Excellent graphics, good story, good use of bullet time mechanics... So why does it still frustrate?
The story does get you immersed and the Maxes monologues give his character an extra dimension.
I'm playing this on a pretty high end PC, and I must admit that Rockstar games really put some serious work into it because it looks beautiful. It is actually a bit funny that the cutscenes really fall long way behind the actual gameplay footage.
I also am liking the fact that this is a game which truly uses the abilities of DirectX 11 to bring another kind visual excellence to players. I hope that Arkham City and this game are finally a couple of games that will open the eyes to the game devs, and convince more of them to start making true DX11 games.
The game mechanics are also implemented in a decent manner and bullet-time feels natural and not overdone.
So, why do I still give it such a low score of just 7.5 out of 10?
Well it has an uncanny way of working against itself...
The story and the way it is presented to the player, while incredibly immersive in terms of the story itself, actually constantly highjacks the game from the player. As I play further into the game I'm hating the cutscenes more and more. You will find yourself repeatedly robbed of the control over what you want to do as Max. It drives me crazy at some points of the game, and you will not be able to remain indifferent about it either.
Another frustration is added by trying to collect clues and golden weapon parts. The game will so many times pull you away from where these objects are with the cutscenes and Max's dialogues and monologues, so that you will have to doubleback again and again if you wish to collect them. You will also probably be failing the mission because of that too. Happened to me several times so far.
Also there is no way of interrupting most of the cutscenes which can last for minutes, so prepare yourself for pulling out your hair from frustration if you decide to replay certain chapters.
I just cannot comprehend why leave the scenes unskippable, especially at replays.
I have not played multiplayer, so I am leaving it out of this review, and more so because I strongly dislike playing multiplayer games (co-op is sometimes good, but not always).
So, to conclude,
It is a game certainly worth playing just be prepared to be annoyed with the things I described above.
I hope you find this review useful.
Cheers.