Zero Punctuation: Batman: Arkham Origins
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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The bugs are inexcusable and the lack of polish is upsetting, but beyond that the game is actually pretty good. Good writing and performances, fun gameplay, and the boss battles are actually very enjoyable.
I'm not criticizing the review, because I know Yahtzee is trying to simultaneously entertain, critique, and inform, but I enjoy the lesser-known villains getting their moment in the spotlight. The Copperhead and Firefly designs are much more interesting than any other adaptations of them I've ever seen, and Bane is fairly well done, as well. In the other Arkham games, he's pretty much a dumb wall of muscle meat, but in Origins, we see a bit of depth and evolution in him. Overall, it's not as good as Arkham City, but (if upcoming patches sufficiently fix the bugs), then it's actually a pretty good Batman game. It's also a lot better if you forget all the "prequel" nonsense and just treat it as a standalone game.
I'm not criticizing the review, because I know Yahtzee is trying to simultaneously entertain, critique, and inform, but I enjoy the lesser-known villains getting their moment in the spotlight. The Copperhead and Firefly designs are much more interesting than any other adaptations of them I've ever seen, and Bane is fairly well done, as well. In the other Arkham games, he's pretty much a dumb wall of muscle meat, but in Origins, we see a bit of depth and evolution in him. Overall, it's not as good as Arkham City, but (if upcoming patches sufficiently fix the bugs), then it's actually a pretty good Batman game. It's also a lot better if you forget all the "prequel" nonsense and just treat it as a standalone game.
You have to walk onto to platform when it isn't electrified to lock on (or just stand on it and take the hits as I did).boradis said:
Matt Damon & Mark Wahlberg wearing fruit on their heads? How do you know what goes on at George Clooney's house parties? I wouldn't say Deathstroke is specifically a Batman villain; he's a merc, he'll fight almost anyone for the right price. Then again, if he does have a nemesis, that would be Dick Grayson, since they butt heads going back to the old Teen Titans days when he was Robin, then Nightwing, and few years ago as Batman.
Well, despite all the hype, I guess Yahtzee pretty much called on this one in his "The Sandbox that killed the Bat" Extra Punctuation column.
And those bugs... Ugh.
Welp, might as well try to 100% Arkham City, or Asylum on hard.
And those bugs... Ugh.
Welp, might as well try to 100% Arkham City, or Asylum on hard.
It was a little bit curiosity on my part, too. if they were really digging through the dregs of lame obscure villains, I figured they'd want the one batman routinely defeats by tricking him into holding hot/pointy things. XDZZoMBiE13 said:He is not.
Oh... you weren't really asking? Just making a point? And now I've gone and shown my uber-nerd undergarments because I know exactly who the Ten-Eyed Man is?
Dog bollocks.
Yeah, hard to be a credible threat to Batman when you can be defeated by a game of Hot Potato.balladbird said:It was a little bit curiosity on my part, too. if they were really digging through the dregs of lame obscure villains, I figured they'd want the one batman routinely defeats by tricking him into holding hot/pointy things. XDZZoMBiE13 said:He is not.
Oh... you weren't really asking? Just making a point? And now I've gone and shown my uber-nerd undergarments because I know exactly who the Ten-Eyed Man is?
Dog bollocks.
Didn't need to pause the video at all. I know these characters like the back of my hand.
I'm a comic book geek. It's my job... that I wish I was getting paid for just for knowing this shit. ^^;
Yeah, Arkham Origin just reeks of cash-in sequel with little to no effort. Not surprising since Rocksteady and the original voice actors for Batman and Joker bailed on the third installment.
Also, what is it with you and jetpacks, Yahtzee?
I'm a comic book geek. It's my job... that I wish I was getting paid for just for knowing this shit. ^^;
Yeah, Arkham Origin just reeks of cash-in sequel with little to no effort. Not surprising since Rocksteady and the original voice actors for Batman and Joker bailed on the third installment.
Also, what is it with you and jetpacks, Yahtzee?
Personally, I'm enjoying Origins' story more than I did City's or Asylum's. I prefer it over the cheesy Titan formula plot. Call it grounded if you want, but I like it. I can't take Yahtzee's remark about villains seriously, either. They are all well known DC and Batman villains. Especially Dead Shot, Killer Croc, Deathstroke, and Fire Fly. Point is, these games are made for comic book fans. They know their audience. If you don't get it, well, too bad, I guess.
You definitely hit the nail on the head, Yahtzee. Bane is really only here to take advantage of his Dark Knight Rises fame. He's been in all three games, and while Bane is a great villain, there's only so many ways to fight him and I'd much rather see someone else, even if they are as boring as Firefly. It's why I was miffed about the Joker thing, I'd hoped they were going to keep him around in the background and just allude to him, rather than standing him up on the goddamn pedestal.
Yeah, we get it, the Joker is awesome. I need another game to tell me that like I need yet another X-Men movie that stars Wolverine as the main protagonist, which is to say not at all.
Yeah, we get it, the Joker is awesome. I need another game to tell me that like I need yet another X-Men movie that stars Wolverine as the main protagonist, which is to say not at all.
Oh that's right, I forgot he could turn invisible. Then again, it's the future, so maybe we could bring some heat sensing goggles into the mix or something. Maybe a virus could infect the suit's systems in the middle of the game as a side mission kinda thing like in ZOE 1 with ADA.Dirty Hipsters said:
Great video, thanks Yahtzee : )
I tried this game out and kept finding one issue after the next, narrowed the counter window deliberately just to extend game play, blocked going after jamming radio towers out of sequence because "well we said so" - so much for a sandbox game, bugs bugs oh and more bugs.
Seriously they have all the assets of the previous games, it is not like they had to go out and do development stuff on their own but it is mucked up with bugs anyway?
When a friend of mine asked if this game is a must buy: "Save your money and go purchase the current humble bundle. Add two quality batman games to your games list to enjoy now or during the holidays. Oh and they are both game of the year editions with everything all in one tidy package to enjoy" : )
I tried this game out and kept finding one issue after the next, narrowed the counter window deliberately just to extend game play, blocked going after jamming radio towers out of sequence because "well we said so" - so much for a sandbox game, bugs bugs oh and more bugs.
Seriously they have all the assets of the previous games, it is not like they had to go out and do development stuff on their own but it is mucked up with bugs anyway?
When a friend of mine asked if this game is a must buy: "Save your money and go purchase the current humble bundle. Add two quality batman games to your games list to enjoy now or during the holidays. Oh and they are both game of the year editions with everything all in one tidy package to enjoy" : )
I was already getting a bit tired of this series with Arkham City. As such, the announcemet of Arkham Origins left me pretty cold. I just hope the story is good, although it doesn't seem like it's anything special.
I'm wondering if the bugs are overblown, or if I'm just very lucky. I beat the whole game without any crashes or lockups, and while the interrogate prompt didn't come up twice, anything that reloaded my last checkpoint cleared it right up. HAd one funnyone where in the middle of a fight I was suddenly over water, but I couldn't replicate it. To hear the complaints I thought I'd be resetting every hour to make the game playable like skyrim. Maybe my PS3's just in better shape.
As for the D-listers, I'll hold comments about some's actual threat level people only familiar with the movies or animated show would be unaware of and just point out at a lot of villains don't start at the top. I mean, any comic fan would laugh at the thought of Scarecrow being a serious threat to Batman, but it was pulled off with decent writing in Arkham Asylum. Granted, that didn't happen here, but I'm willing to at least give lessor knowns a shot if only because, yes, the story's biggest problem is the use of the overexposed Joker and Bane.
As for the D-listers, I'll hold comments about some's actual threat level people only familiar with the movies or animated show would be unaware of and just point out at a lot of villains don't start at the top. I mean, any comic fan would laugh at the thought of Scarecrow being a serious threat to Batman, but it was pulled off with decent writing in Arkham Asylum. Granted, that didn't happen here, but I'm willing to at least give lessor knowns a shot if only because, yes, the story's biggest problem is the use of the overexposed Joker and Bane.
That video was annoying as hell. Dude rambles on and on...the whole thing was one big run-on sentence. I couldn't finish the video, and it doesn't make me want to watch any of the other video reviews. I'm almost aching in my head from trying to keep up with all the rambling...
Anyways, it looks like a good game, but Batman as a character is starting to become dull IMO. Loved Arkham City, and that game got 10s in its reviews, so "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Especially now.
On the other hand, I would be way more interested in Batman's future sans-Joker... I have yet to get Harley's revenge mind you. Prequels are always tricky things to do.
Anyways, it looks like a good game, but Batman as a character is starting to become dull IMO. Loved Arkham City, and that game got 10s in its reviews, so "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Especially now.
On the other hand, I would be way more interested in Batman's future sans-Joker... I have yet to get Harley's revenge mind you. Prequels are always tricky things to do.
I have never heard of this future batman, but knowing this now...it would be a very interesting angle to work from. And perhaps Yahtzee would get his jetpacks in the endEHKOS said:
I wish i had time to study such character backgrounds.To be honest, just seeing the pre-release gameplay videos gave me the impression this was going to be a slightly half arsed re-paint of arkham city. Hence why i spent my hard earned dolla on Black flag instead. Gottsta get ma stealth fix somehow matey!
Actually have never played anything more than a demo of Arkham Asylum, and only mostly completed Arkham city...soooo if i just collect and complete those...2 + 1 is 3 ...there ya go! I've basically played origins but better! That's logic my friends, as far as i'm aware.