An atmosphere is what delivers emotion and overall feelings in the game. The atmosphere can make a game scary, colorful, cartoony, or make you feel alone and sad. Atmosphere much matches and represent the idea of the game. Sometimes the atmosphere isn’t delivered right and can make a game feel boring, or just look bad.
The Best Atmosphere category was even harder than last year’s because so many great AAA titles came out with strong atmospheres. There were also some games I didn’t get a chance to squeeze into the runner-up’s area so that tells you how well this category did this year. While some of the others may have better art to back up their atmosphere L.A. Noire does something that most can’t: Make an atmosphere without fancy art or licenses. L.A. Noire is a new IP and pulls off a 1940’s era in realistic detail and really pulls you in and brings you into a time period that most games don’t explore outside World War II. L.A. Noire had amazing visuals to back it, but to make the game feel so true to an era is very hard to do. You don’t need fancy art for that.
I’m not going to lie when I say Mortal Kombat is my favorite game franchise of all time, mainly because it was the first game I ever played when I was 2 years old. I love the gore, the characters, the story, the secrets, and the inside stuff that true MK fans know about, but adding DC characters was a bit dicey but surprisingly works. The game’s story is pretty straightforward, with both universes colliding and each side’s main villains turning into one and controlling everyone else through a type of berserk mind control. You can play as various characters in separate story modes, but it’s nothing special.
The arcade mode is where it’s at with all your favorite MK characters and DC characters such as Batman, Superman, Catwoman, and even Captain Marvel. Each character on the DC side has their own signature powers, and they are awesome to play as. The game’s combat system is more like it’s rooted in stripping away combat styles, weapons, and complicated combos for just fast-paced fun. The animations are smoother, the controls respond better, and the game really packs a punch.
Of course, it’s hard to please both sides of the fence, but the MK side takes a hit with no gore. I guess Midway couldn’t get the DC guys to allow Sub-Zero to rip Superman’s head off, so the fatalities are pretty lame. They feature no gore, but just really brutal deaths, and the DC guys never kill, so they are heroic brutalities. This really screws the MK fans, but the DC guys are very tight-arsed about everything, and that’s why I still think this should have been Marvel instead (the last Wolverine game was gory as sin). Some DC HBs are OK at best. The Joker’s one of my favorites, with him shooting a fake gun and dancing around in his silly fashion, but most are pretty lame, like Green Lantern just running around a character a lot until they die, which is really exciting. The MK characters are a little more retro, with Scorpion turning characters into characters, so this is OK. I just wish the game would have been gory, but what’s here is good enough.
The MK guys really captured the characters of DC personalities like Catwoman’s slinky, sexy movements, Joker’s maniacal pranks, Batman’s precision martial arts, and Superman’s brute force. It makes MK fans really want to try DC characters without sticking to their favorites. Of course, the roster could have been a lot bigger, but thanks to Midway Tanking, extra downloadable characters will never happen as planned.
There are some nice new features to the game, such as a test-your-might type mini-game during Free Fall Kombat and Klose Kombat, which allows you to grab your opponent, but the camera zooms in, and you press buttons to trick them until getting every hit in for 30% damage. Freefall is the same, except you have to hit RB before you hit the ground to unleash an attack on them. This changes up the fighting and adds a nice touch, but it could have been a bit more. The new Rage mode allows you to take advantage of this berserk mind control and makes you nearly invincible for a certain amount of time. Along with this combo, breakers return, but that’s about it.
The game looks really good and is the first MK game on a next-gen console. Characters are rendered in sharp detail and have more detail than ever before. Each DC character has their signature costume and looks amazing, but the music is very lacking. The levels are great and wonderfully designed, and the multiplayer is what will make you keep coming back. While the game lacks the MK gore, the fact that two highly unlikely worlds collide makes it great enough to play.
Kollector’s Edition: If you want to shell out the extra $20, you can get a nice new cover drawn by Alex Ross, a making-of DVD, and a 16-page comic book penned by series creator John Tobias. While it doesn’t seem to entice, it’s great for MK fans or fans of comics.
Everyone has a favorite superhero or villain when they are kids and grows up dreaming about them, reading their comics, and even cartoons, but what about video games? Superhero games were far and few between until the recent superhero spike when Spider-Man came out. Spider-Man 2 (based on the movie) was freaking epic and really showed that a superhero game can be done right. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was another epic superhero game showing that, for one, Marvel has balls and will let their super characters kill (DC has yet to grow a pair), and that a movie-based video game can be done right. So, what really defines a good superhero game? Well, the roster is probably the first thing since that’s what people look for on the back of the box or in previews. Another thing would be the gameplay, since we want to feel like we’re super powerful, and that’s what Arkham Asylum does best.
The game, first off, is very cinematic since you start out at Arkham with the Joker strapped in and being hauled off to a high-security cell. Of course, he escapes, and that’s where the nightmare begins. You start out fighting off some inmate goons and learn the combat. There are a lot of gameplay elements here, so stick with me while I explain them all. CQC combat is great since it’s called “free flow” combat. You aren’t supposed to touch the analog stick and just use the face buttons for a light attack, a heavy attack, a counter-attack, and various other things you can do. When you knock down an enemy, they’re temporarily dazed, so you can lay a ground attack on them to knock them out for good. When you see an icon appear above an enemy head, you hit the counter button, and Batman will quickly jump to that enemy and counter in all his martial arts butt-kicking glory. The combat is amazing since there’s a lot you can do, and it looks great. You can use a quick batarang to knock back enemies, or you can use your bat claw to pull multiple enemies toward you. The whole point of the combat is to create a combo without stopping, and this is probably the only flaw in the game since it really reflects the challenge mode (more on that later), so this will be my biggest gripe. The flaw here is that there has to be an enemy within hitting reach at all times, or your combo breaks. Yes, you can use the batarang or bat claw to close gaps, but sometimes this isn’t easy if you have to quickly face an enemy. It takes perfect precision and a lot of grueling practice to nail the big combos, but otherwise, during the main game, you can just ignore this.
Another gameplay mode is detective mode, which allows you to see everything in a blue x-ray-type view, along with the skeletons of enemies and their status. Detective mode is essential for finding Riddler challenges, breakable walls, and even sneaking up on enemies. Detective mode is used about 80% throughout the game, and I feel it was too heavily relied on since you can’t see how amazing the game looks most of the time since it all looks blue and X-ray-like. In detective mode, you scan objects to acquire some of them, and this includes riddles.
Being a predator is a huge part of Batman, since that’s what he is. He uses fear to deal psychological damage to an enemy, thus weakening them. In certain rooms, you’ll have a lot of enemies, and you can swing from gargoyles and take them out however you see fit. When someone passes under, you can hang down and do an inverse takedown, so while he screams and dangles, everyone rushes to his aid. This is when you swing to another gargoyle, use a batarang, cut him down, and scare the crap out of everyone. While they spread out, you can do dive kicks or even drop down behind them and take them out silently. The stealth mechanics are great and easy to execute without lots of trial and error. Of course, later in the game, you must use your predator skills since some enemies will have collars that alert everyone if their heart rate rises too much, which means you’re in the room.
Now I should mention the story since it’s excellent. While you’re running around the asylum trying to find Joker, you run into your old pals such as Killer Croc, Ivy (who is HOT), and Harley Quinn (who is also extremely hot). Throughout the game, you can pick up on how the super criminals got to Arkham through audio tapes (part of the Riddler’s challenges), and while not every Batman villain is in here, you can read up on their bios by finding and completing the Riddler’s challenges.
You might ask, What are these Riddler’s challenges? Well, they are a big pain to find since there are so many types, trophies, audiotapes, actual riddles, and many others. There are over 250 of them, but there is an easy way to find most of them. If you find the secret map for each section of the game, you can pretty much tell where they are due to the floating green question marks on the map. Most secrets can’t even be found until the game is completed or gadgets are required. When you find these riddles, you unlock challenge maps, 3D models, and bios, along with achievements. Speaking of gadgets, all of Batman’s beloveds are in here, but you only start with the Batarang. You eventually acquire the bat claw, bat-grapple, explosive foam, zip line, and more. There are upgrades for your bat suit, weapons, and combat skills, which can be bought through points earned by completing missions. The game is very free-form since you have several buildings on Arkham Island you can travel to at will, so certain gadgets are required to get through certain areas.
Challenge mode allows you to use your skills to get certain scores and reach certain time limits, and they are challenging—almost impossible for the impatient or novice—so approach at your own risk. As good as I was at this game, I found the challenges hard to conquer and get gold medals in.
When it comes to how the game looks and sounds, it’s amazing. The game uses Unreal Engine 3, so you can expect graphics that rival Gears of War 2. Batman’s cape flows and he gets damaged in real time; everything looks dark, crisp, and scary, just like Batman should be. The atmosphere is great and will even creep you out sometimes. The voice acting is top-notch, and so is the dialog (the joker will make you laugh numerous times). The game runs a fair length of about 15 hours, depending on how you play the first time (and if you try to collect everything). Batman is one of the best games of this generation, and even Batman haters should check this out.
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Yep! The fact that I forgot about this game until you made a comment proves that.