Steam, System Requirements, Arkham Asylum

On 12/20/2013 at 02:56 AM by Super Step

So now that it's the holidays, I've finally decided to investigate what my new laptop can do in terms of running games.

Good news: Today's Steam sale is Arkham Asylum GOTY edition for $5! I have wanted to play this forever. Also, I meet both the minimum and recommended requirements to play it, according to systemrequirementslab.com ....

Bad news: ... sort of. Since it came out in 2009, it doesn't officially support my OS. I have Windows 8 64-bit, but Vista/XP are what's officially supported. There's a thread on Steam where people say they got it to work on 8. Others just had to use workarounds, but some are finding the workarounds don't work, and the game will stop at the first cutscene.

Still, it is only $5 for the next 30 or so hours, so I'd say it's worth the risk. What do you all think?

I might use this game as a test for other games to see if I'll just stick to running newer indie games on my laptop. It's frustrating, because a lot of games I could play easily on my laptop would work because they're old enough to, yet they're too old for Windows 8 to be officially supported. I was pretty bummed that Resident Evil 4 was a 2000/XP exclusive.

Oh and I joined the Steam Pixlbit group and invited some of you to be Steam friends with me. Those of you I didn't invite, it's cause Steam won't let me. I think once I buy a game it will.

Super Step Contributing Writer

12/20/2013 at 03:14 AM

Actually, wait, there's a demo. So I'm downloading that, and if that works fine, I'll likely buy the game.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

12/20/2013 at 07:18 AM

did it work? Goddamn that Windows 8!!

12/20/2013 at 11:36 PM

It did, in fact. My only complaints were that my trackpad isn't great for looking around easily, but there are plenty of mouses around this house, so it should be better if I just plug one of those in. And I haven't made my Christmas list yet, so maybe I could just ask for an XBOX controller.

Anyway, as of an hour or so ago, I own Arkham Asylum, I just need to install it. Wish me luck that the full version runs as well as the demo!

12/21/2013 at 12:28 AM

an xbox controller is definitely worth the investment. I have one....

Aboboisdaman

12/20/2013 at 10:06 AM

I heard that Windows 8 is really bad. My friend said it doesn't even have a damn start button, and people complained so much about that, that MS had to add one in there lol. Steam is a great platform for games though. There's so much good stuff on there and a lot of it is dirt cheap. Beware those ultra ridiculous sales Joe! Beware!!!

12/20/2013 at 11:43 PM

Yeah, I'm only taking a risk on this at all because it's so cheap.

As for the start button, I don't have one right now either, but I keep being prompted to download 8.1, so I guess that has it. I've managed just fine without it, but it is inconvenient.

transmet2033

12/20/2013 at 10:47 AM

I hope you can get it up and running because it is a great game.

12/20/2013 at 11:45 PM

So I've heard. Which is why I got all giddy when I saw my laptop could run it. Now that I've purchased it after a smooth-running demo, I just hope 8 doesn't screw me out of the full experience. Like I told Aaron, this is not a risk I'd be willing to take above the $5 limit.

Alex-C25

12/20/2013 at 02:42 PM

Well, now i'm afraid since my new laptop is Windows 8 supported. Still going to install Steam though.

12/20/2013 at 11:47 PM

It depends on your system specs. If you have a newer laptop, especially one intended for gaming, you should be fine. The problem isn't Windows 8 itself, it's the fact publishers may have chosen not to update some of their older games to be compatible with Windows 8. That's what I'm running in to.

I can only play somewhat older games according to my laptop's specs, but while they should be able to run, it's not a guarantee because they haven't been updated for Windows 8 in some cases.

rmsk8r05

12/20/2013 at 07:11 PM

Microsoft, when I get a new computer, I'm probably going to hate the hell out of Windows 8.

12/20/2013 at 11:52 PM

Some girls I know have touch screen laptops with Windows 8, and they love it. That's what it's designed for.

My main issue is that my track pad is set up so that sometimes when I swipe to the right or left, I go from one view to another, which gets frustrating if, say, I'm trying to read an article for school. I just figured out I can change my track pad's settings, though, so I think I will.

The only other major inconvenience is the lack of a Start button, but apparently the update fixes that, so after I make those two changes, I'll probably find 8 pointless, but maybe it won't be so awful.

Captain N

12/21/2013 at 12:26 AM

You are going to love Arkham Asylum, if you loved Batman TAS then you'll love it. It's my favorite game on the PS3, have fun with it and looking forward on an impression blog on AA if you make one.

12/21/2013 at 12:40 AM

I remember liking Batman TAS, but not loving the series to the extent a lot of other people who grew up with it do. I did love a particular VHS with one or a few episodes of it we rented once, though. It was so dark and kind of eerie that I couldn't help but be drawn to it. That was especially true for Batman Returns when I was a kid. I'll say this for it: Kevin Conroy's Batman is definitely the best Batman, in my opinion, so I'm glad his voice is in the game. Mark Hamill is a great Joker as well, so that helps, too.

I think I'll definitely review it if and when I finish it, since it'll literally be the first game I complete a single player campaign for from after the Gamecube generation of consoles.

NSonic79

12/26/2013 at 03:24 PM

And that's one of the reasons why I didn't get into PC gaming. No garentee that any game bought on there will work right off the bat with the PC I currently have. At least with a console you get a 50/50 chance of the game running properly (I know not good odds but with day one patches,release bugs and future patches are a thing of reality sadly with us console gamers.)

But with that said I'm giving it some serious thought about trying out PC gaming on Steam. I have a STeam account and just yesterday I got my free copy of Left 4 Dead 2 for my account. I just really need to see about upgrading my desktop PC's memory for I'm not sure if my netbook has the power to run some of the games offered on there.

12/26/2013 at 06:39 PM

Yeah, I have a laptop with some pretty good specs, so I'm ok with running the Steam games at the prices they're available at now. I don't know if I'd trust a netbook for anything I'm running, though.

Luckily, everything has worked so far, but fingers crossed it continues to do so. I'm actually counting this all as learning experience, though. It will keep my critical thinking skills sharp to have to diagnose some of these problems, and for 25% of the price in most cases, I don't mind doing so as much.

PixlBit