# Batman : Arkham City



## ruffneck23 (Aug 5, 2010)

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-08-05-batman-arkham-city-revealed-dated




but nov 2011


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## g force (Aug 5, 2010)

Loved, loved, loved the first game.....but wow that's a long wait. However a more expansive sandbox based around Gotham could be immense


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## The Groke (Aug 5, 2010)

I have just started playing Arkham Asylum for the 3rd time. It rocks and I have high hopes for the sequel.


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## Kid_Eternity (Aug 5, 2010)

Cheers for the heads up, will see you guys back here in about a year and a half...


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## QueenOfGoths (Aug 5, 2010)

I am currently posting while watching Mr. QofG's play "Arkham Asylum"  Picked it up from a church fete for £1.50


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## The Groke (Aug 6, 2010)

QueenOfGoths said:


> I am currently posting while watching Mr. QofG's play "Arkham Asylum"  Picked it up from a church fete for £1.50



Bargain!


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## QueenOfGoths (Aug 6, 2010)

The Groke said:


> Bargain!


 
I know we got that and "Sega Rally" for another £1.50. We left "Star Wars Lego" and some other 'newish' game that we weren't fussed about and then wished we'd bought them and taken them to Game for exchange!

Then felt guilty for being greedy while on church grounds


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## Santino (Aug 6, 2010)

Is it worth playing the original on a PC/laptop? It looks more like a console game to me.


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## The Groke (Aug 7, 2010)

Santino said:


> Is it worth playing the original on a PC/laptop? It looks more like a console game to me.


 
I played it first time on console and the others on PC. I prefer the PC for looks etc.

Granted, I have an Xbox controller hooked up to my PC which I really like (worth the investment IMO - a lot of games are designed to work flawlessly with it on PC) but I understand it is very playable with mouse/keyboard.

You do need a _reasonably_ beefy rig to get the most out of it though.


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## treelover (Aug 9, 2010)

1.50, thats great!, I didn't think people donated video games to Jumble Sales, just sold them on ebay, etc, etc though why not, have to go along to a few.


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## treelover (Aug 9, 2010)

my copy lags, is it because I only have a 8800gt to use for phys X, not an extra dedicated graphics card


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## Chz (Aug 9, 2010)

I've only got a 9800GTX+, which is the same card clocked stupidly higher and still 2 generations old. It ran just fine, but I am only at 1680x1050. I don't think it's really a graphical pig. Might drain the CPU some, but I did only have a 2.6GHz X2 (well Opteron, but same thing) at the time and it was fine too.

The control scheme is a *bastard* on the PC though. I'm not sure I ever set it up entirely to my liking.


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## The Groke (Aug 9, 2010)

treelover said:


> my copy lags, is it because I only have a 8800gt to use for phys X, not an extra dedicated graphics card



Yeah - the PhysX is a real hog unless you have a dedicated card

I am running a GTX285 with a decent OC and it still slows noticeably with the PhysX on high and even takes the odd dip on medium.

TBH - it is nice, but a heavy luxury. Turn it off altogether and whack everything else right up. Will still look keen and should smooth out a treat.



Chz said:


> The control scheme is a *bastard* on the PC though. I'm not sure I ever set it up entirely to my liking.





The Groke said:


> Xbox controller hooked up to my PC .



Done!


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## treelover (Aug 9, 2010)

What graphical effects does PhysX add to BAA?


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## The Groke (Aug 10, 2010)

treelover said:


> What graphical effects does PhysX add to BAA?


 
I have only tried it on "medium" and "high"

On medium, you notice effects such as stacks of papers moving and tumbling realisticly as you walk through them along with smoke, dust and cobweb FX.

On high, it adds additional objects such as banners, cloth etc moving and rippling in the breeze; more debris and "stuff" and you see mist and smoke start to swirl around the characters in a pretty realistic way when they move through it.

You can see the differences fairly clearly in the built-in benchmarking test - run it at each setting and you should see the difference in the scenes.

When all is said and done though, it is all fluff and the game still looks great on high settings with the PhysX off.


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## The Groke (Aug 12, 2010)

treelover said:


> What graphical effects does PhysX add to BAA?


 
FWIW, I benchmarked the game last night with my preferred settings; I am running @ 1680x1050 with all options "on" or as high as they will go with the exception of AA set to 4x and the PhysX set to "Medium"

I got an average FR of 57 with a low of 35 and high of 60. Bear in mind VSync is on, so it was capped at 60 anyway!

PC specs:
Q9650 Quad core CPU OC'd to 3.9Ghz
8Gb RAM
NVIDIA GTX 285 with factory OC.

Looks lovely with these settings and runs really nicely.


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## ruffneck23 (Jul 22, 2011)

Spoilers on the links:

Fuck me this is looking fantastic, but ive heard more reveals today thats making me get really excited ( im like a kid again  )


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## grit (Jul 23, 2011)

The Groke said:


> Granted, I have an Xbox controller hooked up to my PC which I really like


 
Blasphemy! You are a member of the superior pc gaming race and you lower yourself to a xbox controller 

For shame....


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 11, 2011)

ok first review out 97% in gamesmaster


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## tommers (Oct 11, 2011)

That is um... pretty good.


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## 100% masahiko (Oct 11, 2011)

I can't wait!!!
First one is my fav xbox game...


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 11, 2011)

10 days......


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## treelover (Oct 11, 2011)

very interested, but haven't been able to finish the last boss battle and then finally the joker, no cheats available, either...


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 12, 2011)

and the praise keeps on coming...

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=135363


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## Ranbay (Oct 12, 2011)

got the Tesco pre order, has some Joker add on exclusive or something...


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## Ranbay (Oct 12, 2011)

got the Tesco pre order, has some Joker add on exclusive or something...


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## Ranbay (Oct 13, 2011)

if you know how this is out now.... if you get me....

going to wait for my real copy mind


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## grit (Oct 13, 2011)

B0B2oo9 said:


> if you know how this is out now.... if you get me....
> 
> going to wait for my real copy mind



O RLY? 

Edit: shit its only the crappy xbox 360 version


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## Ranbay (Oct 13, 2011)

Sozz...


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 14, 2011)

was thinking of modding my xbox just for the sole purpose of not waiting a week


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 21, 2011)

I haz it xbitch version from sainsburys 34.99 ( ps3 for same price )

Just got to get train home now , should be playing at approx 9.10am woohoo


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 21, 2011)

ok so first impressions , LOVE IT , LOVE IT , LOVE IT, looks lush, very immersive , voice acting excellent, its everything i hoped it could be, .admittedly some of the combat , mostly using gadgets in fights takes a bit of getting used to but I just fucked about the city before going going into the full story  to get used to it. If you enjoyed Arkham Asylum then I think youre going to like it.

anyway im going back in


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## 100% masahiko (Oct 21, 2011)

Is it still £34.99 at Sainsburys?


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 21, 2011)

Was at 8am this morning


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## 100% masahiko (Oct 21, 2011)

Fuckin' A!
That's cheaper than Amazon. 
And no waiting!!!!!


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 21, 2011)

Yeah i was wondering if they had priced it wrong but didnt hang around to find out


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## 100% masahiko (Oct 21, 2011)

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a346786/batman-arkham-city-price-slashed-to-99p.html

Tempting offer from Game.
I bought Fifa 12 the other week. Bored of it already...


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## DexterTCN (Oct 21, 2011)

I have to get this.

some reviews here, http://www.google.com/search?q=arkham+city+review&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t

the financial times, wsj and edge reviews are interesting - certainly happy with the game


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## Ranbay (Oct 22, 2011)

Tesco sent me the PS3 version !!! had it yesterday !!! dicks...

anyway sent it back and got the Steel book one in tesco store for £30 after spending over £40 on food/wine/beer


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## 100% masahiko (Oct 22, 2011)

Sold out in Sainsbury Streatham.
Bought the last copy in Saninsbury Balham...


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 22, 2011)

anyone else got a verdict yet ? I cant be the only one drooling surely ?


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## DexterTCN (Oct 22, 2011)

Played it for 2 hours, too big to get my head around yet but it looks wonderful, combat is fine...can't remember the finishing move from Asylum though.


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## Ranbay (Oct 22, 2011)

WOW !!!


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## 100% masahiko (Oct 23, 2011)

Fuckin' ace game. Can't really talk too much as I don't want to give anything away (and I'm only 2% in).
And not bothered with RM training (ways of upgrading to new weapons) - is it worth skipping these?

This is so much better than the films.


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 23, 2011)

do the first 4 AR training to help with gliding, that is all


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## blairsh (Oct 23, 2011)

Just had a couple hours on it after a fairly hectic weekend doing other things. Can't wait til i'm not half asleep so i can spend a good several hours immersing myself in it


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 23, 2011)

ok finished the main story ( pretty rare for me these days ) yet have only done 46% of the game, admittedly ive played it pretty solidly since Friday, Ive still got to finish a whole heap of side missions which are pretty much stories within themselves. Luckily you can carry on playing after the main plot has finishshed.

and there is also the story plus mode to try ( you keep all your gadgets upgrades, but with harder ememys )

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, but the ending was a bit wtf?
Well worth the money and i still think im going to be in it for a lot longer to finish everything off


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## DexterTCN (Oct 25, 2011)

Solomon Grundy, doing my head in.


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 26, 2011)

really? make him swing into the electric iirc...


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## 100% masahiko (Oct 26, 2011)

i quite fancy catwoman.


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 26, 2011)

i would !!


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## Chester Copperpot (Oct 26, 2011)

Loving it so far.


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## DexterTCN (Oct 26, 2011)

440 Riddler trophies, apparently.   I'm saving them for my 2nd run.


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## Supine (Nov 12, 2011)

Really enjoying this game. Bit stuck in a battle with penguin and a whole shitstorm of enemies plus roller coasters. Im taking a calm down and stop getting annoyed break


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## blairsh (Nov 12, 2011)

Supine said:


> Really enjoying this game. Bit stuck in a battle with penguin and a whole shitstorm of enemies plus roller coasters. Im taking a calm down and stop getting annoyed break


I think that was one of the hardest bosses in the game, all the later ones seem much easier imo. "Calm down and stop getting annoyed breaks" are a good idea aswell


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## grit (Nov 12, 2011)

Sigh, another two weeks to wait for the PC release


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## Supine (Nov 14, 2011)

Still stuck. Can't remember how to do super stun and no option to find out. I'm in danger of giving up and playing something else 

Shame, I was enjoying it.


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## ruffneck23 (Nov 14, 2011)

B B X iirc , im sure the moves are a recorded somewhere...


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## Supine (Nov 16, 2011)

Woot Woot. Finally beaten the level after going back to basics and learning how to fight properly!

I'm over the moon!!!


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## Chester Copperpot (Nov 17, 2011)

Finished it now. Bit gutted you need to buy catwoman to complete the game 100% though. You get a free code when you buy it but my 22 month old has vanished it somewhere.


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## grit (Nov 26, 2011)

Started playing this today, about 3 hours in, single player game of the year


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## g force (Nov 28, 2011)

It gets better the longer you play too...esp when there's more guys with guns and you have to be really smart about how you take them out.


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## Sunray (Nov 28, 2011)

What a great game, its very Batman.

Yahtzee slagged Catwoman whip thing off but I actually prefer her building climbing technique, its more parkour.


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## grit (Nov 28, 2011)

Still battling with freeze at the moment, keep fucking it up 

fucking amazing game though.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Nov 29, 2011)

still not got round to it  due to skyrim and SRIII


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## Sunray (Nov 30, 2011)

This is one of the best games I've played in ages, such attention to detail.  All the characters are proper Batman characters straight from the comics.


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## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 5, 2011)

after a luke warm reaction initially, i'm getting into this game more and more now. i only ever played a demo version of the previous one and struggled with the fighting bits quite a lot but am now getting crucial strikes and leveling up at a fair old pace.


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## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 6, 2011)

stuck in the museum. been told to use a remote control batarang to hit a switch that i can't reach because of a gate, but the fucker just bounces back off the gate.

any ideas anyone?


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## blairsh (Dec 6, 2011)

you have to hit the switch _bang on_.


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## Supine (Dec 6, 2011)

Direct it around the gate. Then hit the switch bang on. The controls are quite sensitive for guiding it.


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## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 6, 2011)

cheers, will give it a go in a bit


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## blairsh (Dec 6, 2011)

Just re-read that post Paulie. Which bit in the museum you on? There are two bits where you need the remote batarang. One is before you firght a load of penguins henchmen, and one is after. The one before you go over the gate, the one after you throw the place penguin emerges and then left down the stairwell to the switch. HTH


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## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 6, 2011)

i've beaten 3 thugs, one who was armoured, talked to a copper, and am supposed to rescue his colleagues now. so walked down a passage, collected a riddler trophy from a room on the left and there's a big fuck-off gate on the right, which it said i need to use the remote control batarang to open. i can see the box and in detective view, it centres in on it.


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## blairsh (Dec 6, 2011)

you need to throw it over the top of the gate and then down towards the switch. Once you've thrown it you can slow it down in order to direct your aim (LT ont xbox i think)


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## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 6, 2011)

ok, when she's off the goggle box, i'll give it a go.


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## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 6, 2011)

ok, so done the gate, now stuck in this fucking room after beating the ogre and villians trying to aim a fucking remote controlled fucking batarang at this fucking switch behind a fence and it's driving me fucking crazy. i'm back to doubting this game again.....


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## blairsh (Dec 6, 2011)

its not that bad. what you playing the game on Paulie?


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## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 6, 2011)

ps3. 20 bleeding minutes that took.


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## blairsh (Dec 6, 2011)

you done it though?! 
 prepare the sonic batarang after defeating penguins thugs


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## Sunray (Dec 9, 2011)

Not obvious tip: to explode a specific gel of the three you can put down, zoom in at it. Z on a PC, Click a stick on a controller I think.


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## Sunray (Dec 9, 2011)

I'm on the mission to get all the riddler trophies. It was more satisfying doing that than the main mission in the last one.


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## Sunray (Dec 11, 2011)

The last hostage is taking this game into the Long game, I've done 240 trophies, but you need 400 for the last hostage, so 160 more to go.  Its taken me fucking ages to find and complete 240 challenges.  Another 160 is probably going to take me  weeks.


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## treelover (Dec 16, 2011)

really tempted to get this on PC, but are the boss battles mega hard, poor co-ordination means i never finished the first one...


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## grit (Dec 16, 2011)

treelover said:


> really tempted to get this on PC, but are the boss battles mega hard, poor co-ordination means i never finished the first one...



No its very reasonably paced.


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## Chz (Dec 16, 2011)

If anything, the boss battles have been a bit easier. The first one is kind of hard, but it gets easier from there.


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## treelover (Dec 17, 2011)

will i be able to run it on full spec?

2.5 core duo

nvidia 460

4gb ddr2


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## Chz (Dec 18, 2011)

The DX11 mode still doesn't work properly, but the game looks _really_ good in DX9. I run all DX9 options on with a 460 (1680x1050) with no issues. That's on an i5-750, but I reckon the graphics card is more important.


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## Garek (Dec 18, 2011)

The Groke said:


> Yeah - the PhysX is a real hog unless you have a dedicated card



Really? Even for a modern gfx card?


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## Sunray (Dec 18, 2011)

Dx11 has been fixed for me the other day.  Looks very nice.

If you run physx it's best to have a second card to do it. I've my old 8800GT as my physx engine.


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## treelover (Dec 21, 2011)

just bought it on pc, but really not happy about DRM, GFWL, is there a ahem workaround?


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## grit (Dec 22, 2011)

treelover said:


> just bought it on pc, but really not happy about DRM, GFWL, is there a ahem workaround?


 Eh, does not compute 

If you actually bought it, you dont have to login to GFWL, if you eh are evaluating it, a crack should have come with it.


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## Chz (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah, you're allowed to play with a local profile instead of logging in. You just can't upload your times for the challenges. I don't believe the warez version has or needs a crack.


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## treelover (Dec 22, 2011)

bought it, nothing but problems, freezing now on intro scene...


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## grit (Dec 22, 2011)

treelover said:


> bought it, nothing but problems, freezing now on intro scene...



Do the usual, graphics card drivers, windows update etc.

Also disable direct x 11 if your card is on the old side.


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## treelover (Dec 22, 2011)

done all that..


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## grit (Dec 22, 2011)

treelover said:


> done all that..



You getting an error message? Its hard for people to help you without any information!


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## tommers (Dec 26, 2011)

I got this for xmas and played a bit last night.  Bit underwhelmed tbh. It's the usual 'quest marker, follow screen prompts for which buttons to press, side quests a la gta' modern game.  I see I can turn hints off, does that make much difference?  Or will that leave me floundering in a world of not knowing how to throw my batarang?

I've only played a few hours though so I might change my mind.  It just felt like a procession with some minimal input from me.   Combat seems to be mashing x and then pressing y when you see the symbol.


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## Sunray (Dec 26, 2011)

tommers said:


> I got this for xmas and played a bit last night.  Bit underwhelmed tbh. It's the usual 'quest marker, follow screen prompts for which buttons to press, side quests a la gta' modern game.  I see I can turn hints off, does that make much difference?  Or will that leave me floundering in a world of not knowing how to throw my batarang?
> 
> I've only played a few hours though so I might change my mind.  It just felt like a procession with some minimal input from me.   Combat seems to be mashing x and then pressing y when you see the symbol.



Combat is about timing as its best to get the multiplier up to high levels.  If button mash you'll get killed when the baddies get harder.


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## tommers (Dec 26, 2011)

Oh ok. That's good. I got a critical perk thing but I can't get it to work. Less mashing then!


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## Lo Siento. (Dec 26, 2011)

tommers said:


> Oh ok. That's good. I got a critical perk thing but I can't get it to work. Less mashing then!


yeah, basically, the baddies end up requiring a variety of techniques to kill them  - some of the you can't hit unless you're behind them, others need to be stunned and then beat down, others require a special jumpy move, some you have to dodge instead of block - stringing it all together without losing your sequence of moves is the tricky bit.


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## Paulie Tandoori (Dec 26, 2011)

combat is something that you do get better at over time. and when you're having it, your freeflow focus can be awesome.

however, equally, when your timing is slightly off, you will get beaten repeatedly and easily. it's a proper mixture of pure enjoyment and total frustration


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## Sunray (Jan 1, 2012)

I have finally got the Riddler.  It takes 400 of the 440 trophies to get his location and has taken me fucking ages.


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## Chester Copperpot (Jan 5, 2012)

Did you collect any of the Cat Woman trophies?


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## Sunray (Jan 6, 2012)

Chester Copperpot said:


> Did you collect any of the Cat Woman trophies?



I did the odd one or two, but its a DLC I got for pre-ordering and if you look closely getting a row does not include those trophies and do not count towards the Riddler.


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## DexterTCN (Feb 9, 2012)

I never got The Mad Hatter first time I did this game.


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## Sunray (Feb 10, 2012)

I occidentally discovered him as I noticed his hide out.

Quite odd that part of the game.  As was the identity thief.


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## treelover (Feb 17, 2012)

been playing it a while now, really good, though the crim bashing gets a bit repetitive, wish they didn't use the Unreal 3 engine though, poor textures, etc...


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## Chz (Feb 19, 2012)

It uses the same sort of deferred rendering scheme as UE3 (textures a bit blurry until they load in properly). The textures are excellent on the PC version, which are you playing?


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## treelover (Feb 19, 2012)

PC, but textures with UE3 are indeed poor, have you played, say, Medal of Honor Airborne?


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## DexterTCN (Feb 22, 2012)

treelover said:


> been playing it a while now, really good, though the crim bashing gets a bit repetitive, wish they didn't use the Unreal 3 engine though, poor textures, etc...


Are you doing it right?   The crim bashing is awesome.


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## Sunray (Feb 23, 2012)

Yeah, an entire section of the game is devoted to kicking arse.


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## Kid_Eternity (May 5, 2012)

Enjoying this so far, not a huge fan of 3rd person games but this handles the camera issue better than most..!


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## DexterTCN (Jun 5, 2012)

This is interesting, a possible new Nintendo version.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jun/05/wii-u-e3-2012-first-hands-on

It's after the controller and first game bit, a few pages down.


> We didn't get to play the next game – instead we were shown a demo video – but it was quite a surprising one to find in a Wii U games demo: a specific to the console, much-tweaked version of Warner Bros and Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham City (possibly the finest thing ever to come out of Kentish Town).
> The video promised a large amount of Wii U-specific content, and controls which placed some of the more peripheral, and fiddlier, aspects of Arkham City on the Wii U Gamepad's touch-screen. Thus, you could touch icons of Batman's gadgets to equip them and, for example...


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## bmd (Jun 6, 2012)

DexterTCN said:


> This is interesting, a possible new Nintendo version.
> 
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jun/05/wii-u-e3-2012-first-hands-on
> 
> It's after the controller and first game bit, a few pages down.


 

Here's the E3 thing. It's basically the 360/PS3/PC version's menu but on the Wii U controller's screen. Not exactly groundbreaking imo


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## Streatham_Mao (Jun 15, 2012)

treelover said:


> bought it, nothing but problems, freezing now on intro scene...



I had trouble with serious slowdown - pressing alt+enter to window then again back to fullscreen f ixes it for me


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## treelover (Jan 16, 2014)

Now that you don't need the dreadful GFWL profile, anyone have a save from before the second Joker battle, on normal,


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## Fez909 (Oct 4, 2014)

So, I know I'm well behind everyone here, but I've just plated Asylum and it was really great. First game I've completed since Portal, I think.

Is City worth getting? It seems fairly well liked, though not as much as Asylum. How big is it? How long to complete?

It sounds like Origins isn't worth bothering with from what I've read?


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## blairsh (Oct 4, 2014)

Its worth getting as i assume its pretty cheap now. Also, if like me you like the combat/stealth modes, they are a little more fun with more gadgets (plus in combat very attainable 100+hit combos  ) mmmm satisfying!


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## Fez909 (Oct 4, 2014)

blairsh said:


> Its worth getting as i assume its pretty cheap now. Also, if like me you like the combat/stealth modes, they are a little more fun with more gadgets and think (plus in combat very attainable 100+hit combos  ) mmmm satisfying!


Going for the combos was one of the best things! Sadly I only got about 12 in normal mode, but when jumping on a titan beast I took that to about 25 I think.


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## blairsh (Oct 4, 2014)

Combat was my favourite, i rinsed it for all it was worth


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## treelover (Oct 5, 2014)

its great, get it, it automatically updates to GOTY edition now as well, if you have a good computer, combat/movement, etc is really fluid.


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## Fez909 (Oct 6, 2014)

I'll be getting it for ps3, not pc, but thanks for info. I think I'll grab it.


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## Jon-of-arc (Oct 8, 2014)

its on sale on xbox at the mo - 75% off (not limited to gold, which I got rid of the second they allowed netflix with no gold membership), probably with all the catwoman dlc included, which you probably wouldn't get on a 2nd hand copy.

E2A, definitely worth getting, btw.


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