Combat: Geralt vs Batman
Ok, I know Batman: Arkham Asylum is classified as an action game, but this is deliberate.He gets XP. He uses XP to upgrade his combat moves, armour, etc.He travels from zone to zone, gets into two types of fights - brawl & stealth, does detective work, acquires new gadgets (usable in combat), progress along a story to save Gotham city.There are 20 upgrades in total ... hmm ... sounds like an rpg to me.Where the difference lies is the importance of twitch skills.Something will get classified as an RPG if your gear and stats are more important than reflexes and manual dexterity.And so we get to the crux of the matter.Geralt is awesome in combat. Batman is awesome in combat.Geralt looks cool with his combos and specials. Batman looks cool with his combos and specials.Geralt wins by timed clicks and such, sure .. but just as much with the rolling of dice.Hit %. Damage range. Dodge & parry probability. Likelihood of bleeding. Etc.The player's contribution comes in the form of clicking correctly, choosing the right style, having better stats or gear or buffs, or heck just knowing when to retreat for a few seconds.Batman wins because the player did it.The combo mechanic is similar to TW in that you have 1 second after executing one move to do the next one (or the combo fails).But the similarity ends there.You have active dodging ... if someone swings a baseball bat and you're there, you get hit. Dodge by moving in a direction while double-tapping space bar. Enemy dodge (flipping over a guy) resets your combo timer (back to 1 second). You also get 1 non-enemy dodge (just rolling to the side, for instance) between attacks (ok, it's a little more complicated, but 'tis the gist) before you lose your combo.You have active defending ... if a punch, kick, or baseball bat comes your way, you can counter with a right-click. But only if you're not doing anything else. It counts for combo purposes.If you get hurt for any reason, you lose your combo.Knife guys are uncounterable and they automatically block your attacks (ending your combo). You have to stun (with your cape - press E) or knock them down (with combo batarang - press Q or batclaw - press C or a throw shift left-click when combo is "charged up" - either them or someone else into them) before attacking.Guys with shock rods are uncounterable and attacking them from the front (even while stunned) will result in damage (ending your combo). You have to either knock them down or get behind them (with an enemy dodge).Guys can throw stuff at you (hit 'em quick or dodge to the side).Guys can get guns and shoot you (target them asap).So here is my point.Geralt certainly looks awesome, but it has been mentioned before that TW has 'not enough gameplay' but usually via unfair comparisons to everything from Devil May Cry to Street Fighter.Well, here are 2 games that have both rpg and action elements .. perhaps there's some stuff Geralt can learn from Batman?I'm saying that as someone who loves TW, but doesn't consider the combat 'recording worthy' ... while I've posted a fair number of youtube videos.I have one of Batman, in fact .. and am in the process of making morehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY46q0hvMh0
Ok, I know Batman: Arkham Asylum is classified as an action game, but this is deliberate.He gets XP. He uses XP to upgrade his combat moves, armour, etc.He travels from zone to zone, gets into two types of fights - brawl & stealth, does detective work, acquires new gadgets (usable in combat), progress along a story to save Gotham city.There are 20 upgrades in total ... hmm ... sounds like an rpg to me.Where the difference lies is the importance of twitch skills.Something will get classified as an RPG if your gear and stats are more important than reflexes and manual dexterity.And so we get to the crux of the matter.Geralt is awesome in combat. Batman is awesome in combat.Geralt looks cool with his combos and specials. Batman looks cool with his combos and specials.Geralt wins by timed clicks and such, sure .. but just as much with the rolling of dice.Hit %. Damage range. Dodge & parry probability. Likelihood of bleeding. Etc.The player's contribution comes in the form of clicking correctly, choosing the right style, having better stats or gear or buffs, or heck just knowing when to retreat for a few seconds.Batman wins because the player did it.The combo mechanic is similar to TW in that you have 1 second after executing one move to do the next one (or the combo fails).But the similarity ends there.You have active dodging ... if someone swings a baseball bat and you're there, you get hit. Dodge by moving in a direction while double-tapping space bar. Enemy dodge (flipping over a guy) resets your combo timer (back to 1 second). You also get 1 non-enemy dodge (just rolling to the side, for instance) between attacks (ok, it's a little more complicated, but 'tis the gist) before you lose your combo.You have active defending ... if a punch, kick, or baseball bat comes your way, you can counter with a right-click. But only if you're not doing anything else. It counts for combo purposes.If you get hurt for any reason, you lose your combo.Knife guys are uncounterable and they automatically block your attacks (ending your combo). You have to stun (with your cape - press E) or knock them down (with combo batarang - press Q or batclaw - press C or a throw shift left-click when combo is "charged up" - either them or someone else into them) before attacking.Guys with shock rods are uncounterable and attacking them from the front (even while stunned) will result in damage (ending your combo). You have to either knock them down or get behind them (with an enemy dodge).Guys can throw stuff at you (hit 'em quick or dodge to the side).Guys can get guns and shoot you (target them asap).So here is my point.Geralt certainly looks awesome, but it has been mentioned before that TW has 'not enough gameplay' but usually via unfair comparisons to everything from Devil May Cry to Street Fighter.Well, here are 2 games that have both rpg and action elements .. perhaps there's some stuff Geralt can learn from Batman?I'm saying that as someone who loves TW, but doesn't consider the combat 'recording worthy' ... while I've posted a fair number of youtube videos.I have one of Batman, in fact .. and am in the process of making morehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY46q0hvMh0
eace: