Yesterday marked the first day I was privileged enough to see an actual demo of the upcoming Batman Arkham City for the Playstation 3/Xbox 360 and of course I had some random thoughts on the subject.
For starters, last we saw the game wild speculation grew as to whether or not the future had come and withered the main cast. Apparently that isn't the case and more importantly I must admit that was a stupid assumption considering a lack of information so paramount such as graphic upgrades, the first game's finale, and of course the fact that the original trailer just happened to made following the instant success of Arkham asylum and was necessary to convey a simple message to the fans lest they forgot.
The dark knight [in video game form] will be back.
Prowling the streets in fall 2011
Two years later and like clockwork or a biyearly "good" Call of Duty* Rocksteady is bringing the world's greatest detective back and this time he's got a real mess on his hands. Clearly foretold by the name Arkham has been permanently moved from secluded to a much more spacious community, an entire district within the city walls.
If that weren't enough, cat women seems to be mindlessly frolicking about ready and willing to receive a new "look" from one villainous clown known as the Joker.
All story tidbits aside what really interests me about this sequel (aside from playing it of course) is watching to see gamers willingness to pick up their copy and controller for what may or may not be more of a same [but good] thing. It was clear as day that from announcement to demo's to upcoming release, the core gameplay is much retained. And while I'm not looking to imply that is such a bad thing I do have and have had one major festering concern regarding this.
Last year Bioshock 2 was released to much the dismay of many fans. What occurred after was either condemnation for similarities in appearance, realm, or game play or (and this is the big kicker in both these game's cases) story-lines. As in the case with that aforementioned game I feel that the gameplay enhancements will be there and of course I believe the move to the city while retaining linearity of a prison will propel Batman (pun intended) forward past Asylum's success. I just hope it'll be enough.
But of course the biggest question remains to be asked. Can Batman Arkham City do just enough different to quell the insurgency of gamers notoriously large disdain for redundancy or will it simply fail profitably as the haters hate?
- Rossini
*comment was partial to implying that treyarch CoD's are merely husks that Infinity War built.
Those of you still reading are more then likely doing so as them readers of A Vacant World and as such I do have some news for you but that will be formally informed by a separate Blog Update. Thanks for reading!
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