All comments

Thanks guys! Giving it a watch now :) :)

IT' looks good. I've played the Ps3 version and some textures are a bit bland but is very fluid game.

This is looking REALLY good!

That engine is something else! The shadows on the characters are perfect. None of that weird shader jag effect you see alot of. Will download tonight and shun family...

:o)

it's unreal engine 3. it looks good but not great.
BTW, i've tried the pc version with max settings @ native 1080p, 4xAA, 16xAF, with physx enabled running at a solid 60FPS.

Finally UE3 finds an art style that it was built for other than GEARS.

This game is great. Or better, the demo is great. I played it on pc. Solid 62 fps (it's capped at 62, even with vsync off ingame and in the control panel of nvidia) with everything maxed out except AA at 1080p. AA is not even necessary because it almost doesn't haven aliasing at default setting. This is the best use of the U3 engine I have seen to date (full of detail, nice colours). Hopefully the full game lives up to the demo

I think the UE3 engine gets a bad rap.. its alot more accessable than developers give it credit for. The difference between Gears, Mass effect, bioshock, and Mirror's edge, is wide enough to show that.
Its only through the success of gears that imititators grow.. regardless of the engine used.

So, what is on this demo exactly? 'Cos for 1.58 GB, I'm expecting a lot of content.

just like the open phyre engine... looks good enough, but all games look the same.

Yeah I agree that UE3 game tends to look the same... :( kind of ruin this generation for me since I dont even like the look of the engine.. would rather see cryengine based games... aion looks fantastic on the 1st atempt, if they had used ue3 it wouldnt look near as good :)

anyway, arkham asylum looks MUCH better on PC than on console. the resolusion + 16x AA makes it look quite fantastic actually=)

Looks superb.
Completely forgot the demo was out. Time to download.

In regards to the PC version, that's to be expected. None the less, it's one of those games that doesn't exactly suit the mouse and keyboard combo (although I assume you could use 360 pad?).

Okay, I've tried the demo and all I can say is: day one purchase.

It's by no means perfect - the controls are little automatic in predator mode; controlling Batman is a bit clunky and the combat will take some getting used to - but the bulk of what I've played is incredibly impressive.

The automatic controls are probably the biggest concern, but this is fully cancelled out by the fact that you use tactics/strategy to take out your enemies. I don't think the game is going to prove to be easy because of the controls, as you still have to go about each mission in the right way.

Congrats Eidos and Rocksteady. You've made one heck of a game.

I tried the PS3 demo last night and I was impressed with it. Graphics, sound and gameplay are all top-notch and it was a lot of fun even if it was a bit short. Only saw a tiny bit of tearing in the first room and the absence of AA doesn't really mar the visuals too much.

I downloaded the PC version this morning to try later on as that's the version I've pre-ordered and I have a high-end system that can run it at the 1920x1200 native resolution of my 24" monitor. Shame it's been delayed, it's going to be soooooooooooo tempting to not buy the 360 version (controller preference and presence of AA).

Must. Resist. Must Resist.

Yeah, you're correct there. It's easy to forget that the games you mentioned were all built on the engine. I think really where UE3 is let down is in the FPS genre. There have been some really shoddy looking titles built with it apart from Bioshock. The issue I have with it is that the texture mapping up close often exudes a really sloppy looking appearance where the textures look really muddy due to the use of what I think is awful parallex mapping. Just look at games like Army Of 2 and Legendary. I've just had a peek at the amount of games using the engine, and I was surpised at how many there are. There are only a handful of really nice looking titles that use it.

ok first impressions..

Looks great...lots of nice details - excellent faces. Great use of rubble during cutscenes too.

Combat i'm not too sure about.. hand to hand feels very mechanical, almost like its on auto pilot at a press of the button - allowing some nice camera shots but abit unfullfilling.
Swinging from ledge to ledge though and taking people out silently is very satisfactory.

Detective mode is a really nice addition.. seeing how those around you feel could lead to some nice paranoia (the thing style) moments later on. Looks like there could be potential for some good puzzles in the game too.

Wont be a day one purchase for me.. but definatly something i'd pick up in the next play.com sale

UE3 is a virus of the industry. I'm waiting for reviews about this first. And even then I'll wait for the discounted price more likely.

It controls very well on PC. Allows for very fast turning during combat. The controls feel very natural on PC. That was my biggest fear for the PC-version, but it was totally ungrounded. Great demo. Day one for me.

Interesting. I was actually putting it off since I don't have a gamepad handy. I'll give it a spin anyway. It's really not entirely surprising though.

Got a 96/100 from Game Master UK, so things are looking bright.

The games looks and plays pretty good.You need to think about your surroundings if you want to surpass your enemies.I like that kind of gameplay.Still I would like to see an Unreal engine game that uses physics (Havok etc.) to affect the gameplay not just being there for the eye candy.

Looks fantastic. Art direction is spot on for the main characters and environment, and the quality of the graphics is great.

Controls are very fluid and responsive and not at all clunky. The combat is awesome. Sure, in this essentially tutorial-mode of a demo the combat isn't difficult, but I'd easily take this more cinematic, reversal-heavy combat over the typical shallow, horrible-looking fighting mechanics that seem typical of games like this. Honestly, grabbing the leg of a dude who is kicking you from behind or grabbing a guy's fist as he's punching you is very satisfying.

Definitely looking forward to this one.

or things are looking bad for Game Masters credibility... given the early review "deal" rumour

Oh right, cool.

/Puts on fire retardant suit/

WARNING: NOT TRYING TO START A FLAME WAR. HONESTLY.

My friend has both a PS3 and a 360 (I'm solo 360). We spoke today, and he has played the demo on both systems back to back (PS3 first). His opinion was that the two demos were noticably different, with the 360 demo graphically superior by a noticeable margin. He specifically mentioned his suprise that the intro cutscene on the PS3 was lacking several details, such as certain reflections. He was suprised since a cutscene should be pre-rendered, and therefore there didn't seem to be any reason for weakened graphics. I have not played the PS3 version first-hand, so I have no basis to judge one way or another.
I am looking for other dual console owners to try and get a second opinion. I trust his opinion, but perhaps his PS3 is set up incorrectly. Anybody play both, and if so do you have an opinion one way or another?
For what it's worth, he did say that the PS3 version was gorgeous, so he certainly didn't slag it.
For serious answers or opinions, thanks in advance.

/curls into defensive ball awaiting bombardment/