Episode 1 Playthrough Thoughts
So, after watching the Batman:Unmasked episode, I'm finally playing the game!
I forgot to tell this in my last post, but the main menu music and animation are just superb. The UI feels so much more polished that previous games. Especially liked the Bruce Wayne to Batman transition in the shadows. Good stuff guys!
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Hmmm. So I had a tough time getting my old computer to handle this game. It hard crashed the first time I launched it during the intro with the Helicopter flying in(yes, I updated all my drivers for my 5850 card). The second time I launched, I reduced the texture quality but kept it 1920x1080.
But, there's this jarring pause whenever the game cuts to another scene. Like its loading the scene and assets into memory. This is the first telltale game that I've noticed this happening in.
I played the 1st action packed chapter in this stutter-y state. The quick time combos have also gotten quite a bit harder. But its good IMO because it makes you feel how quick Batman needs to be in order to be perfect.
I wasn't happy with the way my playthrough started. So, I'm replay the entire sequence in a lower resolution(1280x720). I'll be restarting the Episode again now.
Idea - Maybe include a graphics stress test in the game for PCs(like in the Rocksteady Batman games)? That way I can quickly test out whether the settings I have lead to stuttering.
Finally finished it! What a ride.
Things I loved -
The Bruce Wayne character - It's well thought out and well written. There was one dialogue in the beginning section where Batman and Catwoman are on the rooftop which felt a bit off to me. Batman said something which sounded like, "I am justice!". Ammm, OK? But other than that I couldn't stop playing the episode till I knew more about him. For the first time, I still thought like Bruce Wayne when I was playing as Batman.
The detective and planning mode - I loved it. Linking evidence and planning how I take out henchmen was just such a satisfying feeling. Honestly, if one episode started with that mechanic, I would be so happy.
Story structure - The story is structured in a way where both the player and Bruce Wayne interact with the world based on the limited info given in the game. The reveal photo in the end of the episode, the one which showed Bruce's parents had a drink with Falcone was one way both me and Bruce learnt something new. It feels like a narrative design technique I've seen before, but it is still very interesting.
The car - When it transforms into the Batmobile, it was just great. The car really mirrors Bruce. During the day, it’s a flashy sports car. With the touch of a button, an armoured tank. It sounds simple when I write it, but it just works on so many levels.
Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle having a conversation - This is why I like Telltale games so much. It’s not just witty exchanges in the middle of combat. I was quite surprised when it happened.
The Press scene - The tension was real. I used the 'my parents gave everything for Gotham' to get the crowd on my side. But the leak about the Wayne and Falcone family having a linked off-shore account completely blindsided me. Good job.
My choices having consequences felt real – From the newspaper outside the dilapidated park to the TV news reports at the end saying I shook Falcone’s hands, it really felt like my actions had a rippling effect on the rest of the story. Nice!
Things I didn't like -
Police shooting Batman when they aren't provoked - Why do all cops have itchy trigger fingers in this world? Like I don't understand the motivation to try and shoot somebody who isn't threatening you. The last scene is me standing next to Falcone dangling from an iron bar and the first thing the cops do is to open fire! What? The game does a poor job of explaining why all the cops want to shoot Batman on sight.
Oz - Maybe it’s too early in the story, but this character needed more screen time. Just infodumping his illegal activities felt very meh. Like I know you (the writers) want him to become one of the bad guys. I get it. But why does he suddenly want a revolution?!
Game optimization – This Telltale game looks great. But my computer simply can’t handle it. If there was a way the game auto-detected my computer’s hardware and adapted the textures and resolution accordingly, that would be great.
What I'm not sure about -
The Achievements - Why are all the achievement titles revealed on Steam? If its intentional to get some speculative conversation going on here, then it also means that the entire story is already set in stone. I was under the impression that Telltale looked out for how player play their stories and adapted it to make later episodes more impactful.
But all in all, I’m really happy with how this has turned out. Thank you everybody at Telltale for making great games!