Community Playthrough - Batman Arkham Asylum

[blcklblskt]

Scarecrow was cool. Bane fight was stupid and annoying, ended up just spamming him with batarangs pretty much. Went a bit further, got the new grapnel.

You need to use the Batarang to beat Bane.

I like how all the villains are portrayed so far.  I think Scarecrow was done incredibly well.  Like Raidou, I enjoy the altered perception of reality.

[techwizard]

ya i like them all so far except i agree bane fight was annoying, even when i hit him with the batarang it took a couple deaths before i realised how exactly that was helping me.

as for upgrades, the armor upgrades have helped a lot, and the batarang being able to actually do something to the regular baddies, but i haven't noticed the combo ones helping all that much. i unlocked the one that gives you a bonus move after 8X combo and that was useless because i only combo'd that well once, but then i unlocked the upgrade that knocks that down to a 5X requirement and now it's pretty decent.

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

Scarecrow was cool. Bane fight was stupid and annoying, ended up just spamming him with batarangs pretty much. Went a bit further, got the new grapnel.

You need to use the Batarang to beat Bane.

I like how all the villains are portrayed so far.  I think Scarecrow was done incredibly well.  Like Raidou, I enjoy the altered perception of reality.

Yeah you're right, makes him crash into the wall and what not. After restarting a couple times though I just stayed back and smacked him with batarangs when I wasn't taking down goons, only melee'd him when he was stunned.

[blcklblskt]

ya i like them all so far except i agree bane fight was annoying, even when i hit him with the batarang it took a couple deaths before i realised how exactly that was helping me.

as for upgrades, the armor upgrades have helped a lot, and the batarang being able to actually do something to the regular baddies, but i haven't noticed the combo ones helping all that much. i unlocked the one that gives you a bonus move after 8X combo and that was useless because i only combo'd that well once, but then i unlocked the upgrade that knocks that down to a 5X requirement and now it's pretty decent.

The combat system rewards fluidity and building combos.  You'll need to learn how to combine moves in order to get through basic fights in Hard mode and the harder challenge modes, so normal and easy modes are a great spot to learn.  The special moves also give you a chance to re-assess your situation in a larger fight, so knocking down to the 5x requirement is handy.  There is also an upgrade that will give you 2x multiplier for each "critical hit" you land, which becomes a huge help by basically unlocking the special moves within three hits.

[techwizard]

finished up to the end of the Arkham Mansion stuff, stopped at a checkpoint following quinn with sharp. going to continue to the rest of this week's segment another day.

[Crabmaster2000]

I'm not a hard core Batman fan (the cartoons are about all I watch) but I'm pretty happy with all 5 main villains so far. I'm also having fun learning about some of these other villains I've never heard of before.

Which ones disappointed you Crab?

Also are any of you finding these upgrades really that helpful? I've got 4 upgrades stocked right now just because none of these upgrades seem that cool or necessary.

I felt the The Joker and Harley were done as well as could be expected. Other than the Dark Knight movie and some rare instances in the comics I'm rarely that impressed by The Joker. I like them in this game, but I'm happier when they spend more time focussing on other villains. Mark nails his voice though and he is often amusing.

Scarecrow really surprised me in the game during my first playthrough. He is an interesting enough character, but he doesn't seem like a great choice for a game like this as he isn't really someone you can physically fight (since he is a tiny frail man). They proved me wrong and made the parts involving him fantastic.

Killer Croc kind of annoys me a bit. He's obviously more of a B-list villain that the others so it's not too bad though. I think its mostly the voice acting that hurt him for me.

Bane drives me absolutely nuts though! I'm a HUGE Bane fan and grew up with the Knightfall story arc. I still have, and read every year or two, the entire Knightfall arc. Its also one of the first books I shared with my son (I've got a picture somewhere reading it to him when he was just a couple months old). I hate how he is portrayed in both this game and Arkham City. I want him to get a bigger role and have his intellect, dedication and patience played up and not just use him as a brute (although he does make an awesome brute).

I also forgot to mention Zsasz when listing the villains. I really like him in this game. He really helps show the balance of characters Batman comes up against. He is extremely dangerous to most people, but he is almost comically easy for Batman to take out. Very one dimensional character, but he definitely has his place.



And to echo blcklblskt, the combat upgrades may not seem all the impressive at first glace, but they are extremely useful as the game gets harder. Like he said getting the x5 and the critical hit allow you to do either your throw or special takedown very quickly which helps A LOT when fighting large groups of guys. And the groups will just keep getting bigger and more varied as you progress. The throw lets you clear and area and get a good view of your surroundings and the special takedown is helpful for both taking a breather, cutting down the number of enemies and 1-hit killing some of the more annoying enemies (like guys with knifes, guns or stun batons).

[Crabmaster2000]

Also forgot about The Riddler. I LOVE how the Riddler is represented in this game. He is largely an annoying and fairly lame character, but much like Scarecrow I think they found a way to keep him true to his character and fit him enjoyably into the game.

[blcklblskt]

I've reached the botanical gardens.  My stats for now:

Challenges: 31%
Riddles: 139/240
Upgrades 13/20
Character Bios: 34/42
Completed 44%

If I get the itch to play again this week, I'll probably run through some of the previously visited areas to get a few more riddles out of the way.

[techwizard]

I've reached the botanical gardens.  My stats for now:

Challenges: 31%
Riddles: 139/240
Upgrades 13/20
Character Bios: 34/42
Completed 44%

If I get the itch to play again this week, I'll probably run through some of the previously visited areas to get a few more riddles out of the way.

wow you and crabby have the exact same progress on all but riddles

[Raidou]

Updated

Challenges:        10%
Riddles:              144/240
Upgrades:          12/20
Character Bios:   34/42
Completed:         41%

At the gardens

[blcklblskt]

I've reached the botanical gardens.  My stats for now:

Challenges: 31%
Riddles: 139/240
Upgrades 13/20
Character Bios: 34/42
Completed 44%

If I get the itch to play again this week, I'll probably run through some of the previously visited areas to get a few more riddles out of the way.

wow you and crabby have the exact same progress on all but riddles

I think he's playing on hard mode as well, lol.  I went through all of the challenges currently available, so that's why we both have the same Challenges %.

[Crabmaster2000]

I've reached the botanical gardens.  My stats for now:

Challenges: 31%
Riddles: 139/240
Upgrades 13/20
Character Bios: 34/42
Completed 44%

If I get the itch to play again this week, I'll probably run through some of the previously visited areas to get a few more riddles out of the way.

wow you and crabby have the exact same progress on all but riddles

I think he's playing on hard mode as well, lol.  I went through all of the challenges currently available, so that's why we both have the same Challenges %.

Argh, I've been out riddled!!!

[Fleach]

I just reached the fight with Bane. Let's just say I'm not as good a video gamer as I thought. I'm getting my Bat kicked! (see what I did there )

Is the checkpoint after this battle?

[Raidou]

first checkpoint, yes.

[Crabmaster2000]

I just reached the fight with Bane. Let's just say I'm not as good a video gamer as I thought. I'm getting my Bat kicked! (see what I did there )

Is the checkpoint after this battle?

That was the first check point. We are working towards the second check point currently which should be upon entering the Botanical Gardens.

Good thing we didn't end up playing Dark Souls then, eh?