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
Horrible Introductions is a post from: Kill Ten Rats
