I picked up Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY on the holiday Steam sale. Before you even start, the business side of this game makes it clear that it hates you and any of the game developers who want you to like the game. It incorporates at least four kinds of security, required me to sign up for a new account that I needed to verify twice, and returns the same error message when any of the seven-plus steps to start the game did not work. Sign in, update Steam, update the game, sign in, download profile, update your Live account, I think I missed a step or three, and there are definitely at least six loading screens worth of companies who thought this would be a good time to advertise themselves. Because while you are putting hurdles in your players’ paths, putting your corporate logo on those hurdles is the way to make friends. Oh, and Windows Live helpfully mentions that it may reboot your computer. And it does not update to the latest version in one attempt, so you repeatedly go through the multiple log-ins and multiple loading screens until it is happy. The reboot warning was actually helpful; Windows Live needed to reboot to finish updating, and didn’t, and didn’t mention it, so the lack of reboot was the only indication (?) of a problem.
It may make more sense to buy a legitimate copy then just download a pirated version without all the BS. Pirates actually care if the game is playable. As I type this, my irritation is strong enough to rub off on FF XIV and DCUO because related companies are advertising themselves as involved. Oh, and Steam? Having the same button for “exit to the Steam community” and “close this pop-up window”? You’re being idiots too.
The game itself is excellent, and I will likely have comments on it to come.
: Zubon
I feel ya. I recently torrented PC versions of Fallout 3 game of the year edition and Fallout New Vegas, just to be able to play the damn games without my PS3 crashing every 5-10 minutes, until I reach certain points in the game when the console just crashes right away when trying to restore a save. Does that make me a criminal btw? I own both games and all the DLC’s for PS3. I just want to be able to finish the damned games..
Generally if it’s on console, much better to buy it on console: no intrusive drm, usually much more stable, and games like arkham really don’t use the PC’s strength.
Used to think that, but after the incredibly awful ports that were Fallout 3 and New Vegas I am definitely going to snoop around to see if its even playable before buying it on console.
Yes it is ridiculous Zubon but in this case it is worth. Arkham is a very good game and the PC port is very well done. If you have an Xbox pad for your pc yo might want to use it but I got by fine with keyboard and mouse.
With regard to the rebooting issue – I am glad to hear its not just me who gets annoyed at this. The problem of programmes demanding reboots seems to be getting worse and worse and nowadays Microsoft are the worst culprit. It seems like I can’t turn on my laptop these days without a timer popping up to tell me that the computer will reboot in a few minutes.
Urgh, G4WL… I had to make a new tag for it…
Really, that tag is far too kind to G4WL. I imagine many of the boils on the arse-end of the Prince of Darkness have more redeeming features.
Got AA when I got my graphics card, and it installed without issues after I typed in the code to Steam. Wonder if its a GOTY thing or what.
I’d assume a G4WL thing. Already have that? It is another set of hurdles if you don’t, a non-issue if you do.
I can only say that when I was gifted it I encountered no problems. The G4WL thing was annoying, but only moderately so. This was some time ago; I’ve not played it since I finished a full unlock.