I got this from gamefly yesterday, and I just found Dr. Young's Venom Formula in the Mansion. My real question to all you guys and the Giant Bomb crew is...
 
Why does everyone like this game so much?
 
The combat is incredibly easy, and in my opinion not very satisfying at all. Stealth is also incredibly easy, moving from gargoyle to gargoyle, and using the 5 or so stealth take down tactics to kill the "armed" thugs left something to be desired. These two factors makes the Wayne upgrades fairly useless also, since I'm not going to die from anything but a boss fight, the fight upgrades weren't very appealing to me.
 
On the bright side I love the cameos, Riddler challenges, and the atmosphere in the game. It's just the gameplay that doesn't do it for me, which is my main complaint.

Because as simple as all these systems are, there's a lot of depth to them and room to experiment.  Sure, you can do the same thing over and over again and be pretty successful at it, but half the fun of the game is messing with the different things you can do to pull off crazy moves.  A lot of the fun about this game for me has been talking to other people I know about the game and seeing how they handled different scenarios and what moves and upgrades they gravitated towards. 
 
Also I found the combat to get pretty challenging later on in the game if you're not quick to the counter and stun, so I don't know what to tell you.

i think the combat is extremely satisfying and the stealth does get harder. although you are right in saying it is a very challenging campaign but i found it really fun to play through. the challenge maps are a blast as well

The game looks good, portrays the Batman universe beautifully and the controls are solid. The story shows off a tasty handful of Bat-villains without feeling too contrived, and they're all voiced by their animated series equivalents (including the Bat himself).
 
... Not a whole lot to dislike, honestly.

The combat in the game is amazing.  Seriously, when you learn to actually take advantage at how well it has been implemented, there is little more satisfying.

" @DriveupLife: playing on normal in most games these days is a cakewalk. Playing on the hardest difficulty the enemies are tougher to kill and to sneak past. So play on a harder difficulty. Problem solved. "

Well it sounds like you're playing on too low a difficulty for yourself.  Try playing on hard and it might be more satisfying.

I kinda agree. I never felt compelled to try any of the challenge room stuff, but the combat for me ended up being button mashing, with frequent counters. Occasionally i'd need to stun a guy or just start flipping over them. It was fun, but repetitive. Like Jeff, I found it easiest to just stay on the gargoyles during the stealth sequences until I could do a vertical takedown on them. I found that staying on the ground was far too risky as you'd just get torn up by guns. The boss fights weren't that great either.
 
For me the best thing about that game was the Joker and his voice acting, which were so good and almost reason to play that game alone. Also liked the metroid-style item collection. I was impressed with the game as a whole, finding it pretty entertaining, but I can't think of any moments that really blew me away.

" @Swaboo said:

" @DriveupLife: playing on normal in most games these days is a cakewalk. Playing on the hardest difficulty the enemies are tougher to kill and to sneak past. So play on a harder difficulty. Problem solved. "

This.  Also on hard the enemys do not telegraph their attacks.  Makes for a much more difficult game. "

I agree with you.  The combat and stealth mechanics are better than the game ever really requires them to be.  That one room where you can't use the gargoyles at all and have to improvise, is probably my favourite part of the game.
 
I kept waiting for a fight where they just kept throwing more and more goons at you until you got x multiplier.  It would have been totally contrived, but I'm sure they could have come up with some excuse (you need to make them more scared of you than the Joker, or some shit, I don't know).

Because it is a very solid, concentrated single player experience with much variety set in a tasty comic book universe that is handled comicbooky and seriously enough to please virtually everyone. And that is a rare thing.

Besides, there is something in the game's feel that's hard to classify.

  ####   POSSIBLE   SPOILERS  @@@@#######           
 
 
 
For me its all about being Batman.  I used to watch the animated series after school, years ago.  So this game has a massive nostalgic effect on me.  I know all the voices, all the looks, and all the references.   
 
It pleased me greatly, when Joker betrayed Harley.  Like he always did in the series.  I smiled again when Bane got Batman in a bear hug, and did the spine breaker.  When Croc disappeared inside the pit.  It was like being inside all those episodes I watched over and over again.  Every afternoon at 4:00 and 4:30.
 
It's ok the be OP.  When, "I'm BATMAN!" ( you read that in his voice didn't you? : ) 
 
 
 

SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!
 
Yes, the whole game is based around that combat system, and yes the stealth may seem to be getting old, but hell, getting deeper into the game you have to fight the titans and Joker's henchmen start putting bombs on the gargoyles. Causing you to actually start thinking tactically and start using your gadgets more. I even found myself getting my ass handed to me by 4 or 5 henchmen just because I wasn't paying any attention to what was happening during fights. So every time I died I rethought out my strategy and started thinking. To be honest, most people that say this game isn't anything special mainly haven't played it or haven't finished it.

I find the stealth part of this game hard, actually. Then again, my least favorite game in the universe is Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, and I shoot my way through Metal Gear Solid games.

Thinking of creative ways to kill henchmen in stealth parts was extremely satisfying.

Get a 1000/1000 or platnium and then come back to me and tell me it's easy, otherwise you're judging the came too early...

" Get a 1000/1000 or platnium and then come back to me and tell me it's easy, otherwise you're judging the came too early... "

Play it on Hard.  During fights, enemies hit you more frequently and do not have an attack indicator above their head when they are about to hit you.  During stealth sections, enemies actually look up (well, sometimes they do).
 
Also, check the challenge maps if you find the stealth sections in the campaign to be easy.  The game assigns specific actions for you to do (e.g. kill three guards with three different wall blasts), which adds a layer of strategy when taking out opponents.