Some awesome shots!

+1, and I'm dying to get a go on that highwire

Batman Arkham City release date - March 25, 2011?



http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar ... ?id=270032

Oh dear, I could see me taking time off work around my birthday

oh crap. This will be during my revision time prior to exams. I may actually put off buying this until after my exams.

That may be sensible

Changed the thread title in case you're wondering

This gives away the game's main villain (well, presumably, and consequently a tiny bit of the plot), but it's nothing the box or TV ad wouldn't tell you I assume :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t-1i3Bq ... r_embedded

The rendering there is nothing short of incredible

W w!

I really wish the game's rendering would be like that. I know it's gonna be the same as AA though.

Silly question, but why don't they use infra-red to detect him?

Let's face it, it probably 'doesn't work against the outfit', not much ever has

I think the outfit changes in features/abilities based on writers. Some prefer it as a spandex/tights type of thing, some prefer light kevlar. Me? I prefer the kind in TDK - it'll stop anything but a straight shot.

Wouldn't be invisible to IR.

I remember the lenses in his cowl taking in images and the Bat-computer relaying info back to him:

'Tommy Harper, ex-IRA gunrunner. The metal plate in his head makes him susceptible to strong magnets. And sonics.'

Cue Tommy going down screaming when Bats head-tags him with a couple of what were effectively small magnetic amps

I watched the Dark Knight last night and really want to play Arkham City! Very tempted to get out Arkham Asylum but I haven't touched GT5 in three weeks (and I got the Signature Edition!).

Tell me about it

So i picked up Arkham Aslyum on the PC during the Steam sale and started replaying it on Hard (after having completed it on Normal on my borked 360).

And whilst i still love the atmosphere and the brilliant voice acting, there's one thing i want them to change, the combat.

Well maybe not change, but it definitely needs refinement IMO.

Now i've played quite a few Hack n' Slash Action/Adventure games, ranging from the hardcore Ninja Gaiden 2, Devil May Cry series and Bayonetta, to the more casual focused Darksiders and Heavenly Sword. All of which i've never really had any issue with despite however many times i've died or been stomped over.

But i do take issue with Arkham Asylum. The whole combat system is integral to the RPG system that they present, with you getting more EXP for uninterrupted combos and variation, which i don't have a problem with. It's just that trying to execute a perfect combo is something that causes me great frustration, and this isn't in the sense of rewarding when i pull it off correctly. Because when i do, it just feels like a matter of luck in that numerous factors decided to align and the game decided to actually listen to me properly for once.

I've previously described the combat system as easy to pick up, hard to master. Now i still stand by this statement, but i think mastering the combat system is, as above, a case of many things coming together to work properly. I could quite easily stroll through the whole game breaking combo's in order to play it on the safe side (which is what i did the first playthrough). However, with the tie-in of the RPG system it pretty much forces you to try and perfect every encounter in order to maximise your experience gain.

Mainly, the issues i have with the combat are:

- Sometimes you'll be mid combo, and for some reason Batman will either fudge a blow (i.e. strike thin air) or switch targets (if they're in close proximity). The former is obviously annoying because it means you've broken your combo meter, the latter just because it happens and you end up assuming that he'll auto switch to a closer target and he ends up fudging his next hit.

- Enemies hitting you whilst you're performing a Ground Takedown (i.e. Right Trigger + Y/ R2 + Triangle - i believe for the PS3). Now i completely understand this from both a gameplay perspective and from a realistic one. You already have invincibility during certain moves - Instant Takedowns (the special combo move) and Counters, for example. However, this comes back to the seemingly random alignment of game code problem as to whether or not i can pull one off. I'll be mid combo and every enemy is lying down on the ground, at least one of them is about to get up, but i need to use something to continue my combo. As such, in this situation, the Ground Takedown is the most viable option. The problem is, when an enemy gets up when you start the animation, it's as if they have a 50/50 chance of either running up to you and attacking (which you can't do anything about since you're still in the takedown animation), or they'll simply wait/stroll over and give you enough time to finish your animation before you either combo into them or land the counter.

- Speaking of Ground Takedowns and Batman striking thin air, sometimes Batman will travel relatively short distances (/glide across the ground briefly) to "lock" onto a Ground Takedown, and sometimes he'll just go to do the motion right above the enemy but not actually lock in the Takedown, which counts as you missing the combo.

Maybe it's just my own "tryhard" attitude to the game (due to the replayability factor of Bayonetta and DMC), i can have fun if i don't really bother about trying to perfect a fight, but then again, i feel like i'll have missed out if i don't.

+1, I spent most of my time just mashing the buttons and/or keeping it simple, but then I struggle to remember basic controls sometimes