Some words on Batman: Arkham Asylum

Another in the Gamepedia series of entries. 


Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the best games of the current console generation but I didn't always feel that way about it. I remember I was excited to play this game and I downloaded the demo on the PS3. I was very disappointed in it though as I felt the combat was just a button-mashing mess. I never even considered purchasing the game after that.


Then about 18 months later after hearing nothing but praise for the game I decided to try again. This time I got a much better appreciation for the combat. I realised it is all about rhythm, to a point where this could almost be considered a rhythm game. Once you get the hang of the combat it becomes immensely satisfying to take on a gang of thugs and pull off amazing combat moves one after the other.


The design of Arkham Asylum and the characters is excellent along with truly wonderful voice acting. The plot and pacing of the game is also extremely tight. My one main criticism would be the difficulty spikes when battling some of the bosses.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations, some thoughts

I was looking forward to Revelations immensely. Hell, I even pre-ordered the excellent collectors edition. The box of which, has pride of place in my collection. But during the playthrough I will admit to a little franchise fatigue. Just a little.


I still really enjoyed my time with the game and it was great to get a sense of closure to Ezio's story. I think Ezio will and should go down as one of the great character creations in video game history. Apart from the new setting, which was excellent there were no new game mechanics that really separated it from Brotherhood. The only new one was a tower defence mini-game which I only did once because of the mandatory tutorial. I hope it has been dropped for the forthcoming ACIII.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, some thoughts

I had waited over a year to buy and play Assassin's Creed II so by the time I had achieved the Platinum Trophy on that game Brotherhood was almost out. I decided that rather than risk series fatigue I would bide my time with Brotherhood.
It came out in November I think and I only bought it in January. As soon as I put it in the PS3 it didn't leave till it was done. I personally think it is a better game than ACII mainly because of the Brotherhood aspect. The ability to recruit a team of assassin's and have them do your dirty work was brilliant. Having a fully leveled team of assassin's appear out of nowhere and destroy your target is one of the best moments gaming has to offer.

Assassin's Creed, my thoughts

A quick note to link to my Gamepedia entry again. 


I have actually owned Assassin's Creed on three occasions and I don't even like the game. Allow me to explain...


I bought it first, cheaply, on eBay for the Xbox 360 and played it briefly. I was so bored inside the opening hour that I never played it again. I managed to trade it in for the same price I paid for it. Skip forward 18 months and I became a huge AC fan after playing, loving and unlocking the Platinum Trophy in ACII on the PS3. 


So after ACII came Brotherhood, which I also loved. So I decided that to complete the set I would need to own the first AC game. So I got it cheaply enough but could only find the Platinum version unfortunately. So that is the second time I have owned the game. And the third? It came as a bonus downloadable game with AC: Revelations last year. 


Still haven't put more than an hour into the original though.

Darksiders, some thoughts

I finished Darksiders way back in March 2011, the 28th to be precise according to my Trophy stats. I'm just writing up some thoughts now so that I can link my Gamepedia entry to them. This type of post will probably become common over the next while on the blog.


I remember buying this game along with a few others like GTA VI, Saints Row 2 and some others I can't remember in a blaze of bargain hunting glory. I started it that night but the game didn't immediately draw me in. I played the opening section, finished up for the night and never went back. I'd say it was easily six months later before I tried it again.


This second time though, I stuck with it. Once I got through the opening hour or so I really started to feel it. The general consensus about this game is that it is a Zelda clone but a Zelda game done with a modern feel. That might well be the case but seeing as though I've only ever finished one Zelda game to completion I can't really comment. Regardless, it is a very good game in it's own right. The combat feels satisfying with just enough button combos to elevate it above simple button mashing. I like the upgrade system to the weapons in the game and traversing the game world is great fun once you have gotten War's horse. 


I did like the story but found that I had to resort to Wikipedia to get a full understanding of what exactly had happened. Some of the story points feel a little rushed and as a result, unclear. That and some moments where the difficulty really spikes are the only things I would hold against this game. 


Darksiders II is out this summer and I do intend on picking it up. Maybe not day one though as THQ games tend to drop in price pretty quickly. 

Battle of The Backlog

If anyone had actually taken time to read some of the entries on this blog then they will have realised a large part of it is devoted to my video game collection. As one would expect the regular acquisition of new titles (and old) will naturally lead to the creation of a video game backlog. A terrible first-world affliction that haunts so many collectors. Of course I am not immune to this and my own backlog has now become quite substantial.


There are titles spanning the PS2, GameCube, Wii, 3DS, PS3 and Xbox 360. Across home console and handhelds. The backlog list does not discriminate.


For my own purposes I have split my list into two categories; games unfinished and those still unopened. Unfinished games are ones that I feel still have more enjoyment to offer. Such as the two Call Of Duty titles on the list. I've put hours into multiplayer but have not scratched the single player campaign. The other half of the list are those games that for some reason or another I have yet to even start. Many still remain in their shrink wrappings.


Unfinished


Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360)
Braid (PS3)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360)
Crysis 2 (Xbox 360)
Dark Souls (PS3)
Dead Space (PS3)
Fable II (Xbox 360)
Ghostbusters: The Video Game (PS3)
Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
Mario Kart: Double Dash (GameCube)
ModNation Racers (PS3)
Prince of Persia (PS3)
Pullblox (3DS)
Saints Row: The Third (PS3)
Shift 2: Unleashed (PS3)
Skyrim (Xbox 360)
Stacking (PS3)
Star Wars: Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II (GameCube)
Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (3DS)
Toy Story 3: The Video Game (PS3)


Not Started


Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Xbox 360)
Bioshock 2 (PS3)
Borderlands (Xbox 360)
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (PS3)
Fallout: New Vegas (PS3)
Luigi's Mansion (GameCube)
Lost Planet 2 (PS3)
Metroid Prime (GameCube)
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GameCube)
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (PS3)
Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)
Punch-Out!! (Wii)
Resident Evil (GameCube)
Shank 2 (PS3)
Star Wars: Battlefront II (PS2)
Super Smahs Bros. Melee (GameCube)
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube)
Trine 2 (PS3)
Viva Pinata (Xbox 360)
XIII (GameCube)
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)


The plan as always is that I will return to them at some undetermined time in the future. If all goes to plan that will be when I have turn my attic into a fully equipped entertainment hub. Someday...

It's been a while.

Yesterday I was trying to remember the name of a hotel I stayed in during my holiday in New York two years ago. I knew I had written it on my blog so I logged in to find the post. I found my answer but I was very surprised to find it has been nearly a year since the last post. Once again I felt that urge to write something.

So here it is; that something. Although for the first time this is being written with the Blogger App. On the evidence if the last five minutes it is pretty slick. Although I'm not seeing too many formatting options yet.

That's it for the moment. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I want to post.