Showing posts with label Arkham Asylum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arkham Asylum. Show all posts

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Review

For the longest of times, games based off of established franchises such as Batman or Spider-Man were dreaded for being cheap cash-ins.  Now in our post-Arkham Asylum world, certain developers such as Rocksteady and High Moon Studios have forged a new-found trust in the fans by creating quality license games.  High Moon Studios newest Transformers game, Fall of Cybertron, hopes to continue the loving trust they won from fans with War for Cybertron.  Fall of Cybertron delivers in spades.  It improves on the foundation High Moon Studios laid down with War for Cybertron in every single creating easily the best Transformers game of all-time.

Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron continues right after the events from War for Cybertron.  The civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons has torn their beloved world of Cybertron apart literally.  Cybertron can no longer produce the life-giving materials that the Transformers need to survive.  With no hope left on Cybertron, the Autobots and Decepticons build their means of escaping this dying planet.  Fall of Cybertron recounts the events leading up to this major exodus.  The story in Fall of Cybertron is absolutely incredible as it takes you through the darkest hours of the Transformers.  For fans of the franchise, High Moon Studios has peppered the dialogue with a lot of references to the expanded Transformers lore and one amazing treat only found in the final mission that had me smiling from ear to ear.  While the ending is rather abrupt in my opinion, Fall of Cybertron provides a great conclusion to this chapter of Transformers lore.

Unlike War for Cybertron, Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron’s campaign can only be played by a single player.  While levels may come off as more linear as a result to the exclusion of the three player co-op, it has offered High Moon Studios some freedom to create a more focused single-player campaign with tons of variety.  You are never stuck doing the same thing for long in Fall of Cybertron.  This variety keeps Fall of Cybertron from falling into the monotony and tedious nature of most modern shooters.  There are even some levels in the game that focus on aspects other than shooting such as stealth, platforming or brawling.  These levels along with one truly epic final level that sees you jump between the Autobots and Decepticons on the fly are easily the highlights of Fall of Cybertron’s campaign.  Fall of Cybertron’s core shooting gameplay is the main focus of the game’s multi-player modes.  Fall of Cybertron’s multi-player is very fast-paced and action-packed as you trade kills and deaths at an incredibly high rate.  After a game or two, you will get the hang of things and start getting some streaks.  Personally, I found Fall of Cybertron’s multi-player to be much more approachable than other shooters and I can easily see myself going back to it from time to time.  A key part of multi-player is creating your own Transformer from the parts you win from playing multi-player.  While I personally did not get a chance to really dive into this feature, there are some very powerful customization tools at your disposal to create a robot similar to any existing Transformer or your own unique creation. 

While Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron is an incredible game, it does have one problem that holds the game back from being on a level with say Batman: Arkham City.  The problem in question is some glitches that pop up every once and a while.  I fell through geometry, got stuck in the floor, clipped through walls while transforming and even had to reset my PS3 because the game froze.  None of these glitches were anything game-breaking, but they did detract from the experience just a bit. 

With an incredible campaign, great gameplay, great gameplay variety and an approachable set of multi-player suite, Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron is hands-down the best video game interpretation of this venerable franchise.  Fall of Cybertron gives the proper amount of respect to the Transformers franchise and its lore while forging its own mark on the Transformers legacy.  Fall of Cybertron appeals to longtime fans and provides an excellent introduction to the Transformers universe for newcomers.  Transformers:  Fall of Cybertron is one of the best games of this summer and of this year.  It is an experience not to miss.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Launch Station: Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes

Ever since the original Lego Star Wars came out in 2005, the Lego gaming franchise has had incredible success with every entry.  From Star Wars to Harry Potter to Indiana Jones to eventually Lord of the Rings, Traveller's Tales has legofied many great franchises.  The first Lego Batman was the best selling Lego game in the series so Traveller's Tales has created one of their most ambitious games in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes begins with Joker breaking out of Arkham Asylum to join forces with the nefarious Lex Luthor.  Batman and Robin must team up with Superman and the Justice League to take down Joker and Lex Luthor.  Lego Batman 2 has many similarities to other Lego games such as collecting studs to buy new characters and items or constructing objects in order to solve puzzles.  Lego Batman 2 does have some different aspects that make it stand out from other Lego games.  Lego Batman 2 is the first fully voiced Lego game in the series.  No more mime acting and grunts that all the other Lego games used to convey their story.  Also in the audio department, Lego Batman 2 uses of Danny Elfman's score for Batman and Batman Returns and John William's score for Superman along with some original music to make up the game's soundtrack.  Outside of the linear story missions, Lego Batman 2 allows you to explore Gotham City to your heart's content as any character you have unlocked while playing the game.  Lego Batman 2 includes new gadgets for Batman and Robin to use and new vehicles to drive around in.  Lego Batman 2 also features the two player dynamic split-screen co-op that was introduced in Lego Star Wars III where the more you move away from each other the more the screen splits.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes looks like another good Batman game.  While I personally enjoy Rocksteady's Arkham series to the Lego Batman games, Lego Batman 2 looks to further evolve the Lego game series to keep up with modern gamers.  Lego Batman 2 is a perfect way of introducing the younger generation to one of the most popular super heroes of all-time compared to the more mature Christopher Nolan movies and Arkham series of games.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Batman: Arkham Asylum Review

When you play a superhero game, be it Spider-Man to even Superman, you want to feel like you are the superhero.  You want to be in control of all his/her super powers, abilities or gadgets.  You want to fight all his dastardly enemies.  Ultimately you want to be the superhero; something that few superhero games have actually achieved.  Finally after a long time of being placed in some of the worst games of the last few console generations, the Dark Knight has reclaimed his glory.  With Arkham Asylum, you can finally say, “I’m Batman” with pride as it stands tall as one of the best superhero games of all-time.

Arkham Asylum starts off with the Dark Knight transporting the Joker to the iconic Gotham prison, Arkham Asylum.  After a brief cutscene, you are introduced to the inner halls of the asylum as you accompany of restrained Joker to cell.  Right before you can lock Joker away for good, Batman’s eternal nemesis with the help of his girlfriend, Harley Quinn escapes and takes over Arkham Asylum.  As the World’s Greatest Detective, Batman must explore Arkham Island, figure out what the Joker is up to and stop him from using it to take over Gotham City.

Joker is not the only super villain that the Dark Knight will fight during his adventures on Arkham Island.  Batman will fight the likes of the Scarecrow, Bane, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn and Mr. Zsacz on his way to the Joker.  Also the Riddler plays a role in Arkham Asylum as well.  You will not fight the Riddler, but the man obsessed with riddles has left a bunch of collectables for you to find during your time on Arkham Island.  Like mentioned above, Arkham Asylum makes you feel like the Batman and that comes from the gadgets you receive throughout game and the hand-to-hand and stealth combat.  Batman receives a good number of gadgets that you can use to traverse the dangers across all of Arkham Island from your trusty Batarang to a Line Launcher to cross large chasms.  The combat is very awarding.  Depending on the situation, you will have to take one of two approaches.  The first being the hand-to-hand combat against a group of thugs.  Bouncing from thug to thug combining attacks, counters and Batarangs to the face into one flowing combo is one satisfying experience.  The second approach is stealth, which you can use against groups of unsuspecting or gun-wielding enemies.  You can perform a stealth takedown from many different places such as hanging from a ledge or sitting on a gargoyle.  It is very fun picking off enemies one-by-one and seeing enemies start panicking as they might be the next to face Batman’s harsh  justice.

With all the great stuff Arkham Asylum offers, there are a few flaws.  First and foremost is the fact that the game is far too linear when Rocksteady gives you all of Arkham Island to explore.  It would have been nice to see a few side missions interspersed here and there.  That leads into my other flaw as the game just felt too short for my liking.  The story is great, but when it just got going that was the point Rocksteady decided to end it.  They could have easily kept the game going a little longer with a faceoff with the Riddler or another villain from Batman’s rich comic book lore.  Also the final boss battle against Joker was less of a boss battle more of a fight against three groups of 20 thugs.  Other little flaws include the lack of variety in the enemies; the mutant enemies get a little too tedious after the third of fourth time facing them and the over reliance of the Detective Mode, a great feature that helps you throughout Arkham Asylum, but it takes away from seeing the gorgeous art and variety in the hallows of the environment in Arkham Asylum.

Even though my big complaints about the game’s length and linearity, Rocksteady achieved something many other studios have failed at, creating a great superhero game.  Batman: Arkham Asylum does the Dark Knight and his long storied history justice.  It is a game that truly puts you in Batman’s suit and should be in any superhero, Batman or action fans library.