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Saved!I'm surprised #Deadpool is nowhere to be found on this list. In fact, average rating 5/10? Wow. I watched a friend play through almost the whole thing and it looked like a solid, fun action game.
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Saved!DjinnFighterEditing … It's the first time I hear something nice about this game -
Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … I thought it was good. Critics complained that it was repetitive, but so's the whole damn genre. It was no more repetitive than God Of War, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, or X-Men Origins: Wolverine. All fun to play, but only Deadpool has the humour. I say it's very underrated personally. -
Saved!Filly VanilliEditing … Yeah, it seemed like a competent action game, and they brought the quirkiness of Deadpool's character not only in the dialogue but in the finer details, as well. -
Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … Video game reviews seem really off nowadays. They'll praise Batman: Arkham Asylum for it's combat and give it a string of 10's, (I thought it was kinda average personally), but they'll complain when Deadpool does the same, plus it has guns, and has platforming, and has wacky humour... there's just no pleasing some people. Scores are meaningless; 7/10 means bad, 8/10 means average, 9/10 means good, and 10/10 means the publisher paid for advertising on our site. Number 1-6 are not used, unless a game is actually broken on release, then it gets the lowest score imaginable, a 4/10. It's got to the point where I feel I should be posting reviews myself just to counter-act the odd industry tropes but I'm too lazy.
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Saved!Filly VanilliEditing … I didn't like Arkham Asylum because the combat feels a bit heavy and clunky to me. imo the Arkham series got a bit of extra favor because it's 2dark&gritty4u and dudes eat that up. Just look at The Dark Knight. :P
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … That's true. Dark and gritty is far too commonplace now, we can only hope that as gamers grow up and the average gamer becomes a person in their early 30s that we'll get less teen male power fantasy and more substantive games, (not that I don't like teen male power fantasy at times, DmC: Devil May Cry is exactly that and I love that game, and Deadpool is that turned up to 11). I do feel a pang though, a need to defend The Dark Knight. I do love that film, though I sometimes wonder if I enjoy films for completely different reasons than the "movie-going masses". I thought Dark Knight Rises was a better film after all. I loved the political commentary of Bane, very well realised.
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Saved!Filly VanilliEditing … I haven't seen them (I'm not remotely interested in that kind of movie), I'm just poking some fun and I assume there are some parallels between TDK's success and the success of the Arkham series. But I do think that the "dark and gritty" archetype has greatly taken over games and, to a lesser degree recently, movies. It's why I'm mostly just into Nintendo consoles lately, lots of games that are just silly and fun instead of trying too hard to be serious and "mature." But I digress ^^;
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … I miss the days when you could be beating up gangsters with pink mohawks on a beach with a length of pipe, eating pork chops from bins to regain health, only to find the boss is a wrestler with knives strapped to his arms. That was 16-bit "gritty". Right now I'm loving my Wii U. Super Mario 3D World was fantastic. Here's hoping old style wacky beat-em ups, platformers, and the like make a return. Gaming was far more carefree when a magic ninja, a random object/alien creature with googly eyes, and an anthropomorphic rodent where equally likely you be your games protagonist. I'm kinda sick of gruff stubbly brown haired muscle bound caucasian guy or gruff stubbly brown haired muscle bound caucasian guy... in power armour. It's getting to be rather predictable and generic now :P
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Saved!Dr EggnogEditing … Steph, the Arkham games are more inspired by the style of the 90s animated series. The Dark Knight is actually rather different I think. It's a good film all on its own. I didn't expect to like it but it surprised me. -
Saved!Filly VanilliEditing … I mean, true, Arkham Joker and Heath Ledger as the Joker (from what I've seen) are quite different, and I'm sure that's just one of many differences. The link between the success of Arkham and the success of TDK probably just comes down to branding. I did still get that dark/gritty feel from Arkham, but I suppose that's just relative to the type of games I usually play.
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Saved!Dr EggnogEditing … They make games "adult" so that teens will like them. Everything's kind of aimed at teens nowadays. Even kids movies are scared to be G rated. Everything goes for PG now. Back in the 80s when The Black Cauldren came out, no one watched it because people didn't want to see a kids movie with a PG rating. Then Shrek happened and everything changed. But anyway yeah the dark/gritty feel just makes a lot of things bland. They shouldn't make a game serious and heavy if it doesn't have a really great story to match like in Silent Hill 2.
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … Sometimes dark and gritty works, 'Spec Ops: The Line' is beautifully dark and disturbing, and the fact that I felt I needed to put it down, and still to this day haven't finished it I consider a plus for it. It's the only game where it making me not want to play it is a good thing. It's an actually mature game. The problem is teenagers seem to have the greatest buying power. How this has happened I'll never know, but 13 year olds are more expected, (and objectively the industry is right to expect this), to be able to buy a PS4/XBO and "Whiz Bang Explosion Death HD #7" than I am. I genuinely can't afford to get these consoles and then drop £50+ on a game every 2-3 weeks, then another £20+ on DLC and map-packs per game, so where the fuck do the 13-15 year old CoD kiddies and their working class/benefit reliant parents get this money from? I got my Wii U 3 months ago and I've bought only 1 game for it that wasn't pack-in; and that was Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a game that's over two years old and was on offer for less than £10 at the time. This is why "mature" games are aimed at kids, for some reason no-one has yet explained to me, the kids seem to have massive amounts of disposable money; I reckon they're all selling cocaine.
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Saved!Filly VanilliEditing … Kids get allowances, and also I think you're making a big assumption about these kids, probably a lot of them are middle class and their parents can afford to give them big allowances or just buy the games for them (after all, a lot of the shit is rated M). As for why "mature" games are aimed at kids, my personal theory is actually really well explained by a Lewis Carroll quote: "To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
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Saved!Dr EggnogEditing … That's a great quote. I first read it in an Elements of Brony video because of course it relates to MLP pretty well. Yeah, when I was in middle school, I was pretty embarassed by all the little kids stuff I still liked. But I guess I shouldnt've felt silly since I've been a Silent Hill fan since I was like six.
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … I live in an old dockers town, it's mainly counsil estates. I doubt there's many middle class families around here. I'm on benefits myself, and I get more than most. Disability benefit is more than basic job seekers, (and even more than minimum wage if I'm honest, though only just). Even still, on new release day there's always a line of teenagers outside the game stores, the same teenagers who have brand new iPhones and designer trainers. These kids live on my estate, if their family is middle-class they're keeping that quiet. Still, you're quite right about that Lewis Carroll quote. I like to think I was above such things as a kid, I played Pokémon openly when in high-school for example; but I'm sure I'd have not admitted to thinking Powerpuff Girls was funny, Spice Girls music was catchy, or that Kirby games where cool... that's just a bit much for a teen boy.
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Saved!Dr EggnogEditing … My friends in high school weren't worried about being cool thankfully. They were anime geeks.
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Saved!Rich .Editing … I can believe Deadpool's a good game. My guess would be he's more of a cult character than a widely known one so unless it had been a great game it wasn't going to be a big seller. If we're making the comparison I'm sure Batman's popularity helped with Arkham's sales but ultimately it was a fantastic game. The right balance of stealth, combat, gadgets and exploration all executed really well with great level design and it handled the license as well as you could hope for on every point from bringing in the Batman TAS actors to all of the references and details that made it feel like Batman's world.
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Saved!Filly VanilliEditing … Sorry Billy, I had assumed you meant kids in general, not the ones local to your area.
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … I can agree the Arkham games are very well realised when judged next to their source material, I just think they're extremely overrated. They seem decidedly average in every way. The combat was far too easy and extremely repetitive. The exploration and gadgets are very surface level, there's nothing that requires actual thinking or intelligence to solve. It's all very scripted, and very clear what you scan and where you go next. The stealth was passable and fun, but relied a liitle too much on the gargoyles. Hitman/Splinter Cell are hardly getting replaced any time soon. Then there's the anaemic upgrades system, the camera problems, the overly contextual controls, the lack of a dedicated jump button, and the lack of variety in location/setting. Sure it's Batman, and that's fine, but honestly Deus Ex: Human Revolution did the same basic concept and did it far far better. If the Batman licence wasn't attached to this it would have been written off as an average "adventure" game that tries to do too much, and doesn't really get anything right. If this had been more action focused, more stealth focused, more exploration focused, or gone full RPG rather than just dabbling, it'd be fine. Unfortunately, what we have is a game that's trying to be part God Of War, part Splinter Cell, and part Tomb Raider and doesn't do any aspect better or even on par with the franchise that inspired it... but what the hell, 10/10 all round, fuck it, we can give it 6/5 because... Batman... sod doing some actually deconstruction, and highlighting area's it could improve on, the fanboys will scream bloody murder if we do that. It's PERFECT, you hear that, PERFECT!!!! And that my friends is an accurate representation of the modern games industry.
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … Don't worry about it Filly, looking back my post wasn't clear (and the cocaine joke could easily be taked as a very right-wing jab rather than the sarcastic joke it was meant to be).
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Saved!Rich .Editing … You've got to be joking, right? It had an upgrade system full of worthwhile choices that add to the gameplay, a camera system I had no problems with, it went with intuitive contextual controls so there could be a bigger move set and I love the location, it's got a great atmosphere, it's full of detail, there's a theme throughout but the mansion is very different from say the botanical gardens which is different again from the sewers and they all change over the course of the game and new paths open up metroidvania style as the game goes on. I love the combat in Arkham, it's easy to get into but a challenge to master and it's great spectacle. Personally it's between that and Dark Souls for my favourite combat in an action game, I'd take either over God of War any day of the week. I love the stealth as well, it's not just about sneaking past people it's about picking them off one by one and messing with them. You can swing from gargoyle to gargoyle but those might be rigged with bombs, you can be in the vents, you can be under the floor, you can be behind the collapsible wall or about to blow it up remotely, you can use victims or gadgets as decoys or if you really want you can be on the ground figuring out patrol patterns the same as in a run of the mill stealth game. I agree Deus Ex HR's a good comparison, I definitely prefer Arkham when it comes to combat, I'd say they're fairly even when it comes to stealth but they're different kinds of stealth (attacking from the shadows style stealth vs just remaining undetected) but as a whole package as much as I liked HR I'd say Arkham's in a different league. Arkham Asylum isn't perfect because the final boss fight could have been better and detective mode was too tempting to overuse but it deserves at least a 9/10.
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Saved!Dr EggnogEditing … I liked the collectables and stealth/combat in Arkham alright, but didn't like the graphics or story. Only got about halfway through it before I was tired. Not much about the game made me especially excited, but I'm not much of a big Batman fan in general.
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Saved!Rich .Editing … Oh not being into Batman or it not being your kind of game I can totally understand, it's just calling it average and overrated I can't get my head around.
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … I honestly found it to be predictable, far too easy, lacking in variety, and repetitive. If it wasn't for the Batman licence I'd say this was your basic 5/10 game. Average in everything. You'll likely really enjoy it if you're a Batman fan but if you look beyond that there are better third person action, stealth, and detective/exploration games out there. A good example is Remember Me, a game I consider far more interesting as I prefer the setting; that plays remarkably similar to Arkham Asylum. Most saw it as an average game with unrealised potential. That's how I see the Arkham games.
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Saved!Rich .Editing … I mean I've played Deus Ex HR, Splinter Cell, Uncharted, Devil May Cry, Zelda, Tomb Raider, God of War, Metal Gear Solid, The Last of Us and a fair few other action, stealth and exploration series. Some of them were right up my street and they've ended up being favourites (Uncharted, The Last of Us, Zelda) and some really weren't my thing (God of War, Metal Gear Solid). Even the latter are quality games in my book though which I guess is why "a quality game but not my thing" is the worst reaction I expect people to have to Arkham considering I prefer Arkham to them all.
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Saved!DjinnFighterEditing … I played Arkham Asylum for some hours and I didn't really like it, because I hate comics. But, I don't think it's overrated. It was really well made, especially for a licensed game. Faithful to the franchise and with a lot of interesting mechanics.
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Saved!SandvichEditing … Deleted by himself -
Saved!SandvichEditing … Deleted by himself
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Saved!SandvichEditing … I really don't think it's reasonable to expect game critics to knock Arkham for the reasons you list. Most games are "too easy" these days. It's like knocking Dark Souls for being too hard. Different games have different audiences and not everything has to be "please kick my ass until it bleeds" challenging, particularly a game that's trying to be an empowering superhero experience. On max difficulty both Asylum and City pose a decent challenge. It's not like you can beat them with your eyes closed, and as much as people like to joke about it, you're going to have a very difficult time beating either game by just mashing X and Y. And for those looking for more, acing all of the challenge maps pushed my skills pretty hard. I say all this as someone who considers games like Ninja Gaiden, DMC, Contra, Dark Souls and the Witcher 2 some of the finest games ever made. Game reviews are for everyone, not just the hardest of teh hardcorez. With regards to variety, you have two distinct gameplay types with stealth and fisticuffs, and as richard says, there's a lot to master with both of them. You unlock tons of gadgets and exp upgrades throughout the story that are a great aid in both gameplay types against new enemies and challenges that spring up (e.g. heavily armored enemies, backpack jammers, boobytrapped gargoyles etc.). You have a pretty well crafted Metroidvania overworld in Asylum and a city in, well, City that I personally consider a joy to swoop and glide across, and preferable to methods of travel in many other open-worldish games like, say inFamous. Then there are the aforementioned challenge maps and campaign mode in City with modifiers for each challenge, and I could go on. As far as video games go, that's a good bit of variety; as much if not more than you find in a Dead Space, Halo or Metal Gear Solid game. Again, I don't think Arkham is getting any special treatment with critics for those reasons. I also don't even consider myself a Batman fan. I like a lot of things he appears in, the Timmverse in particular, but I'm pretty "meh" on just as many and don't consider myself one to ignore the faults of something because Batman is in it.
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … I have no issue with easy games in general but Arkham Asylum was just boring because it was so easy, even facile. Sure you don't have to agree, but I found the game painfully average and I did literally button-mash X all the way though the combat. The exploration aspects seemed so straight forward there was no thought involved. Sure there's empowering super-hero games, but this doesn't feel like that to me. Dynasty Warriors is far better at that kind of thing.
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Saved!Rich .Editing … You think Dynasty Warriors was better? I'm starting to think you belong in Arkham Asylum @Billy McKenna
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Saved!DjinnFighterEditing … Comparing Arkham Asylum to Dynasty Warriors? What? It's like comparing a banana to a steak.
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Saved!Filly VanilliEditing … I have no opinion on Dynasty Warriors, I just lol'd at Djinn's analogy
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … Yes, I think Dynasty Warriors 8 is FAR better than Arkham Asylum, (and it's a licenced game, based on the book Romance Of The Three Kingdoms). Dynasty Warriors is more fun, it's more cathartic, it has a better atmosphere when compared to the tired "dark & gritty" of the Arkham games. It's more challenging and more involving, requiring planning and tactics at higher difficulty, and with the affinity system and weapon switching it's combat is more skill based and more robust than the Arkham fighting system. I've sunk over 100 hours into Dynasty Warriors, the Arkham games could barely keep me entertained for a dozen hours. If you disagree fine, but is it really necessary to be condescending because I disagree with the collective opinion? No I'm not "trolling", I just have my own opinions.
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Saved!DjinnFighterEditing … What I was saying is that Arkham Asylum and Dynasty Warriors are too different to be compared. And, no Dynasty Warriors 8 is definitely not a licensed game. I'm pretty sure Romance of the Three Kingdoms is public domain
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Saved!Filly VanilliEditing … What happened to my post about #Deadpool ._.
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Saved!Rich .Editing … You're commenting on it?
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Saved!Dr EggnogEditing … Bananas > Steak
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … Right you are @DjinnFighter, Romance of the Three Kingdoms is public domain. Pity it's excluded based on a technicality though, after all it's still an adaptation of another IP which is in essence what people mean by "licenced game"... oh and yeah @Filly, it's been a really good discussion; naturally progressing conversations are rare online, thanks everyone. It's been good chatting, (even if we don't all agree).
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Saved!Billy McKennaEditing … Oh, and I actually like banana's but don't much care for steak so sure, banana > steak.
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Saved!Rich .Editing … Steak > Banana in my book, I had a gorgeous rib eye tonight. Then again if it was banana split....
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Saved!DjinnFighterEditing … Comparing bananas to steaks? What? It's like comparing Arkham Asylum to Dynasty Warriors.
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