okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Nov 4, 2013 12:44:46 GMT -5
I think New 52 Joker cut his face off in one of the first Batman issues, and when he showed up again much later it was stapled on and all stretched out and creepy looking.
But the only New 52 Batman comics I've read are the first two Snyder/Capullo books dealing with the Court of Owls. The plot is Batman uncovering a conspiracy about a group of ultra-rich people (The Court of Owls) who have been running Gotham for centuries, and one night every 100 years they let loose their army of assassins (the Talons) to clean up the place and reshape the city in their image. It's a good story, even though it falls apart a little bit towards the end. Definitely worth reading though. Like with all the New 52 comics it suffers a bit the more closely you analyze the timeline and try to figure out how all of Batman's history fits into the tiny 5-year window DC crammed their entire history into, and how many of the old Batman stories still "count" and which ones got wiped away. I prefer to look at Batman stories as individual stories that sometimes connect to each other and sometimes don't, but if it's a good story then it doesn't matter if it "counts" or not.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Nov 4, 2013 13:07:07 GMT -5
Oh, so he just cut his own face off, not what I expected lol. I don't think I've read any Snyder stuff but for what it's worth I've heard some people say that Arkham Origins is more reminiscent of his Batman.
I'm the same way with Batman stories since I don't really bother with ongoing comics and just read select trades. It seems Grant Morrison likes to reintroduce tons of odd characters from the past but the stories still work as standalone. As well as Grant Morrison stories can work anyway, they're usually disjointed and confusing but always ridiculously interesting. Batman Incorporated is really neat stuff.
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GhostRider5289
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Post by GhostRider5289 on Nov 4, 2013 13:11:40 GMT -5
I still need to pick up the second Court of Owls book.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Nov 6, 2013 15:22:21 GMT -5
Some guy on the GameFAQ's boards is hooking people up with the skins that can only be unlocked through the iphone game (for now, until the android version releases). It took a few days but I finally got the Red Son and Earth 2 costumes and they're awesome, Red Son especially.
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SkellyMan
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Post by SkellyMan on Nov 6, 2013 16:17:13 GMT -5
Dollmaker takes jokers face and kills him. Turns out joker took off his own face to prove we are all the same on the inside and them he put it back on. That's the short version.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Dec 3, 2013 17:52:23 GMT -5
The Initiation Challenge Map pack is out today for $6.99. Didn't think it'd be out so soon, ofcourse now I'm bummed I can't try it lol. Challenge maps never hold my interest for long but it's cool that these show a time we haven't seen yet in the Arkham fiction.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Dec 3, 2013 17:56:20 GMT -5
Haven't played Origins yet. I bought The Last of Us at the same time, and that game is just ridiculously good.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Dec 3, 2013 18:05:37 GMT -5
I traded my copy of Origins, with the intent of rebuying it later, while I could still get $30 + bonus credit. Got Mass Effect Trilogy with credit, which was a great deal, but the beginning of Mass Effect 1 put me to sleep since I'd already beaten the much more action-y ME2. So in a cruel twist of fate, I haven't put as much time into those 3 games as I'd probably be putting into the new Origins DLC today.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Dec 27, 2013 14:23:49 GMT -5
Last night I finished the first Deathstroke fight. This game is growing on me. It's still very clearly not made by the same people as the first two, and as a result the hand-to-hand combat feels much less visceral than it used to and the changes to the control scheme are EXTREMELY irritating and unnecessary. I haven't spent much time out in the open of the city so maybe I was just in a barren part, but the city itself doesn't feel nearly as "alive" as it did in Arkham City. I know it's Christmas Eve and there's a storm keeping people off the streets, but it still feels really empty. And the voice acting isn't nearly as good (the actress playing Penguin's British moll is just awful). Actually, pretty much all the sound work in the game is pretty crappy. I've probably clocked 2 or 3 hours in the game so far and there have been numerous times when the dialogue gets completely lost in the sound mix. Not random conversations you overhear in the world, but dialogue in the cutscenes. Everything is just cranked up to 11 and it's all just an impenetrable mess. I tried changing the sound settings to tone down the music and sound effects volume, but it didn't really help.
Even though it sounds like I'm shitting all over this game because it's not as good as the classic first two, I'm still having fun with it. Right now I just can't imagine sinking as much time into it as I did with Asylum and City.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Dec 27, 2013 14:47:56 GMT -5
Pretty much my experience, it's impossible not to notice everything that's worse, even though you're mostly enjoying it for everything it does the same. The sound issue should be fixable, I didn't have any issues with it, though I am an obsessive A/V settings tweaker in-game and in my tv menu.
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S. Griffin
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Post by S. Griffin on Dec 27, 2013 15:57:54 GMT -5
My biggest problem with the game is that new grading system thing. It's hard enough to take on a group of thugs that includes five guys with riot shields and three guys with armor (especially with the combat system being significantly less fluid than Asylum and City), but I have to be fucking graded, too?
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Dec 27, 2013 16:08:59 GMT -5
Yeah, the grading thing is bullshit. And it's that type of little thing they added that doesn't add anything to the game, and because they were so focused on stuff like that they cut corners on things that actually affect the gameplay. Like sneaking up behind a thug with a hostage at gunpoint and even though the guy NEVER TURNS AROUND, he still somehow sees you and kills the hostage so you fail and have to clear out the room all over again. But hey, the menus are much flashier and you get graded after every fight, so it's a wash, right?
BTW, there's gonna be an announcement of something Arkham-related this New Year's Eve. It probably has to do with extra DLC for Origins, but I'm hoping it's the announcement of the next-gen (or is PS4/Xbone current-gen?) Arkham City sequel made by Rocksteady.
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S. Griffin
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I read your pass post and u sounded smart enough to not be stupid and there level.
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Post by S. Griffin on Dec 27, 2013 18:05:25 GMT -5
Well, I guess we'll find out soon.
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S. Griffin
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Post by S. Griffin on Dec 28, 2013 2:52:49 GMT -5
Oh, scratch what I said before...I have a bigger complaint that I will phrase in the form of a question: Is it just me or does Origins for the PS3 have some SERIOUS freezing issues?
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Dec 28, 2013 8:12:56 GMT -5
Why so serious? I'm sorry. I only got freezes in multiplayer, but I guess I got lucky. The biggest complaint about the game on all platforms is that it freezes lots, which can sometimes corrupt your save and cost you all of your progress.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Dec 28, 2013 16:20:52 GMT -5
Oh, scratch what I said before...I have a bigger complaint that I will phrase in the form of a question: Is it just me or does Origins for the PS3 have some SERIOUS freezing issues? Hasn't frozen yet on mine. What model PS3 you usin'?
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S. Griffin
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Post by S. Griffin on Dec 28, 2013 17:20:52 GMT -5
It's a 120 gb Slim, and no other game freezes like Origins does on it.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Jan 6, 2014 23:49:21 GMT -5
Not sure if I'll keep going with this game or not. It's incredibly mediocre. Gameplay, graphics, and level design all pale in comparison even to Arkham Asylum, and that game came out over 4 years ago. Origins just feels lackluster in every way, like they were counting on the Arkham brand to sell the game more than actually making it a worthy follow up.
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Post by AgentFox5 on Jan 8, 2014 23:45:53 GMT -5
Wow, am I the only one who didn't think it was that bad? Don't get me wrong. It's easily the worst of the 3, but I never had a single problem with freezing. Sure the story lacks the depth of the other Arkham games, but it's still just as good as most Batman graphic novels. Yeah, the graphics weren't as good as Arkham City, but they were still better than a lot of other games I've played on ps3. While it's not as good as it could have been, I'd still give it a solid 7/10.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Jan 9, 2014 0:24:18 GMT -5
It never froze for me either, I just think it's lazy. From the looks of things, WAY too much effort went into stuff like fancy menu screens and downloadable skins ($20 for a set of new costumes? Fuck you) instead of making the game a worthy follow up to the first two. It's the video game industry's franchise mentality at its worst.
The story (or at least the parts of it I played) weren't that great, the predator rooms were awkward and much less intuitive than before, the control scheme was changed for no reason, the replacement voice actors sucked (Batman was ok, but Joker was really bad), the new gadgets were overly complicated (I never did figure out how to use that cable-launcher thing), and the hand to hand combat was much less responsive. That was a game-killer for me. I had the armor upgraded to level 3 but still kept losing fights because the damn counter system that worked so well in the last two games just doesn't work well at all.
I gave it a shot, I really wanted to like it, but it's just a bad game. No offense to the people who who do like it, I just thought it was lazy and poorly made. Thankfully it's a prequel and will be easy to ignore storywise when/if Rocksteady makes another good Batman game. And this series didn't even need an "origin" anyway. One of the things that made Arkham Asylum great was that it felt like it fit in the same universe as the comics, without needing yet another retelling of Batman's early years.
Ok, rant over. It's just an incredibly disappointing and frustrating game.
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Post by AgentFox5 on Jan 9, 2014 0:47:56 GMT -5
It never froze for me either, I just think it's lazy. From the looks of things, WAY too much effort went into stuff like fancy menu screens and downloadable skins ($20 for a set of new costumes? Fuck you) instead of making the game a worthy follow up to the first two. It's the video game industry's franchise mentality at its worst. The story (or at least the parts of it I played) weren't that great, the predator rooms were awkward and much less intuitive than before, the control scheme was changed for no reason, the replacement voice actors sucked (Batman was ok, but Joker was really bad), the new gadgets were overly complicated (I never did figure out how to use that cable-launcher thing), and the hand to hand combat was much less responsive. That was a game-killer for me. I had the armor upgraded to level 3 but still kept losing fights because the damn counter system that worked so well in the last two games just doesn't work well at all. I gave it a shot, I really wanted to like it, but it's just a bad game. No offense to the people who who do like it, I just thought it was lazy and poorly made. Thankfully it's a prequel and will be easy to ignore storywise when/if Rocksteady makes another good Batman game. And this series didn't even need an "origin" anyway. One of the things that made Arkham Asylum great was that it felt like it fit in the same universe as the comics, without needing yet another retelling of Batman's early years. Ok, rant over. It's just an incredibly disappointing and frustrating game. You DIDN'T LIKE Troy Baker as Joker? I thought he was great. An obvious nod to Mark Hamill's Joker, but still unique.
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GhostRider5289
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Post by GhostRider5289 on Jan 9, 2014 0:48:57 GMT -5
I thought the lead voices were really good too. It was a little weird at first hearing Chris Redfield as Batman but that just made it more awesome. Wow, am I the only one who didn't think it was that bad? Don't get me wrong. It's easily the worst of the 3, but I never had a single problem with freezing. Sure the story lacks the depth of the other Arkham games, but it's still just as good as most Batman graphic novels. Yeah, the graphics weren't as good as Arkham City, but they were still better than a lot of other games I've played on ps3. While it's not as good as it could have been, I'd still give it a solid 7/10. Nope I liked it a lot. The story was good and aside from the unnecessary reverse of the top buttons (seriously that shit messed me up too much) I thought it was fun as hell. Especially loved Bane in this game. Brought the brute a bit of redemption from the shit that was Dark Knight Rises.
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NecroDragon
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Post by NecroDragon on Jan 9, 2014 1:28:19 GMT -5
Chris Redfield is Batman? Heh.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Jan 9, 2014 1:36:31 GMT -5
I like gliding...
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GhostRider5289
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Post by GhostRider5289 on Jan 9, 2014 2:51:19 GMT -5
Chris Redfield is Batman? Heh. I totally wanna see Batman punch the shit out of a boulder.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Feb 14, 2014 15:02:44 GMT -5
Can't play your game because of a serious glitch? WB Montreal says "tough shit, now buy our new DLC for your game that doesn't work". kotaku.com/batman-arkham-origins-prioritizing-dlc-over-patching-g-1519505970I quit playing Origins a while ago because it sucks, and shit like this tells me WHY it sucks. Why fix the shitty product you already released when you can get people to pay for MORE of your shitty product? Brilliant!
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Feb 24, 2014 2:32:22 GMT -5
^Yeah, that's bullshit.
An HD port of the Vita/3DS Origins game, Blackgate is coming to PS3, 360, & PC April 2nd as a $20 download. Anyone looking forward to it? I kind of am, it always strikes me as a cool bonus when I get access to a game that was handheld only. But like RE: Revelations showed, ya gotta temper the expectations. An Arkham sidescroller for a reasonable price is enticing though. In that format, I'd probably be more forgiving of the story too, which from what I've heard is pretty limited despite the game's supposed decent 10 hour length. It looks like it features Arkham Batman's first encounter with Catwoman, so that's something.
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okcomputer
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Post by okcomputer on Feb 24, 2014 9:19:24 GMT -5
I loved it when Sony ported the two God of War PSP games to PS3 on a single disc. I love when they do that, and because they're handheld games I'm always much more forgiving.
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GhostRider5289
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Post by GhostRider5289 on Feb 24, 2014 12:42:17 GMT -5
Yeah I want to check it out.
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razkazz
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Post by razkazz on Feb 24, 2014 17:19:50 GMT -5
I started New Game Plus on Arkham City and man, I just don't like hard mode in most games. It's the same game I love but slightly less fun.
I'm really ready for Rocksteady's next entry, I heard a rumor that we might hear something next month, if that's the case I'm guessing they'll aim for another fall/holiday release. I'm hoping I won't need a PS4 to play it, I think it could still go either way, so far very few next gen titles aren't hitting current gen as well. By the end of the year that'll probably become less prominent, but it seems like WB likes money.
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