Samudra
10-23-2005, 04:12 PM
Let me start by stating that this is one of my favorite games ever.
I'm a big admirer of good coding, so you'll understand why I can stomach the games' obvious faults (i.e. repetitiveness and length).
At the moment I'm working on a FAQ of which about 58kb has been written. It will be very, very comprehensive. Still some cosmetic changes and it will be done.
I read your review and wished to comment, but there was no existing thread. Please indulge me.
Personally, I wonder why the hell Arkham Asylum hasn't been shut down, as it has never contained anyone. They might as well just install a revolving door in the place.
Haha.
There's basically no difference between them, save for the type of projectile they use.
Both characters are exactly the same except for the sprite (of course) and the melee attack animations. The damage of the melee attacks is the same though.
The projectiles also are exactly the same for both characters.
Some of the stages here are almost impossible to pass alone.
I've 1 credit cleared (1cc) the game with lives left over; alone. In fact I do not lose even a life till level 3-3 or later. Level 1-1 and 2-1 I can pass without getting hit.
It is hard, yes; but once you learn the rhythm of the game it can be done. Easily even.
And I'm by no means an expert gamer, simply a persevering one.
I use a Game Genie when I play.
I can really recommend trying it without. It will make the experience and satisfaction so much greater.
Batarangs, shurikens, and bolos can be found and upgraded with icons that appear randomly throughout the stage.
All power-ups appear at fixed points in the game. There is nothing random about them.
Each weapon can be upgraded a total of six times but I doubt anyone will live long enough to do so.
The weapons can be upgraded five times, since you start out on level one and level six is the last. Probably only a difference in looking at the thing, this.
I found these weapons to be mostly useless against bosses however, and instead relied on jump kicks, which land several blows in succession.
This technique is really questionable. I don't think it even makes sense when using a Game Genie.
See, the jump kick does successive hits indeed; but you'll get hit in the process as well due to the lack of distance.
Throwing projectiles (use the green ones if you prefer power) will also do quick successive hits.
I only use the jump kick to cross large distances. For example to jump over the fireflowers or when fighting Mad Hatter.
All the bosses have set patterns (as always in these kind of games). Learning these will allow you to "play" (even without firing) with a boss for as long as you wish. Having reached such a point it doesn't matter if weapons do little damage or not as you will have all the time in the world.
A few 1ups are scattered about but they are few and far between.
Indeed, but there are many hidden 1-ups!
For example, noticed how the Mad Hatter drops his hat after defeat? It is possible to hit it or fire at it and this is not just a nice touch. If you destroy it a 1-up will appear (the coolest hidden 1-up ever). Hell, there is a 1-up hidden in level 1-1 only a dozen seconds in. Clear the clowns dropping from the right to the left on the ledge very quickly (you can only allow them to move a bit) and a 1-up appears.
The swinging crane hook in level 3, for example, blew me away, the scaling was so smooth.
The effect used there is not scaling actually. In the demo scene it is called "vector balls". Basically this effect is real-time or partly pre-calculated and has nothing to do with the scaling of a sprite.
Another game that comes to mind showcasing this on the Mega Drive is called "Ballz". I wonder why this effect wasn't used more.
If you want to see some demos showcasing it (there is stuff out there much more impressive than the crane) go to http://www.pouet.net/ and look for "vector (balls)".
This one http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=3540 is an absolute classic and will stun you. It runs on a 286!
Boss battles are equally impressive. I couldn't help but grin as Two-Face tossed a pack of TNT onto the girder where I was standing, causing it to fall one side at a time as five layers of parallax scrolled by.
Actually the parallax is only used while scrolling up. As soon as the top floor is reached and the boss fight starts the background is only one layer. Watch closely when the mayhem starts and see.
I remember when I reached that boss the first time. He slapped me silly of course, but I just looked in amazement at all the things going on. A feeling the game would evoke (and still does) many times more.
I don't know who Clockwork Tortoise was, but they knew the Genesis like nobody's business.
Amen to that!
Instead, we get booming techno that plays for about ninety seconds before looping.
The intro tune is an exception to this (it is probably longer than the tunes in "Gain Ground"), but it didn't really work out. The variations are definitely not among the best.
I'm disappointed that none of the great music from the show or even the movies found its way here. At least the opening theme from the series should have been used.
I suspect the creators simply had all these amazing ideas (for a run 'n gun). At one point it was decided to cloth it in Batman imagery. Whether this was to increase sales and their own idea, or the idea was already there and they were contacted for a game to use for this idea one can only guess at.
Look at how the in-game story falls apart from the end of level 3-3. The background goes psychedelic on you, the hopping thing (what the HELL is that anyway?), the tunnel (in a tv studio?), the Mad Hatter boss fight (galaxies in the background?) and the tunnel in level 4-3 (I thought this was a university?).
Even though I think Batman was shaped around the game instead of the other way around it worked out. This in comparison to the "Universal Soldier" and "Turrican 2" fiasco. Having someone create a completely new world and new characters is a difficult business. For all we know this part of the game could have been forgettable.
I'm a big admirer of good coding, so you'll understand why I can stomach the games' obvious faults (i.e. repetitiveness and length).
At the moment I'm working on a FAQ of which about 58kb has been written. It will be very, very comprehensive. Still some cosmetic changes and it will be done.
I read your review and wished to comment, but there was no existing thread. Please indulge me.
Personally, I wonder why the hell Arkham Asylum hasn't been shut down, as it has never contained anyone. They might as well just install a revolving door in the place.
Haha.
There's basically no difference between them, save for the type of projectile they use.
Both characters are exactly the same except for the sprite (of course) and the melee attack animations. The damage of the melee attacks is the same though.
The projectiles also are exactly the same for both characters.
Some of the stages here are almost impossible to pass alone.
I've 1 credit cleared (1cc) the game with lives left over; alone. In fact I do not lose even a life till level 3-3 or later. Level 1-1 and 2-1 I can pass without getting hit.
It is hard, yes; but once you learn the rhythm of the game it can be done. Easily even.
And I'm by no means an expert gamer, simply a persevering one.
I use a Game Genie when I play.
I can really recommend trying it without. It will make the experience and satisfaction so much greater.
Batarangs, shurikens, and bolos can be found and upgraded with icons that appear randomly throughout the stage.
All power-ups appear at fixed points in the game. There is nothing random about them.
Each weapon can be upgraded a total of six times but I doubt anyone will live long enough to do so.
The weapons can be upgraded five times, since you start out on level one and level six is the last. Probably only a difference in looking at the thing, this.
I found these weapons to be mostly useless against bosses however, and instead relied on jump kicks, which land several blows in succession.
This technique is really questionable. I don't think it even makes sense when using a Game Genie.
See, the jump kick does successive hits indeed; but you'll get hit in the process as well due to the lack of distance.
Throwing projectiles (use the green ones if you prefer power) will also do quick successive hits.
I only use the jump kick to cross large distances. For example to jump over the fireflowers or when fighting Mad Hatter.
All the bosses have set patterns (as always in these kind of games). Learning these will allow you to "play" (even without firing) with a boss for as long as you wish. Having reached such a point it doesn't matter if weapons do little damage or not as you will have all the time in the world.
A few 1ups are scattered about but they are few and far between.
Indeed, but there are many hidden 1-ups!
For example, noticed how the Mad Hatter drops his hat after defeat? It is possible to hit it or fire at it and this is not just a nice touch. If you destroy it a 1-up will appear (the coolest hidden 1-up ever). Hell, there is a 1-up hidden in level 1-1 only a dozen seconds in. Clear the clowns dropping from the right to the left on the ledge very quickly (you can only allow them to move a bit) and a 1-up appears.
The swinging crane hook in level 3, for example, blew me away, the scaling was so smooth.
The effect used there is not scaling actually. In the demo scene it is called "vector balls". Basically this effect is real-time or partly pre-calculated and has nothing to do with the scaling of a sprite.
Another game that comes to mind showcasing this on the Mega Drive is called "Ballz". I wonder why this effect wasn't used more.
If you want to see some demos showcasing it (there is stuff out there much more impressive than the crane) go to http://www.pouet.net/ and look for "vector (balls)".
This one http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=3540 is an absolute classic and will stun you. It runs on a 286!
Boss battles are equally impressive. I couldn't help but grin as Two-Face tossed a pack of TNT onto the girder where I was standing, causing it to fall one side at a time as five layers of parallax scrolled by.
Actually the parallax is only used while scrolling up. As soon as the top floor is reached and the boss fight starts the background is only one layer. Watch closely when the mayhem starts and see.
I remember when I reached that boss the first time. He slapped me silly of course, but I just looked in amazement at all the things going on. A feeling the game would evoke (and still does) many times more.
I don't know who Clockwork Tortoise was, but they knew the Genesis like nobody's business.
Amen to that!
Instead, we get booming techno that plays for about ninety seconds before looping.
The intro tune is an exception to this (it is probably longer than the tunes in "Gain Ground"), but it didn't really work out. The variations are definitely not among the best.
I'm disappointed that none of the great music from the show or even the movies found its way here. At least the opening theme from the series should have been used.
I suspect the creators simply had all these amazing ideas (for a run 'n gun). At one point it was decided to cloth it in Batman imagery. Whether this was to increase sales and their own idea, or the idea was already there and they were contacted for a game to use for this idea one can only guess at.
Look at how the in-game story falls apart from the end of level 3-3. The background goes psychedelic on you, the hopping thing (what the HELL is that anyway?), the tunnel (in a tv studio?), the Mad Hatter boss fight (galaxies in the background?) and the tunnel in level 4-3 (I thought this was a university?).
Even though I think Batman was shaped around the game instead of the other way around it worked out. This in comparison to the "Universal Soldier" and "Turrican 2" fiasco. Having someone create a completely new world and new characters is a difficult business. For all we know this part of the game could have been forgettable.