Arkham IS Insanely Good

Remember a couple of months ago, when I excitedly blogged that Batman: Arkham Asylum was shaping up nicely? Well, after a playing through the full game, I can conclusively say that it turned out to be an absolutely cracking experience.

AA is my personal favourite superhero game ever released. Never before has a superhero game made you feel so completely like you are its subject. Well perhaps Superman 64 - but classics like that are just few and far between.

In AA you are the Dark Knight himself. Developers Rocksteady deserve full credit for immersing you in the character so completely. Atmosphere is the key to AA's success. Arkham's environments are creepy and foreboding, the Joker is fantastically maniacal, and the cast of villains is impressive. Arkham is oppressive, sprawling, and unsettling - as much a character as any other player in the game's events.

The story is simple - Batman turns up at Arkham with the Joker in cuffs, at which point the madness begins. The man in the purple suit escapes and sets in chain a series of evil plans which the Batman must, naturally, thwart. Storytelling is fluid and dynamic in AA. Each section flows seamlessly into the next, guiding the player through both plot and character. Indeed, the intensely cinematic encounters with Scarecrow best illustrate this, with the effects of his mind altering toxin allowing for an intense exploration of the psyche of Bruce Wayne. This interaction between story and character is a real strength.

But is it fun? Indeed it is. Character intelligently informs the combat mechanics as well, allowing a variety of different approaches to any given situation. Want to beat the living snot out of a room full of enemies Batman style? You can do just that. The combat system is simple, free flowing, and satisfying. Taking on multiple enemies is a joy, rather than a chore. And options abound. Don't want to try the direct approach? Want to sneak around, employ explosive distractions, or drop from the roof on unsuspecting henchmen? You can. You can tackle any given scenario in any manner that would be true of the Bat. Again, this serves to make you feel as though you are inhabiting his cape.

It's not without it's flaws - although these are ever so slight. The most annoying piece design is the 'detective mode' which Batman uses to sus out clues and hidden objects. Detective mode changes Batman's view, allowing for a kind of x-ray vision that exposes hidden doorways and enemy locations. It's really useful. And that's the problem. There is no real reason to ever turn it off - meaning you miss out on the wonderful visuals in the name of practicality.

The epic boss battles are, for the most part, great. They're tense and exciting, and serve as wonderful tension building moments in the story. But there are exceptions - particularly the final encounter which is surprisingly easy when compared to the terrifyingly tough penultimate encounter. These closing moments perhaps don't do justice to the unique intensity of the rest of the game - and a less 'videogamey' approach to the final encounter would have been welcome.

However, on the whole AA is a resounding success - as entertaining a game as any you are likely to play this year. There's even a whole bunch of 'challenge rooms' to keep you going after the main quest is over. These little touches really extend the life of the title. For example, I haven't even mentioned the Riddler Challenges strewn throughout the levels, which add an extra puzzle solving element to the whole game.

AA is a fantastic experience, and one I recommend without hesitation. Go play it.

The Dylillama Returns From His Epic Break

Well. That was an epic break. Nearly two whole months! The excuses? The usual. Busy, busy, busy. Primarily, work has been insane. So insane that it has fried my brain. And made my rhymes a bit lame.

However fun the subject matter, I have not been able to muster the necessary pizazz or energy to attack my writing with much gusto. So there hasn't been much.

Well I lie. There's a whole bunch of entries marked 'draft' in my postings menu. But they're all half finished, full of lame jokes, and unforgivable spelling erors. I didn't enjoy writing them, so I figured they probably wouldn't be very fun to read.

Oh well. It happens - here's some new stuff!

The Dylillama Is Complicated

The Xbox Live Arcade has been home to some quality titles over the last few months. Shadow Complex continues this trend. It's a title that raises the bar on the XBLA, in terms of size, scale and scope.

SC is a homage to the 2D side scrolling, exploration platformers of yesteryear - titles such as Castlevania and Metroid. There's a massive map to slowly reveal, and new areas are made accessible through the acquisition of items and abilities such as double jump, grappling hooks, grenades, and missiles. Perhaps 'homage' is too kind a phrase. Apart from the differences in characters and setting, this is the same core experience made famous by Metroidvania. However, this is not a bad thing, as it polishes the genre's traditions and conventions to a beautiful shine.

The action begins when our hero, Jason Flemming, accidentally discovers a multinational organisation planning an all out war on the free world. Sound rubbish? It is. And to be honest Jason himself is a bit of a douche bag. But SC isn't about deep character development, or a thrilling story. It's all about the gameplay. Exploration is a joy, combat is fast and furious, and there's plenty of incentive to ferret out the map's many secret nooks and crannies. Throughout the course of the game's five or so hour campaign, both your wits and your reflexes are constantly challenged. You're even treated to some truly epic boss battles.

The game is a stunner - it's one of the best looking games to be found on XBLA. The visuals are crisp, and the pseudo-3D look is beautiful. Although it's worth noting, this the use of 2.5 D (or as I like to call it, Awkward-D™) leads to one of the game's only core frustrations. It's hard to know quite how you're supposed to take enemies that aren't on the 2D plane. And while it rarely leads to death, it does cost you valuable heath, and is a tangible annoyance.

But in the grand scheme of things this is a minor annoyance. SC is a wonderful package - indeed, one of the classiest, most complete packages you'll find on the XBLA. Once you've finished with the main campaign, there's even a number of challenge rooms to extend the experience, each focusing around one of the game's many items or abilities. It's a welcome addition, and one that developer Chair would've been well within their rights not to include. SC is priced at 1200 Microsoft Points, and is well worth your time. Highly recommended.

Game Rage: Escort Missions

Who the fuck on earth ever thought these were a good fucking idea? Ever??

Who are the idiot designers who play through a keep-the-retarded-and-unarmed-AI-team-mate-alive-while-they-travel-from-point-A-to-point-B scenario and think: 'Hey, that was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, we should emulate that in our game'?

Who keeps this going? Where are these people? Seriously. Where the fuck are they? Cause I want to punch them in the face. Every last one of them.

The Dylillama Fights Like A Cow

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition was an almost instant purchase for me. It made it's way onto my hard drive almost as soon as it appeared on Live Arcade.

It does so much right. It's essentially an exact remake of the classic adventure puzzle game we all know and love, with the added bonuses of a brilliant graphical overhaul and some excellent voice acting. It's all the same riddles, jokes, and gags that cast a spell on you all those years ago.

The interface works smoothly enough, and the transition to the Xbox does nothing to hinder the experience. Before you know it, it's the Monkey Island of old. You play the inept but lovable Guybrush Threepwood as he trains to become a pirate, battles the ghost pirate Le Chuck, and saves the girl. As a trip down memory lane it's absolutely brilliant. Even the original graphics and interface are available at the push of a button, should the face lift get in the way of your remembrances.

However, it's not all good. After you get over the nostalgic value, something else strikes you rather quickly - just how dated the genre itself has become. The game itself is time consuming, repetitive, obtuse, and relatively light on content. As obscure puzzles remain unsolved and you wander aimlessly around the game world, you begin to realise that what entertained you for hours on end years ago, causes irritation in this modern age. The remake even recognises this, assigning the X button to hints which essentially tell you exactly what to do when you're stuck. It's a tacit acknowledgment that this genre has had it's day - and that achievement should not be felt in solving its puzzles, but rather in reliving the humour and setting.

In the end, it's not difficult to recommend MISE. For it's cheap price, excellent graphics, and wonderful voice acting, the trip down memory lane is more that worth it. But be warned - once the final credits roll, you'll realise this incarnation of the adventure game has had its day. And for good reason - it plays like a cow.

Guess Who's Back...

Introducing the new Slim PS3. Sexy isn't it.

I for one welcome our new dust free overlord. And remind it that it will need a witty and insightful blogger who can communicate on its behalf. Ahem.

It will be interesting to see if the new model and price drop helps Sony's position in the hardware race over the coming months. And whether or not the new design uses the same quality parts that kept the original models both running smoothly, and at their high price points.

Goodspace

I'm behind the times again. Me? Yes, shocking I know. I've finally had a crack at Deadspace - a title that's interested me since its first reveal. And it was well worth the wait.

You play Isaac Clarke (ho ho), a search and rescue specialist who joins a small team sent to investigate the disappearance of a 'planet cracking' mining ship in a remote corner of the galaxy. Has this scenario ever worked out well? No. Is Deadspace any different? Of course not. Does it suffer from this degree of predictability? Not in the slightest.

You arrive on the ominously dark mining vessel and all hell breaks loose, triggering ten or so hours of truly engrossing Resident Evil 4 style, science fiction, survival horror madness. The plot's fairly standard stuff - the menacing 'Necromorphs' have taken over the ship, there's a mad scientist or two, traitorous crew mates, evil corporations, mysterious alien artifacts, and even something about a fanatical cult. Does it make sense? No, not really. Delightfully so. Essentially there's nothing here that you won't have seen in Event Horizon or Alien, or played in Bioshock or RE4. But this does not detract from the experience in the slightest.

Deadspace's finest achievement is its atmosphere. For a game set in a vacuum, this is quite an achievement indeed. The creepy and cold mechanical ship environments are gloriously juxtaposed with the Necromorph's organic consumption of the space hulk's bowels. There's also the occasional vista that dazzles with you the planet below, the asteroid belt, or the sheer scale of the ship itself. It's genuinely terrifying stuff, keeping you jumping at shadows, and raising your weapons in anticipation every time a door opens or a metal pipe is heard clanking on a steel floor in the darkness. The sound design - right from the background effects, to the music, to the clank of Isaacs feet on the floor - helps to heigthen this sense of tension and foreboding.

The game further shines with the introduction of full zero gravity environments, and the cold vacuum of space itself. The outdoor segments are particularly tense, as you rush to perform objectives with an ever dwindling supply of oxygen. Hearing Isaac gasp and wheeze as his tank slowly runs out is painful, but brilliant.

The atmosphere is supported by wonderfully tense combat. It's something of a hybrid between Bioshock and RE4, with both weapon upgrading and the use of environment effecting powers allowing you to tackle situations in a variety of ways. Scarcity is the order of the day here. You never quite have enough ammo, stasis, or kinetic power to comfortably dispatch enemies. It's always tense. You always knock off the last enemy in a set piece and wish you could've conserved just a bit more ammo. There's enough variety in the enemies to keep you on your toes, and some epic, if not entirely convincing, boss battles to cap things off.

Deadspace attracted wildly differing criticism. Is it the best game I've ever played? No. But nor does it deserve some of the negative views that have been thrown at it. It's immensely playable, and I more than recommend it to any one who's even remotely curious. Perhaps more importantly, I think Deadspace is also exciting for what it represents. If this is reflexive of the future of EA multiplatform titles, then I think we can be very excited indeed. Deadspace demonstrates an expert understanding of the medium, and an outstanding experience. Highly recommended.