don't like that you'll never get into it, but for me it's still a very enjoyable alternative to other combat systems. Plus some of the visual and sound effects give it a very visceral feel, particularly at higher combo counts.

[one-armed dwarf]

Some of the stuff I'm talking about might be me just self-reporting my own skill issues, but I'm describing how everything on the square/x button is so contextual. Stuff like flips and cape whips are very specific in that character action sorta way you describe, but the meat and potatoes of punching idiots is far less specific. At higher combo counts it gets even more disorientating but maybe that's just something you get used to.

 

I'll stop talking about the combat tbh until I get to the endgame cause it's an easy part to give out about over and over, especially as I'm bad at it.

[Maryokutai]

Thinking about it, I suppose it's rather unusual that whatever happens when you press punch is contextually linked to the combo counter. For some reason it made sense to me when I played the game but I can see how that might feel awkward if you're not on the game's wavelength. I think when you hit 8 on the counter Batman can punch-jump between enemies but after that those attacks simply become stronger at certain thresholds. So while they are contextual, they only ever behave in two ways.

 

It's why it would disagree with maf to an extent about the combat encounters in the main game. Yes, there's no score to worry about, but the combo counter is important, because it powers up Batman. And that's when in the late-game all those gadget shortcuts come into play, because you will face enemies that you can't just attack head-on, but will have to open up without breaking the combo. 

 

But yeah, running in circles a bit. If it doesn't feel organic for you then that's that. I'm currently running through that issue with Astral Chain.

[Maf]

The combat is more rhythmic and loose so they can have this idea of free flowing combat. You’re not inputting commands for attacks, just commands for moves. Batman will do whatever animation depending on the range and direction but they’re effectively all just punches, even if he is doing kicks and elbows and shit. It’s not like controlling specific attacks, more just controlling how Batman moves through the battle 

[one-armed dwarf]

Is it a hot take that Joker is annoying in Arkham Asylum? I sort of feel scared to ask this question, cause it's Mark Hamill and his performance is so beloved. But there's so much of him in this game, too much and it's all a bit one note. I think I prefer the filmic takes on Joker more than the more comic faithful take

 

I'm really curious to try one of the sequels tbh, to see if they get a better balance of the rogue's gallery. Based on some of the things I've read about City I think it's a game I would enjoy more

 

I played past the first Scarecrow bit, which is visually cool but was a bit annoyed cause I didn't realise I had to use the exploding toothpaste on a wall, and I couldn't use my cheat vision to see. So got a bit trial and errored by it

[Maryokutai]

My even hotter take is that I think Joker isn't even that interesting of a character, at least in proportion to how frequently he gets pulled out of the drawer for Batman stories. That said I do like Hamill's portrayal of him, even if they kind of overdid how often he chimes in in Asylum.

[Maf]

I don’t mind Joker in this game but I don’t love him, either

 

There’s no iteration of the Joker I particularly like. I think he’s a character that’s best used in small doses

 

My favourite thing about the Joker is in the comics they say something like “when villains want to tell stories to scare each other they tell Joker stories”

 

I like that idea that like Batman, Joker is something “other”. Boogey man shit
 

But he’s also way too over exposed in almost al media to achieve that anymore

 

Also he’s “powers” like creating a million versions of Joker toxin which do everything that make people laugh them selves to death to reanimate the dead and make them clown zombies, it’s like whatever