Batman: Arkham Asylum (X360)

Oh boy, I've been meaning to write about this game for ages. By which I mean, when it came out. Let's get this out of the way then, shall we?

Batman: Arkham Asylum is obviously a license game, and license games tend to have a certain kind of... reputation. Worry not, Batman is actually a good license game. Well, mostly, but we'll get to that later.

So, the story of the game is fairly basic - Joker gets locked in AA, but it was actually his plan all along and chaos ensues. The story is fairly basic, but it works well enough to maintain interest in the game and getting the player to move through the game. Along the way Batman meets some of the more iconic villains of his history - Poison Ivy, Bane, Killer Croc and so forth. Of course, since the game is about Batman, we also have all kinds of gadgets to use, including Batarangs and gliding with the cape.

Most of the gameplay consists of Batman doing sneaky things and moving in the shadows, sneaking and lurking around, constructing plans as to how to take out the many minions and henchmen of Joker. And this is where the game excels, the sneaking is masterfully done and feels just right, and when it comes to fighting hand to hand, the game really shines. The combat is fluid and building combos feels incredibly tight. This is one of the best combat systems in any beat 'em up-games ever, if I may say. The combat is spiced up by different kinds of henchmen - some have no weapons, some have pipes or electric batons and some have firearms, and firearms are something to be wary of. Luckily Batman has "detective mode", through which he can easily find the armed henchmen and find ways to disable them.

So, the combat system is great. How about boss fights? Sporting quite legendary names in the villain repertuary doesn't unfortunately mean the boss fights are good. They are easily the weakest part of the game. Only two boss fights are something I'd say to be actually good, and those would be Scarecrow and Killer Croc, and Croc isn't all that good. Bane-fight is ridiculously stupid and simple, and Poison Ivy is your run-from-the-mill boss fight where you have to hit her thrice in certain spots (don't understand it like that, perv!). But Scarecrow is one of the most memorable parts of the game.

The game has great attention to detail. Many places have hidden Riddler-trophies, and finding all of them unlocks all kinds of cool stuff. Batman's cape gets more rugged as the day progresses on the Arkham Asylum, and so. Returning to old locations is often rewarded since you now have new gadgets giving you access to places you didn't have previously. The game has a good visual style and looks very nice.

All in all, if you happen to stumble upon this game for your platform of preference (PS3, X360, PC), I'd really suggest picking it up. It's one of the biggest games of this generation, and rightly so.

Elder Scrolls MMO to be announced in May?

Oh my.

It seems Tom's Guide has some exclusive information from "industry source" that there will be an Elder Scrolls MMO, taking place a millenium before Skyrim, which sold a boatload of copies.

Also, according to the source, "Elder Scrolls Online will have three playable factions". Read the full article from here: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/ZeniMax-Bethesda-Elder-Scrolls-Online-MMO,news-14481.html

What do I think about the likelyhood of this happening? Let's consult Futurama.

Games of 2011

I think it's about good time to talk about the games of 2011 - which were the biggest names for me? Lots of good games came out, but I'll try to talk only of few. Consider these mini-reviews, I'll talk more about these later.

Frozen Synapse (PC/Mac/Linux)

Frozen Synapse is a we-go turn-based tactics game developed by Mode 7. It is fairly simplistic in view, but at its heart it contains lots of possibilities to do tactics, covering, feigning and all that. Frozen Synapse managed to re-ignite my love for small-scale tactics games. It is extremely simplistic on the outside, but its looks are clean and informative enough, and at its heart it is really, really hardcore tactics game. The multiplayer-scene is still alive, though some doomsayers have been claiming its death. And the multiplayer is where the game really shines - theres no better feeling than outsmarting another human player. The soundtrack is also very, very well composed and works well with the semi-futuristic setting.

Binding of Isaac (PC/Mac/Linux)

To say the least, when Binding of Isaac was announced I was fairly sceptical. It was touted as a roguelike, it looked like twisted Zelda born out of blood and shit and it played like a twin-stick shooter, developed by one half of Team Meat. What could possibly come out of that?

Hi there Isaac, how are you doing?

A lot, that's what. The strange-sounding mix works surprisingly well and is addicting as narcotics. The game features standard roguelike features, such as permadeath (you die, that's it, start again) and random dungeon generation. That is where common features end - the rest is twitchy twin-stick shooter meeting Zelda-like dungeons. You'll encounter lots of items during your playthroughs, and on your playthroughs you'll unlock many items which feeds the addiction. It's a game well worth playing.

Deal with the Devil, and gain these nice horns!

Dungeons of Dredmor (PC/Mac/Linux)

Another commercial roguelike, this time with more to-the-roots-attitude, developed by Gaslamp Games. Turn-based, slightly humorous (depending on your taste on humour, I didn't find any good jokes) dungeon crawler. The customization options for your character builds are many - you get to choose 7 skill trees out of around 30, and these define your character very strongly. During playing you can take side-quests, try to enchant your weapons and all that. It's fairly well done, though it has some glaring flaws.

One rarely gets congratulated for dying.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (PSP)

Another tactics game. Unlike Frozen Synapse, Tactics Ogre lives and breathes JRPG inheritage. It has lots of stats, interesting character development system, challenging battles and best of all, actually interesting story with choices and consequences. It feels from time to time more like a puzzle-game than tactics-game, but that's okay, since it feels just so damn right.

The Witcher 2 (PC)

Probably the game I expected the most from 2011. It's a big-budget, beautiful, epic and mature fantasy RPG with grey-and-grey morality. It's themes are larger than its predecessor (even if Witcher 1 was larger game in a way), and its combat system almost as divisive as The Witcher 1's. The story branches greatly, and depending on your choices in Chapter 1, you end up in one of the two different places in Chapter 2. Absolutely gorgeous, even if I prefer the first one. Enhanced Edition update coming for free soon.

Dark Souls (X360/PS3)

Game of the Year for me, and easily. It's an action-RPG to the core, and feels very arcade-y. You will die, time and time again. And you learn from each death. It's brutal, merciless and fair. It's dark, and subtle. It doesn't spell the storyline or the world straight away for the player - it's all hidden in the subtexts, little words and sceneries. It has innovative multiplayer-system. It doesn't tell you much, so you must experiment a lot. And doing so, you can die. Dark Souls is a fresh breeze from the past, when games were hard and fair, and completing them wasn't something that would just happen. Prepare to die.

Katawa Shoujo finally released!

So, who would have believed it would actually come out? Who actually knew of the game? I definetly didn't until a few weeks ago.

What is Katawa Shoujo? It's a visual novel, or dating sim, or a bit both. I'm not sure, since I haven't played it yet. So, the basic premise seems to be "take some girls to dates" and so, with a little bit of a twist - each of the girls (as well as protagonist himself) have some disability - some girl has no arms, some has no legs, one is deaf, and the protagonist has suffered a heart attack at a very young age.

Since I can't offer any opinions on the game yet, I'll just direct you to two very different opinions:
John Walker's critical impressions on RockPaperShotgun
A more positive review by Inushinde

You can download the game for free from the Katawa Shoujo homepage.

Humble Indie Bundle #4 Is Live!

As it happens, it's the time of sharing, and The Humble Indie Bundle strikes with number 4 and immensely great lineup of games.

For the low low price of 5.00$ (by the time of writing) you get access to these games: Gratuitous Space Battles, Cave Story+, Jamestown, Bit.Trip Runner, Super Meat Boy, Shank and Nightsky HD, completely DRM-free and on Mac, Windows and Linux! You also get Steam-keys for these games, and if higher powers have mercy, also on Desura. If you pay less than the average, you won't get access to GSB and Cave Story+.

What are you waiting for? GO!

No more S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s, I'm afraid

If what RockPaperShotgun and the links and tweets mentioned there are true, it would seem that GSC has closed down, and the production for STALKER2 has been cancelled. It's a sad day.

Solium Infernum: Rectification announced! (PC/Mac)

So, there'll be a new free expansion pack for Solium Infernum. Includes lots of stuff, like proper expansion packs should, like new legions, praetors, maptype, and so on. Read more from the Cryptic Comet-blog. http://www.crypticcomet.com/blog/?p=626