This review is in progress. Judging by that image, though, it's safe to say it isn't going to be pretty.
Batman
Primary weapon: Fists and Feet
Specialty: gadgets, combo finishers.
His element: rhythmically zipping back and forth across the arena.
Worst case scenario: surrounded by a crowd of enemies.
Batman is all about power and precision; Taking out enemies as brutally and efficiently as possible.
With the widest variety of toys and gadgets of all the playable characters, the Dark Knight is well equipped to take on thugs, goons, hirelings, henchmen or any combination thereof: batarangs for ranged priority targets, such as gun-toting goons or thugs with throwable objects; the freeze blast if you want a specific enemy to keep for later- useful against riddler lackeys in the story mode; the REC which is useful when enemies are crowded together, as it makes the enemy it hits swing his weapon wildly, or in the case of armored foes, it sends them flying into their allies; the Batclaw, for when you want to reach out and touch someone; and explosive gel: it can ruin your combo if you trigger it wrong, but when you set it off at the right time it can change the whole landscape of the battle.
Be wary, though, as our hero isn't quite unstoppable. Batman has the slowest strikes when compared to Robin, Nightwing and Catwoman, and his combat is focused on keeping rhythm. While he'll be able to beat lower level thugs to the punch(as it were), mid-level thugs will win a fist race every time, so a large part of mastering Batman is knowing when to counter as well as developing the ability to look a move or two ahead and decide correctly if your next step should be offensive, defensive or evasive.
Because of his comparatively slow strike speed, Batman doesn't do well when he's got more than four or five enemies invading his personal space. His best bet is always to attack a group of enemies from the outside and never to spend too much time in one place. His enormous reach ensures enemies all the way across the arena are always within his grasp, so make sure you keep him on the move- Batman is perfectly at home dashing back and forth across the floor, leaving thugs flying through the air in his wake.
Movelist
Strike/counter
Stun/beatdown
Ground pound
Aerial attack
Batarang
Freeze blast
Explosive gel
Batclaw
Remote electrical charge(REC)
(XA)Bat Swarm
(XY)Disarm & Destroy
(YB)Instant Takedown
(AB)Multi- Ground Takedown
Robin
Preferred weapon: Expanding Staff
Specialty: Offense, crowd control
His element: surrounded by a crowd of unshielded, unarmored enemies.
Worst case scenario: surrounded by shielded, armored and/or stun baton bearing enemies.
Quick and cocky, the Boy Wonder is a storm of violence along with some neat tricks once he gets rolling.
The most offensively-focused character of the lot, Robin is all about striking. During freeflow Robin is perfectly capable of taking out a whole crowd while rooted to a single spot, and when a low level thug throws a punch at him, Robin can take out up to three other enemies and still have time to feed the goon his teeth with one of his patented reversals.
As Batman's protégé, Robin's gadgets are mostly familiar: Batarangs, explosive gel, batclaw(but with a twist: rather than using the batclaw to pull an enemy toward him, Robin uses the enemy as an anchor and zips toward him boot-first), and new devices- the snap-flash; essentially a remote-triggered sticky flashbang, Robin grabs an enemy and sticks it to his back. Set it off in a crowd of enemies and you can clear the floor to open up multiple ground takedown opportunities. His final gadget is a bullet shield which expands from the middle of his staff and can be employed to block incoming weapons fire or to bash an enemy and send him flying through the air.
Robin is also the most limited character in the 'Combo Finishers' department- with only two at his disposal- the instant takedown and an area strike where Robin spins his staff, dropping every enemy nearby and staggering those farther out.
Movelist
Strike/counter
Stun/beatdown
Ground pound
Aerial attack
Batarang
Shield bash
Explosive gel
Batclaw
Snapflash
(XA)Area Strike
(YB) Instant Takedown
Nightwing
Preferred weapon: Electrified Escrima Sticks
Specialty: Combo finishers, acrobatics
His element: distance striking, close gadgets
Worst case scenario: close striking
Despite his weapon-based striking, Nightwing's combat style identifies more with Batman's rhythm and Catwoman's speed than with his successor's more straight-forward offensive style.
One of the first things I noticed about Nightwing was his gargantuan leap of an evasion maneuver. I would estimate that Nightwing's somersault probably covers half-again the distance of Batman and Robin's tuck 'n' roll evasive move, and perhaps twice as much distance as Catwoman's cartwheels. In short, Nightwing has an impressive talent for creating space between himself and the mob of enemies trying to get their hands on him.
Nightwing fights like Batman in many ways: he benefits from a measured, rhythmic pace(albeit an accelerated one) and an even split between offense and counter-attacking. Like the Dark Knight, he also doesn't do well rooted to one spot, as his strikes usually involve multiple hits and can leave him unable to counter an incoming fist in time. However, even as his speed surpasses his mentor's, his ability to keep a combo suffers greatly. Nightwing must keep moving at all times, as any but the slightest pause will reset his combo counter.
Nightwing also has the second most useful combo finisher of all the playable characters. This move is Chain Lightning- he overcharges his sticks and they shoot out electricity, dazing all enemies in the arena and blowing armored foes right off their feet. This move opens up a perfect opportunity to multiply your variation bonus by giving Nightwing a clear shot to perform a ground pound to take out one of the armored enemies- sometimes two, if the tableau is laid properly. Otherwise Nightwing possesses the standard instant takedown finisher and an area attack that has him tossing his sticks and wingdings around, knocking down a number of enemies.
Another skill Nightwing exhibits is a knack for blade dodges- maybe one-in-four times an enemy swings a knife at him, time slows and makes it an extremely simple matter to perform a blade dodge takedown. This appears to happen at random and with no discernable trigger.
Movelist
Strike/counter
Stun/beatdown
Ground pound
Aerial attack
Wingding
Wrist dart
Area electricity
Batclaw
Stick toss
(XA)Wingding Combo
(YB)Instant Takedown
(AB)Chain Lightning
Catwoman:
Primary weapon: Claws and Heels
Specialty: Hit & run tactics
Her element: Fighting small groups
Worst case scenario: Missing a multiple counter or blade dodge
Fast and sharp, this kitty can be a real hellcat in the right hands.
Catwoman's fighting style is hard to adjust to when you're used to the strike->followthrough->strike/counter/dodge format that Batman and his friends employ; her attack pattern is extremely staccato. As soon as one strike connects, she's delivering the next- and the next- and the next. It almost feels out of control because she doesn't follow through, so her strikes come out rapid fire. She also has no patience for delay, as more than an instant's pause will reset her combo.
Catwoman also needs to be extra careful when engaging large groups. With much less melee and ballistic armor than any of the heroes, the name of the game for Catwoman is 'short and sweet.' She doesn't do well with large or long engagements, and it seems the damage she takes increases based on how rapidly the blows land- missing a double- or triple counter can be devastating, as can being hit by multiple blade slashes.
Her gadget setup can also be a source of frustration, as her primary gadget(whip trip) takes several moments to employ and it is in that time that she is most likely to take a combo-snuffing hit. Her only other gadgets are her bolas(a thrown weapon akin to batarangs and wingdings), and an explosive that drops caltrops(sharp metal burs used to slow or stop foot pursuit). The caltrops come in handy for when a group of enemies becomes too unwieldy; drop one of these bad boys at just the right moment and you can bring a whole crowd to it's knees(for a moment, at least).
Her combo finishers also open up opportunities to extricate herself from unfavorable situations: with one she does a breakdance backspin with her whip extended to trip all of her surrounding foes(short of armored and shielded enemies), and her Whiplash Combo helps to create a space through which she can escape in a pinch.
Movelist
Strike/counter
Stun/beatdown
Ground pound
Aerial attack
Whip trip
Bolas
Caltrops
(XA)Whiplash Combo
(YB)Instant Takedown
(AB)Area Whip Trip
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