Arkham Asylum : Flaws in the masterpiece

[Gojirob]

Okay. This is coming from two great lovers of one of the best games ever, probably for a long time the standard in superhero and Batman games. That said :

1 - For a game that strives for realism in many aspects, super-science allowing, gun physics vary from merely off to WTF?
You're telling me that a barely-there thug spraying you with machine-gun fire from across a room isn't going to at least wound or stun one of the eight guys in his line of fire? Also, thugs you knock down in stealth missions never drop their guns? Okay, maybe the thugs got a drop of Titan, so the recoil can be dismissed, and as Batman, you have some choice advantages like unlimited Batarangs. But teleporting, Bat-seeking bullets in an Asylum arsenal is just a bit beyond the Joker's tech.

2 - Knives and electrical batons can be stunning, deadly weapons. However, they are *not* a force field and do not confer extra health and stamina for quick recovery, nor do they place magnets in your hands to keep them when you're knocked down.

3- I know this is a matter of timing and completion, but IMHO, if you spray down the explosive gel, and you see the completed symbol, that should mean the gel is there. In many a fight challenge, this either/or routine kicks in, and though the symbol is sprayed down and visible, it's ignored by the computer, throwing off a strategy needed in Extreme modes, especially.

The last one may be variable mileage, but that's how we see it. These things are entirely tolerable, but up against the utter perfection that is the rest of the game, it's like they stand out even more.

 

[Jax]

No such thing as a masterpiece IMO but Batman does come closer than a lot of games. Sure there is problems with it but I never found them to detract from the joy of playing it.

 

[Corran Horn]

It does make little sense that the knife-guys need to have dust thrown in their face (or whatever that is) before you can actually land an attack.

I've never had the gel problems but I haven't done any challenges besides the first one.

I'd just love to have taken a running tally of how many guards and doctors died during this one day. They were everywhere!

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I just ordered this game yesterday for the PS3 for the grand total of £18, and i just got Fallout 3 GOTY edition also for the PS3 for £20...

I am really looking forward to both of these games, and that i got them so cheap only sweetens the deal.

 

[Captain Pike]

I thought the entire Killer Croc's Lair sequence was shit.

 

[The Doctor]

I thought the entire Killer Croc's Lair sequence was shit.

It was repetitive and anti-climactic, given the buildup that Croc got from the outset.

The rest of the game was quite enjoyable, however. I particularly liked stringing up the bad guys from the gargoyles and then cutting them down in such a fashion that they fell on another baddie.

 

[Sheep]

I wish they had detective mode only available in small spurts as opposed to completely unlimited. I know it's up to the player to not use it, but I found myself doing so anyway and missing out on some great scenery...had to keep reminding myself to turn it off which sucked me out of the game for a bit.

 

[TheBrew]

To be fair, would it make sense for Batman to limit himself to normal vision if he had detective vision? Yeah, you do miss out, but there wouldn't be a non-contrived reason to not use it.

 

[Corran Horn]

I wish they had detective mode only available in small spurts as opposed to completely unlimited. I know it's up to the player to not use it, but I found myself doing so anyway and missing out on some great scenery...had to keep reminding myself to turn it off which sucked me out of the game for a bit.

I agree on that score. I believe Rogue Squadron has the catch where if you leave the targeting computer on the whole time (thus making it easier to see and target enemies) it affects your score. Not sure how they could have done that in this case, however.

I did miss some great scenery but saw it afterward in doing explorations to meet all the Riddler challenges.

 

[Sheep]

To be fair, would it make sense for Batman to limit himself to normal vision if he had detective vision? Yeah, you do miss out, but there wouldn't be a non-contrived reason to not use it.

They could have offered any technobabble reason as a contrivance to not have it available all the time...like it's powered by the number of steps Batman takes or something.

 

[Gojirob]

It does possess a disadvantage beyond missing the graphics. I've found that, when hiding behind walls with the mode on, my perception of exactly where the 'red skeletons' are standing can be badly off.

 

[Brikar99]

I thought the entire Killer Croc's Lair sequence was shit.

It was repetitive and anti-climactic, given the buildup that Croc got from the outset.

The rest of the game was quite enjoyable, however. I particularly liked stringing up the bad guys from the gargoyles and then cutting them down in such a fashion that they fell on another baddie.

...Holy crap, you can cut them down???

 

[Sheep]

I thought the entire Killer Croc's Lair sequence was shit.

It was repetitive and anti-climactic, given the buildup that Croc got from the outset.

The rest of the game was quite enjoyable, however. I particularly liked stringing up the bad guys from the gargoyles and then cutting them down in such a fashion that they fell on another baddie.

...Holy crap, you can cut them down???

Seriously, I want to know the answer to this question too. I lent my copy to a friend so I can't confirm or deny, but I can't believe I went through the whole game without trying this.

 

[DarkHorizon]

Indeed you can - using the batarang, you can target the rope and sever it.

 

[Brikar99]

Well I know what game I'm booting up first tomorrow. Yay for holidays.

 

[TheBrew]

I need to go through the challenge rooms again... the combat really kicks in when you are facing 20 guys at once.

 

[The Badger]

2 - Knives and electrical batons can be stunning, deadly weapons. However, they are *not* a force field and do not confer extra health and stamina for quick recovery, nor do they place magnets in your hands to keep them when you're knocked down.

Well if you do manage to knock down someone with stun batons, they will drop them. My preferred method is to attack a few of their friends, build up a 3-4 combo minimum, then hit the baton wielders with an instant batarang. When they get back up, they've dropped the batons. Of course there is nothing to stop them picking them up again (indeed, any unarmed thug can pick them up) but you've bought yourself some time, and hurt them.

As to the knife guys, maybe they've attached the knives to their hands with string or superglue!


And yes, dropping suspended thugs onto their comrades is very satisfying!

 

[darthraidr]

to limit the detective vision you could just go the way many games handle flashlights, they have a lifespan that depletes when active and recharges when not active. you don't need to give a "lore" reason for it, it's just a game-ism (like how batman has infinite batarangs and explosive gel).

 

[Reverend]

I honestly don't get the complaint about detective vision. I tend to use it like I would something like thermal imaging in MGS; just flick it on, take a quick look around and off again.

As for the bullet physics, I can't say as I ever noticed that the baddies don't shoot each other. I guess I was too busy trying not to get shot myself...before bouncing them on their heads.

I will however concede that the stun batons & knife baddies are annoying and can really break a good combo string if you're not paying very close attention. Mind you I have a habit of forgetting to use the instant take down moves on every 3rd or 4th hit, which as I recall pays no attention to what weapon they're carrying so it really comes down to not getting carried away diving across the screen playing "Batman's jujitsu pinball".

As to the knife guys, maybe they've attached the knives to their hands with string or superglue!

Actually, I can see the Joker doing exactly that to them just to see how they handle going to the loo.

 

[TheBrew]

Actually, I just had any idea of how to fix detective vision: make it so that you can see the guys easily, but not the environment. Sort of how like eagle vision works in Assassin's Creed. That let's you use detective vision to get a fix on guys, but you have to switch it off the move around the environment effectively.