I have to say turnbased RPG's isn't just pressing a button to play. It's usually strategy with the diverse party of characters and various enemy types. It's also a lot of micro managing. Why they are so time intensive. Esp the ones that are grind heavy. Some hate it some love it. I love it. Also there is a payoff. mashing buttons in Batman there is no payoff. It just ends at some point until the next one. An RPG has a long term goal. There is none with battle in Batman. It's a time buffer.
Of course there's more to Turn-based combat than just pressing a button, I'm just saying that the act of using your abilities in the game requires no skill from the player: you literally just pick it from a menu. Whether the system is engaging is a discussion to be had somewhere else.
You do have a goal in Batman: your goal is to beat up everyone in your way in order to stop the main villain
Did you finish Arkham Asylum? I found it to be a great game overall. I suppose combat didn't change much in Arkham City but I never really had an issue with the combat.
That's true, there is less control of Batman than that of Mario but that in itself isn't a bad thing. There not being a manual lock-on system doesn't make it feel like I'm not in control, if anything it helps make combat flow much better. It can be very punishing when I mess up a combo by hitting a shielded or armoured enemy or don't counter a knife wielding enemy and also those big Bane-like enemies too, if you mess up the combos you can die in a fight quite easily. I've always found the combat smooth, challenging and enjoyable.
Eh, I guess there's not a heck of a lot of depth but I can't think of another game like the Arkham series which does better. For what depth is there I find it enjoyable and challenging.
I agree that some of the gadgets and abilities could have been used better than they were but I can't say I'm really disappointed with what we got. The stealth and combat are enjoyable to me and just simply gliding around the city feels satisfying.
Yes, I did finish Asylum. I found the writing to be rather lazy, to be honest. Just look at that opening cutscene: The atmosphere was set for the Joker to make a masterful escape he'd been planning since a long time ago, and when the time comes for him to reveal it... he just head-butts some guard. What? Really? That's all he did? Wow, that's... so incredibly underwhelming...!
Less control means that you have less to pay attention to while playing the game, which by definition means you're less engaged in the game, but yes, it does make the combat flow well. The problem with that is that combat in most Action games will flow well if you're good at the game, therefore you get the satisfaction of skill that comes from making the combat look awesome, so when the combat can't look bad you simply can't get any satisfaction from making the combat look awesome because that's how it's always looked
In essence, it's kind of a Rhythm game put under the context of an Action game, so I'm not surprised there's not many similar games considering how bizarre the combination is. On the spot though, I think I heard somewhere that Remember Me improved on the combat of the Arkham series, but nowhere near enough to make it interesting (by the way, you should Google that game, if only because the presentation is rad). I don't really think the combat needs to be awfully complex, just having a small set of attacks with a wide range of functionality that varies based on timing and spacing, coupled with enemies that have multiple types of attacks would be enough to make it A LOT more interesting while still keeping it intuitive.
It's fine if you think that's good enough for you. I'm not trying to make you dislike the game or anything; I'm just explaining my point of view.
Edited by Waller, 27 November 2014 - 11:23 PM.