http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiHr7qLxOvU&ob=av2e
I think that pretty much summarizes Yahtzee's thoughts.
Speaking for myself I kind of liked the Arkham City approach to things, because to be honest that is actually more the essence of Batman, than any of the deep, personal stuff that sold Arkham Asylum. Comic stories similar to the events of the first video game stand out because they are unusual. A lot of Batman's time is actually spent lurking around the city, looking for problems to stop. It's important to also note that Batman already knows his rogues gallery inside and out, so a lot of "getting to know you" stuff isn't really nessicary except for the sake of the occasional new reader. Really "Arkham Asylum" was a good way to start off a video game series because it helped fill in the details so they won't have to be expanded on to the same extent in future games.
Really, Arkham City reminded me a lot of the whole "No Man's Land" scenario from the comics, where Batman had to run around and take down various gangs run by members of his rogues gallery throughout the city to try and restore order... without any of the gradual build up that explained No Man's Land and how the city wound up like that for a time. Really the whole situation in Arkham City is preposterous even for Batman, since I couldn't see a part of the city being cordoned off like that for those purposes, or Bruce Wayne and other critics being rounded up and tossed into it that way. Maybe in China, but not in the US, even the US of the DC comics universe.
Of course then again No Man's Land also had a sort of "twist" ending where the final big bad was Lex Luthor (a superman Villain) who had been setting everything up, which is part of what made it work, espcially seeing as Lex was aiming for the White House at that point (if I remember), and was popular enough to get himself elected president. The overall DC universe had done enough gradual lead in to Lex having enough pull to get a city declared a national disaster area.
The bottom line is that I liked the way they did Arkham City just fine. Honestly if anything I'd like to see some of Batman's allies have a bigger role than just his adversaries. The interplay within the so called "Bat-Family" is one of the things that holds the concept together, especially nowadays, and charracterizes Batman as being more than just a face punching machine...
I will say that a sandbox super villain game would be kind of fun, and I hope they do make a decent one some day. I think they tried something similar with "Prototype" and "Infamous" but neither really got the vibe right. Saint's Row 2 actually made me feel like more of a super villain, even without powers, than either of the other games.
I think that pretty much summarizes Yahtzee's thoughts.
Speaking for myself I kind of liked the Arkham City approach to things, because to be honest that is actually more the essence of Batman, than any of the deep, personal stuff that sold Arkham Asylum. Comic stories similar to the events of the first video game stand out because they are unusual. A lot of Batman's time is actually spent lurking around the city, looking for problems to stop. It's important to also note that Batman already knows his rogues gallery inside and out, so a lot of "getting to know you" stuff isn't really nessicary except for the sake of the occasional new reader. Really "Arkham Asylum" was a good way to start off a video game series because it helped fill in the details so they won't have to be expanded on to the same extent in future games.
Really, Arkham City reminded me a lot of the whole "No Man's Land" scenario from the comics, where Batman had to run around and take down various gangs run by members of his rogues gallery throughout the city to try and restore order... without any of the gradual build up that explained No Man's Land and how the city wound up like that for a time. Really the whole situation in Arkham City is preposterous even for Batman, since I couldn't see a part of the city being cordoned off like that for those purposes, or Bruce Wayne and other critics being rounded up and tossed into it that way. Maybe in China, but not in the US, even the US of the DC comics universe.
Of course then again No Man's Land also had a sort of "twist" ending where the final big bad was Lex Luthor (a superman Villain) who had been setting everything up, which is part of what made it work, espcially seeing as Lex was aiming for the White House at that point (if I remember), and was popular enough to get himself elected president. The overall DC universe had done enough gradual lead in to Lex having enough pull to get a city declared a national disaster area.
The bottom line is that I liked the way they did Arkham City just fine. Honestly if anything I'd like to see some of Batman's allies have a bigger role than just his adversaries. The interplay within the so called "Bat-Family" is one of the things that holds the concept together, especially nowadays, and charracterizes Batman as being more than just a face punching machine...
I will say that a sandbox super villain game would be kind of fun, and I hope they do make a decent one some day. I think they tried something similar with "Prototype" and "Infamous" but neither really got the vibe right. Saint's Row 2 actually made me feel like more of a super villain, even without powers, than either of the other games.