Freeflow Combat Beats Them All

I was just saying the same thing to a friend of mine the other night, how excellent the combat is. The only way to describe it is 'easy to pick up, difficult to master' (which is a term I come across in reviews or previews and I can't stand it) generally it means the combat will suck, and yet here they've done a fantastic job. On paper it sounds like a button masher, but when you get right down to it mashing will work, but not net you many points (outside the challenge rooms of course, inside mashing will result in failure).
 I was fairly skeptic when I read about 'one attack button' but I think it's hands down the most satisfying combat in any game I've played to date. Brutal, cinematic, and really really quite satisfying.

The mechanic is definitly worth an own game focusing on Freeflow Combat. I guess something along the lines of a XBLA/PSN/Steam release. A standalone Batman brawler based on the assets of Arkham Asylum. That would be definite purchase for me. Doesn't have to be Batman - as long as the Freeflow Combat mechanic stays intact.

I wouldn't say the BEST, as it does have a few flaws to it, but it's pretty damn awesome! 
 
One of the few problems I have with the mechanic is that you'll go for a kick on a certain dood, but you might be slightly off on your aiming and it'll send you across to a completely different dood, yet you've already hit your button to counter because you were planning on being in range of that counter hit.  There can also be a slight miss in hit detection every now and then when you are trying to punch someone.  I also noticed a few times that when you start out with three punches, the timing on the punches doesn't necessarily coordinate with your button timing.  You can press it the same way several times, and the timing is always different on the punches. 
 
Other than that, Freeflow makes everything look super kick ass, and you can really feel the impact of the hits, which is half of what makes the system so awesome.  There's also something really cool about stringing together a plethora of hits and timing things correctly. 
 
To steal from Ryan's comments on Mirror's Edge for a moment:  when things are flowing, it's awesome...but when they aren't, it can be a mess.

I like brawlers when everything looks super kick ass like jakob said, which is what batman:AA does really well

Not even close for me . God of War and Devil May Cry are by far the best for that.
 
Hell I prefer The Bouncer's brawling to Batman's.

I haven't played this yet but I doubt it's more fun than stringing together crazy combos in DMC 3 or 4.

I like it.
 
 
 
Don't really know what else to say...

Tbh I found the combat a bit too simple. It felt like another generic superhero combat you find in other games yet slightly better. However when I played the game again, I found alot of variety like using more tactics, counter attacking and stuff because it helps you get more combos for upgrading stuff. There are times when I used a counter attack and I still get hit. Really it's a good combat system however it's still too overpowered and I think devil may cry 4's combo system is still better.

Check out this video, if you still doubt the depth, insane epicness, responsiveness and control of the Freeflow combat!

And some more...   

I love the Freeflow combat system, its easy to get into, you can feel like a bad ass cause you can just decimate a dozen guys, and nothing beats the Instant Takedowns, just seeing how Batman breaks some fools arm in slow-mo is great!

That's just it, you can play it and refine your gameplay to a point, where you can beat the odds perfectly. Perfect Combo for Combo Variety +5000, take no damage for Dark Knight +500, Flawless Flow Combo for +1000, all rounds no damage for Perfect Knight +5000. All of which can be done, with perfect execution and skill. I just love gamedesign, that allows for perfection. It's the opposite of cheap difficulty.

"I think that the system also has one of the best glitches in recent memory, at least for me.  Sometimes when I went for a long distance ground takedown, the one where Bats will do a flip in the air onto an enemy on the ground and normally punch the guy in the face, well sometimes for me the animation for Batman will go backwards, so he jumps in the air and lands T-bagging the guy on the ground and the proceeds to punch them in the junk to knock 'em out. Cracks me up every time.  "

Yup, you gotta love the freeflow. I seem to do pretty well in the challenge rooms but I still get hit often in the campaign, perhaps because I get too relaxed from all the exploring.

" I think that the system also has one of the best glitches in recent memory, at least for me.  Sometimes when I went for a long distance ground takedown, the one where Bats will do a flip in the air onto an enemy on the ground and normally punch the guy in the face, well sometimes for me the animation for Batman will go backwards, so he jumps in the air and lands T-bagging the guy on the ground and the proceeds to punch them in the junk to knock 'em out. Cracks me up every time.  "

I'm down to the last two freeflow medals for 'Rumble in the Jungle' (extreme). Got to score me 20k+ points in the first round. Looking forward to it.

It was nice to see a game like this go for something other then the God Of War Standard quick attack, heavy attack. I really dont like thoes systems, they dont give you any kind of freedom in combat. Just another button to mash. Batman was simple but got it right. Let batman figure out the attack he needs to do, you just need to tell him who and where. The counter button works really well too, and the fights feel very different on hard mode cos' you don't get the counter indicator. Add in the dodge and stun (which I would have liked to have been an actual attack not just swishing his cape but whatever) and the special throw and takedown attacks you get from the combo multiplier and I think its a great system. I will say its a little dull when your only up against 3-4 guys but when you have 20 or 25 guys coming at you at once, some with weapons, its fantastic.

I did really enjoy the combat system in Arkham Asylum, but looking back, a lot of the time I felt like I was just button mashing and waiting for the counter indicator to appear. I would say they almost nailed it. I'd like to see a bit more variety and precision worked into the next iteration of this combat system in the sequel.

The Freeflow system works best in context with a score. It really shines in the Challenge rooms because of that. 
 
It ain't that hard, to beat the enemies, but it's very hard to do it in style and with some degree of perfection.
 
 When I got my Freeflow Gold Achievement for example, as I earned the last medal in the 'Rumble in the Junge (extreme)' challenge room, I scored a whopping 35k in the first round. I was hands down perfect. You can beat the enemies in round 1 just fine, but only make 5000 points. The disparity between beating the round and doing it perfectly, is immense. In context with a score and especially a score requirement, the Freeflow mechanics potential reveals its true depth, which is pretty darn near perfection.
 
A DLC sized, Freeflow brawler, focusing on online leaderboards, is just what the doctor prescribes.

Don't forget that adding Variation in combos doubles your experience rates. Couple that with the 2x combo multiplier and you've pretty much gotten a good reason to fight with style.

I think the combat is fantastic and one of the best action experiences of the year but not ever. Jakob187 above listed that problem that I have, and it also takes skill to make your fights look anything as smooth as what is shown above. Still, so far my fights have looked flashy and cinematic, and that is enough to give it good props.

The mechanics were really simple actually, but it was the animations that made it really awesome. It was basically the equivalent of platforming in Assassin's Creed.

I really like the combat, but I don't think it takes that much skill, granted I haven't perfected it yet, but it seems to just be pressing 'attack' rythmically, while watching for special enemies and counter oportunities. It would need more variation for a game to be built around it though, and for a game like Arkham Asylum it works perfectly, as your not over exposed to it. 
A PSN/XBLA release with this system though, could be awesome.

I have to say I didn't really admire the true depth of this combat system til I was trying for the medals in the Freeflow Challenges. I had enough of a grasp to get me through the game, even to get me through it on Hard. Even that though, wasn't enough to get me 3 medals on the more challenging maps. At this point I've finally gotten it well enough to get 3 medals on every map except Shock and Awe (Extreme) and from what I understand that one is mostly about luck and timing anyway. Still gonna carry on to try and get that 100% completion. :P
 
Overall though, this is one of the most elegant and fluid combat systems I've seen in awhile and I really, really love it. So deceptively simple, but so profoundly complex when timing, variation and such things come into the mix.

Yeah. It's pretty fucking good. 
 
I still need 3 medals for Shock and Awe (normal) and Rumble in the Jungle (extreme). 
 
No, you didn't read that wrong. I got the extreme shock and awe fine, but can't get 3 medals on the normal one.

How are you comparing Ninja Gaiden to a brawler? 

"Yeah. It's pretty fucking good.  I still need 3 medals for Shock and Awe (normal) and Rumble in the Jungle (extreme).  No, you didn't read that wrong. I got the extreme shock and awe fine, but can't get 3 medals on the normal one. "

I think part of the problem with brawlers, 3d brawlers specifically is that limited axis movement, even 8 axis combined with canned animation can only go so far until the suspension of disbelief is ruined. Context sensitive combat like featured in The Freeflow system helps build momentum of disbelief.