Kansas City, MO, Gamertag: Rock8mnky, PSN: Rock8man
Posts
15,739
The worst part about having the counter-warning icons on Hard mode this time is that I think they're actually messing me up. When there were no icons, like in the previous game, it was easier to get a feel for the animations and know when to counter in order to get a critical hit. But this time, the stupid icons are there and it is much harder to even pay attention to the animations because from the corner of your eye, you're always seeing the icon first.
Is New Game+ just continuing on at a half-step difficulty increase?
My biggest problems so far are:
- Getting ahead of myself in combat. I either end up doing a normal strike in the small window before the counter warning pops up but after you can finish the normal strike. I need to slow down more and wait for the counter warnings. I cannot imagine trying to play without them, but I've never been great at this kind of thing. One of the things I love about the game is how relatively easy it is to utterly wreck groups of thugs and truly feel what it'd be like to be Batman, while allowing you to do it with mostly unsophisticated button mashing.
- Getting locked in to too small a move set. I forget entirely about the cape-stun a lot of the time, and I KNOW I'm using the 8x combo specials inefficiently. Granted, that's one of the reasons I suck at/hate fighters.
I don't like the Zsaz side-quest, because it feels like it's too easy to accidentally pass a phone and re-trigger it. Then you have to answer it and do a segment or you blow it all. You can ignore the political prisoners, and the Titan stuff is at will.
I personally don't mind the head lightning, because I treat it as a visual abstraction of the fighting anticipation that the goddamn Batman has by way of the constant stream of ultrasonic clicks and squeaks he utters. But it is odd they didn't make it an option for those who don't like it.
I think the game does a good job of training you not to get too locked into move sets. Later on there are opponents that mostly require proper timed use of cape swooshing, fights that require quickfired gadgets of different types, etc.
It's one of the improvements over the first game in general--the design does a much better job at training the player. I've been especially noticing that in the stealthier setpieces. In Arkham Asylum, every single stealth arena (in the main game) was all gargoyles, all the time, until a sudden mission where gargoyle use was effectively disallowed. Sure, you had lots of other options, but prior to that point the lazy player had never really been pushed into using them. Arkham City has been training the player to use different approaches from the start--vantage points are frequently not in a position to do takedowns from which makes you use different aspects of the map and opportunities they present, enemies will sometimes blow up perches but not all of them, again forcing you to reevaluate the room, etc. The extra gadget options are nice too, especially the smoke bombs and bathook disarms.
I don't think you have to get every Zsaz phone, because it'll trigger later if you pass it by, won't it?
I certainly don't answer every Zsasz call if I'm in the middle of something else at the time. (Thankfully they stop ringing after a few minutes, because my god is that annoying.) I haven't tracked the specific pay phones to see if they ring again later, but I'm still getting calls after skipping a few of them earlier.
RE: the counter warning - I don't personally mind it, but I agree it should be an option that you can disable on any skill level.
Kansas City, MO, Gamertag: Rock8mnky, PSN: Rock8man
Posts
15,739
Alright, I must be doing something wrong. I need help.
Spoiler:Two face encounter/first boss fight
So Catwoman is hanging there, I'm supposed to fight all these Thugs while Two face is in some kind of room where I can't get to him, but he can shoot out of it and kill me. Obviously I take out the armed guard on the upper floor with a silent takedown first. But then I have to glide down and start fighting goons. It seems to be my only option, since I can't reach Two-face. I tried fighting on the opposite side of him from Catwoman, hoping that in that little corner he can't shoot at me, but even on that spot, when I counter some of the thugs, I end up being exposed to Two face, and he gets me. And on hard difficulty, each shot of his takes a pretty large chunk of my health. So even if I fight perfectly against the thugs for a long, long time, Two face still kills me eventually before I even take two or three thugs down. What am I missing? Someone upthread said there was a way of targeting Two-face somehow? How? He seems to be in that enclosure and I can't get to him.
I suck at the fighting in this game, apparently. I don't really need to be good, though, I'm getting through fine, and I don't really care about the challenge maps. But once I unlocked critical hits, the info on how to perform them will never ever go away when a fight begins. I have had large combos, I have performed successful critical hits, I can get through huge groups of enemies without being hit....but apparently not to this game's standard. It's really, really aggravating me. Too slow, too fast, constantly, with no real gauge as to WHEN to actually do this to the game's satisfaction.
I don't know. Matt's the only one that's said they don't appear, and he hasn't followed up.
Yes, they do appear. Only New Game+ removed them. And it also has harder thugs from the beginning. Beating it on Normal or Hard unlocks the same New Game+ which is harder than either.
Kansas City, MO, Gamertag: Rock8mnky, PSN: Rock8man
Posts
15,739
Originally Posted by Rock8man
Alright, I must be doing something wrong. I need help.
Spoiler:Two face encounter/first boss fight
So Catwoman is hanging there, I'm supposed to fight all these Thugs while Two face is in some kind of room where I can't get to him, but he can shoot out of it and kill me. Obviously I take out the armed guard on the upper floor with a silent takedown first. But then I have to glide down and start fighting goons. It seems to be my only option, since I can't reach Two-face. I tried fighting on the opposite side of him from Catwoman, hoping that in that little corner he can't shoot at me, but even on that spot, when I counter some of the thugs, I end up being exposed to Two face, and he gets me. And on hard difficulty, each shot of his takes a pretty large chunk of my health. So even if I fight perfectly against the thugs for a long, long time, Two face still kills me eventually before I even take two or three thugs down. What am I missing? Someone upthread said there was a way of targeting Two-face somehow? How? He seems to be in that enclosure and I can't get to him.
Ok, I finally got past it.
Spoiler:The secret was to keep doing it until I got lucky?
I didn't do anything different, just fought in the center and this time Two Face kept missing with his pistol for some reason. I only got shot once and he missed me about a dozen times or more, so I survived the fight.
.
Not liking the game all that much so far. The beginning of Arkham Asylum was more structured and eased the player into things slowly. This one is quite a bit harder and they don't even let you go after the riddler extras in the beginning. Plus the combat isn't as satisfying because of the counter warning indicators even on Hard difficulty.
Not liking the game all that much so far. The beginning of Arkham Asylum was more structured and eased the player into things slowly. This one is quite a bit harder and they don't even let you go after the riddler extras in the beginning. Plus the combat isn't as satisfying because of the counter warning indicators even on Hard difficulty.
Another really stupid thing is that even though you have the Cryptoanalyzer from the beginning, you can't pull it out and use it until a few missions into the main quest, for some random reason. Your inventory tells you how to use it and everything, although it doesn't work until later.
Another really stupid thing is that even though you have the Cryptoanalyzer from the beginning, you can't pull it out and use it until a few missions into the main quest, for some random reason. Your inventory tells you how to use it and everything, although it doesn't work until later.
This REALLY aggravated me. Kept wondering what upgrade I needed to actually use the cryptoanalyzer properly, but no...I just had to progress in the story long enough for Adam Malkovitch to give authorization to unlock my suit abilities because Batman is a whiny little girl.
I'm somewhat mixed on the game so far myself. Much of the story details comes across as messy and less cohesive than AA ever felt. I'm still completely dumbfounded by the events that somehow occurred in the opening Bruce Wayne segment without explanation...yet?
The open-world stuff is alright, but hardly the evolution depicted. Mostly it's all white-noise and constant interrupts as chatter, phones, and riddler lights are just parading the spotlight. Granted I am actually having a total blast unlocking the various Riddler puzzles, but the other sidequests are really rather poor. Was really hoping for some potential detective work, but it's all just "follow the arrow/map waypoint!" world's greatest detective!
The core setpieces within the actual buildings are quite good thus far at least. But this is not at all feeling like an broad evolution of AA, rather just more.
I suck at the fighting in this game, apparently. I don't really need to be good, though, I'm getting through fine, and I don't really care about the challenge maps. But once I unlocked critical hits, the info on how to perform them will never ever go away when a fight begins. I have had large combos, I have performed successful critical hits, I can get through huge groups of enemies without being hit....but apparently not to this game's standard. It's really, really aggravating me. Too slow, too fast, constantly, with no real gauge as to WHEN to actually do this to the game's satisfaction.
FWIW, you can turn off those notifications by selecting the Critical Hits unlock in your skills list and selecting 'play tutorial tip' (or something like that). I left them on for a little while so I could get the hang of the timing, then turned them off as it's a bit too distracting to see "Too soon!" with every. single. punch.
Getting the timing right for criticals can be rough, I just find I have to take a deep breath, stop button-mashing, and really focus on executing my attacks in sequence - often thinking one or two moves ahead to 'plan' how I will move, who I'm targeting, etc. When I'm in the zone and it works, it's great. But yeah, it may help to turn off those messages and just treat the crits as a lucky bonus when they happen without getting frustrated when they don't.
Getting the timing right for criticals can be rough, I just find I have to take a deep breath, stop button-mashing, and really focus on executing my attacks in sequence - often thinking one or two moves ahead to 'plan' how I will move, who I'm targeting, etc.
This is exactly the correct way to play Arkham Asylum/City's combat system. Often I use specific takedowns, ground attacks and other special moves solely to give Batman something to do while downed enemies stand back up and allow me to continue my combo flow. A well-placed cape swish can buy you some combo meter time, as well.
It also seems to be more lenient in how quickly you can lose your combo than in the last game. I have noticed I am able to dodge roll(A,A) even without touching an enemy just to gain spacing and the combo won't break. In AA, -any- action that did not directly interact with an enemy broke combo.
Also feels like the combo count idles a bit longer than in the last game. You really are given a bit more breathing room to plan your next sequence than compared to AA(where you really had almost no time to think before the combo broke).
Since the game doesn't seem to tell you how to do this - anyone tell me how to take out Demon Seals? I'm assuming they're the little stone head things that are like, well, mini gargoyles.
Since the game doesn't seem to tell you how to do this - anyone tell me how to take out Demon Seals? I'm assuming they're the little stone head things that are like, well, mini gargoyles.
Never mind - found a different one where the ring underneath was a bit more obvious (the first one's ring was obscured if you were too close).
Am I the only idiot who didn't realize there was an alt-fire for the Remote Electrical Charge, despite the alt-button mapping being listed on screen every time I equipped it? I kept zapping the metal shutter door engine, and it would quiver but not raise.
I was stuck in the flippin' smelting warehouse for ages until Google revealed the alt-fire. /headslap
It also seems to be more lenient in how quickly you can lose your combo than in the last game. I have noticed I am able to dodge roll(A,A) even without touching an enemy just to gain spacing and the combo won't break. In AA, -any- action that did not directly interact with an enemy broke combo.
Also feels like the combo count idles a bit longer than in the last game. You really are given a bit more breathing room to plan your next sequence than compared to AA(where you really had almost no time to think before the combo broke).
Are you sure it's longer? I thought in AA you were able to do one dodge roll and still get another hit in. I believe it was a one second window. I might be remembering it wrong though. I know you could keep the combo going indefinitely with the jump-over-enemy dodge, but my memory's fuzzy about the standard roll.
So I finished the main story and I'm cleaning up the side missions. I have two that seem to have dead ended though, the sniper, and the identity thief. Any idea on how to get them going again?
So I finished the main story and I'm cleaning up the side missions. I have two that seem to have dead ended though, the sniper, and the identity thief. Any idea on how to get them going again?
Didn't have a problem with those. The sniper I think I always got notified when the next shot was taken, and I *think* I finished that during the main mission (though that shouldn't matter). The identity thief - just have to find the bodies, which are really tucked away (you never get a notification on them or where they are - you just need to stumble upon them).
Am I the only idiot who didn't realize there was an alt-fire for the Remote Electrical Charge, despite the alt-button mapping being listed on screen every time I equipped it? I kept zapping the metal shutter door engine, and it would quiver but not raise.
I was stuck in the flippin' smelting warehouse for ages until Google revealed the alt-fire. /headslap
Nope, you're not alone on that. I saw the tooltips but it took me a bit to realize that one button raised the door and the other lowered it. Unfortunately on the shutter doors, it's pointless - you don't need to close them, at least early in the game, so having that be the first exposure to the electric charge functionality is unnecessarily confusing. The generators you encounter later actually make use of the pos / neg charges in some Riddler puzzles and the like, so it's easier to see the point of having two different firing modes.
BTW, speaking of side-quests, I'm stuck on a Riddler hostage mission. I have the waypoint showing on my map (immediately north of the red Restricted Area, across from the courthouse) but there's nothing there but a Riddler trophy. I don't see anything else to interact with and the quest is stuck at that point, so I'm a bit lost. HALP
Ok, are some of the pop up combat hints bugged? I can't seem to disable the one for knife dodge, every fight that stupid overlay pops up telling me to hit y and hold back to dodge.
Didn't have a problem with those. The sniper I think I always got notified when the next shot was taken, and I *think* I finished that during the main mission (though that shouldn't matter). The identity thief - just have to find the bodies, which are really tucked away (you never get a notification on them or where they are - you just need to stumble upon them).
I'm starting to think my sniper mission is bugged. I know I heard the second shot go off but the body isn't where it's supposed to be. I managed to finish of Identity Thief just fine though.
I'm starting to think my sniper mission is bugged. I know I heard the second shot go off but the body isn't where it's supposed to be. I managed to finish of Identity Thief just fine though.
The second body was hard to find, as I recall. I don't remember where it was, but it was on the far eastern side of the circle if not a little beyond is how I remember it.
Nope, you're not alone on that. I saw the tooltips but it took me a bit to realize that one button raised the door and the other lowered it. Unfortunately on the shutter doors, it's pointless - you don't need to close them, at least early in the game, so having that be the first exposure to the electric charge functionality is unnecessarily confusing. The generators you encounter later actually make use of the pos / neg charges in some Riddler puzzles and the like, so it's easier to see the point of having two different firing modes.
BTW, speaking of side-quests, I'm stuck on a Riddler hostage mission. I have the waypoint showing on my map (immediately north of the red Restricted Area, across from the courthouse) but there's nothing there but a Riddler trophy. I don't see anything else to interact with and the quest is stuck at that point, so I'm a bit lost. HALP
Do you see a big green question mark on a wall nearby? Go investigate it (ie, stand close, wait for prompt).
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Originally Posted by Tim James
