Okay, since most of you have played the game already, it probably is a very stupid thing to post this. On the other hand, I figured why not.

Anyway, as we have all heard, this game employs the FREEFLOW (TM) combat system. It is at this point that I'd like to say that copyrighting the name of the system doesn't make a whole lot of sense from a consumer standpoint, but who am I to cheat Eidos and Rocksteady out of some extra royalty cash.

If you've forgotten (or never played), you'll know that most of the combat is focused on the Left Stick and the face buttons. For simplicity's sake I will only be using the 360 face buttons because there's one right in front of me, and is probably shorter to type than SQUARE, CIRCLE, CROSS, and TRIANGLE.

What's important to remember is that the idea behind these buttons is not a concrete action (i.e. punch a duder in the face), but rather an idea; or to be specific, a brutally efficient idea on how to wreck the human body. BUT ELDRIN, you say, THIS IS GOING INTO GAME DESIGN THEORY, NOT ACTUAL TIPS. Shut up, I'm getting there -- I'm just a wee bit long winded.

FIRST IMPORTANT TIP: Be aware that you have four face buttons, which correspond to four possible reactions to incoming fists (namely X to strike, Y to counter, B to stun, A to run or dodge). Try to be aware that these are all available, all the time. You do not have to press X all the damn time. Plus variations in how you fight will grant you bonuses in the Challenge Rooms, so that's another impetus to be creative. In addition to that, try your best to push your control stick in the direction of your intended target before you press the button; Batman is fast enough to make the space between not matter enough for the other guy's safety.

SECOND IMPORTANT TIP: DO NOT BUTTON MASH. This makes the game HARDER, because the game tends to queue up all your inputs. So if you mash X three times while an enemy comes up behind you with a pipe, and he decides to hit you before you started mashing, you will probably be unable to counter even if you pressed Y right after, since this game apparently does not let you cancel animations. The game instead is attempting to get you into Batman's mindset: efficient and calm throughout battle. Try instead to tap each button every fourth of a second -- the game WILL intentionally slow down when your combos get high to allow you some mental breathing room. Don't panic, just cause pain.

FINAL IMPORTANT TIP: The batarangs. Once you get the Combo Batarang upgrade, using the Quick Batarang midcombat will not count against your combo counter. This is useful for getting in free hits on far enemies, or stunning the guy in front of you (though this is less useful, as pressing B will net the same result, and probably hit a lot of other people too). Also, Multi Batarang at the beginning of a fight can keep the crazed front runners busy enough to hop over them and pop their buddies a few teeth before returning to them.

Aaaaand, that's it. Add more comments, please, by all means. I just felt like sharing something obvious, since I know people can.

Good tips, I completely agree with all of them. Early on, I had my doubts about the usefulness of the Batarang combo upgrade but i'm so glad i picked it up. Stunning guys in between beatdowns is a great way to prevent them from running a train on you.

the problem im facing, quite often, is that my combo stops because most of my enemies are down and i just have no one to hit to keep it going. granted im playing through the game again on easy, but it seems the enemies stay down longer on easy.

Yesterday while playing through the Challenges I learned that once you've got your Freeflow on you no longer need to use the WASD keys.  Simply using the mouse to aim the camera at your next target and left-clicking to attack is enough.  Once you get into the aim > click, aim > click groove you can just go off on a huge group of dudes.
 
I also learned that the distance to the target is irrelevant.  As long as you've got line-of-sight Batman will cover the distance and attack without breaking the combo.

MORE TIPS!

I'm back with a couple of other battle savvy tips to keep us all from boredom.

FIRST: After what is probably the midpoint of the game, you will start getting enemies who come better equipped to deal with the Dark Knight. Here is my suggested order of decimation:

1. Gunmen - This one is fairly obvious if you've ever screwed up the stealth sections badly. Bullet resistant is not the same as bulletproof and just like the rest of us Batman is weak to bullets like Jeff and Vinny riff on Yosuke's homophobia. Since the Detective vision hilights the guys with guns, this should lead to you logically planning your attack on disabling or taking out these guys first.
2. Tasers - Enemies equipped with tasers cannot, I repeat, CANNOT be attacked from the front, and is the game's polite way of reminding you that you can dodge over enemies. Just do that to render them vulnerable, as the stun baton can drop you FAST and give the rest of the mooks a chance to give you an early game over. In short, DoubleTap A when near the intended target and then press X with the stick still pointing at the target to put these guys down.
3. Switchblades/Knives - Annoying, and they can combo. However, there is a warning before they start attacking, so they go lower on the threatlist compared to taser guys. Press B to stun them or dodge over them to get them to drop their guard.
4. Guys With Bricks - Well, actually just very heavy objects. They are annoying but not too bad; their main trick is to throw something at you from off screen, so it's best to make sure that you maintain awareness to keep them from getting a shot at you. Otherwise, throwers are easy to finish off.
5. Blunt Objects/Unarmed - The bottom tier. Never a real threat, just remember to time your counters and stuns to break their attacks up.
   

SECOND: I forgot to mention the other quick-button item (doubletap RT to fire): the Batclaw, and later Ultra Batclaw. A nice way to stun enemies, and if you don't target them right after you pull them towards you, the enemies will drop to the ground stunned, ready for a takedown. Great way to break up a wave coming at you.

FINAL: Upgrades. Namely the Melee combo upgrades and health upgrades. Do your best to upgrade the Melee stuff first, as it opens up the Instant Throw and Instant Takedown (X+A and Y+B respectively). Both are unblockable and can switch a battle around, but you need to have purchased both before you can get the x5 upgrade, which allows you to use these skills at x5 combo count instead of x8. You WILL notice the difference. As for health, save them for very tight spots, as when you make the purchase your health meter will be fully restored.