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Post by Steve Farrelly @ 06:13pm 18/10/11 | 81 Comments
Well, here's our Batman: Arkham City review. It could have gone up yesterday, or even on Saturday morning when the review embargo lifted, but unlike so many other review outlets out there, AusGamers doesn't play half a game and then review it. Nor do we rush through them.

So, we waited until after completing the main quest-line, and exploring some of the end-game content before calling our final score verdict, which some of you may note is a pretty high score here on AusGamers, and actually only the third time in six years here I've personally scored a game this high (OoT aside, for obvious reasons). It's thoroughly deserving of all the accolades it's been getting though, but for our spin on it, hit the link below.

Click here for our in-depth Batman: Arkham City review.



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Latest Comments
Vash
Posted 06:19pm 18/10/11
has it got multiplayer?
konstie
Posted 06:25pm 18/10/11
nice review!
Fixah
Posted 06:28pm 18/10/11
has it got multiplayer?
Did you even read the review. It clearly says at the top

"Players: 1 to 0"
qmass
Posted 06:31pm 18/10/11
isnt using pc screenshots for an xbox review entrapment or something?
Steve Farrelly
Posted 07:28pm 18/10/11
Who says any of these screens are PC?
DeadlyDav0
Posted 07:30pm 18/10/11
Looks so good. PC release plz.
paveway
Posted 07:33pm 18/10/11
awesome game so far

how could they be pc screenshots?
Alize`
Posted 07:41pm 18/10/11
Just bought this today before reading the review but so looking forward to it now!
DM
Posted 08:01pm 18/10/11
Lol @ xbox buyers who get a DVD movie instead of a blu-ray like it says on the box. Have fun with that.
rrrocket
Posted 09:12pm 18/10/11
is that like the highest score qgl had given?


Steve are you a batman/comic fanboi?
Raven
Posted 09:54pm 18/10/11
So summarise for me, cos frankly that review was difficult to read and stay interesting: I farking love AC2, and I really liked LA Noire. Should I go out and buy this?

(Note: I still have inFamous 2, AC1, AC:BH and Resistance 3 and PoP: Forgotten Sands shrink wrapped).

Is there plenty of sandbox like stuff and side quests I can go off and play for hours without bothering with the main storyline?
iconocast
Posted 09:59pm 18/10/11
was realy looking forward to this game. thnx for the review gald to see it didnt dissapoint, now on to skyrim and swtor!
Tollaz0r!
Posted 10:01pm 18/10/11
Raven, the summery is:

If you really like Batman, then you'll probably really like the game.
Tollaz0r!
Posted 10:02pm 18/10/11
He is clearly a Batman fanboy. However Arkham Asylum, at least, really did capture the spirit of Batman and delivered a solid game to boot.
Raven
Posted 10:03pm 18/10/11
Nevermind, I just watched the IGN video review. I'll drop in to JB tomorrow :P
Guerilla
Posted 10:15pm 18/10/11
One of the best games to come out in 2011
DM
Posted 10:34am 19/10/11
I ordered the PS3, CE version of arkham city from Game, but noticed they hadn't sent my order like normal. Wrote to them to ask whats up and they just sent me an email back with this.

Hi Richard, Our supplier has had a delay on the PS3 collectors version that has effected all retailers. We have sent to you the standard version that you can play and keep while you wait for us to receive and send out the collectors to you.


So not only do I get a CE version later on, but I get a free copy of the standard one now by the looks of it. Game, you are officially awesome.
Raven
Posted 10:39am 19/10/11
Seems there's going to be a lot of people out there with a copy of both the std and CE version - any want to sell me the Std copy they got, so long as it has the DLC codes unused?
Figured that might be better to give the money to a QGL user than going and buying it from a store, in light of the whole secondhand games thread that came up the other day :P

Otherwise it's BigW/JB for $68 at lunch.
Steve Farrelly
Posted 10:59am 19/10/11
Steve are you a batman/comic fanboi?
Yeah I love the character and universe a lot, but I did go into this subjectively. You'll notice I barely touched on the story in the review, or any of the characters in the game, specifically, to try and cater the review to potential non-Batman fans. As a game, it's as good as anything else out there, it just happens to be about Batman.
DM
Posted 04:46pm 19/10/11
After a few hours of playing I have 2 complaints both to do with the camera.

- Camera movement with right stick is too slow for me. Annoyed I cant seem to change this either.

- Camera is too far to the right of your character which makes precision moving, more annoying than it had to be.

Besides that this game is awesome and the catwoman parts are so awesome. Enjoying her sections more so than batmans.
Steve Farrelly
Posted 04:57pm 19/10/11
DM, you playing on PS3? And what parts specifically do you find the camera a problem? I only ask because in certain scenarios the game slows down a bit to allow you the time to actually adjust the camera for your own benefit (namely combat)
DM
Posted 05:26pm 19/10/11
Yeah I got the PS3 version. Well in general the camera seems to be always too far to the right unless you are crouching or aiming with something in which case it's fine. But the slow panning when walking/gliding around the city is what is mainly annoying me. Feels like it should be 1 level higher or something. I'm dealing with it though because so far those are the only things that i've found that i'm not happy with. Wonderful game.
Steve Farrelly
Posted 06:23pm 19/10/11
Interesting. I really like the over the right-shoulder camera ;)
Nerfy
Posted 06:30pm 19/10/11
Is it the same as Arkham Asylum? However that was, it worked ok for me. I do remember at the beginning that it seemed oddly over-the-shoulder, perhaps only when walking.
Newgo
Posted 07:27pm 19/10/11
is that like the highest score qgl had given?


Steve are you a batman/comic fanboi?

didnt sc2 get 9.8?
Steve Farrelly
Posted 07:41pm 19/10/11
scores I've personally handed out Newgo :)
qmass
Posted 08:13pm 19/10/11
Who says any of these screens are PC?
anti-aliasing isn't this good on the console version.
paveway
Posted 10:20pm 19/10/11
so what version was it steve?
Steve Farrelly
Posted 11:04am 20/10/11
360
paveway
Posted 11:13am 20/10/11
bazinga

such a sick game, best sandbox type game made EVAR just about

last edited by paveway at 11:13:50 20/Oct/11
DM
Posted 11:55am 20/10/11
There is a video out of what PC users will be treated to with all the graphical PC extras and it looks great.
Eorl
Posted 12:03pm 20/10/11
ravn0s
Posted 12:35pm 20/10/11
so you will only get those nice effects with a nvidia card?
Alize`
Posted 12:51pm 20/10/11
I've played it for about 6 hours and I've only completed 8%. I'm usually pretty quick to quit and give up on games. The side missions and the flying activities are a pain in my a******* and it takes me forever to figure out where to go and what to do but I see myself having to finish this one... Just like what happened with Prince of Persia.
qmass
Posted 12:51pm 20/10/11
It would be impressive if these were more wide spread to create atmosphere, like volumetric fog in the city but that video seems like they are pretty minor effects.
copuis
Posted 12:56pm 20/10/11
just one good reason to keep your old card and use it for a physx card
qmass
Posted 01:32pm 20/10/11
im surprised they didn't put in more of those clear plastic strip curtain things they always add with physx :P
Raven
Posted 10:53pm 20/10/11
Well I've been playing this for the last hour and a half or so, and so far I'm finding the controls to be really kludgy and unintuitive. Graphics aren't anything to rave about either :/
Khel
Posted 01:15am 21/10/11
I've been playing it s***loads and have no trouble with the controls at all. Maybe its not the controls that are at fault here, just saying...

I was actually really impressed at how they got so many different moves and gadgets and abilities mapped onto the control pad in such an easy and quick to use way.
Raven
Posted 08:38am 21/10/11
Maybe I've just been playing way too much AC2, but everything about that game I liked, including the controls.

I'm finding in Arkham City the following:
- Character will almost instantly but totally unintentionally do an about face
- No fluidity in being able to run towards an object and climb
- Flight mode isn't intuitive, requires reference to controls (it isn't just a case of pull up to pitch like in any other game).
- Often coming past an object where an action is available, a 'press x to blah' bit of text will appear for almost a frame, then disappear and you can't position the character to find it again - way too precise.

The very first thing I noticed on the intro screen was the lack of anti-aliasing (PS3), and low-quality looking edges.
And lastly, the dialogue, omg, oh so corny. There's a reason L.A. Noire was so good - because they paid a crapload for professional writers. I think Rocksteady might have missed the memo on that.
In the early missions (eg, getting to the top of the bell tower) the narrative is over-repeated way too often. Yes, I got that I need to get to the top of the bell tower after you said it the first 12 times while I was learning the controls.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a good game so far. But these things have jumped out as bleeding obvious in a short time of gameplay.
paveway
Posted 08:56am 21/10/11
nothing wrong with the controls

maybe you're unco
Eorl
Posted 10:32am 21/10/11
Raven you do know your playing on a piece of hardware nearly 6 years old right? Of course the lack of good anti-aliasing and low quality edging is going to appear. They can only do so much with the technology available, that's why they've delayed the PC date to make sure it looks superb.
tHeBoRg
Posted 11:08am 21/10/11
I am sure it will be fixed very quickly and you can't actually buy it but greenmangaming currently has Arkham City listed at 99% off going for $0.01.
funky
Posted 11:18am 21/10/11
i just finished arkham asylum again, and am super pumped for this one. so its 68 bucks at JB is it?
Pirroh
Posted 11:41am 21/10/11
I am sure it will be fixed very quickly and you can't actually buy it but greenmangaming currently has Arkham City listed at 99% off going for $0.01.

Yeah, proper price is up now at $37.57.

http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/action/batman-arkham-city/
Raven
Posted 11:52am 21/10/11
i just finished arkham asylum again, and am super pumped for this one. so its 68 bucks at JB is it?

I paid $68 getting them to pricematch Big W, but that was for the std edition only that doesn't have the Robin DLC.
Khel
Posted 11:59am 21/10/11
I'm the opposite, AC2 was good, but I found all sorts of annoying things with the camera and the controls in that game, and seemed to always be jumping off into the middle of nowhere and falling off buildings. Arkham City on the other hand, I always feel 100% in control of what I'm doing. I dunno whats not intuitive about the gliding either, you can still pull down to pitch up, but you need to get some speed up first. So dive bomb, get some speed, pull up, repeat. When you get grapnel boost, use that to keep yourself going and regain some height. Its awesome, I can fly around pretty much the whole city now.
paveway
Posted 01:57pm 21/10/11
When you get grapnel boost, use that to keep yourself going and regain some height. Its awesome, I can fly around pretty much the whole city now.


yeh got that last night, makes it a lot less painful getting to those damned ringing phones

pretty cool hearing that zasz character's story
ravn0s
Posted 04:04pm 21/10/11
Yeah, proper price is up now at $37.57.


looks like they're trying to compete with the steam discount price.
Nerfy
Posted 08:24am 26/10/11
Apparently 2 million sales, 4.6 million shipped, in a week.

I'm not sure if they're counting PC, but I thought it'd be interesting to see how that steam sale potentially rewarded them (I was entirely planning on waiting until much later to buy this, but that sale was rad).
Khel
Posted 08:32am 26/10/11
Very impressive! Considering they're talking about copies shipped though, and the PC version isn't out yet, I doubt it includes PC. Those sales figures almost never include Steam and other digital sales though, even if it was counting PC, it'd be counting physical copies sold.
Nerfy
Posted 08:39am 26/10/11
I estimate that they sold at least eleven copies on steam.
Raven
Posted 09:25am 26/10/11
AAARRRRGHGDLERHR controls in this game are driving me fricking insane.

X is the 'run' button. So I hold it to run up between two thugs, intending that when I reach them, I'll hit Triangle for a double-takedown.
No, game has other ideas - as I run past a door, it says "hey, you're near a door/corner - you can hide here - and X is the button from that."
So suddenly I go from running to suddenly stopped behind a corner of a door, as the guard then sees me and proceeds to shoot me from point-blank range.


More annoying is:
Okay, I know what i want to do here - glide-kick, get the guy to the ground, then R2, Triangle to knock him out.
So I glide down, get him to the ground, as Batman proceeds to take a few steps past him and R2 is out of range.
So the guard gets up, makes some noise, and calls all his buddies.

Yeah. Controls on this game are *f***ed* :(
paveway
Posted 09:21am 27/10/11
can't say i've had the second problem you're talking about, i've glide kicked and the r2/triangled while they're on the ground heaps of times

i don't think it's the controls that are spaz, srsly
Khel
Posted 09:45am 27/10/11
Yeah, same, I'm constantly glide kicking or dropping on people then doing the ground takedown. After the glide kick/drop hits, I just hold right trigger and start mashing Y (I'm on xbox) and he immediately follows up with a ground takedown, doesn't really seem to matter where I'm positioned. The combat system is pretty forgiving with regards to positioning I've found, often even if you're nowhere near the guy you're trying to take down, it'll still work, and you'll be moved over to him.

I love the beatdowns, thats probably one of my favourite moves, especially on the armoured guys where you just pummel the living s*** out of them. Quick firing the batclaw in combat and then clotheslining the guy as he get pulled towards you is another favourite. Oh and the powered up glide kick, where you hold down right trigger and spear into them and instantly take them down is pretty rad.
paveway
Posted 09:49am 27/10/11
yeah i figured out the quick batclaw the other night, very useful

i love the combo special move where you call in the bats that circle you and disorientate everyone around you for a second

the only problem i've had with the controls and this isn't an actual issue with the controls it's just me being a spaz is gliding down behind sometimes in certain spaces i've ended up landing in front of them or something

last edited by paveway at 09:49:19 27/Oct/11
Khel
Posted 06:38pm 28/10/11
OMFG I just did the Spoiler:
Mad Hatter
part, that was so trippy and cool. Wish it was longer!

The Spoiler:
Ra's Al Ghul
fight was pretty epic too, so much badassness in that fight.
copuis
Posted 06:51pm 28/10/11
thanks for the spoiler tags,

i'm waiting for the good version of this to be released, and looking forward to it!!
Fixah
Posted 07:04pm 28/10/11
After finishing Arkham Asylum just the other night i'm pumped to play this now. I'll have my dirty hands on it next week!
paveway
Posted 08:16pm 28/10/11
haha yeh khel they were pretty cool

i was super sus on the bit before the Spoiler:
mad hatter
bit where the cure just magically appears. i think you get a glimpse of him just as you drop off the reporter though

i thought you were further along than i am

Spoiler:
ps. i'd smash talia ghul for sure and catwoman


last edited by paveway at 20:16:00 28/Oct/11

last edited by paveway at 20:16:47 28/Oct/11
Khel
Posted 09:14pm 28/10/11
Nah, I've spent heeeeeeeeeeeaps of time doing the riddles and finding the trophies and destroying cameras and balloons and every other thing. I've been neglecting the main storyline a little cos I keep getting distracted :P

Done a bunch of side missions too, finished all the AR missions, the Zsaz missions, the Azrael ones, the assassin one. I haven't finished the one where you find corpses with their faces cut off wrapped in bandages but I'm pretty sure that will be Spoiler:
Hush


Rescued four of the Riddler's hostages too, but I need to solve more riddles and find more trophies to get the rest.

The game has soooooooooo much content, I never know what to do next, its awesome!
paveway
Posted 10:13pm 28/10/11
yeah i'd like to do more of the riddler stuff, i don't get what i'm meant to be doing with the big buttons that you need to step on at the same time but they aren't near each other..

and some of the ones where you have to knock out all 3 of the question mark signs but they are covered by chain mesh..

i have rescued one of the riddler hostages but i can't work out how to get into the building for the second one..

i haven't had a phone ring for a while and i haven't found anymore people with their faces cut off

i know what protocol 10 is btw, won't spoil it for you
Khel
Posted 11:09pm 28/10/11
Yeah, some of the ones covered by mesh I still haven't figured out. A few things I discovered though (I'll spoiler them in case other people don't want to know)

Spoiler:
Explosive gel sets off the question mark buttons, so if theres times where you need to hit a lot of question mark buttons in a time limit, but can't get to them all in time, you can put explosive gel on some and use that to push them. Also, the bits where theres buttons you need to step on, usually the trick is you have to step on each one without touching the ground. You can fly and grapnel boost and stuff, as long as you don't hit the ground or land on anything except the next pad/button. For the ones where theres pads up on the walls that you have to hit, what you have to do is leap off something high and glide towards the first one, hit it and Batman will like cling to the wall for a second, then if you press and hold A (or whatever the PS3 button is for running/gliding, I guess X) again he'll launch off from the wall and start gliding again, then you can aim towards the next one, hit it, etc.


Oh, and to get in the building with the riddler's hostage

Spoiler:
One of the walls should have a green question mark on it, its a fake wall and if you walk up to it you can interact with it and rip it apart to find a door behind it
Rawprawn
Posted 03:57am 29/10/11
Just bought this game for my brother's birthday gift, and from what I've seen, more of the same (not a bad thing) and more. Probably going to buy my own copy on account of the "first purchaser" privileges that come with one's own copy.
paveway
Posted 07:42am 29/10/11
oh shiiiit explosive gel, should have known

thanks khel
Khel
Posted 04:54am 30/10/11
F*** this game is awesome, I finished the main story tonight but I'm not gonna even talk about it, even with spoiler tags, cos its just too awesome. Still got some side missions, heaps of riddler stuff, and the challenge maps to play yet. Might give the New Game Plus mode a crack too, but I think I'll probably get my ass kicked, cos I suck at countering even when the indicators DO show up (in New Game Plus you get no counter indicators above people's heads).

I probably get more out of it cos I'm a fan of the comics, and its so awesomely faithful to them, its like a fanboy dream brought to life. So many characters, even though some were really just not much more than cameos, but it still set up a few hooks for a sequel. Tonnes of ingame info and bios and background stories though so you wont feel left out if you don't know the source material.

The combat is so amazingly fun, even after playing the whole game, I'm still loving just swooping down into a mob of guys and going at it. Makes you feel like such a badass and theres so much awesome stuff you can pull off so easily. On the other end of the scale the "silent predator" type gameplay where you're using stealth and preying on guys and picking them off one by one is equally satisfying. Usually stealth in games annoys me cos I'm too impatient, but they've just nailed it in this, its so satisfying. And the way the remaining guys get more and more freaked out just makes it even cooler.

I also love the way the collectibles are done, I wish more games would do collectibles this way. So many games I don't even bother going for the collectibles, cos its just a meaningless, mindless treasure hunt with no gameplay value to it, and I don't have the patience for it. The collectibles in this, like the riddler trophies, you actually have to work for them. You have to solve puzzles and think outside the box at times to figure out how to get them, its so addictive, I end up spending hours and hours just going after them. Its also a great balance between exploring and finding them on your own, and getting shown on your map where they are. You'll find plenty just by exploring, and thats satisfying, but it would end up frustrating me and I'd give up if I had to find them all myself. Luckily you can get hints, and get the locations added to your map, but even that doesn't come free, and has its own gameplay value to it, cos you have to find the riddler's informants scattered around the place and interrogate them for the locations. Best. Collectibles. Ever. Kudos to the game designers at Rocksteady.

This isn't just my game of the year, its my game of the decade, I haven't enjoyed a game this much in a very, very long time. Its like they got inside my head, and made exactly the game that I always wanted. F*** yeah.
Givo
Posted 07:27pm 31/10/11
I truly liked this game, give it easily 10 out of 10, having all the villians in it was needed.
it just wasnt as big a game, I passed with within a week of owning it with only a few hours gameplay each night. collecting all the riddles was easy, I found the game easier in Game+ aswell, realised how annoying counter icons became.
Eorl
Posted 01:17pm 01/11/11
Am I reading this right?



$99.95 for f*****g Batman? Even EB Games are cheaper for the bloody Steeelbook Edition. What the flying f***...
qmass
Posted 01:12pm 01/11/11
what does it being a batman game have to do with anything?

as always, buy it elsewhere if you don't like the price.
Eorl
Posted 01:17pm 01/11/11
It doesn't have anything to do with it. But why the massive price increase...it was $50 yesterday. I hope no one buys it off Steam, that's just an absurd price.
paveway
Posted 01:22pm 01/11/11
become the batman is the first trophy you get in the game

why do you have to f*****g complain about everything?
Nerfy
Posted 02:16pm 01/11/11
Holy S***, I'm glad that I bought it earlier at equal prices.

For some reason, when I saw the price, and the discount, I bought it on a hunch that the price would be jacked up for Australians sometime after. I R PYSCHIC
D-Sub
Posted 02:29pm 01/11/11
I was using steam so I didn't have to pay $100 for a game but oh well. Plenty of other cheap alternatives.

Knew I should have got it while it was $50...
StopShootingMe
Posted 10:15pm 01/11/11
F*** WB up their stupid arses. Just bought it for USD$35 from Intkeys. Windows Live rather than Steam key, sadly, but I'll live.
Nerfy
Posted 07:49am 06/11/11
PC Version has been delayed until November the 25th, from whatever it was.
trog
Posted 07:01pm 22/11/11
http://store.steampowered.com/news/6835/ just saw this says its now available in .au - I can seem to add it to my cart, can anyone confirm it is definitely purchasable?
thermite
Posted 07:02pm 22/11/11
I bought it on steam several days ago
ravn0s
Posted 07:04pm 22/11/11
it's not available here until the 25th
ravn0s
Posted 08:33pm 22/11/11
just noticed that the game is released in stores tomorrow. steam has our release date listed as the same day as the UK for some reason. :/

also the steam client doesn't show that the game is available for preload, but you can preload it by typing this into the address bar.

steam://install/57400

last edited by ravn0s at 20:33:49 22/Nov/11
copuis
Posted 12:01am 23/11/11
thanks rav
Rawprawn
Posted 03:24am 23/11/11
I bought a PS3 for Dark Souls. Played and finished before PC, but feel the guilt for betraying my platform haha
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