» stealth

Took me a while to get my hands on the demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum on PSN as I kept on getting error when trying to download it. So I finally managed to get it and I was excited, because this game might actually be a comic-movie-cartoon video game that will not disappoint, unlike the rest of the movie games (ahem….G.I. Joe anyone?). So is Batman: Arkham Asylum worth buying?

I have mix reactions actually because the demo is rather short, you can easily finish it within 15-20 minutes, if not shorter. Then again it is not a race and you are suppose to appreciate the game by walking around, flying around with your trusty grapple hook. And due to the length of the demo, I’m not sure if I will get bored of some of the features of this game or not. For one the combat system is….ok, animations are smooth but nothing amazing, in my opinion. You basically throw punches, counter your enemies and try to knock them down for good. While hanging upside down or using the glide kick to take out your enemies is fun, I have a feeling its just one of those “its fun while it lasts” kind of thing. On the rather positive side, I do like the fact that you have different choices to choose from for taking out your enemies.

The detective mode looks interesting as well, you get to check what weapon each person (friends and enemies) is carrying, their status, be it calm or nervous, check where you can fly up using the grapple hook or weak walls where you can blow it up using explosives. Again the demo is rather short so that’s all I got to see and experiment.

The graphics look amazingly detailed, from the textures of the asylum to the characters that you play and/or interact with, specially the main characters like Batman, Joker and Harley Quinn (her outfit is pretty detailed!) for example.

Honestly after playing the demo, although I’ve always been a Batman fan, I am really not sure if I should get this right at the release date. And there isn’t a multiplayer mode, which is understandable, this game is at best, a rental for me. Unless you are a fanatic and/or you absolutely loved the demo, I don’t think you should buy it right away, wait for a price drop in about 6 months time or look for a second hand on ebay. I wish the demo was longer, then I would have a better idea. Right now it feels like I’m one of those crooks and left hanging upside down by Batman.

I have been a Batman fan for as long as I can remember. There hasn’t been a single Batman related game released ever since PlayStation 3 and xBox 360 came out, as far as I can remember. But the wait is almost over because based on EBGames, Batman: Arkham Asylum will be released on June 9th, less than 3 months from now.

To me, after Metal Gear Solid, Batman: Arkham Asylum should be another action + stealth game worth buying. If you have spare change in your wallet, you should also consider getting the collector’s edition because it comes with so much goodies such as: (taken from EBGames)

- Waynetech Batarang Storage Box
- 12” In-Game Design Batarang (stand attached)
- Dr Young’s Journal (50 page full color character encyclopedia)
- 2 Sleeve DIGI-Pack Including:
     - Game
     - Behind the scenes 5 chapter series DVD, including:
     - Interviews with Mark Hammil and Kevin Conroy
- Exclusive Collector’s Edition Challenge Map DLC
- Manual

As you can see you get a lot more than what you would normally get from other collector’s edition games, for a price of $99.99. For once I am really tempted to get a collector’s edition game, I mean you get a Batarang! Notice it also comes with an exclusive DLC map? I can only guess there will be more DLC maps available in the future.

Less not forget the game also has some impressive graphics, got to love the highly detailed Batman cape, body armor and the awesome looking Batmobile. Anyway, enjoy this Challenge Room trailer from Gametrailers.

IGN posted a very interesting article today regarding the possible release of Metal Gear Solid 4 for the XBox360. Quoted from Konami PR representative “We’re actively looking into a release for the Xbox 360.”. While I am not a fanboy for neither consoles, even if XBox360 supports Blu-Ray drive, therefore eliminating the need to swapping discs during different acts. How does Konami plan on removing all the PlayStation 3 and PSP references in the game? Are they going to keep them there which is rather a conflict of interest or replace with some other Microsoft devices? As far as I know microsoft doesn’t have a handheld to replace a PSP.

As you can see from the images below, Snake is controlling the MKII using a Playstation controller. And Sunny is holding a PSP while Hal “Otacon” Emmerich is talking about the PlayStation 3!

Only time will tell if the rumor is true or not.

thatvideogameblog

scrawlfx

pspsps

It might be too late for most of the gamers out there to read this, I bet everyone bought a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots by now. But I still want to give my “two cent” after completing the game twice.

Notice I completed the game twice?

That’s an immediate PLUS for the game in terms of replay value. When you start a new game, after going through a few cut scenes you get your weapons and Drebin points that you collected from your previous game. For those who do not have the game yet, Drebin points are points for upgrading/buying weapons and Drebin is one of the characters in the game. Since you get to use whatever you have collected from before, the game play can be different the second time you play. I was using the silenced sniper rifle from the start instead of using the AK. That brought down the alert occurances by a lot and yes I am not good at being stealthy

Having the weapons also makes the game less challenging, at least on the normal difficulty level. I will soon try out the big boss difficulty, my friend told me he couldn’t even get past the scene where you have to meet up with your robot sidekick MK 2.

I played the first MGS on the original Playstation and did not find it too enjoyable and so I skipped MGS 2 and 3. It was a good game, but its just not my style at that time. Guess I have grown to appreciate MGS series finally, I’m pretty sure its not just the graphics that makes it so enjoyable. The story is amazing as well, the movie-like cut scenes are nicely done but some are too long which you will find yourself skipping 90% of them during replay. I think the length of all cut scenes combined (including the ending) is longer than the actual game play which is one of the biggest complains I got from my friends.

As for the actual game play, its mostly third person but you can quickly switch to first person during gun fights. It works pretty much just like any first/third person shooter, you can run, crouch and crawl on the floor. But, you can now hug onto walls, floors etc, and your suit will change textures and blend in with whatever you are hugging onto to increase your stealthiness. And that’s not all, most of the game is played as Snake (the character you control) alone, but there are stages where the game play is different. One example is near the end of the game, you get to control a metal gear, the game play is similar to Mech Warriors (ahh the old times ). Its another PLUS for offering different types of game play. Another new and FUN feature to the game is you can take photos (after obtaining the camera of course) of the 4 bosses called BNB (beauty and the beast) and you can save them to your hd.

This are from my personal collection:

I’m sure I have not covered all about this game but I hope you find this interesting helpful. I will definately play the game again for the third time but on a harder difficulty and try out the online game as well. There are games that you can wait until they are half the price, but I think this game is worth the $59.99(+tax). If you haven’t got a copy and you are into this type of game, please get a copy now!

Let me know what you think of the game too.