Batman: Arkham City [360/PS3/PC]

[Kit]

Picked this up for PC. Looks absolutely stunning.

I agree with the comments about the lack of structure compared to Arkham Asylum. I'm finding it all a bit overwhelming atm.

[gospvg]

Really found it difficult to love this as much as the first. At best it's was an 8 where the first for me was a 10.

[Galdelico]

Do you guys know if the corrupted-savegame issue on 360 has ever been fixed?

I got the game a while ago and now I'd really like to play it, but I'm not sure I want to, if there's still some risk I can go far through it and then see all my progresses just disappear.
Thanks alot!

[Golgo]

^ I don't have the 360 version but I haven't seen the internet aflame about this issue for a while, so I guess it should be OK...

Anyway, just finished this and thought it was bloomin' marvellous. Wonderful sense of atmosphere and terrific characterization. Superb feeling of movement for The Bat as well, even though the combat was more Parappa The Rapper than Devil May Cry. Don't understand the recurring criticisms that there are too many secondary distractions and padding, seeing as the game's mission-navigator always defaults you to the primary story tasks unless you ask it to do otherwise; plus it only takes a couple of minutes to traverse the 'city'. Anyway, I enjoyed the side missions too (a couple of which

->Open Spoiler<-

e.g. Identity Theft and Watcher in the Wings

, open up some intriguing possible plotlines for Batman 3), and also enjoyed chasing Riddler trophies. Got about 350 out of 400 but I have to admit I'm a bit fatigued and can't see me going for the full set,

->Open Spoiler<-

which means I won't see the end of the Riddler side missions I guess

. Fewer and more thoughtful/challenging trophies would have been better here, I think. Still, the game is up there with Uncharted 2, for me, for popcorn matinee type adventure game, and the best 3rd person actioner since my personal fave: Duke Nukem Time To Kill. Don't know much about Batman lore, though, but haven't they exhausted all the best baddies now? Isn't there a danger of slipping into the B list of minor goons, or else recycling the main guys even more?

Still think Nolan North sounded like a complete tool, mind. Dick Van Dyke on acid. Why an East-London based studio needed to go to Hollywood for an East End accent I'll never work out!

[Brad]

Finally wired my DS3 up with a USB extension cable and played the PC version in my living room on the 46". 1080p with everything turned on to maximum. Looked absolutely amazing. An hour in though it jumped to the pause menu and my controller stopped working. Had to walk round to the study and reset everything. Might be a problem with the MotionInJoy software so I bought an XBox wired pad last night, hopefully that'll solve everything. Anyway, a vision of what the next generation of consoles might offer graphically I'm hoping and I like it!

[QualityChimp]

Did you see my post in the Headlines about a free skin and a way to unlock ones you already have?

You can play the whole game as Alfred the Butler!

->Open Spoiler<-

I made that last bit up.

[Bort]

Finished this last night and only stuck to the main story. No interest in doing the busywork in the dingy city.

There were a few moments where it almost started to click but I didn't really enjoy my time with it. They tried to cram too much into a short and fairly uninteresting story.

[boxhead]

Haha! Hey Bort? who's that guy in your avatar pic? really really funny. I haven't seen a hair do like that since 1991! he looks like a genetic hybrid of fox maulder and chandler from series 1 of friends

[Bort]

I was going to edit in this later as I forgot but,

The breast physics on the last boss. Hubba hubba!

Haha! Hey Bort? who's that guy in your avatar pic? really really funny. I haven't seen a hair do like that since 1991! he looks like a genetic hybrid of fox maulder and chandler from series 1 of friends

Ken Levine (Irrational Games, Bioshock, System Shock 2 etc). From an Old photoshoot for PC Gamer, "Meet the next game gods".

[boxhead]

hahahaha! amazing! I like how exactly 50% of the people in that shot are wearing shades.

[Neon Ignition]

Started this up again last night, seems I'm around a third of the way through. I'm enjoying it and there's a lot to like but so far it's doesn't feel as cohesive as Asylum was.

[MrMarbles]

Started this up again last night, seems I'm around a third of the way through. I'm enjoying it and there's a lot to like but so far it's doesn't feel as cohesive as Asylum was.

I felt this to some extent until I started to focus mainly on the primary story missions.

It improved my experience with the game tenfold and left me with a whole heap of stuff to enjoy after the story itself was finished.

[Golgo]

Yeah if u want a tight, streamlined experience just do main quest line, which has a cracking story imo. In terms of gameplay experience, map is 'smaller' than asylum. When just a little powered up can cross it end to end in a couple minutes. Given the mid area load times/corridors of asylum, this game is actually much more compact.

[Neon Ignition]

I've only been really doing the story missions, it might improve later on but so far it seems you travel the hub to reach a themed section and said theme section is a fraction of the size Asylums were. Will have to wait and see, could go either way at the moment. Either brilliance awaits or a huge disappointment.

[Neon Ignition]

As far as I can tell I'm hitting halfway now and it's finally starting to click and not feel too slight. Full credit to Rocksteady for how well realised the hub is but overall I find it's the weakest element in the game. They've over focused on it and the little things are starting to become annoying. Dead petty but I wish they hadn't gotten carried away with the riddler trophies. Far too many of them and they're littered everywhere in a very illusion breaking manner. It's like Riddler has unrestricted access to the city before anyone else moved in with most in either really weird places or locations he'd never get near. Just a bit too gamey a fall back, a little too Banjo Tooie collectathon with them.