Game Review : Batman Arkham Asylum

Hallo again. I am going to give my first game review "Batman Arkham Asylum".
Before we start, I am going to lay out some details.

Tittle : Batman Arkham Asylum
Developer : Rocksteady Studio
Publisher : Warner Bros / DC Comics & EIDOS Interactive
Release Date : 25 August 2009

When I first heard that they are making a new Batman games, I am not really excited at all and my expectation are very low. In my past experiences in gaming world, nearly all Superhero games has been a let down. Sorry to say, but Spiderman, Hulk, Ironman are all rubbish. Some are still ok, but you can let it pass without even regrettin g it.

It all changed when I try Batman Arkham Asylum at PS3 Demo, every thing is very smooth and very responsive. I can't wait for it to come out and try it out.

Give me time to finish the game ok!
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Alright! All Done. I finish the game. Here comes the review.

Batman Arkham Asylum score high on my rating : 8.5 /10

The Good : BAA (Batman Arkham Asylum) Combats mechanic are simple, fast paced and looks very good. It mix from Assassin Creed and Tenchu. Graphic and Audio are amazing! Good 10 - 12 hours game play.

The Bad : Joker can be anoying sometimes. (but isn't he always?) its very tempting to play the hole game in Detective Mode vision. You're not going to see all the Super villains in the game. You can see their presents and are not in their cell but you never get a chance to face them. There are only small replay value.

Batman in BAA are quite different from the Movie by Christopher Nolan. In BAA, Batman is not as dark as in the Nolan's movies. So if you read the Batman Comics in the past you will feel right at home in BAA.

Here you are trying to capture Joker... AGAIN... who loose in Arkham Asylum where all the super villains are in prison. It's really a bad situation but it is a perfect job for the Bat.
you start in the beginning of the game only equipped by your Bat suit and Batarang. But as you progress and gaining experience, you will be start getting more Batman gadgets and attack combos so you can access some areas that you can't access before.

In the Arkham Asylum you're not only going to kick bad guys butts. Eddy Eygma or so called The Riddler will keep you busy for hours trying to solve all the puzzles he created for the greatest detective in Gotham City and finding his Riddler Trophy.

So what are you guys waiting for? Go and help Batman save Gotham City and Arkham Asylum from psycho killers
AT
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Pirated games vs Original, the trend..?

As I'm living in country of the heaven for pirated software,but I'm noticing a slight change of trend.

Me and everybody else here grew up playing pirated software. We were never educated about the significant of it nor we cared about it. It's cheap and it plays "exactly like the original". I emphasized these words because this is the significant.

Gaming has evolved, we used to play alone or at the most we do multiplayer only if our friends are coming over. Nowadays as digital era is getting more matured, we play online games not limited to our friends, but other people around the world. And a lot of games have multiplayer element in it.

Piracy back in the days was pretty simple, install a mod chip and there it goes. All the games are 100% compatible, no fuss.
But current console generation has becoming more sophisticated anti piracy feature. Yes some of it can still be pirated (Wii, Xbox 360, DS, PSP), but it gave a lot of hassle. Some games cannot be played, I have to upgrade the firmware. After upgrading, some older games couldn't work, and many other problem as well. 

Beside of that, one of the main problem with piracy is you can't play online.Once you connect your Xbox 360 online, and server detected that your Xbox 360 has been mod, it will automatically banned your Xbox from getting online to the server ever again. In other words, pirated software does not function 'exactly like original' anymore.

Online play is a major part of the total gaming experience today. And it is a big deal.
Because of this, the market of original game, which didn't really exists before, has slowly grown, and I expect it will continue and I think it is a good thing, because then our gaming market industry has a chance to grow.
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10 signs that you are a Wow addict by HDJ

10 signs that you are a Wow addict according to me!

1. Getting your 'tier' armor is more exciting than meeting a girl.
2. You always late on every meeting because of Wow.
3. You are refering to your friend as a 'druid' or any other class that he/ she is playing.
4. Suddenly you felt disconnected from your real life friends, yet you are ok with it.
5. You researched about WoW when you are not playing WoW.
6. The only time you left your PC is when you sleep, or go to the loo.
7. You wish WoW is your real life.
8. You try to persuade others to play WoW.
9. You buy others a WoW game to play WoW
10. You spent 18 hours average a day to play WoW
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10 signs that you are a WoW addict by AT

10 signs that you are a WoW addict by AT

1) Tuesday is the worst day of your live
2) When your internet in your house not working, you call your ISP and SHOUT at the operator and make sure he / she feel like to be kill.
3) Is when you say this line "NOT NOW PLS! we nearly down the boss"
4) Is when you say this line "My mates still needs me."
5) You sleep around 1 - 2 o'clock everyday except on Tuesday.
6) Your Favorite website is www.worldofraids.com
7) Is when you start to thinking that your friend on the net are your true friends.
8) Is when you start buying WOW's gold with a real money
9) Is when you feel like to kill your self when your character got suspended by blizzard
10) Is when you finally quit WOW and say "I am a survivor" 
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Some insight on the console wars

With both Sony and Microsoft announced price drop for their PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively, lets take a look on the pricing map for all the three main rival.

PS3 slim - $299
Xbox 360 Elite - $299
Wii - $249

How does it impact to the gaming market? Today I bring along my friend Andree (AT), who has been and always been a hardcore gamer, to discuss and give his insight on this topic together.

Regarding both PS3 and Xbox 360 getting price cut. Do you think Wii should have a price cut as well? Why?
AT: Should Wii drop their prices? I think it don't really matter. Wii still can sell as good as before without the price drop. Wii targets markets are quite different from PS3 and Xbox360. Wii are more to the casual gamers, meanwhile PS3 and Xbox 360 are more into the hardcore gamers just like me. The price drop from PS3 and Xbox 360 sure will impact Wii sales in someways, but I am sure not that much. So even though PS3 and Xbox 360 are only $50 different, Wii will always have have their loyal casual gamers. And they will buy Wii's and Wii's Games because they don't like PS3 and Xbox 360 Games. Like wise, the hardcore gamers will only buy PS3 and Xbox 360 and not even look at Wii even though Wii is cheaper then the two products.
HDJ: I do think Wii has no hurry to immediately cut price. Cause their market is more casual gamers, which explain the low attach rate and the least played console by the hour (surveyed). Also games in PS3 and Xbox 360 is more hardcore and it is sometimes not very appealing for casual gamers.
Wii should wait and see how things going before make a decision whether to cut price or not.

Which of the console between PS3 and Xbox 360 have more impact from the price cut?
AT: I must say PS3. The price drops by SONY for PS3 will make a big impact in gaming industries. One of the reason why people don't buy PS3 in the first place because is way more expensive than the Xbox 360. Sure... you can say when you buy PS3 you get yourself a Blu Ray player. It's a very good deal right? True! But the problems is, back then PS3 still more expensive than the 360. Why buy a system which can cover you the exact quality of games with more expensive price? If you say Blu Ray, nope, it is not helping much. People are still used to their DVDs and have no reason to switch to Blu Ray just yet. So it's down to the price and the exclusive games both console have. Xbox 360 got HALO,Gears of Wars, Mass Effect which have TONS of fans. PS3 got Metal Gear Solid 4, God of War 3 (NOT OUT YET)and Grand Tourismo 5 (NOT OUT YET). With PS3 dropping the price, It will level the term with Xbox 360 and still overing better hardware with the Blu Ray and no RROD. GO PS3!!!
HDJ: By comparing, PS3 slim bundle is more attractive than Xbox 360. It has built in wifi (you have to spend additional $99 for Xbox wifi), Blu Ray, and no RROD.Xbox 360 has Halo ODST, Fable 3, Forza 3  The likes of GOW3, GT5, MAG, UC2, these are all AAA title that is coming soon to PS3, which I think a stronger games line up than Xbox 360.
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User generated content becoming a trend in Videogame industry

With the announcement of Rock Band Network, where music author can put their songs as a downloadable for Rock Band 2, its clearly user generated type of games are becoming a trend.

We have seen some successful user generated content games like Little big Planet, 'coming soon' Modnation racing, even Starcraft 2 will allow user to create and sell their map creation. And now Rock band network, which I'd say excellent, because it does not just involved with gamers but musicians as well. They could get quicker exposure than before with their music. And I will not be surprised if record companies will try to browse and hope to find some talent in there.

The problem will be, there will be lots and lots of average musics, even bad ones. And if it doesn't managed carefully, it will be like searching a neddle in haystack. And what if there is a similar music, is it going to be a legal battle?

Nevertheless, user generated content continue proving to be a viable business especially in videogame industry. I expect this trend will continue. Guitar Hero network next?
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Rock band Network announcement

Harmonix announced Rock band Network. It is a service that allow any music author to release their song as a downloadable for Rock Band 2.

The user will have to pay $60 for the license, and more for pro license. This is a service that gears toward musician and required to know some coding to use it. So it might not going to attract average gamer.

If your music downloaded, you will get your share for profits.
This is, I think, an excellent news, where all parties is a winner. Music authors get exposure, publishers get more profit, users get more content for their games. Well done!

Its coming to both Xbox 360 and PS3.
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Xbox 360 price drop confirmed!

Xbox 360 price drop confirmed! Microsoft just announced both pros and elites will get price drop.
The 120G Elites will cost $299 and the 60G Pro will reduced to $249.
The Pro will be phased out from production, and will sell until stock last, so Microsoft will only have two models: Arcade ($199) and Elite ($299). Elite will ship without HDMI cable though.

The console wars is getting hotter than ever!! Oh ya, fyi there will be no Xbox 360 slim.
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How to fix RROD here?

 

Ever wonder how they fixed RROD in Jakarta?

First thing, some background. There is no customer service for Xbox in Indonesia, because as a country, we are very weak in IP protection. All the Xboxes that are sold here are modded so they can play pirated copy. And until now, principals never even look at Indonesian market.

So, what do you do when you have RROD on Xbox?

You can always go back to your retailers and have them fixed. Your warranty won't mean a thing. They will charge you a straight around USD 40, and give no guarantee whether the system will be fixed thereafter. In other word, you'll biting your fingernails if somehow they can't fixed it.

So what did they do with it actually? My friend once asked the store keeper about it when his Xbox RRODed. Interestingly he said, "To tell you the truth, we did nothing. We are just going to disassemble and reassemble all the parts, and see if it works." He added,"the thing about RROD is, there is a disjointed or loose parts somewhere that we can't detect. So by reassembling it, we hope to fix the problem. Once in a while if we still can't fix it, then you have to get yourselves a new one."

Nice..
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EGM Revival

Today Steve Harris, the founder of Electronic Gaming Monthly, post in his facebook "Plans put in motion today for EGM to return on December 1..."
This especially good news because I read EGM since high school. The company was bought by UGO and they decided to stop doing printed magazine, instead just focus to web based.

However Steve Harris decided to acquire the license and revive the magazine. I hope James Mielke will return, cause I like what he brought to the magazine, more structure, deeper content.

All the best and good luck for EGM!! Hopefully I can still get it in Jakarta.
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PS3 slim vs Xbox 360

As we all already know PS3 slim is coming. With lower price, Sony hoped to take back some market share as well as gaining new ones, especially in USA where they have been suffering a bit.
Unannounced but yet confirmed by couple retailers is that xbox 360's price has been dropped. The Elites cost around USD 299 which put PS3 slim into direct comparison.

Let's take a closer look on what each of the package provide for USD 299.

PS3 Slim
- Bluray player
- 120 G HDD
- Free online play
- Built in Wifi

Xbox 360
- Xbox live (with usd 50/ yr for online play)
- 120 G HDD
- Netflix (US only)
- Headset
- Additional Wifi (USD99)

For other market other than US, PS3 slim is very interesting from the price point of view, because you at least get a blu ray player. USD 299 blu ray player is pretty cheap, don't you think?

From different point of view, well, Blu ray has been slow in market share, because mostly people don't have an urgent need to watch Blu ray. They are pretty happy with DVD at the moment. So, I think it will not be a groundbreaking feature for PS3 slim.

For Xbox, the netflix thing reception has been good. People with mega bandwidth (sadly not me). And what I heard is Xbox live is superior than PSN, and most people find USD 50/yr is a money well spent.

I believe both machines has their own advantages, it will be interesting to see the fight on this holiday season. Let the battle begins!!!
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Gamescom 2009 & Blizcon

Gamescom 2009 in Cologne just finished and it was a huge successful event gathering 250.000 attendees.
Major announcement is of course PS3 Slim!! with USD 299 price tag, 120 G HDD. It is interesting to see how PS3 will perform this holiday season, given that they already couple steps behind xbox 360.
Other things are just updates of strong PS3 games lineup. GT5, MW2 (can't wait for this one), GOW3, Uncharted 2, Fable 3 for xbox 360.
Overall its a good event, heard next year Gamescom will be planned soon.

After that there is Blizcon. Every Blizzard game has been very successful that they considered their own show. And it was sold out just minutes after the website open.
Wow fans and retired Wow fans (me) should be damn happy, because 3rd expansion Cataclysm is announced. Main features are:
- All new Worgen (alliance) and Goblin (Horde)
- Changes to Azeroth landscape with Auberdine will be flooded. Oh my I love Auberdine!
- Level cap increase to 85
- Mounting in Azeroth
- Guild level. Yes, now guild can gain level, they can have perks like more durability of armors, cheaper repairs, mass ressurection after wipes.
- Many more.

And other thing is Diablo 3 additional class, the monk. It is interesting to see the gameplay of this 'street fighter type' dude.

That's just the 'semi' update from me. check out videogames.com or 1up.com for full coverage.
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Some introduction..

Hi, My name is Henry. I'm living in Jakarta Indonesia. I've been a gamer since 4th grade, starting with NES. During back days, contra just 'wow' me.
Ever since I've been a gamer until now. I owned Sega genesis, mega cd (bad decision), dreamcast (gee I must realized I'm a SEGA fan back days, since I never owned SNES), then PS1, PS2, PS3, gameboy, DS, DSi.

Videogames has been my passion. That's why I wanted to start blogging about it. I will talking about all things that matters to videogames, and maybe some videogames current affair in my place or other countries, and let me share my opinion on it.
I'm so new to blogging so please bear with me. Thanks for reading!!

HDJ
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