Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition Dogged By Performance Issues

It just doesn't do it for me, to have jitters during cut-scenes is just ridiculous. I would not buy this game for the extra gamepad features. If anything, maybe a rent.

Does it make the game unplayable or very frustrating? My little borther is thinking of buying this.

I have both blops 2 and batman and they both look great on my tv. These games are ports lets just wait and see how games that were developed for the wii u play out.

Yeah, I read about this on GFaqs forums day one (US). Shame too as I held off on buying it for the PS3 so I could play on Wii U. Here's hoping they can patch it!

I wouldn't buy it if it had framerate issues. I hate when that kind of things happens, and considering it is supposed to happen a lot in this game, it will bog down the experience.
It seems that the actual problem is porting tings.
Porting things onto other systems might be really hard to do it perfectly...

I wonder if the developers will release a patch up for these titles since they were rushed? Its great to have all these 3rd party games within the launch window but not if the game suffers for it. If they're not gonna wait til the games good to release it they should at least get to work on an update to patch up any problems so that way the games can be played the way they're supposed to be played

My concern with reports like this is that these developers who have done these ports of older games coupled with framerate issues are then going to stop supporting the wii u with newer games, even though they haven't given the wii U a chance to find it's feet and are peddling older games. Worst example is mass effect 3, the other consoles are getting a trilogy pack, wii u gets one version only and when it fails to sell EA is going to say "LOOK! Nintendo consoles are not for hard core gamers! We will stop supporting it with our big ticket games!" I really don't understand the logic...
Personally i will hold off buying ACIII and a few other new games to wait and get them on the Wii U to support the system but also benefit from the new features...

I'll still get it at some point, but now that point will be when it's price matches that of the other versions of the game. It was already pushing it to demand full price for a year old, heavily discounted game, but with frame rate issues too?

I'd reconsider if they were to fix the frame rate with a patch. Speaking of patches, will Nintendo Life be doing anything with those? I mean, there's always an announcement when new DLC arrives, but updates/patches could be frequent, right? I'd definitely appreciate it if you (the site) could post something about which games were being fixed, and which were being ignored. It really could be the difference between me buying a game new, or waiting for it to appear in clearance bins.

Is this just with the PAL version, or is it for all regions?

@TrueWiiMaster NL reported the Sonic & All Star patch, so that's something.

Since I never had any other home console besides the Wii, I have already pre-purchased it. But I will not tolerate many more under-perfomant conversions from older games after the first year of Wii U's existence. It's quite normal to have early titles under perform since programmers are still trying to figure out new hardware.

This is very unfortunate. It sucks that launch games are less than ideal, but it sucks a whole lot more when it happens to high profile games like Arkham City.
Hopefully some future update will fix the issues.

On the PS3 version, the frame rate wasn't brilliant so maybe this is where the problems come from. Maybe its ported from PS3. I'm sure a patch or fix will stabalize the performance of the Wii U version. I dunno. It's pretty average anyway.

Keep calm

I bought it. Really enjoying it to. I don't see a problem myself.

it seems to be a real problem is both call of duty and batman suffer from bad frame rate.... i cant imagine the developpers being aware of this an releasing bugged games.
Let's hope it's only a common problem from the system and that it will be fixed by a forthcoming sytem update

anyone know what eurogamer is using to count fps in cod and batman ? (both really have such option avaible in settings menus from the public versions ?)

I haven't played it, but I spoke with a guy who has all the systems. He told me that this was by far the best version of Batman.

Sorry, but I fail to see any problems for my game...

Are they actually attempting to port the games over, or are they just doing a sloppy job to get them ready for the launch rush? Adding content is one thing, but porting over existing code/data is another.

I have a feeling they are a bunch of PS3 and 360 fanboys... so the Wii U framerate sucks because it's 40 fps instead of locked at 30 like the others? umm... sure guys, it looks just fine to me.

Yeah, those problems alone are making me wish I would have kept Assassin's Creed III.

Rocksteady didn't even work on this version game. All of these ports are handled by smaller studios and were rushed to get out for launch.

and why is NintendoLife always spreading the Nintendo hate these days? there is nothing at all wrong with Call of Duty or Batman, ignore these crap Eurogamer articles, you aren't doing Nintendo any favors by posting this crap.

@SteveW

It's unbiased news and Nintendo news at that

Well, I'm glad I got this along with Arkham Asylum GOTY for PC on Amazon for $9.99.

I bought this game and love it. Really the framerate "issue" is barely noticeable and doesn't interrupt gameplay. I find myself mostly playing on the gamepad. The visuals look stunning on the gamepad screen.

If you have never played Arkham City, pick this game game up.

@SteveW Read the article. It sometime runs in 40 fps, but it often dips into under 30 fps. The PS360 version doesn't reach 40 fps but they always stay in 30 fps. And the reason NL reports this is because they are a unbaised Nintendo site. And it's obviously something wrong with some of the ports, even if most of them seems playable.

@LavaTwilight
I know that the PS3 version had slight framerate issues.

batman arkham asylum on ps3 has jitters during the cut scenes noticed it the other day when i was bored looking for a game to play

The only port I've played so far is Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and I haven't experienced anything wrong with it at all. No framerate issues, no laggy online, no problems whatsoever.

Then again, I haven't played the 360/PS3 versions, so it'll take someone who's played either one to confirm if Tekken Tag 2 Wii U Edition is worse than the other versions.

I still don't know what frame rates are. I know what they are I just mean I can not tell. The game runs good to me.

@SDDMN
The 360 version has very, very small framerate issues but it's pretty much unnoticeable. It can ever so slightly stutter during replays but other than that, it's as smooth as silk

I can't personally comment on the Wii U version as I don't have my Wii U yet. But It's a stable game on the other systems so I can't see it being too different with Nintendo.

I bet these frame rate issues are barely noticeable, as for the ports well thats not the Wii U's fault its down to the developers making shoddy ports.
I just hope that when it comes to games being released for all 3 consoles in the next 6 months the developers concentrate on the Wii U version and not just port it over.
I truly think in a years time (as with all consoles finding there feet) we will get some extraordinary looking games on Wii U.
I just hope its not only Nintendo that are the ones releasing them again

edit If these PORTS were running at 20fps then I would be concerned but I watched the video that shows the frames per second and I couldn't see any notable differences the video shows some lines where the fps drops but they didnt really drop all that much. Its just a bunch of techy geeks trying to find flaws

Nooooo!!1 Eurogamer lies! Wii U is most powerful console ever, these games run perfect! Reggie told me so!!!!

@brooks83 lol

Reggie is a bit of an idiot sometimes he says the Wii U is so much more powerful but currently it is no worse or no better.

Well the games weren't exactly developed for the Wii U so I can see why this is coming from, but what about games like Ninja Gaiden 3 or Assassins Creed 3? They actually focused on developing the games for the system. Plus knowing Nintendo, the U is probably not even performing at a 100% yet, like the 3DS which the extra power got unlocked with the purchase of Super Mario Land 3D

This is likely not even an issue. Its not like the game suddenly bogs down to N64-type framerates or anything. Just a dip from 40 fps to 30 fps. No real biggie.

@hendie001 thats what im sayin. Zombiu plays great, nintendoland plays wonderfully. When developers take time to understand how the system runs the games are fine. People that are condemning the system for these reasons are fickle and stupid

@PinkSpider
Actually thats incorrect. Nano assault is great looking and is fun, trine 2 has to be dumbed down in order to run on other consoles so already its proven to be at the least better than current gen. I cant wait for aliens to come out so people will really see the difference.

this is my number 1 game I want to get when I get a Wii U for Christmas. I am sure it is not that big of a deal and if it is, they will create a patch. Any body know when 007 Legends comes out for the Wii U?

Oh look another crappy Wii U port of an already released game.

@shinokami ''Plus knowing Nintendo, the U is probably not even performing at a 100% yet, like the 3DS which the extra power got unlocked with the purchase of Super Mario Land 3D''
What are you talking about? Extra power unlocked with the purchase of SM3DLand? -___-

On another note, changing Catwoman's costume is a deal breaker for me. Gosh, that armor is hideous. (JK, was not going to buy it anyway )

I just wanted to let everyone know that this complaint is complete and utter bull crap. I have read and watch many reviews, included IGN's and Gamespot's on this version of the game and they had just as many good things if not more to say about this version than they did about the original versions on PS3 and 360. They gave it scores of 9.5 and 8.5 respectively.

A wii u third party game with frame rate problems?? That's a real scoop!

Does anyone know what Gotham City Imposters is? Is it DLC or a full bore different game?

@SteveW: We can't bury our heads in the sand about this kind of thing — if it's news, we're gonna cover it. We're not here to do Nintendo favors, we're here to give Nintendo fans news they may need to know about (especially if they were interested in purchasing this title), y'know? :3

Framerate and graphics are important. A bit of gamepad functionality doesn't even come close to making up for deficiencies in other areas.
@tbd Exactly. The coverage is much appreciated.

@SteveW: I partially agree with you. I have gone to many other sites that say there aren't problems and if there are it is very minimal. So I don't know why they focus on the negative either...

I've watched reviews for this game and framerate issues haven't come up for Batman. This is an odd revelation.

I'm several hours into the game and it hasn't been noticeable.

I'd hate to see Assassin's Creed III on the Wii U. The framerate is already awful on the PS3.

@HawkeyeWii

GOTHAN CITY IMPOSTERS is a download title for the 360, PS3, and PC. It is currently free to play on PC. It is a team based FPS where characters in gangs dress up like BATMAN and JOKER; similiar to what was happening in THE DARK KNIGHT - albei with a very cartoony style. Think Batman meets TEAM FORTRESS 2.

The Wii U can't even properly handle Arkham City? Absolutely unacceptable.

Everyone i talk too that iwns this gane said the framerate issue is barely noticeble...this article stretchs it way out of hand...

I feel like the framrate issues are because it was a rushed-ish port, and the new games should have the right settings to run well on the wii U

I hardly ever notice it.

@ocarinaoftime : they are not noticeable because the average framerate is low compared to other platforms. A game running @22-25fps average, is simply not acceptable nowadays.

@astroshamu i really hope so. If not so, wii u is the worst console investment of my life.

Is this some attempt to discourage me from buying this game?

Didn't work!

@Tasuki Assassin's creed 3 is another problematic game for wii u. It's better to buy this for pc rather than a console :
ZombiU is mediocre survival game with bad graphics and so and so artistic fulfilment. It's good to buy later, when a price drop will occur.

Anyone interested in buying this game shouldn't be deterred by this. It is barely noticeable at all. Pick up the game and enjoy. This is just typical hating on Nintendo.

It's hard to argue with digital foundry, who are excellent at obsessively counting the little frames. But most of their results are meaningless to anyone but the obsessive. They seem petty.

Remember, this is just what Eurogamer have reported.

If you want to know how this version handles specifically, read reviews from many places and make your own judgement call.

It's only early days for the Wii U, and issues (if any) only seem to be appearing in ports of old games designed to run on different hardware.

Nintendo Life is here to spread news from a variety of different sites, so don't hate on them.

Like a vast number of people commenting on this story alone, it's barely noticable, so just read a review, if you like it, buy it!

@DrSlump have you even played zombie u the graphics are fine and its far from just a mediocre survival horror sounds to me like you're just repeating what you hear from some review sites and ac3 is a problematic game on all 3 consoles I'm still getting it when they release a goty edition

Oh well. Most thing that I can buy on Steam for $5 eventually, that's the system I get it on. Wasn't going to buy on Wii U either way.

Frame rates are a big deal to me. So I will not be buying any of these big 3rd party games if they can't make the effort to get that up to par. Tekken Tag perhaps. AC3 seems ok. Even CoD might not be as silky smooth but it seems to be constant which is much better than stuttering and inconsistent. It is crazy logic that publishers go by. Lets port old games to the Wii U, make them not as good, and watch them not sell but blame the Nintendo userbase for not supporting core games. No publishers. Release new games for it, make them out perform the current gen, and then if they don't sell well, THEN have a bitch about the Nintendo fans.

I remember the frame rates in the first games for 360 and PS3 and so will be with every new consoles. You can't pretend a developer understands a console with their first game.

I would rather play the Amiga 500 Batman anyway

@MadAussieBloke: NES BATMAN ALL THE WAY

Most likely optimization issues. I am sure frame rates can be fixed with a patch

My ps3 copy jitters during the movies, should have picked up the 360 version. Xbox is pc to pc programming, so it's usually much simpler to design a game on. Either way, if they want to make money they better learn how to develop for the Wii u without little technical glitches here and there. Until recently Madden ran on the ps3 at 30 fps, not many games beyond 720p on that machine.

@DrSlump

I agree with you. Now I can't wait for the next Eurogamer article that points out that Tekken Tag Tournament drops in frame rate. Oh wait if it doesn't, and it's actually better on Wii U, I doubt we are going to hear about it!

And there I wanted to get this game,but as long as it isn't as bad as the near-unplayable Back to the Future game on Wii,I'll get it,

I have the Game of the Year Edition for the PS3. Even if the FPS were smoother and the graphics visually more impressive, I would not buy it. Especially not at $60 for an old game.

I own both Blops2 and Batman for Wii U (as well as both for Xbox360). Blops 2 is more than comparable on WiiU (I certainly wouldn't say it runs better, but it is definitely on par and still looks great on Wii U - especially online multiplayer runs silky smooth and crisp with absolutely no difference compared to Xbox that I could tell plus you can use the second screen on the gamepad as your split screen). Batman Armoured Edition on Wii U however, is completely broken. People who say they can't perceive any difference or don't notice any lag are either lying or have gotten too used to low-resolution Wii games in the past 6 years.
The cut-scenes are horribly stuttered (sometimes it's subtle tiny little jerks, but it is consistently juttery and happens during EVERY cut-scene) I believe that it is a read-rate issue with the proprietary Nintendo blueray discs. Added to that, there is no question that the game slows down considerably in mob situations (which is pretty much the entire engine of Batman) it's like you can feel the Wii U trying to lift a 400-lb weight off it's chest as you churn through baddies - it serves as an incentive for you to beat them up sooner so the system doesn't need to process as many polygons and framerate can get back up to par.

GAMEPAD STUFF: There is absolutely no real must-have feature of the gamepad for this game, everything can still be manipulated with buttons and looking at the map serves no advantage because you really can't explore the map independent of the action you do on the TV screen. THE ONLY COOL FEATURE OF THE GAMEPAD for this game is the use of radio messages coming through from Alfred, etc. it is a simple effect but helps make the experience feel more immersive (very much like how ZombiU implemented this nice little touch).
There is absolutely no incentive to anyone to buy this game for Wii U especially if they have the option to get the PS3 or 360 version. If you don't have either of those systems and want some Batman in your life, then it's your only real option.

BOTTOM LINE: Batman Armoured Edition for Wii U is a bit of a steaming pile. Okay that's harsh, the game itself is quite fun, I should say that the performance of this particular game on the Wii U is very disappointing. BLOPS 2 on Wii U is fantastic don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise.

While Eurogamer is complaining about the framerate on the Wii U version, is it also complaining about the slightly dodgy framerate on the PS3 version? Or the fact that the Xbox 360 version sometimes fails to load at all? (I've had that happen to me, a fair few other people reported it as well).....nah, didn't think so. It's far too easy for them to complain about a new console's negatives when you're reluctant to move on from that Xbox 360 or PS3 pad that's been glued to their hands for the last few years.by the seems of it.

I don't understand this mentality that just because a console is brand new it must be infallible or that for some reason journalists actually give a poo about Xbox or PS3 to the point where they would fabricate criticism against any and everything else. I mean think about that, what is there possibly to even gain from making up criticism against Wii U? No one in real life actually gives a flying flower if it is "better" or "worse" than some other brand, they just want to have fun and enjoy the experience regardless of whose logo is on the damn box. I get that people don't like hearing negative reports about something they really want and expect to like, but to ignore the truth (and the truth is that the Wii U is simply underperforming on almost all of it's launch multi-plats) is just silly.
Chin up, this is just launch, systems always evolve and improve, and there is certainly room for improvement with the Wii U, and as an owner of one I hope that it does. But you won't find me blindly defending it's performance because of some made up allegiance to a company who has only ever loved me for my money...

Jerky cut-scenes would never bother me as I always skip these where possible as it is rare that any are vital to the game (they are usually just an excuse to show off graphics to those who care more about graphics than gameplay).

Game is fine. I'm playing it right now.

Some people could stand to be a little less defensive on here. This isn't some Nintendo witch hunt. The digital foundry section at Eurogamer didn't pick on this port just to be jerks, they make these kinds of detailed comparison videos for every major AAA release.

Arkham City may have its problems, but in their comparison of Mass Effect 3 it scored significantly better than the PS3 version on almost all fronts. On top of that they post side-by-side comparison videos so you can see for yourself and make up your own minds as to whether any performance differences are a deal-breaker or not.

For most people it isn't going to make that much of a difference, but it's DF's whole remit to go into detail explicitly stating any performance differences there are for people who care about that kind of thing. They can over-state their case a bit, but it happens in any instance there's a notable difference and not just those related to Nintendo. Plenty of 360 and PS3 games have received similar kickings in the past.

But yes, at the end of the day, the differences aren't really going to matter that much for most gamers. Even the absolute worst cases so far are a million times better than the framerate problems we've had to endure with some of the more taxing third-party wii games. If you've got a couple of systems and want to know which one to go for, that's the only case where it really makes a difference. Otherwise you'll probably be quite happy with what you've got.