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Batman (MD): COMPLETED!

Posted on 19/03/2016 Written by deKay

This used to be one of my favourite Mega Drive games, not least because of the tiny Sunsoft box it came in, but over the years time has not been so kind and it isn’t as good as I remember it being.

Batman
You’re going down, I’m yellin’ timber.
Batman
That’s how it starts, but later there’s running and screaming.

Part of the problem I’ll say upfront: I totally forgot, until the final level where I did it by accident, that it was possible to double-jump. This afforded Batman a bit more height, a bit more distance, and the ability to damage baddies on contact as he somersaults into them. The other problems were things that have worn me down in more recent years, like bosses that require you to repeat the same action, in exactly the same way, over and over again and leaps of faith. Or grapples of faith, on some of the levels – there’s no way of knowing if you’ll grapple up into a baddie or some spikes until it’s too late. And there’s a SuckySuck(TM) bit, only made worse by the repetitive boss fights. The batmobile and batwing levels should have broken up the mostly dull platforming sections, but the former was way too long and easy, and the latter way too hard and frustrating.

Click to view slideshow.

I suppose not all games I loved when I can younger can still stand up these days, unfortunately.

The post Batman (MD): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Batman, completed, Mega Drive, Post, retro

Batman Returns (Lynx): COMPLETED!

Posted on 24/01/2016 Written by deKay

 What a pile of utter tripe. A game that on the face of it looks a bit like the original Batman on the Megadrive (which was actually pretty good), but is actually nothing of the sort.

 In this game, Batman moves from left to right failing to avoid enemies and their attacks because it impossible to dodge them all. Sometimes he’ll fall in a hole because of this, and it’ll be Game Over. That’s right – you have a single life, and if you fall in a hole it’s instant death and you start the entire game all over again. Utter nonsense.

 You can’t even bide your time and take baddies out when you’re able to avoid their guns or bombs or rockets or whatever, as they constantly respawn and crowd you. The game is impossible.

Thankfully, there’s a level skip cheat that I employed to save having to play the whole thing again every time I died. I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned it’s a missing Continue option.

The post Batman Returns (Lynx): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Batman, completed, lynx, Post

Batman: Arkham Knight: Harley Quinn Story Pack (PS4): COMPLETED!

Posted on 12/10/2015 Written by deKay

_t__PS4share_httpt.cok0DVWyGVjiThat’s a mouthful, innit? In fact, it almost takes longer to say the title of this post than it does to complete this story DLC for Batman: Arkham Knight.

You play as Harley Quinn, who is ordered by The Penguin to infiltrate Blüdhaven Police Department and rescue Poison Ivy. Why, isn’t clear: Penguin says it’s what Scarecrow wants. Since Ivy is instrumental in taking down Scarecrow in the main story (oh, spoilers, sorry) this doesn’t really make sense. Whatever.

Harley obviously has no Batsuit and her gadgets are limited to an exploding jack-in-the-box and a snare. The former is used twice to blow up walls like Batman’s gel, and the latter is completely unnecessary. She’s also got laughing gas that replaces the smoke bomb. And a baseball bat, for some eye-watering takedowns.

_t__PS4share_httpt.coaVfYdjUp5jUnlike Batman’s quiet approach, picking off foes one at a time, Harley seems to make as much noise as possible. Thankfully, for her, the police officers she has to take down are idiots and don’t pose a threat. She can’t grapple to vantage points, but she can jump around like a cat, to much the same effect. All the while talking smack and sometimes chatting to her original “Harleen Quinzel” psyche, which still lurks within and tries to tell her to Do The Right Thing. She doesn’t.

Sadly, this schizophrenia is never explored enough because after a handful of fights, a few Predator-style rooms, and a Nightwing smackdown, that’s it. It’s the end. Half an hour is your lot. If I’d paid money for this, I’d be annoyed. It could have been so much more, but instead teases a new game mode and then ends. Bah.

The post Batman: Arkham Knight: Harley Quinn Story Pack (PS4): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Batman, completed, Post, PS4

Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4): COMPLETED!

Posted on 03/10/2015 Written by deKay

BATMAN™: ARKHAM KNIGHT_20150927215726Just a few hours into Batman: Arkham Knight, you’re tasked with taking the Batmobile up onto a roof and effectively making it jump from roof to roof to reach an electrical panel or something. It’s utterly ridiculous, and is not what you’d expect the Batmobile, what with it being a car and everything, is for. This did not bode well for the rest of the game.

Thankfully for all concerned, that was it. Sure, there were a few car-based acrobatics later on, but those – such as lowering it down the wall of a giant fan shaft – seemed to fit. By that point in the story, a lot of things had happened that just made you accept the things the Goddamn Batmobile does. That, and it’s a tank that scurries around like a spider. Oh yes.

BATMAN™: ARKHAM KNIGHT_20150914223231Gritty and weighty like previous Arkham games, but bigger in scope than the rest put together, going into Arkham Knight was a torn experience. As great as Arkham City was, it was too big, too dispersed and less focussed than Arkham Asylum. The core was the same, but fragmented over a wide area. More Batman, on a current gen console especially, was something to look forward too. The nagging doubt it would be spread even more thinly was a worry. Do you remember how many times you visited the same damn steelworks before, despite having a massive city to play in? Aside from Riddler trophies, much of Arkham City was empty. Not so here, which was a relief.

In common with past Bat-outings, the story progresses through set pieces: detective sections, brawls, predator takedowns, boss ba…oh wait. No boss battles? Perhaps Rocksteady realised those in City were almost universally rubbish and ditched them. You still have to confront and defeat major foes, but by other means instead. It actually works well and you don’t miss them.

BATMAN™: ARKHAM KNIGHT_20150919212246

As you work towards taking down the Arkham Knight himself (finding his true identity along the way – I’d guessed very early, but there is a massive signpost if you hadn’t before I did) and Scarecrow, the usual Batman events I’ve mentioned pop up. In addition there are now tank battles. The Batmobile, impossibly, is used to take out the Knight’s army of drones, rocket launchers, cannons, helicopters and what appear to be mechs. Of course it is. Surprisingly, these battles are actually a lot of fun, and there’s an entire side quest devoted solely to them. In fact, almost every one-off task in the main game has a side quest full of that sort of event. Take down a watchtower (Assassin’s Creed Borgia style), and there’s a load more if you want. Like detective work? Why not find out why a load of bodies are literally hanging around Gotham. And so on.

BATMAN™: ARKHAM KNIGHT_20150912211226These seemingly optional side quests, however, are not. In all, there are 14 or so of them, with many terminating in the capture of a major Batman foe (Penguin, Two-Face, etc.). Once you’ve finished the main story in the game, it turns out you haven’t actually finished the main story at all – you have to complete at least 7 of these “optional” questlines to do that. It felt a bit of a cop-out, frankly. They’re mostly fun to do of course, some more than others, but it was disappointing to finally overcome Scarecrow only to be unable to finish the game because some lesser crimes haven’t been resolved.

That’s the structure of the game, but how does it actually play? Gloriously. The combat is meaty. The driving is a welcome addition. Wiping out an entire room of armed guards without a single one spotting you is a fantastic as it ever was. Soaring over the city is never less than stunning. Batman’s array of gadgets are a joy to wield and integrating his car into some of the combat is a masterstroke. Gotham feels so much more alive than in previous Arkham titles, with something happening on every corner and car chases going on all the time – which you can assist in, should you choose.

It must also be said that the voice acting is fantastic, especially Mark Hamill as The Joker: Yes, that’s a spoiler. No, Joker is still dead. Yes, that is confusing. There’s a scene where Mr J does his karaoke routine which is hilarious and grim in a way only Mr J can be. The game is so, so, Batman. Even with Alfred’s “Gordon’s alive?!” quote.

Being so, so Batman in every way does mean that Batman’s allies are pretty sidelined. Robin is constantly told to stay out of it and Batman reluctantly lets Nightwing actually do something as long as it’s nothing to do with the main story. Oracle is central to the plot, but Catwoman is now tucked away in a Riddler sub-story. Scarecrow is playing on Batman’s only fear – that revealing his identity will hurt his “family”, but in trying to protect his friends Bruce is only getting them in more trouble. Silly Bruce. Much of the game would have been avoided if he’d accepted help when offered. Still, that’s Batman for you.

With the story complete and enough side quests mopped up to see the ending, there was a little sadness. Rocksteady have already said this is their last Batman game, and as the end credit roll the montage of moments from all three Arkham games (Rocksteady don’t consider Origins or Blackgate canon it seems) retell the trilogy. It’s been a long road, but that’s it. No more Batman to look forward to from that corner, and it’s hard to see how any other Batman game can be as Goddamn Batman as Arkham Knight was. Arkham Asylum was purer, but Knight was truly an epic sendoff.

The post Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Batman, completed, Post, PS4

Injustice: Gods Among Us (PS4): COMPLETED!

Posted on 30/07/2015 Written by deKay

Cyborg_is_just_Mega_Man__innit.__t__PS4share_httpt.coxYawU3SQbuWell this was a surprise. The Mortal Kombat series left me cold after UMK3, and although this isn’t technically a Mortal Kombat title, it clearly is a Mortal Kombat game. It’s the same team, it’s a fighting game, it’s a followup to Mortal Kombat vs DC, and it’s even got Scorpion in it. And I enjoyed it.

Man_or_Aquaman.__t__PS4share_httpt.co6XyPVpBgTTThere’s little depth to the fighting, and in many ways the fights just seemed like the gaps between the story in single player mode, but something made me want to keep playing to the end. I liked how you’d flit from character to character as the story progressed too. Perhaps this is how more recent MK games have done things anyway, but it’s way better than the standard “tower of fighters” of old. It forces you to play as roughly half the roster as well, including some I’d never have picked through choice (Aquaman? LOLZ) who turned out better than expected in many cases.

I don’t think I’ll bother with multiplayer (I did try to play online, but I was alone), but the free PS+ rental was well worth  a story mode playthrough.

Filed Under: Gaming Diary Tagged With: Batman, completed, injustice, Post, ps+, PS4, psn

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