Comparison
In my review I started off by talking about the background of the game which the other two reviews didn't include. I then went through the story, giving a few personal opinions on the way which made it biased. The other two reviews didn't really explain the story which I think was an important thing they missed out as it gives the reader a good background as to what the game is about. They pretty much stuck with their opinions on the experience of the game, rather than looking into different aspects of the game which I tried to do. The biased review did talk about not knowing the characters enough during the game however I disagreed and said that I think the game gives a pretty good understanding of the character roles. However, I agreed with the fact that reading comics or having at least some background information would be helpful if you're really interested in knowing the character's backgrounds.
The critical review did think into others opinions which I think I could have done more in my review. Even though it was biased to my opinion I could've looked into other's opinions in comparison. They also spoke about how unique the batman experience is, likewise, in my review I mentioned that the Batman mechanics were unique. They also stated that the combat is clunky which I also disagreed with as I though it flowed quite well. I guess me saying that sometimes the combat change was slow is relative to it being "clunky" though. The critical review also mentioned about the predator/detective mode being the best thing about the game, I sort of agreed in my review as it's one of my favourite aspects to the game, being able to see in another vision. I think it was important that throughout my review I looked into each aspect in as much detail as I could, also using images to back my opinions up, which the other reviews didn't do.
Showing posts with label Assignment 2 - Game Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assignment 2 - Game Review. Show all posts
Wednesday, 4 November 2015
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Arkham Asylum is a third-person action/adventure game, which is also playable in 3D, based on DC super-hero, as you may have guessed: Batman. The game was developed by Rocksteady Studios and during 2009, available on several platforms: playstation3, xbox 360, microsoft windows and OS X. The game actually received several awards, and was particularly loved for its narrative. It even held the Guinness World Record for "Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever". The game then went on to produce further sequels, starting off with Arkham City. I'd personally say that the purpose of this game is to introduce the setting/story and the characters of the Batman Arkham series, preparing for the continues series. I think it almost acts as an introduction for the Arkham series.
The game is set in the Arkham Asylum which holds supervillians, set on the Arkham Island, off the coast of Gotham City. The game begins unsurprisingly with the Joker being captured by Batman, after he assaults Gotham City Hall. The Joker is taken to Arkham Asylum, however Batman is suspicious of the Joker as he basically let Batman catch him, therefore Batman follows him into the Asylum. As we all know, the Joker usually has a plan up his sleeve.. The Jokers secret plan is then revealed as Batman suspected, Harley Quinn has taken over security and releases the other inmates (who are also part of the Jokers gang) as the Joker escapes, aided by a corrupt guard who then kidnaps Commissioner Gordon. Batman is now forced to work alone as the Joker threatens to bomb Gotham City if any one else enters the Asylum. And this is from where the adventure begins!
Relating to its genre- you end up ripping off vent covers, crawling through vents, climbing over gas filled rooms to use your batarang to break gas vents in order to save the people trapped in these areas. You go on to saving doctors who have been trapped by the villain himself, swinging from gargoyle to gargoyle, keeping out of sight from the Jokers team, using your weapons to their advantage.
You then search to rescue Gordon and this is when Batman comes across Scarecrow and the fear toxin. The toxin makes Batman hallucinate a nightmarish scene, from seeing Gordon's death to seeing the corpses of his parents talking to him. This nightmarish scene continues on into a trippy, stormy scene where Batman fights off Scarecrow by sneaking around scarecrow and shining the spotlight into Scarecrows vision, fighting of the toxin's influence. Moving on to finding Harley Quinn, knocking her unconscious and finally rescuing Gordon.
The Joker then leads Batman to Bane who had previously been experimented on, leading into a fight between Batman and Bane (which took me embarrassingly long to complete..). You are then navigated to the secret Batcave which is hidden within the Island, where you restock your gadgets. This is when Batman learns that the Joker had returned to the Asylum to gain access to Young, who's meanwhile been developing a Titan formula. (Young's intention of the Titan was to use it to help patients survive tougher therapies).
Young then realizes that the Joker had been obtaining her research which he obviously w anted to use to his own advantage and create an army of superhuman henchman (her refusal to hand over the formula was the reason for the Jokers return to the Asylum).
Batman is again attacked by Scarecrow whilst searching for Young. His fear toxin then causes Batman to hallucinate the night of his parents death.
Batman goes on to destroy Youngs' formula and saves her from Victor, however an explosion occurs and kills Young. This unfortunately lead the Joker to gaining possession of the batch of Titan!
The next fight is with Poison Ivy, who Quinn had unleashed from her cell at the Asylum. However she ends up defeated and put back in prison. Harley Quinn then reveals about the Jokers Titan production facility over in the botanical gardens. Of course Batman heads to the gardens finding out that the Titan is created by genetically modified plants. He tries to get help from Poison Ivy to make an antidote but she says it can only be made from the spores found at Killer Croc's lair in the sewer.
So Batman then heads to the lair but is once again attacked by Scarecrow's doses of fear toxin. Meanwhile, the Joker had injected Ivy with Titan as she takes over Arkham Island with huge mutant plants. Back to Batman and Scarecrow, Scarecrow was attacked by Croc and then disappears. Batman manages to get the spores and returns to the Batcave.
You then defeat Poison Ivy, getting rid of the giant plants. The Joker then announces the "party" preparations are complete and so Batman heads to the Asylum where the Joker's henchmen welcome him! Turns out the Joker has recaptured Gordon and he attempts to shoot him with a Titan filled dart but Batman jumps in front of the dart, resisting the change, the Joker then take an overdose of Titan and turns into a huge monster!
Then final fight is of course the Joker Vs Batman, which ends with Batman defeating
him and the Joker is returned to the Asylum by police officers. The game ends with a good cliff hanger of Batman over hearing a crime incident led by Two-Face and takes flight back to Gotham City in the batwing.. Finishing with a post credit scene of the Titan formula floating in a crate in the ocean where a hand reaches and grabs it.
Arkham Asylum uses dark, dirty colours, such as dark greens, blues and black which brings forth a dark and creepy atmosphere. I like that they also use this colour theme throughout the entire Arkham series. It works as Batman is dark character himself, as well as all his surroundings through out all the comics/movies/games.
The image (from Arkham Asylum) to the left shows the colours and atmosphere explained. Using the dark greens, blues and black it sets a spooky sort of mood. The sky is also foggy and making the moon stand out specifically, representing night. Hence his known name, the Dark Knight.
Like wise, the game follows a style which is very gothic and dark. Every buildings looks old and eerie, the atmosphere consists of a constant fog, the fact it's in an asylum really compliments this theme as it's a creepy figure, itself. The image to the left represents the style of this game quite well, showing old, eerie buildings, a close moon and foggy surroundings.
The game's camera angle is in third person, just behind Batman but slightly looking over one side/shoulder (shown in the last picture to the left). The camera angle changes during fight so you can see what's going on better, it moves you back a bit so you get a clearer angle of your space. I don't think there's too many gadgets on screen, otherwise they'd get in the way or your gameplay view. One thing I could criticise is how visually dark the game is/can be. It can sometimes get annoying trying to see ahead and whilst exploring when the game is so dark you can't picture everything as clearly as I'd like to.
The graphics of the game are very good considering the year it was made. Batman's suit gets worn out throughout the game which I like as it adds some realism. I've always loved the art style of the Batman series because it's so gloomy but detailed, everything appears so miserable but I think it sets a really good mood for the game, especially as it's based on evil trying to take over good, which is a miserable concept itself. The texturing is reasonable, if you look up close to a building the texturing is slightly lazy but on most surroundings/objects the texturing is good. They use texturing to their advantage making things appear old and tattered, showing age or even blood, also adding to the gloomy atmosphere!
The animation flows well, I haven't personally noticed any glitches so if there are any, they're not incredibly noticeable. The animations are pretty much on command without delay, however sometimes during fight, I find it can be slow to process from move to move.
The image to the left is a good example of the aging texture on Batman's suit.
The 3D models are quite impressive. This being aimed at the more relative characters to the story (Batman, Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Scarecrow). The enemies models are okay but could be improved with more detail. I think they definitely captured the main characters models, especially Batman and the Joker (shown below the texturing image).
The sound effects within the game are brilliant, from eerie and mysterious background noises and echo's to the Joker's laugh hackling away in the background. The voice acting is known to be good and is good within this game. Especially the Joker's voice acting is my favourite as it definitely resembles him as best it can. The sound reacts well to surrounding actions, and sounds realistic as it should.
The gameplay mechanics are very unique to any other game. I in particularly like the combat mechanics as you are allowed a lot of control of the combat, there's a variety of moves to make such as counter, strike, cape stun, evade, throw, takedown, ground takedown and then there's the weapons such as the famous batarang, batclaw and the bat gel. One of my favourite aspects to this game and playing a detective is the detective mode. It enables you to detect things for riddles and my favourite part which is showing you were the enemies are and what they're role/what weapons they carry.
Overall I think this game was a great success, probably even the best out of the series. I know that it definitely is the most popular. I felt they really nailed the voice acting and music, the story was traditional Batman and fit in with there scene. The detail with the graphics are one of my favourite aspects of the game, definitely representing the characters as best they can. The story is short however I may be going against many peoples opinions, but I don't think having a short story makes it a bad game. As long as the story has quality I think that's the main objective. Also, if you want more than just the story, there as riddles and puzzles as the Riddler's challenges. I don't really think there's any negative points that could win the game over. Of course the game is best suitable for Batman fans, however I think it's suitable for anyone who enjoys the action/adventure genre. I don't think you really to know background information on the story or characters to be able to understand it, I think the game gives you a good idea and introduction to it all. It would help to know you're stuff by reading the comics or watching the movies if you're that interested in the characters stories and backgrounds. Definitely a worth while game.
Arkham Asylum is a third-person action/adventure game, which is also playable in 3D, based on DC super-hero, as you may have guessed: Batman. The game was developed by Rocksteady Studios and during 2009, available on several platforms: playstation3, xbox 360, microsoft windows and OS X. The game actually received several awards, and was particularly loved for its narrative. It even held the Guinness World Record for "Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever". The game then went on to produce further sequels, starting off with Arkham City. I'd personally say that the purpose of this game is to introduce the setting/story and the characters of the Batman Arkham series, preparing for the continues series. I think it almost acts as an introduction for the Arkham series.The game is set in the Arkham Asylum which holds supervillians, set on the Arkham Island, off the coast of Gotham City. The game begins unsurprisingly with the Joker being captured by Batman, after he assaults Gotham City Hall. The Joker is taken to Arkham Asylum, however Batman is suspicious of the Joker as he basically let Batman catch him, therefore Batman follows him into the Asylum. As we all know, the Joker usually has a plan up his sleeve.. The Jokers secret plan is then revealed as Batman suspected, Harley Quinn has taken over security and releases the other inmates (who are also part of the Jokers gang) as the Joker escapes, aided by a corrupt guard who then kidnaps Commissioner Gordon. Batman is now forced to work alone as the Joker threatens to bomb Gotham City if any one else enters the Asylum. And this is from where the adventure begins!
Relating to its genre- you end up ripping off vent covers, crawling through vents, climbing over gas filled rooms to use your batarang to break gas vents in order to save the people trapped in these areas. You go on to saving doctors who have been trapped by the villain himself, swinging from gargoyle to gargoyle, keeping out of sight from the Jokers team, using your weapons to their advantage.
Young then realizes that the Joker had been obtaining her research which he obviously w anted to use to his own advantage and create an army of superhuman henchman (her refusal to hand over the formula was the reason for the Jokers return to the Asylum).
Batman is again attacked by Scarecrow whilst searching for Young. His fear toxin then causes Batman to hallucinate the night of his parents death.
Batman goes on to destroy Youngs' formula and saves her from Victor, however an explosion occurs and kills Young. This unfortunately lead the Joker to gaining possession of the batch of Titan!
The next fight is with Poison Ivy, who Quinn had unleashed from her cell at the Asylum. However she ends up defeated and put back in prison. Harley Quinn then reveals about the Jokers Titan production facility over in the botanical gardens. Of course Batman heads to the gardens finding out that the Titan is created by genetically modified plants. He tries to get help from Poison Ivy to make an antidote but she says it can only be made from the spores found at Killer Croc's lair in the sewer.
You then defeat Poison Ivy, getting rid of the giant plants. The Joker then announces the "party" preparations are complete and so Batman heads to the Asylum where the Joker's henchmen welcome him! Turns out the Joker has recaptured Gordon and he attempts to shoot him with a Titan filled dart but Batman jumps in front of the dart, resisting the change, the Joker then take an overdose of Titan and turns into a huge monster!
Then final fight is of course the Joker Vs Batman, which ends with Batman defeating him and the Joker is returned to the Asylum by police officers. The game ends with a good cliff hanger of Batman over hearing a crime incident led by Two-Face and takes flight back to Gotham City in the batwing.. Finishing with a post credit scene of the Titan formula floating in a crate in the ocean where a hand reaches and grabs it.
Arkham Asylum uses dark, dirty colours, such as dark greens, blues and black which brings forth a dark and creepy atmosphere. I like that they also use this colour theme throughout the entire Arkham series. It works as Batman is dark character himself, as well as all his surroundings through out all the comics/movies/games.
Like wise, the game follows a style which is very gothic and dark. Every buildings looks old and eerie, the atmosphere consists of a constant fog, the fact it's in an asylum really compliments this theme as it's a creepy figure, itself. The image to the left represents the style of this game quite well, showing old, eerie buildings, a close moon and foggy surroundings. 
The game's camera angle is in third person, just behind Batman but slightly looking over one side/shoulder (shown in the last picture to the left). The camera angle changes during fight so you can see what's going on better, it moves you back a bit so you get a clearer angle of your space. I don't think there's too many gadgets on screen, otherwise they'd get in the way or your gameplay view. One thing I could criticise is how visually dark the game is/can be. It can sometimes get annoying trying to see ahead and whilst exploring when the game is so dark you can't picture everything as clearly as I'd like to. The graphics of the game are very good considering the year it was made. Batman's suit gets worn out throughout the game which I like as it adds some realism. I've always loved the art style of the Batman series because it's so gloomy but detailed, everything appears so miserable but I think it sets a really good mood for the game, especially as it's based on evil trying to take over good, which is a miserable concept itself. The texturing is reasonable, if you look up close to a building the texturing is slightly lazy but on most surroundings/objects the texturing is good. They use texturing to their advantage making things appear old and tattered, showing age or even blood, also adding to the gloomy atmosphere!
The animation flows well, I haven't personally noticed any glitches so if there are any, they're not incredibly noticeable. The animations are pretty much on command without delay, however sometimes during fight, I find it can be slow to process from move to move.
The 3D models are quite impressive. This being aimed at the more relative characters to the story (Batman, Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Scarecrow). The enemies models are okay but could be improved with more detail. I think they definitely captured the main characters models, especially Batman and the Joker (shown below the texturing image).
The sound effects within the game are brilliant, from eerie and mysterious background noises and echo's to the Joker's laugh hackling away in the background. The voice acting is known to be good and is good within this game. Especially the Joker's voice acting is my favourite as it definitely resembles him as best it can. The sound reacts well to surrounding actions, and sounds realistic as it should.The gameplay mechanics are very unique to any other game. I in particularly like the combat mechanics as you are allowed a lot of control of the combat, there's a variety of moves to make such as counter, strike, cape stun, evade, throw, takedown, ground takedown and then there's the weapons such as the famous batarang, batclaw and the bat gel. One of my favourite aspects to this game and playing a detective is the detective mode. It enables you to detect things for riddles and my favourite part which is showing you were the enemies are and what they're role/what weapons they carry.
Overall I think this game was a great success, probably even the best out of the series. I know that it definitely is the most popular. I felt they really nailed the voice acting and music, the story was traditional Batman and fit in with there scene. The detail with the graphics are one of my favourite aspects of the game, definitely representing the characters as best they can. The story is short however I may be going against many peoples opinions, but I don't think having a short story makes it a bad game. As long as the story has quality I think that's the main objective. Also, if you want more than just the story, there as riddles and puzzles as the Riddler's challenges. I don't really think there's any negative points that could win the game over. Of course the game is best suitable for Batman fans, however I think it's suitable for anyone who enjoys the action/adventure genre. I don't think you really to know background information on the story or characters to be able to understand it, I think the game gives you a good idea and introduction to it all. It would help to know you're stuff by reading the comics or watching the movies if you're that interested in the characters stories and backgrounds. Definitely a worth while game.
Friday, 30 October 2015
Critical Review
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/batman-arkham-asylum/user-reviews
Biased Review
"It's quite simple for me...the only disappointment I experienced while playing this game was the fact that I have never read comic books of any kind before, so considering how the characters of Batman: AA were based off the comic versions, I really didn't know much about the characters that weren't in the movies (I have, nonetheless, seen all the movies, so I do know of the ones featured in them). But at the same time, this was halfway a good thing for me, b/c I found myself excited to unlock the next of many character bio's through the Riddler puzzles. Despite my ignorance of 90% of the characters who were mentioned in the bio's, I have to say that in my opinion, this was one of the most fun games I have ever played. First, everyone must understand the intentions of this game. Those who say the puzzles are too easy or the fighting is too easy or how easily it is for Batman to evade attackers by shooting up to the gargoyles, you have to understand that if you look at who Batman is, these things SHOULD be somewhat easy. He's Batman, for crying out loud. Would Batman ever have a tough time disposing of low level thugs like the many thugs you have to fight in the game?? No, b/c he's knowledgeable in many forms of martial arts, so the fighting should be fairly easy. Would Batman ever have a tough time trying to solve puzzles and riddles like the ones left behind by the Riddler in the game?? No, b/c he is a master detective and an all around genius in every aspect of the word, so the puzzles should be fairly easy. Would Batman have any trouble in losing moronic henchmen like the ones in the game?? No, b/c he is a true master of stealth tactics, so it should be fairly easy to elude the moronic henchmen in the game. That's what needs to be understood about this game...they wanted you to feel like you are Batman. What it's like to "Eat chumps like them everyday for breakfast" (hahaha that was so cheesy it was actually funny), being able to easily get out of a tight spot by shooting into and flying through the rafters, and solving the Riddler's puzzles in a decent amount of time. For those who haven't played it yet, don't let anyone fool you...the combat and puzzle solving isn't as easy as some may say. You will find yourself running through the different possibilities of an answer to a puzzle or the best strategy to use to take down a room full of armed henchmen many times throughout playing. Oh, for those wondering why Batman is so big...this game was made in homage to the comics, not the movies, and in the comics, Batman is pretty big...with the Joker being as thin as Gumby. That's why they are portrayed that way. Yes, there are some minor variations to the characters that do appear in the game compared to their comic book counterparts, but nothing too dramatic. In closing, I will say that if you are a fan of The Bat, you will not be disappointed with this game whether you buy or rent. The same can probably be said about the casual fans, like myself, also. I don't really care if anyone thinks I'm out of my mind for saying this, but based on the fact at how extremely fun and engaging as this game was for me and how I was enjoying the game when I completed everything just as much as I was when I first started the game (which is rare for me), I can honestly say that, to ME, this is in the top 5 greatest games I have ever played. Period."
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/batman-arkham-asylum/user-reviews?page=1
The first review shows an understanding of both sides and opinions of the game, which to me makes it a critical review. It starts off with an overall opinion, then going on to show understanding of both sides of the debate. Encountering other opinions and then relating/comparing that to their opinion. They explain their dislikes within the combat of the game and the lack of skill needed for the game- claiming it's perhaps too easy as well as too short as a game length. They then move on to the positives of the game which is the voice acting, music, story and graphics, however then clashes with this by saying the core of the game is "shallow" and "generic". Throughout the review, they roughly even out the negatives and positives, giving a structured critique. They then conclude their review which numbered ratings for each criteria of the game. Overall, recommending the game specifically for "Batman fans" but basically saying the game is not particularly worth it other wise - unless you are interesting in the game for other reasons then to go ahead and try it out. This review encounters and gives an opinion on the majority, if not all of the criteria's of the game. Trying to include and understand other perceptions but overall giving out an honest opinion. They don't put the negatives out in a harsh way, yet they make it clear they are questioning the flaws of the game. I think this review has a critique perception rather than biased, because they aren't a big fan of Batman, themselves. I think if they were a fan it would make their opinion much stronger and personal- perhaps sticking up for the game a lot more rather than pointing out factual aspects of the gameplay.
The next review bases their experience and opinion on the game on their personal views of Batman. Such as stating the only disappointment with the game was that they did not previously know much about the characters involved, which isn't the games fault/deal at all. However, they then add that this could be a positive feature as it made them much more intrigued on finding more out about the characters. The review then goes on to talk about how the game is and should be easy as Batman basically knows all, there fore it would be easy for Batman so should be for his role in the game. I'd say this is a biased opinion as they are a Batman fan themselves and would typically stand up to his greatness, rather then thinking about the gameplay for whoever chooses to play, they might want a personal, realistic challenge for themselves..In other words it shouldn't depend on Batman's skill if he's not actually the one behind the controls. The skill should be likewise to his but I think that would make it pointless if there was no challenge for those personally. However they then add that the game is actually quite challenging. The review then concludes also by saying how this game is mostly suitable for batman fans aswell as casual fans. This review doesn't talk no where near as much about the actual game play as the first review did. They didn't give specific ratings for different aspects of the game unlike the other review and didn't give as many negatives, probably as they were more biased, being a bigger fan. Neither reviews really covered the purpose of the game or background information.
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