Ramblings: Batman Arkham Asylum Demo Impressions

If you pay attention to video games at all, you're probably aware of the Batman: Arkham Asylum video game by now. Speaking as a complete freak for anything and everything Batman, I simply cannot state in words just how excited I am for this game. I mean, seriously; I can't think of the words to describe it. I even pre-ordered the goddamn collectors edition and I never bother with those.

So of course I snatched up the demo the very second it went from being a Live Gold only exclusive to available to everyone. By the way, just to say it now, I really think it's bullshit that Microsoft actually reserves some demo's for anticipated games to Live Gold only for about a week. It's a stupid tactic; absolutely no one is going to run out and nab a Gold subscription just to play a demo, so what's the point beyond being irritating? It's a practice that really needs to end; all it really does is hurt people. The online play, the Netflix streaming; that's one thing. The demo restrictions need to end.

Anyways, so I've finally played the demo to one of my two most anticipated games of the year - the other being the completely metal Brutal Legend - and I figured I'd give my thoughts on it and general impressions of the game so far. Keep in mind that this is not a review or anything. As such, I may have a tendency to ramble or swear; this isn't a professional style review, just a smattering of thoughts on a game I'm hotly anticipating the release of.

Anyways, the first thing I could say is that having completed the demo, I'm actually rather pleased with what they gave you for it. The length of the demo itself isn't spectacular or anything - there are certainly those that last longer on X-Box Live - but what is given completes the general criterion any demo should strive for; give the gamer enough to whet their appetite and entice them to come back for more. The demo starts at the beginning and runs to right before a first encounter with some deformed hulking creature. On top of that you have access to some nice character bios and two trophies from the full game to gander at. Not bad guys.

I must say I liked the bio's, by the way. Short and to the point. A perfect primer to familiarize any gamers who might have been living under a rock long enough not to be familiar with most of Batman's rogues. At the least, I suspect they'll be handy in the case of Mr. Zassz; just about anyone can be excused for not being familiar with him, as he only appears in the comics sporadically despite being an enticing villain. I loved the little touch of two patient interviews under the Jokers profile, by the way; they're not important to the game, but they give an idea of the Joker himself and set a certain mood.

First thing I noticed without a shadow of a doubt upon startup; this game is fucking gorgeous. It really feels like Batman and Arkham come to life. Gritty, grimy and disgusting, the asylum feels like a rundown warehouse that's seen too much use over it's years. The Asylum has a few futuristic elements to it, such as laser barriers that keep prisoners from escaping, but they thankfully don't detract from the experience. In reality, they're kind of necessary; otherwise it would be kind of hard to even remotely believe Batman could be trapped someplace like that. In short, everything looks fantastic.

They weren't kidding when they said that the game was drawing on Batman on the whole, by the way. This game doesn't tether to simply one era or comic of Batman or even any one adaption like previous games. It's kind of a mashup of much of the classic history behind the character. Classic voices for the characters, for one thing. Harley in particular feels like her animated counterpart, except in this she's more akin to her comic counterpart in regards to human life; she's not against killing, at all. Oracles backstory includes the infamous bit where Joker shot her in the spine and paralyzed her. This Batman games world is Batman boiled down to his essence before taking elements from the whole cloth of Batman's history to build it. It works well towards making this game feel like it's own entity; you're not going to need to be familiar with anything Batman to pick up this game and understand it's world, which is frankly how it should be.

The voices? For the most part just plain awesome. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammil - Batman and the Joker respectively - slip into their old roles with ease and oh man it's like they never left. I vote we have it officially recognized that these two are the greatest in these roles, bar none. Even Heath Ledgers turn as the Joker can't beat how classic and timeless Hammils Joker feels. Same goes for Harley; whenever I read any comics with the character I must admit I always hear her animated counterparts voice in my head reading the lines.

The others measure up rather well too, for the most part. Oracle sounds pretty decent as do many of the guards. The only voice that really took me out of the experience was Commissioner Gordon. Perhaps I've just been hearing the kind of voice we got in Batman: TAS for too long or maybe it's being used to Gary Oldman's turn in the role. Either way, from the second Gordon opens his mouth he sounds wrong. It simply does not sound like what you would imagine Gordon to sound like. Luckily you don't hang around the character long and even then you will have just started to get used to the voice, but it's still a bit of an oddity. I find it hard to believe that with such dedication to getting classic interpretations of these characters in voice that they couldn't have gotten someone that sounded similar to one of the Gordon's we've encountered in past adaptions.

The camera takes a little getting used to at first. I must admit that the over the shoulder third person camera always throws me off for a bit at first, no matter how many games with it I play. Thankfully once you get the hang of it, it stops being a problem; I suspect many others won't have an issue with it at all, but I've always had a bit of momentary difficulty with the perspective. The buttons felt intuitively placed, for another thing. So much so, mind you, that you won't even realize there's no jump button for most of the experience; it's simply not needed.

Combat is a somewhat simplistic affair. You have one button for regular attacks, a button for countering and a button for the cape stun. This threw me a bit at first. I've been playing a few games in the vein of God of War lately - the most recent being the Conan game, which was pretty good by the way - and I instinctively kept going for light and strong attacks, which in this game are the attack and counter buttons. So I'd hit Y and nothing would happen until I realize I was being a duncecap. Once you get the hang of it - hell, you probably won't have the same issues my dumb ass did picking it up at first anyways - it actually works very, very well.

As you can probably tell, there's not a lot of depth to how you fight. You're not going to find a bunch of complicated combo's to pull off here. In reality, that's the perfect way to do it. This game is not about jumping into the fray like Bruce Lee and kicking everyone's ass, though you do get the oppourtunity to do that from time to time. This is not Batman the Urban Commando; this game has Batman the creature of the night. Dropping in on foes, using your gadgets, quick takedowns, leaps from the shadows; that's what this game is about. Thankfully it works wonderfully. This game really doesn't need strings of combo's or long battles against enemies to remain exciting.

This is the first time I felt like the combat actually worked perfectly for a Batman game. Being the Bat freak I am, I've played most of them. Sadly, most Batman games have sucked ass. The 3D ones, anyways; some of the old 2D sidescrollers were pretty solid affairs. The best of the lot before now was Batman Vengeance, based off of the "Gotham Knights" animated version, as fans call it. Even in that game, the combat was a pain in the ass. Let's not even get into the camera. You ended up getting too close to an enemy and the camera shifted to the side and you were immediatly locked into some combat mode that was tough to get out of. The button layout changed and you couldn't use any gadgets. Basically a mishandled system in general.

The demo's length in general was enough to do it's job. I wanted more once it ended. It was enough to let you get a feel for all the basics, too. By the end of the demo, you'll have experienced open combat, use of your batarangs, learn to move from gargoyle to gargoyle high above, get the hang of singling out opponents and deal with your first fight with a group of enemies. In short, you get a taste of pretty much all of the very basics before the demo ends. If you rush through it you can probably complete the demo in approximately twenty minutes. If you take your time, however, you'll probably get a good forty minutes out of it. A forty minutes that you won't want to end, if you're anything like me.

In general? I want this fucking game. Now. There is no doubt whatsoever that this is going to be the standard for Batman video games from here on.

I'll definitely be reviewing this game once I get my hands on it and play through it, by the way. Rest assured of that.

Ramblings: Things I Learned from Elder Scrolls Oblivion

- Grass, trees and rocks can appear out of nowhere from a couple yards out.

- Judging by the example set by Imperial Legion Forresters, after one narrowly survives a needless fight to the death with two comrades it's apparently a bitchin' time to go piss off a bear.

- Wearing a gray piece of cloth instantly makes you a wanted criminal. Taking it off, however, leaves everyone unable to recognize you, even if they were standing three feet away when you did it. How criminals haven't figured this out yet is a mystery.

- While wearing this cowl you will be wanted for "all sorts of stuff". No one will remember what, but you're damn sure wanted for it anyways.

- Don't worry; a shadow coming towards you shaped like a human with a huge sword is just a rat.

- Every single military fort is a crumbled, broken down ruin populated by ghosts, zombies and evil skeletons. Rare enchanted weapons and armor that no soldier could afford are also plentiful. No exceptions.

- Skeletons that will kill anything they come across can somehow be heroes and champions.

- When you talk to someone, even a hobo on the side of the road, everything else in the world stops moving immediately. Even fire.

- You can become a vampire merely by being hit by something they carry. Vampire lore lied to us.

- You can be forgiven for any crimes you commit merely by finding religion and hanging around nine different shrines, even if you killed fifty people and a goat.

- Hiding a secret passage out of the castle in a cell for dangerous criminals is apparently a fantastic idea.

- There are no fat people. Fat people are a lie.

- Every commoner in the world has one of only nine distinct voices.

- Someones voice can change to a completely different one at any time depending on what you say to them.

- Not only is he a mutant, Captain Picard apparently found time to be an emperor as well in between galactic journeys.

Ramblings: Stone Cold and the Attitude Era of WWE

It's funny. It was announced about a week or so ago, from what I understand, but I've only just now heard about it. I'm talking about Stone Cold Steve Austin's induction in the WWE Hall of Fame, really. I probably would have been up to speed on that if I hadn't missed wrestling the week it was announced.

Honestly, it really took me back to hear that. I'm thinking, has it really been that long? Has it really been ten years since Stone Cold Steve Austin was the top face of the WWE, then called the WWF? I couldn't help but remember those years, which were probably the most formative years to me.

To be honest, I wasn't even really brought in during the Attitude era. I used to watch a lot of old wrestling tapes I'd pick up used in a bin in the supermarket. Stuff from the days of Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ted Dibiase, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and even Bret the Hitman Hart's glory days. It wasn't until around the Royal Rumble of 1996 that I came into things when it came to the weekly show. The days when Shawn Michaels was just returning, won the Royal Rumble and was going to Wrestlemania XII to face Bret Hart for the title in an Iron Man match. I was a big fan of his and he pulled it off. Pretty much from then on, you couldn't keep me away from the television Monday Nights; school or not.

I had pretty much every pay per view that year, always excited and watching as Shawns reign as champion trucked on. That was really what I look at as a major transitionary period when it comes to the WWE. A lot of people point to Stone Colds victory at Wrestlemania XIV as where the Attitude era began, but I honestly think that's a bit of a crock. To me, I started in '96 and grew onwards, with '97 being where it really began. You look at it, Stone Cold was really starting to rise during that time, thanks in part due to his King of the Ring win where the Stone Cold persona started and his fued with the Hitman, leading right up to Wrestlemania XIII where he was basically turned face in the same night the Hitman turned heel. The first incarnation of Degeneration X was formed, which was really where the Attitude era got roots. The Hitman, the whole "Canadians are better" storyline and all the junk that came with it.

Anyways, when I look back on it, I really wish Shawns reign as head face wasn't so damn short. It was something like six months before he lost the title to Sycho Sid at Survivor Series. I actually cried, I'll admit, when Shawn was hit with the camera and put away for the three count after the Powerbomb. Then when he got it back at the Royal Rumble a couple months later, he left wrestling some two weeks later on Raw. This is compared to the long runs in the past, where Diesel was the head guy for over a year, Bret Hart was one of the top dogs for years, Macho Man had a year long reign when he was champion post Wrestlemania IV. It really felt like that era didn't last long enough. To top it off, the next big face with the title, Undertaker, saw his reign end maybe three months after he won the title; losing it at Summerslam. Then Shawn went heel and so on. But this is all beside the point.

So, Stone Cold. I really do have fond memories of that era. It was lewd and a rapid change from where the WWF had been just two years previous, but it was without a doubt exciting. Stone Cold was the top dog while The Rock, one of my all time favorites, was just climbing up towards that level. Mankind was becoming a force in the heavyweight title race. Triple H became more of a force in things. As time progressed, the Undertaker came back reborn after the Ministry nonsense in early 2000 as a top competitor. Eddie Guererro and Chris Beniot entered the scene. Big Show made his first appearance in his long career with the WWE. I honestly, really do miss those days.

Of course, I didn't even bother with WCW. In fact, I completely skipped almost everything they did. When I did tune in, it always bored the living hell out of me. The NWO thing may have been a big hit with most everyone else, but I honestly thought it was little more than a snooze-fest. Not to mention it drug on forever. There was also the neverending feeling that I was watching a bunch of washed up wrestlers from the WWE's golden age. Half the roster was little more than old WWE rejects, after all. Macho Man, Lex Luger, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Rhodes, the Stieners and so many other culled past their prime from the WWE's ranks. Their most bankable stars were Sting, who I never even gave a damn about even after he adopted that whole "The Crow" ripoff gimmick, and Goldberg, whom not only tended to injure himself doing relatively routine moves but also tended to injure others. It was laughable really. If I tuned in at all it was usually for the Cruiserweight division and Rey Mysterio; try as they might, the WWE's Light Heavyweight division was never much more than a low card title that few ever cared about with an unimpressive roster.

It always seems like that era was cut short to me. It wasn't too long at all before the car angle at Survivor Series took Stone Cold out of the picture for a while. Things thankfully thrived afterwards. The Rock had a chance to shine and become the biggest player and biggest fan draw the WWE had arguably since Hulk Hogan. Triple H was a real, sneering heel that you loved to hate; a quality few heels these days can pull off. Kurt Angle was becoming a similar heel who played with the big boys. But then, Stone Cold came back and not too long after, it all slowly crumbled away. I stopped watching as regularly out of disgust when Stone Cold turned heel at Wrestlemania XVII. The Rock vanished, away making movies. Triple H was injured badly not long after. The Tag Team Division started it's journey down the road leading towards the farce it is today. By the time The Invasion storyline had started, I didn't watch wrestling at all.

I came back for about the period of a year maybe after Wrestlemania XIX. I remember this period best due to Brock Lesnar being around. Kevin Nash was back after who knows how many years and fueding with Triple H, who had obviously come back by then and regained the title. Goldberg was around, though I must admit I didn't care for him much. It actually felt like the WWE had bankable stars again. Then those slowly faded away too. Kevin Nash left at some point I can't pin down. Brock Lesnar ditched when he was arguably at his peak. Hell, I think Goldberg retired, both he and Brock Lesnar fighting their last match at Wrestlemania XX. Then there was The Rock, who literally did not enter the ring again after his last match at Wrestlemania XX. Kurt Angle wasn't around for a whole hell of a lot longer either having left to go to TNA. I was gone again. Quicker than a flash.

I kinda wish I hadn't. I missed Rey Mysterio as World Heavyweight Champion. I didn't even hear about that until who knows how long after his reign ended. But other than that, I don't think I missed much.

Nowadays, I'm pretty much back in the fold. I admittedly only really watch Raw; not a fan of Smackdowns roster of late. It feels like they're finally getting more star material again. CM Punk in particular is a favorite, Triple H is back as a face and the only reason I might tune into Smackdown. Randy Orton, who I think is terrible as a hell, is a great competitor. John Cena is a heavyweight contender now; and I actually think I see why he's kind of a big deal in the WWE. It actually feels watchable again.

It's not like it has much competition, really. TNA is basically this generations WCW. A bunch of washed up WWE wrestlers, some washed up WCW wrestlers, terrible storylines and few real, bankable stars. It's embarassing. I can hardly stand to watch it; honestly, do we really need to see only the old time wrestlers in the big leagues aside from Samoa Joe? It's laughable.

Still... I do miss the Attitude era. I miss both Stone Cold and The Rock. Badly. It's kind of sad to realize Stone Cold will never wrestle again. That The Rock hasn't been in the ring for over four years now. I don't know what it is, but it just feels like those days were so much more exciting. Hopefully the WWE can recapture that magic at some point.

Still... despite his relatively short time in the WWE as a big thing,compared to a lot of other bankable stars the WWE has had, I do think Stone Cold deserves the honor. It feels so long ago and yet like it was yesterday, as much of a paradox as that may be. Such a shame.