He is the snake to my mongoose. Or the mongoose to my snake. Either way, it’s bad. I don’t know animals.
I could write a perfectly standard review of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. I could go point by point and explain how this is a third person action game with heavy emphasis on stealth and melee combat in the vein of Batman: Arkham Asylum/City. I could talk about the great graphics and the satisfying fighting mechanics, and how some of the stiff animation and problems with context-sensitive button prompts are the reason why it doesn’t get five stars. I could do all of that and you would have a good idea of what Shadow of Mordor is, but you wouldn’t understand what makes it new and special. So I have a different idea.
An Origin that doesn't disappoint.
Batman: Arkham Origins is a great game. Over the eight to nine hours I spent with the game, I went on a roller coaster full of action, stealth and narrative high points. Arkham Origins provides some of the best character moments in the series, along with some interesting new twists to the gameplay. Unfortunately, game bugs and various gameplay oddities keep the game from reaching the heights of the previous entries.
Why you shouldn't be too worried about the Caped Crusader's origin story.
The Arkham-verse has become its own thing after the resounding success of Arkham Asylum and City. Rocksteady laid a superb foundation for the Batman series and though the latest game is being handled by WB Montreal, there’s not much to worry about. The fundamentals of the series hold up, and if anything much has been added to the gameplay. Whether these additions will prove beneficial is yet to be determined, but based on some story tidbits and my brief hands on I remain excited to see what the full game has to offer.
Not perfect, but very promising.
I’ve been reading mixed things about Batman’s first handheld outing. I had some hands on time with the game and found it to be a much better representation of its console counterparts than I initially expected. The game is a 2.5D action platformer in the vein of games like Metroid. While the gameplay is primarily in 2D, the game does boast full 3D graphics and environments (with the Vita version having the slight edge visually). Batman controls very much like he does in the other Arkham games, with most of the controls remaining on the same buttons, particularly during combat.