Aja on 31/8/2009 at 18:27
It's a scam; there's physics on the Xbox version. Maybe not PHYS-X but who the hell cares about that.
Anyway, I've never liked Batman too much but this demo actually interested me in the mythos. Weird, but I really wanted to learn more about these characters - and the presentation is nearly flawless. But Stitch is right; I tried the PC demo too, and it was really awkward. I'd use a gamepad if I were you guys -- it's not as though you have to aim precisely at anything.
SubJeff on 31/8/2009 at 18:49
I find the PC controls to be fine.
My GPU only supports Normal PhysX. Hmmm. I understand that some of the new nVidia cards come with Batman as a freebie...
T-Smith on 31/8/2009 at 20:11
Ignoring the PC VS console conversations, I have to say that AA's easily one of my favourite games this year (beat it yesterday on the 360).
It looks great, sounds great, and plays great. The gameplay is simple, but fun and addictive. Easy to get caught up in and forget what time it is. The stealth portions are a blast (I'm even willing to forgive the fact that the enemies never, ever look up). The combat system seems simple at first, but as you unlock more abilities becomes surprisingly deep. Easy to pick up, damned hard to master. You can spam the normal "Attack" button in fights during the storyline, but doing so in the challenge maps will get you no where.
The addition on the Riddler's "puzzles" is a nice addition too. None of them are really that tough, but they add on to the overall game length and depth, and never feel forced or out of place.
The whole thing just comes together surprisingly well, and is incredibly polished. Again, these are just my opinions, but I find the game flat out fun. And I'm not even a big Batman fan.
Phatose on 31/8/2009 at 20:57
It is amazingly polished.
The Joker over the intercom is a pretty good example. Take a guy out quietly and wait, and Joker will come over the intercom to the effect of "Weren't there more of you this morning? Check the time cards!"
The most amusing one I've heard was after taking out all but one thug in a room, Joker comes on "I know what you're thinking. You're in a room being hunted by batman, all your friends are gone and you're the last man standing. Well, I've got news for you....you're right!"
It's also got the context sensitive game over screens - the current enemy appears and makes a comment when you lose.
SubJeff on 31/8/2009 at 22:25
Quote Posted by T-Smith
(I'm even willing to forgive the fact that the enemies never, ever look up)
Really? I'm sure they do in the PC Demo.
T-Smith on 31/8/2009 at 22:40
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Really? I'm sure they do in the PC Demo.
If you're on a gargoyle, or anything at least twice their height, they tend to not see you.
I've heard that they DO notice on Hard, but I haven't played through it to find out yet (only on normal).
Still, I'm not complaining much. It's fun picking off the guards one by one with various traps and take-downs. Then switching to "Detective Mode" and watching as the last enemy (labelled "Terrified" typically) runs around blindly. He'll turn around every few seconds and fire off his weapon in random directions. All the while, The Joker will be laughing at him from the speakers (Mark Hamill's Joker is still fantastic).
Fafhrd on 1/9/2009 at 03:48
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
I find the PC controls to be fine.
I actually liked the PC controls significantly more than the 360 controls when I tried the demos. Picking out a gargoyle and grappling to it was a hell of a lot faster and smoother, and there wasn't any difference in movement. The 360 didn't even have analog movement speeds, iirc. Just slow ass walking, and still pretty slow ass jogging.
mothra on 1/9/2009 at 08:02
guards do see you if you scale gargoyles too late (during flight) or if you grab one hanging upside down and he was in the los of the other guards. and they will shoot you down but most of the time you can get away with 2 swings. I played one of the demo rooms a few times to get a hang of the AI or find out how easy it is to exploit them.
David on 1/9/2009 at 12:08
I'm loving this game so far. I picked it up for the 360 at the weekend and it's very slick. I love the way that the combat starts off as a single 'smack the button', but ramps it up with all sorts of combos later on as well as enemies that need stunning before they can be wiped out.
And it's so very slick, the animation is spot on, I've only noticed one minor clipping issue (I was fighting 3 guys in a corner and one of them stuck his head through the wall for a second when taking a swing at me).
The Riddler Trophies are a nice addition too, even if they are fairly simple in nature.
The Challenge rooms are great too, a nice way of extending the game, and trying to best your friends' scores. Kind of like the speed races in Mirrors' Edge.
SubJeff on 1/9/2009 at 13:15
Interesting as I've seen clipping a few times in the PC demo and I've played it 3 times.
