Batman Arkham City takes the same tried and true gameplay formula from Arkham Asylum and continues on. The combat was smooth for the most part. Its mostly a button masher, but there is thinking involved in the act. Combos you have to do to take out certain thugs. There is an order of attack you must think of also.
This time around detective mode didn't hold my hand as much as in the last game. For those who haven't played Arkham Asylum, detective move is a function in the game where you just tap a button and Batman goes into this x-ray vision mode with his helmet, and he can see things we normally couldnt, like enemies skeletal structure. It helps find clues and in Arkham Asylum I felt like I played 90 percent of the game with it on. Which took away from the gameplay difficulty and all the beautiful graphics as well. I was left more on my own to explore this time around. I could have spent hours aplenty in Arkham City, but I chose to mostly stick to the main campaign. Let me say there is tons more to do in arkham and plenty more villians to come across. I only completed the Mad Hatter, Dead Eye, Baine, and Zsaz side quests. The one complaint I do have is that I spent a lot of time gliding and rappeling between buildings, and not much time on the ground. I felt a tad bit like spiderman. I always thought Batman to sneak around on the ground and do a little more not just glide from building to building. I did feel like the one catwoman portion of the game I played felt fun. The way she ascends buildings felt more fun. Also her fighting style was nice. I don't know if it was cool cause she was a chick beating up all these tough guys, if it was cuz she was a hot chick, or if it was a sense of desperation as in she is much smaller then her foes, so maybe there was more of a sense of accomplishment for this tiny girl beating the crap out of these guys who could've killed her at any second. I'm thinking it was the latter..
Lastly let me say that this story started off awkward and slow for me. Whereas the last one started off big and felt good all the way through till the finale that is. Titan Joker come on! Speaking of Joker, is there a better comic book villian? Or villian period for that matter? Also is there a better Joker than Mark Hammil? I think not. As this story progressed it became more clear and focused. The twists and turns were not expected especially not the last one. I'll leave those secrets to be found out by you the player, when you go through the game yourself. Lastly about the stories in these games they rival any of the films to date and prove why Batman is such an appealing ip, and why people continually come back to and love the Batman. This game is a solid 9 out 10 for me. I highly reccomend it. Especially if you've played the first one.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Batman Arkham City - PS3
Monday, March 5, 2012
Super Stardust Delta - Vita
Ever yearn for the yesterdays of space invaders, centipede, and time pilot? Well then you need to look at Super Stardust Delta. SSD is a twin stick shooter on the PSN. It is available only in digital form on the Playstation Store for 9.99. It's quite a bargain if you ask me. This twin stick shooter has beautiful graphics with colors that jump off the screen. The first time you boot the game up you may be a bit intimidated by the look to be honest. Thinking maybe there is a lot going on, and that maybe the game is too complicated. Fear not, the game is really simple while remaining very deep and complex at the same time. The only thing you really need to use to play are the sticks themselves. You use one analog stick to move around on the screen and the other to shoot in any direction. There is a button for a quick speed burst to evade enemies. Also you can touch the screen to deploy a screen clearing bomb to give you some breathing room. The boss battles at the end of each level were nice. I found myself anticipating them in the 5th round of every level. So much so that sometimes if I died and lost one of my lives, I would just restart, so I could save up to beat the boss. My only complaint is the game was too short. But for 10 bucks can you really complain. All thats left to do now is up the level of difficulty and chase scores.
This game is by far a must own for any playstation vita owner. If you don't have a vita then maybe check out Super Stardust HD on the PSN. It's about the same price and you can also play it in 3D for those 3Dtv owners like myself looking for something to do with their tvs. SSD is a perfect fit on Vita. It's a handheld type of game. You can pick it up and get sucked in for hours or you can blow through a level and put it down only to pick it up later. So car rides, bus rides, at the airport, its perfect for these situations. This game is a 9 out of 10. Go download it now if you have a PSV.