Video Game Time Machine: Arkham Asylum

Hello readers, new series again. This time with a twist. It's a new series about older video games. When I say old, I mean anything from classics like Pong to more recent classics like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, depending on what older game I decide to go back to. This time we're looking at Batman: Arkham Asylum from 2009, which although seems like a fairly short time ago, is nearly a whopping five years.

When Arkham Asylum first hit the shelves, I must admit I was rather sceptical about the quality of the game and felt that perhaps it was an attempt by the video games industry to latch on to the successes of both Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008). It wasn't until later that I realised Arkham Asylum was made by Rocksteady Studios, who made one of my favourite games on the PS2, Urban Chaos: Riot Response and was penned by Paul Dini, one of my favourite writers from Batman: The Animated Series and various DC comics as well as the creator of one Dr. Harleen Quinzel, better known as Joker's moll, Harley Quinn.

I think my favourite part of the game is the brilliant plot and backstory-rich setting of Arkham Asylum with a fantastic cast that combines staple Batman characters with new interesting characters who I can easily see transitioning into the comics. While the game seems to primarily target Batman and DC Comics fans, it toes an extremely fine line that welcomes people new to the Batman/DC universe, sometimes crossing a little too far into the fan section with the near encyclopaedic knowledge of the DC Universe needed to solve the Riddler's riddles legitimately but the gameplay, plot, voice acting, visuals and level design is enough to win over the casual gamer.

Going back in Arkham Asylum, I was a little startled by the contrast between the cinematics and gameplay graphics with the gameplay graphics having aged very well while the cinematics look a little lacklustre, almost too the point of quite extreme screen-tearing on a LED TV. Being a veteran of Arkham City, the combat system feels a little clunky with movement and fighting being less smooth than City but ultimately still feeling quite satisfying. Detective Mode is also useable at all times because the imaging has less contrast than in City and feels a little like a cheat some times because I can see hidden enemies, voiding the potential jumpscares written into the game. The riddles are a lot harder in Asylum if you're not a Batman or DC Comics fan because they often refer a lot to some less obvious Batman lore. As an avid Batman comics reader, it was mostly easy but it's a little unfair to some less avid comic book readers.

Overall, Arkham Asylum holds up very well in contrast to its successors and is one of those games you can just slap on and start playing again without feeling lost or feeling like your skills have seriously atrophied.

Lord of the Rings: War in the North (PS3) Review

“With his far reaching right hand Sauron might have done great evil in the North. Yet all that has been averted because a handful of heroes stood in his path…” - Gandalf the White, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

Lord of the Rings: War in the North (2011) is a third-person RPG developed by Snowblind Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., who owns the rights to, you guessed it, the Lord of the Rings franchise. This is mostly unrelated to the game itself but, it is rather hilarious, to me at least, that the only blurb on the cover is from Zoo Magazine, a lad's mag. Maybe it's just me but that doesn't inspire much confidence in the quality of the game. Nevertheless, we shall press on!

The best word I can come up with to describe this game is "adequate". The story is adequate to keep you entertained on your journey but doesn't quite grab you like the movies or books. The gameplay is adequate in terms of variety and combat. The music is adequate in stirring some semblance of emotions without getting you too invested into the adventure. The voice-acting is adequately entertaining with no real stand-out performances from its cast. The threadbare RPG elements are barely adequate to classify this game as a RPG. The AI though, is atrocious, we'll get into that later.
Let's start off discussing the story. Basically, War in the North's entire premise can be summed up by that short quote from Return of the King. In fact, those words opening this review are the very first thing you see in the opening sequence for the game. Sauron's "far reaching right hand" refers to his lieutenant, Agandaûr, a man who has fallen under the sway of the Dark Lord of Mordor and seeks to spread his master's influence in the Northern lands of Middle-Earth. Standing in his way are "a handful of heroes"; namely, Andriel, the Loremaster of Rivendell, Eradan, the Dúnedain Ranger, and Farin, Champion of Erebor. The story thus follows our intrepid heroes on their quest to bring down Agandaûr in order to prevent Sauron from establishing a foothold in the North. Along the way, they travel to far-flung places all over the Northern lands, make new friends, murder thousands of enemies and have a rocking good time chasing down the Dark Lord's right hand. 
In my opinion, the most unfortunate part about War in the North is that it had so much potential, seeing as it draws on one of the most brilliant and detailed stories in the history of fantasy novels and movies. Unfortunately, the story ends up being a boring pastiche of various locales throughout the North of Middle-Earth and barely-tied together missions where the main narrative thrust exists only in cutscenes between levels and mostly between missions. The side-quests are barely fleshed-out and mostly involve collecting items for various NPCs throughout the game with little to no explanation as to how things turn out after you successfully complete them. Outside of the campaign, there are two challenge maps where stanzas of poems are provided at each round until you finish but there's no real explanation or tie-in with the rest of the game. 
The storyline itself is easily forgettable with the only real memorable part, for me at least, being the one time you meet the Fellowship of the Ring and Bilbo at Rivendell. Only because it's the Fellowship and Bilbo. Other than the very special cameo from the Fellowship, most of the characters in the game are mostly one-dimensional with no real stand-outs or character development for that matter. The three characters you can choose from (with the other two being AI characters that follow you around or two friends if you have any willing to play with you) occasionally spout out a funny one-liner in combat but other than that, they come across as completely boring and perhaps a little too steadfast in their mission. Their resolve to defeat Agandaûr and distract Sauron's forces from the Fellowship is admirable but doesn't make for great character development, especially since we learn nothing of their pasts either. In fact, other than their voices, gender and races, they are pretty much interchangeable. 
Speaking of voices, the voice-acting in this game isn't bad but it isn't good either. The usually spectacular Nolan North is the only recognisable name in the main cast and does a fair job but is not as awe-inspiring like in his other meatier roles. The rest of the cast barely have personalities and come across as fairly one-dimensional, although I suspect it has more to do with the script than the quality of the actors. Again, this detracts from the experience as it makes it difficult to connect with characters on a deeper level as they come across as superficial. The dialogue between characters is also extremely dry as the options given have no moral consequences and merely results in additional information gleaned, some of the time. Most of the time, it's just two sides of the same coin, you end up talking about the same things albeit worded slightly differently.
While the story and characterisation comes across poorly, what War in the North does do well, and very well indeed, is combat. Fighting is visceral and often involves brutally killing enemies, decapitating them, severing their limbs and more often than not, sending their guts flying everywhere. Combat primarily involves melee with the option of ranged combat if one prefers keeping their distance from enemies. When you first start off fighting orcs and other vile creatures, the gory and bloody combat is extremely entertaining, demonstrating the finer details of melee combat on a humanoid body. As the game goes on though, even this fresh take on fighting gets a little stale as you repetitively chop through thousands of enemies without much consideration. 
On the RPG front, there are special abilities you can execute but they cost you Power, which is represented by a blue bar that drains as you use special abilities. When you kill enough baddies and level up, you can invest points in Will (increasing the amount of Power you have and allowing you to wear higher-level amulets and rings), Stamina (increasing the amount of health you have, speeding up health regeneration and allowing you to wear better armour), Strength (increases your melee damage) and Dexterity (increases your ranged damage). The equipment you use tends to only have minor aesthetic and statistical differences, forcing you to visit a blacksmith every so often after too many uses. 
The skill trees are interesting to an extent but there's not much to keep you entertained after getting your core skills and improving them to a ridiculous level. Class-wise, there's Eradan the Ranger who is probably supposed to serve as the team's sniper but really can be used as a melee class as well. Farin the Champion is definitely designed for close-quarters combat and is basically a tank who absorbs as much damage as he dishes. Andriel the Loremaster is the healer, with spells to heal and shield her comrades from enemy projectiles. While each class seems to have a specialty they should stick to, players can easily throw those notions away by investing in a way that makes the character a better fighter when they should be focussing on ranged attacks or vice versa. I suppose that provides a sense of freedom but it sort of detracts from having established characters with different specialities. 
Speaking of the characters, the AI is utterly, utterly atrocious. This game is brilliantly designed for co-op but alone, it can be a nightmare since the AI you get saddled with fail to be of any use whatsoever since they charge into hordes of enemies regardless of what commands you give them. The sad part is, there are only two commands, Attack or Defend. Regardless of which you choose, they run headlong into battle and do little to actually help you when you're in trouble. If you want to enjoy this game, I suggest getting your friends to tag along. With two buddies, this game can be serious fun. Sure, it's a little boring and it gets a little repetitive but friends make everything better. Plus, it is satisfying when you have three players working together in a team and slaying enemies left, right and centre like a trio of badasses.
Not the glitches though. They can't fix those for you. In fact, they might actually exacerbate the various glitches this game suffers from. Glitches include falling off the map randomly, save files being corrupted and preventing you from continuing the storyline, magically dying and being resurrected and some issues with the animation such as enemies being stuck in rocks and terrain or standing frozen after being slain in combat.
Conclusion: Lord of the Rings: War in the North is one of those decidedly average games that are fun and should be experienced but perhaps as a rent or bought from a bargain bin. It could have been a great game but unfortunately, it is not.
Total Score = 67/100