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[Spring-Loaded]

fawk

Periodically, I'll pick up Batman: Arkham City just to beat up criminals. I've played the game plenty, so I've seen all of Batman's moves at least a few times. However, each time I play as Catwoman, I see a new counter or attack. Even in this brief bit of gameplay, the quality of animations and the smooth blending between them is evident.

Combat in the Rocksteady's Batman games revolves around mostly two buttons: attack and counter. It's less about using specific types of attacks (hence the single, all purpose attack button) and more about timing. The animations for attacks/counters are context sensitive, determined by position relative enemies, which weapons enemies have and number of enemies being countered at a time.

Catwoman seemingly has more unique animations for all of these circumstances even those she's an optional side character (you don't ever have to play as her if you don't use input the DLC code). Just today, I did a three-enemy counter with her and she grabbed onto one guy's head, swung around kicking the two others in their faces (the camera followed her like that pole-spin scene from the second Matrix movie, the first time I've seen that in this game) before knocking down the first dude.

She has unique special takedowns against enemies wielding specific weapons, something Batman doesn't have (unless you count the "weapon dismantle" move). There are sword-wielding enemies that she won't even face in the main game, yet she has as many, if not more counter animations when fighting them (multiple ones for both single and double-counters).

On top of all that, it seems as if the animation blending is even more fluid than that of Batman. If you do a stealth takedown As Batman on a goon while they're walking down stairs, there'll be an odd transition into the choking-out move since it's meant to be on a flat surface. As Catwoman, she'll front-flip onto the enemies shoulders real smooth like when behind them on stairs.

Here's another video of her fighting, though it's best to try it out and see for yourself since you can take your time and let the animations play out without rushing them. Her fightan even inspired a martial arts video 'cause it's that good

 

[Sn4ke_911]

Yep it's amazing, loved playing as her.

Edit: Damn, i can't wait to see what Rocksteady is cooking up next.

 

[mr_nothin]

As soon as the video starts, she's mario-walking into the dresser.....

 

[nawwafh]

yupp.. and it was lodsa fun .. i would actually buy a standalone catwoman game based on the same engine...

 

[Magic Mushroom]

All the characters are animated brilliantly. I actually think Robin has the coolest moves, but they're all good. I hope Deathstroke in Origins will live up to Rocksteady's stellar work.

 

[ZiZ]

Rocksteady did a great job capturing the characters personalities in the game. The way they talk and move is amazing. I hope the guys doing Arkham origins can maintain that level of quality.

Rocksteady's take on the batman universe is second only to the Animated series, way better than all the movies and most of the comics. (the story isn't that good but that's what you get when you're forced to cram all those characters into one story)

 

[Siegmeyer]

Yep, couldn't agree more. I 100% the PS3 version when it came out and am currently hammering the shit out of the Wii U version and and am still amazed by the fluidity and diversity in the animations. Like I'd probably seen it before on PS3 but the other day I was using Robin in the Rooftop Rumble challenge map and did this double-counter move where he uses the low ledge like a pommel horse and flails his legs like a gymnast. Blew me (and my watching friend) away.

Amazing that even on top of all the incredible standard animation they put in this context sensitive stuff too. Same as if you do a Beat Down finisher as Batman against the wall, the last hit slams their skull against the wall.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Agreed.

Catwoman felt better and more fun to play as in Arkham City than Batman did. They NAILED her sprint, slide, and traversal animations. The crawling stealth, and multi-enemy counters looked incredible. I want an entire Catwoman game from them.

 

[ArjanN]

The animation is good, but I always did feel they flubbed the physics a bit too much in the Batman games in order to make it easier, which took away a bit of the look.

 

[GrayFoxPL]

It all looks pretty and smooth but her movements are so incredibly slow it's hard to imagine anyone would get hit by her, even 1 month boxing trainee.

For a fighting game and martial arts fan Arkham combat does look pretty but is way way too slow.

 

[Sentenza]

It all looks pretty and smooth but her movements are so incredibly slow it's hard to imagine anyone would get hit by her, even 1 month boxing trainee.

For a fighting game and martial arts fan Arkham combat does look pretty but is way way too slow.

Nope.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Like I'd probably seen it before on PS3 but the other day I was using Robin in the Rooftop Rumble challenge map and did this double-counter move where he uses the low ledge like a pommel horse and flails his legs like a gymnast. Blew me (and my watching friend) away.

That too. Catwoman has three different ledge counter animations where Batman has one, maybe two, and Catwoman's are just better. I think she only has one beat down-to-wall finisher where she pins the dude's head to the wall with her keel around his neck, but it's cooler than all of Batman's

Crazy that so much work was put into completely optional and truly distinctive characters.

Agreed.

Catwoman felt better and more fun to play as in Arkham City than Batman did. They NAILED her sprint, slide, and traversal animations. The crawling stealth, and multi-enemy counters looked incredible. I want an entire Catwoman game from them.

They have to put those animations to better use. The main-game Catwoman missions didn't live up to the character's abilities themselves. They didn't even touch on how Strange was threatening her adoptive daughter in the main game; you only learn that through bonus interview tapes.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

It all looks pretty and smooth but her movements are so incredibly slow it's hard to imagine anyone would get hit by her, even 1 month boxing trainee.

For a fighting game and martial arts fan Arkham combat does look pretty but is way way too slow.

Catwoman and Batman are HUMAN ...they don't have any special powers or shit like that. The combat speed is perfect.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Catwoman and Batman are HUMAN ...they don't have any special powers or shit like that. The combat speed is perfect.

and Catwoman's moves definitely aren't slow if you do them as fast as possible. The first video in OP is more a demonstration; the guy playing is deliberately going slow for show. The other vid is faster.

 

[UrbanRats]

Agreed.

Catwoman felt better and more fun to play as in Arkham City than Batman did. They NAILED her sprint, slide, and traversal animations. The crawling stealth, and multi-enemy counters looked incredible. I want an entire Catwoman game from them.

I agree.
The navigation through the city could've been a tad faster though.

 

[GrayFoxPL]

Catwoman and Batman are HUMAN ...they don't have any special powers or shit like that. The combat speed is perfect.

They're slow humans.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

They're slow humans.

In your eyes maybe.

 

[Sentenza]

They're slow humans.

Nope.
Unless you are referring to the deliberate slowdowns when hits land, which would make you wrong anyway.

 

[Persona86]

Really disappointed they didn't do more with her. We need a Catwoman game from them.

 

[jiggles]

If anything, I thought Catwoman's animations were too fast. I actually disliked using the whip in the game because of how silly it looked.

 

[Shinta]

It all looks pretty and smooth but her movements are so incredibly slow it's hard to imagine anyone would get hit by her, even 1 month boxing trainee.

For a fighting game and martial arts fan Arkham combat does look pretty but is way way too slow.

Catwoman is definitely too slow, and the choreography was not as good as Batman's.

With Batman, you can tell they lifted several moves straight from this fight scene, so it looked like he could be potentially fighting a real crowd of people. With Catwoman, it looked neat at times, but it didn't have that same level of realism and believably for me, at all. Most of her finishers and takedowns in particular focused too much on one guy, and took too long, and didn't look believable when surrounded by attacking enemies.

 

[Siegmeyer]

They're slow humans.

I can't believe we're watching the same game.

 

[thesuperfunk]

If anything, I thought Catwoman's animations were too fast. I actually disliked using the whip in the game because of how silly it looked.

Agreed ... I preferred the fact that Batman felt that more weighted ... None of this animation matches up to beautiful PES 2014 though!

 

[Hilfemaster]

after looking at that video i might play the next arkham game after all

 

[Captain N]

The combat feels good and while I like the animations I think it's a little floaty. They just don't feel like they have weight to them.

I hope Rocksteady is working on a Superman vs Batman game to launch with the movie.

 

[Coxswain]

I think that the weird way the characters jerk and slide around to line up just-so with their next target makes the animation look really shoddy, even if the animations aren't bad once an attack is in-progress.

I really hate the magnetic targeting that the Arkham (and Arkham-like) combat systems have. It always looks (and feels) like the action game version of Uncharted-style auto-platforming.

 

[rmanthorp]

Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Even Nightwings and Robins animations were totally unique and incredible. The counters up against walls when playing Nightwing - oh my days!

Can't wait to see what Rocksteady cook up next. no matter what it is. Looking forward to Origins as well tbf. Deathstroke looks to have cool animations. Some new ones for the younger, aggressive Batman, look cool too.

 

[Sentenza]

Looking forward to Origins as well tbf. Deathstroke looks to have cool animations. Some new ones for the younger, aggressive Batman, look cool too.

I fear it won't be on par. I can't exactly point my finger at the details, but there's something slightly off in every gameplay video I watched so far.
But I will hold my judgment until I can actually try it, of course.

 

[family_guy]

The combat feels good and while I like the animations I think it's a little floaty. They just don't feel like they have weight to them.

I hope Rocksteady is working on a Superman vs Batman game to launch with the movie.

I really hope they aren't calling the movie that. Sounds ridiculous.

 

[clockpunk]

I too would happily buy/play a spinoff title based solely around Catwoman - were it to utilsie the same engine. Really enjoyed her sections in Arkham City (short-lived and few though they may have been)

 

[Jobbs]

I was always upset when the catwoman levels ended. I would have preferred to just play catwoman the entire game. we have enough batman already.

 

[Dabanton]

The combat always felt so satisfying in this game. And the controls while they looked simple it takes time to learn all of them, but in the hands of someone who knows what there doing it becomes a ballet of timing and control.

 

[matrix-cat]

Yeah, the extra characters were great, even the PS3-exclusive Joker in Arkham Asylum. They all have a particular feel and timing to them that makes them play totally differently to Batman. None of them have the Disarm & Destroy move, so you have to be really careful of the weapon-wielding grunts that Batman can just steamroll, but they all have extra abilities that Batman only wishes he had. Catwoman's the Queen of crowd control with the caltrops and Whip Trip, but her animations (particularly the aerial attack) leave her vulnerable for a lot longer so it all balances out. Robin's Snap Flash is incredibly useful, but also really hard to pull off, like a version of Batman's explosive gel that's much higher on the risk and reward.

I do wish the game would do a better job of teaching you their moves, though. The best you get is a splash screen with a basic control overview, but you really have to get out there and try them and screw up until you learn. I dropped a lot of combos before I realised that certain attacks can only be used once per round.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

She magically slides to connect animations with ennemies on the video you linked : worst offender to believable animations ever.

 

[Sub_Level]

Catwoman and Batwoman game pls

I like Batman but he looks like one of those roided up marines from those strategy games.

 

[Sentenza]

She magically slides to connect animations with ennemies.

That's pretty much the minimum amount of "sliding" you will be able to find in any 3D brawler around these days, with some of the best and most convincing animations on top (both in terms of smoothness and in their ability to give a convincing sense of impact on hit, with very precise collisions).
Sometimes it sounds almost like some of you are deliberately inflating expectations to unreasonable levels just for the sake of complaining.

 

[ElRenoRaven]

Yeah, the extra characters were great, even the PS3-exclusive Joker in Arkham Asylum. They all have a particular feel and timing to them that makes them play totally differently to Batman. None of them have the Disarm & Destroy move, so you have to be really careful of the weapon-wielding grunts that Batman can just steamroll, but they all have extra abilities that Batman only wishes he had. Catwoman's the Queen of crowd control with the caltrops and Whip Trip, but her animations (particularly the aerial attack) leave her vulnerable for a lot longer so it all balances out. Robin's Snap Flash is incredibly useful, but also really hard to pull off, like a version of Batman's explosive gel that's much higher on the risk and reward.

I do wish the game would do a better job of teaching you their moves, though. The best you get is a splash screen with a basic control overview, but you really have to get out there and try them and screw up until you learn. I dropped a lot of combos before I realised that certain attacks can only be used once per round.

Yup I loved playing the Joker challenge maps on PS3. He really played differently and the animations etc were amazing. Rocksteady has really made their name thanks to this franchise. They just did an amazing job with the games.

 

[Messofanego]

Catwoman controls like a

Spoiler

wet

dream. Better dominatrix simulator than Bayonetta.

 

[Ludist210]

I actually just finished the epilogue of Arkham City last night, and I have to agree. Both she and Batman are just so fluid when it comes to their movement...Rocksteady has done a great job with this franchise.

I'd never played an Arkham game before Armored Edition, and I enjoyed it so much that I downloaded Arkham Asylum to my PS3 (and all the free DLC) last night right when I got home from work.

 

[IcyEyes]

I would love so much a game with Cat-Woman in the main role ! (from Rocksteady of course)

 

[Omegasquash]

Gotta agree with OP. They did a great job animating her, and mapping the way she moves to the "feel" of Catwoman (if that makes any sense).

 

[Glass Rebel]

Catwoman uses the same sonic steps that bothered me with Batman as well and some of the stuff looks rather janky. It's "neat".

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Nope.

Nope.
Unless you are referring to the deliberate slowdowns when hits land, which would make you wrong anyway.

You can say "Nope" all you like, but gravity would fuck up any plans pretty sharpish of a regular human being doing Batman/Catwoman things.

 

[Sentenza]

You can say "Nope" all you like, but gravity would fuck up any plans pretty sharpish of a regular human being doing Batman/Catwoman things.

I'm saying "nope" because you should probably stop setting your standard about what human beings are capable of doing in a fight with anime and fiction.

Some of these moves... a proper fighter would simply not use them in a real combat because they are *intrinsically* too broad, open and predictable (or simply too complex and challenging to perform effectively), but to claim that Catwoman in the game is *slow* to execute them compared to a normal human is just ridiculous.

 

[Ephemeris]

Definitely one of my top 5 titles this gen.

 

[Fuu]

Challenge mode can be beautiful when you manage to make everything flow nonstop with the timed countering and attacking. It's like a rhythm/action game hybrid.

Still need to complete it with all characters though, I did Robin's first and I'm working through Catwoman's now.

 

[Enduin]

She made the game for me. I would love for a full fledged Catwoman game, and would prefer it over Origins. She is just so much more fun to play as than Bats and the Arkham series pretty goddamn great.

 

[Village]

She made the game for me. I would love for a full fledged Catwoman game, and would prefer it over Origins. She is just so much more fun to play as than Bats and the Arkham series pretty goddamn great.

While she was fun to play, I would just prefer her as a mode. Batwoman as a character, for me atleast eh....... Maybe a robin game, go though all the robins, They could hold your attention during the non gameplay and or really talky parts parts real good. Or a bat girls game... Just... just not catwoman by herself. The one trickiest of ponies.

 

[Snacks the sober sea lion]

Too bad Arkham Catwoman is an incredibly trite character.

Doesn't she ever run out of breath doing that stupid voice? I also actually hated the slide and crouch-walk animations because they were such goddamn transparent sex appeal. I've just never liked Catwoman, and this game is basically everything I've ever disliked about her.

 

[badcrumble]

Agreed.

Catwoman felt better and more fun to play as in Arkham City than Batman did. They NAILED her sprint, slide, and traversal animations. The crawling stealth, and multi-enemy counters looked incredible. I want an entire Catwoman game from them.

Yeah, although her whip/climbing traversal isn't nearly as fun (or fast) as Batman's gliding.

I'm really hoping that Rocksteady's next Arkham game (let's call it Arkham 3 for now) has more characters to switch in and out of and that each of them is as fully-realized as Catwoman.