Arkham City Post #9: Boss Fights in the Museum

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 8: Shark Repellant Bat BEAT DOWN

Having taken care of that pesky shark, my next stop was to confront Penguin in the Iceberg Lounge, where he had holed himself up with Mr. Freeze's ice gun.  I mentioned Zelda before, and the comparison seemed more relevant than ever under these circumstances: me heading to the deepest point in the Museum (read: dungeon), equipped with a new gadget that's tailor-made to see me through the final showdown with the enemy at hand (read: boss fight).  I always thought that term was somewhat of a misnomer: most of the "bosses" one encounters in videogames aren't really bosses in the sense that they direct or supervise workers.  With the exception of the final boss, they're mostly just henchmen who have significantly more power than the average, run-of-the-mill grunt you run into during the rest of the adventure.  However, in this case, the term took on new meaning, considering that Penguin is one of Gotham's most fearsome crime bosses...

The Iceberg Lounge was a circular room with a raised outer balcony surrounding a lower level.  Extending from the balcony was a walkway leading to a gazebo-like structure, under which Penguin had camped out. Luckily the balcony was punctuated with decorative arches, behind which I could hide and avoid Penguin's freezing blasts.  The Disruptor has a limited range, so it was a simple matter of getting close enough to Penguin, activating the gadget to temporarily put his gun out of commission, then punching his lights out.  If it sounds a little too easy, it absolutely was.  But taking care of Penguin was not even half the battle.

No sooner had I rescued the last hostage I could, when Penguin popped out of nowhere with a second wind and a rocket launcher.  After a nasty fall, I found myself in a large creepy basement chamber where my Disruptor would do absolutely no good.  Chained up on the far side of the room was a gigantic zombified creature, which I would have mistaken for the Grey Hulk if I didn't know the difference between the Marvel and DC Universes.  This creature was in fact the mysterious Solomon Grundy (born on a Monday).  He can apparently be revived from death with the application of large quantities of electricity.  And each time he is so revived, it makes him stronger than before.  So having been alive for more than 600 years, he was understandably pretty darn massive.

As I stared at Grundy's fist, mere inches away from my face, held back by what turned out to be a rather flimsy chain apparatus, it occurred to me that I had overheard some of Penguin's henchmen make reference to some kind of "monster" that he had chained up in the basement.  These conversations always took place while I was sneaking around, before they knew I was on the premises, and the content of them never stuck in my head because I have a tendency to jump out of the shadows and start cracking skulls before they finish talking.  I really should learn a little patience, since it's no fun to miss out on plot points.  There's just something about the tone of a henchman's voice that immediately triggers my punch-without-mercy reflex.

Anyway, Grundy was easily able to break free of his chains in such a way that he could use his former shackles as gigantic flails.  (Whosever idea it was to attach weighted metal spheres to the ends of a chain, the other end of which was fastened to the wrist of an unkillable giant zombie definitely gets an A+ in the foresight department...)  It was all I could do to dodge out of the way of his vicious attacks and leapfrog over the chains as he swung them in a circle "ring around the rosie" style.  I wasn't getting hit, but any time Grundy lost any life, these electrical columns rose out of the floor and zapped new life into the beast.  I knew I would have to destroy the housing for these columns somehow, and using my new "Quick Fire" combat strategy seemed like the best bet.

The Explosive Gel is a wonderful gadget indeed.  It can blow through weak walls, it can stun enemies, I spray it in the shape of a little Bat-logo.  But because of the time it takes to apply (roughly four seconds, or about one standard action in nerdspeak) it was never very effective in combat.  So I spent the last year honing my skills with the gel, enabling me to set it up in one fluid motion during combat: while performing a nifty-looking somersault, I whip the gel out of my utility belt, spray it on the ground, and replace it before I'm even back on my feet.  This is the tactic I used on all three of the Grundy-renewing electrical pylons, sending Penguin's caged beast crashing to the ground.

...So imagine my surprise when the pylons magically repaired themselves not once, but twice - the last time sending so much electricity into Grundy that he burst into flames, along with the entire area around him.  He was stronger and faster than ever, but I eventually was able to take him down using the same strategy, after which I smashed my fist through his glowing, zombified heart.  Even though Grundy wasn't really anyone's "boss," he sure made for a prototypical and challenging boss fight.

Part 10: Hunting the League of Assassins

Arkham City Post #8: Shark Repellant Bat BEAT DOWN

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 7: Taking Out the Sensor Jammers

I was determined not to get distracted again as I headed to the Museum for the THIRD time; so imagine my chagrin when an emergency broadcast came over my radio.  But rather than pulling me off to yet another side mission, this message actually reconfirmed my previously set location.  Apparently a group of elite undercover cops, hand-picked by Commissioner Gordon, who had infiltrated Penguin's gang (against my counseling, btw) had since been discovered, and were being held hostage in the Museum.  I hacked the security panel and rescued the first officer from a group of unarmed thugs in the main exhibit hall.

Penguin fancies himself a collector, and as such he had retrofitted the museum's display cases to serve as prison cages.  Some of these contained live subjects (such as a masked female ninja - my first thought was Kitana from Mortal Kombat, but I had suspicions as to who she really worked for), some contained the mutilated corpses of enemies who had crossed Penguin in some way, and some were left empty in preparation for future captures.  I noticed spots for some of my old friends (Joker, Harley Quinn, Two-Face) and two spots for me: one for Bruce Wayne and one for Batman.  I'd better make sure Penguin never gets his hands on me - I'd hate to see his look of disappointment about having to revamp his entire trophy case when he realizes he can only have one or the other.

I made my way through the maze of the museum until I reached Penguin's imposing gladiator pit, wherein I fought wave after wave of henchmen, and simultaneously battled an unmistakeable sense of deja vu.  Then it came to me: Rocksteady featured this fight in their E3 2011 demo, (along with the battle with Two-Face's thugs at the Courthouse and the predator tutorial challenge in the Church) which I played a few months earlier.  I suppose they included these three sections in order to give players a taste of all three varieties of henchmen.  What Rocksteady did NOT include in the demo was what followed the henchmen: a gigantic half-baked Titan monster in Penguin colors.  A quick check of the map revealed that there was in fact a Titan container in the Museum (which I destroyed as soon as I located it), and an even quicker Ultra-Stun allowed me to deliver a quick Beat Down.

The next step in my journey took me into the Terrors of the Deep exhibit, which Penguin had flooded and frozen, using Mr. Freeze's technology, I suspected.  My suspicions were confirmed when I noticed that one of the undercover cops had broken free and was attempting to escape across the ice, when he suddenly froze in place.  There was Penguin, standing on the balcony leading into the Iceberg Lounge, wielding Mr. Freeze's ice gun.  As I carefully ventured out onto the ice to rescue the cop (plus the other three in the room), I was brutally attacked by a giant shark straight from the set of Jaws.  Luckily he didn't destroy all the ice - Bats don't like the water, unless they're safely situated in a turbo-charged, fully-armored watercraft.

I knew I had to find some way to get past Penguin's ice gun before confronting him, so I re-established my primary objective: find Mr. Freeze.  Maybe he could give me some clues about how to disable his weaponry.  I found him in a display case of his own, tastelessly decorated with palm trees and surfboards.  He was without his suit, so only a vial of some eerie glowing blue liquid plugged directly into his heart was keeping him alive.  But before I could rescue him, I was confronted by yet ANOTHER gigantic one-armed Russian henchman, this one wielding a sickle.  After I took care of him and his coterie, I learned that he and Mr. Hammer "worked" together as a former side show attraction: the Abramowitz Brothers conjoined twins.  Apparently after their separation, they both pursued parallel lives of crime for different crime bosses, but each kept their trademark patriotic weapons. (Get it? Hammer and Sickle?  Russian?  See what they did there?)

After I rescued Freeze, he informed me that he had indeed developed a countermeasure system to prevent people from using his weapons against him.  The only problem was that it was located in his suit, which was being guarded by armed thugs in the Armory across the lake.  A quick predator sweep through the room took care of them, and I was able to configure my newest gadget: a firearm Disruptor, which incapacitated the weapons of any armed thugs nearby.  Hmm, the Remote Electrical Charge in the Steel Mill and the Disruptor in the Museum... the one-gadget-per-dungeon structure of this adventure was making me feel more like Link from the Zelda series than the Prince of Persia.

I ran into one more obstacle before I could confront Penguin in the Iceberg Lounge: all the ice in the lake had melted, forcing me to glide onto a nearby raft and pull myself across the room using my Batclaw.  The only problem with this strategy: you guessed it, the shark.  No sooner had I ventured out into the middle of the lake when I was confronted by a toothy mass of fins and gills splashing about and trying to capsize my raft.  I didn't have any shark-repellant bat spray in my utility belt, since it DOESN'T EXIST (although the reference was not lost on me), so I turned to my next best option: my fists.  See below for a snapshot of what went down, including a pretty descriptive tutorial prompt at the bottom of the screen:

Part 9: Boss Fights in the Museum

Arkham City Post #7: Taking Out the Sensor Jammers

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 6: Questions Questions with the Riddler

There was one more obstacle preventing me from actually getting inside the Museum once I reached it, all the way in the Southwest corner of the city, in the "Bowery."  See, when you look at this city - Gotham - the way it's built, the way it looks, and how it feels, and then you see neighborhoods like the Bowery, how can you help but think of New York?  But when you see the gleaming and smoking Industrial District (to the Southeast), it does kind of recall the feel of Pittsburgh.  Which is probably what they'll focus on in that movie being filmed about me in Pittsburgh.

http://arkhamcity.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2817

Anyway, that one obstacle was the Sensor Jammers.  I had to find and destroy three of them, because they were preventing me from using my Cryptographic Sequencer, which I needed to get through Penguin's security.  The Sensor Jammers were located all throughout the city, but the last one was buried deep inside the Subway Tunnels... which incidentally ran directly under the TYGER Restricted Area directly in the middle of the city, with the towering bank of searchlights rising up over high barbed-wired walls like a giant panopticon, and out of which anti-aircraft fire streams towards you if you try to glide into it.  The tunnels might be a useful entry point if it comes to any REAL sneaking around in Big Brother's Corporate HQ.

I also found another Titan container in the Subway.  I wasn't even keeping track of them on my map, just kind of blowing one up whenever I came across it.  And, hey, it looked like I was making some progress on my side quest to remove the Titan threat from Arkham City.  The concept of working with Bane for this mission in and of itself was not altogether alien to me... at least not in the unbridled, wildman, survival of the fittest Anarchy of Arkham City.  I'll tell you what, I don't object to lot of what these costumed super-villains are doing, on principal... It's just that so many of them get caught up in dumb criminal schemes that make me feel obligated to fight the shit out of them and get them off the streets.  Call it a superior moral compass, or call it compulsion, but it's totally defined me as a hero.  But in Arkham City, it's just such an every-man-for-himself, Will to Power environment, with the only structure (literally and figuratively) coming in the form of a wall around the perimeter.  Sometimes Strange Alliances are formed when a high-level vigilante is thrown into a land grab between factions of thugs controlled by three of the DC Universe's most powerful villains ever dreamed up...

But seemingly in exchange for making progress on the afore-named side mission involving Bane, I ran into another pressing radio broadcast on the way back to the Museum.  A murder victim in an alley, whose face had been cut off and bandaged; not by Hannibal Lecter, but by a man who (according to eyewitness statements) looked just like Bruce Wayne.  Seeing as I have encyclopedic knowledge of Gotham's police records, I recognized that murders with this M.O. had been popping up all over the city.  The papers were calling the killer "The Identity Thief."  Looks like Gotham's most publicized billionaire playboy was the latest victim, in a sense.  In another vey real sense, though, the murder victim was the victim.  And in yet another very real sense, I had just picked up a sixth, by my count, side mission to worry about.  Add to that Hugo Strange's voice coming over the TYGER Security radio, announcing that Protocol Ten would commence in a matter of single-digit hours.  This was going to be one hell of a night...

Part 8: Shark Repellant Bat BEAT DOWN

Arkham City Post #6: Questions Questions with The Riddler

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 5: The Search for Mr. Freeze

But on my way to the Museum to bust into Penguin's headquarters, I intercepted a radio frequency from Arkham Security that Officer Cash's medical team had disappeared from the Church.  I couldn't go losing allies, regardless of how dire my medical situation might soon become (what with some of Joker's Titan-infected blood coursing through my veins and all), so I resolved to go save them.  When I arrived at the scene, who's annoying mug should I see projected onto a screen hanging from the church ceiling but Edward Nygma's.  So it The Riddler was behind kidnapping the medical team, putting some urgency behind his taunt that solving his riddles was a matter of life and death.

Nygma was broadcasting from an encrypted frequency, and he wouldn't give me more clues as to where the hostages were kept until I solved a riddle located somewhere in the church: "This instrument always plays from the heart."  It didn't take me long to recognize the large pipe organ - not only was it the only instrument in the building, but the body part terminology was easy to spot.  As a reward for my correct answer, Nygma told me that the first hostage was located in the courthouse, where I had left Two-Face strung up.

As I left the church, I ran into a thug I recognized as having had some dealings with Riddler.  If I was able to interrogate him, I could use the information to find out more about the hostages.  Or, barring that, at least more information about the locations of those damn Riddler trophies, which are always welcome sources of experience-providing w00tz.  It also opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me going forward through the city, as Riddler Informants (highlighted green by my Detective Mode) would pop up in random groups of thugs.  This meant I had to keep each informant conscious as I took out the rest of the group to allow for interrogation.  A little extra challenge, but it was worth it to add those little question marks to my map.

After I freed the first hostage from the Courthouse, he gave me the frequency on which Riddler was sending his broadcasts.  Great, I thought, now I'll have to listen to his irritating taunts through the remainder of this adventure.  But when I tuned to the frequency using the Cryptographic Sequencer, I just heard The Riddler's voice on loop giving a clue for another riddle.  This was a word-game, that could only be solved with a strange device, called the Enigma Machine, which was also delivered to me by the hostage.  However I decided that the hostages would have to wait for now, because my mission of finding a cure for my condition seemed more pressing at the moment - otherwise, I wouldn't be able to save anybody OR defeat Strange.

But as I thought about letting those hostages sweat for a while, I felt a little relieved to see The Riddler taking an active role in this particular scheme.  He was little more than an ominous voice hiding from the shadows during my last adventure, and actually getting to look at his face made it a very distinct reality that I would get to punch it later on.  But my fantasies would have to wait, as I was still a long way from the Penguin's hideout in the Gotham Museum.

Part 7: Taking Out the Sensor Jammers

Arkham City Post #5: The Search for Mr. Freeze

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 4: The Joker's Steel Mill

When I came to, I found myself strapped to a chair; so for those of you keeping score at home, that's 3 prolonged periods of unconsciousness on the night so far, after 2 of which I woke up in some form of restraint.  But this one was followed by the most drastic consequences and dynamic plot twist encountered so far.  The look of Joker's more-disgusting-than-usual white, scarred skin was enough to deduce that his blood was indeed contaminated with Titan... but now, so was mine!  After I couldn't squeeze anything from Joker about Protocol 10, he directed my attention to some recently used blood transfusion equipment, with me on the other end.

After I got over the initial sense of revulsion (and the subsequent recognition of the severe irony) of having some of my arch enemy's blood intermingled with mine, I couldn't deny the brilliance of the tactics: now finding a cure was my priority as well as Joker's.  I was also blown away by the drastic increase in personal stakes between last year's adventures in Arkham Asylum and now: before I was fighting to save my city, to take another step forward in my crusade to rid the citizens Gotham of their ridiculously costumed persecutors.  But now I was fighting to save my very life.  It kind of puts things in perspective, and hopefully gets more people interested in the plot of the game...

Joker threw me one last piece of information before sending the wheelchair to which I was tied crashing through the window down to the street below: Joker had commissioned Mr. Freeze to find him a cure.  This is nothing too surprising - remember Mr. Freeze was formerly Dr. Victor Fries, a brilliant scientist - and it seemed like the good doctor was close to completing his task... until he completely vanished off the map.  My first objective was to find him.  I figured I'd head to the coldest point in Gotham, which I could easily figure out using my hi-tech, totally advanced, state of the art Bat-Thermometer.

But first, I felt compelled to add yet another side mission to my list.  This materialized when I stopped to chat with a political prisoner who had figured out how to send an SOS signal over the radio.  He told me that he worked for Strange before he was thrown in there, but before he could go into any detail, he was killed by a perfectly-placed shot from a sniper.  I scanned the scene for evidence and was able to discover the trajectory of the bullet, which led me right to a shell casing that I immediately recognized as belonging to... that's right, Deadshot.  There must be some people in Arkham City that Strange wants taken out pretty thoroughly if he's willing to hire the world's deadliest assassin.  I would have to try and get to them first.

The coldest point in Gotham turned out to be the old GCPD building, where Freeze was using one of the old forensic labs to do his research.  But all I found was Penguin's thugs, who had apparently kidnapped Freeze and set up a guard around the place.  Penguin's thugs were noticeably tougher than Joker's: they were equipped with heart monitors resembling the suicide collars used by the old Asylum.  Joker wouldn't have been industrious enough to deck his henchmen out like that if he hadn't stumbled upon the equipment at the Asylum.  Now that there are multiple sets of henchmen running around, it's fun to see the different types of people each villain chooses to fill his crew with.  Joker goes for quantity (i.e. anyone who'll sign up), Penguin goes for quality, and Two-Face actually sends his goons out to give campaign speeches.  I guess he wants to keep his henchmen "on message."  Whatever, they all make the same sound when they hit the ground, so it doesn't matter to me.

Seeing as my leads to finding Mr. Freeze had gone cold (so what if there's a pun intended wanna start something?), I had to use some of my newly cultivated powers of persuasion to interrogate one of Penguin's thugs.  He told me right away that Cobblepot had set up his secure fortress in the Gotham Museum.  But as I headed for the door, I found that my remote electrical charge couldn't open it.  I could, however, use the cryptographic sequencer for the purpose it was originally built for: to open locked doors.  All I had to do was download the municipal codes so I could hack into government computers.  It felt good to hack into The Fed's computers to get what I needed - usually my sense of justice causes me to refrain from messing with government business, but these circumstances were rather dire.  Now I knew where to go, and had the means to get there.

Part 6: Questions Questions with the Riddler

Arkham City Post #4: The Joker's Steel Mill

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 3: The Church

It was almost time to pinpoint the origin point of Joker's radio transmissions... but I was distracted once again by a distress flare in Gotham Harbor, near where I started my AR Training missions.  As I entered the building, I was surprised to see none other than Bane, his gigantic roided-up frame hunched over a map on the wall.  Apparently he has some weird sixth-sense for news of the Titan formula, having so much of it in his blood stream, and he had caught wind of 12 containers of the stuff that Joker had somehow managed to get off Arkham Island.  He claimed to want the Titan destroyed as much as I did - apparently he wants a monopoly on the physique-enhancing chemical market - so we agreed to each take out six containers and then meet back at the harbor.  Hey, if I can keep track of four side missions, why not five...?

Each container thankfully contained a radio homing beacon, and my Bat Computer was able to mark the location of all six on the map.  The closest one was guarded by a few hapless Joker thugs, and after dispatching them with ease, I made short work of the container with my explosive gel.  The second container appeared to be locked deep within the Sionis Industries steel mill... which was incidentally the location of Joker's radio broadcasts.  Interesting how my paths always seem to converge.  There didn't appear to be any clear way in, so Alfred stopped just short of suggesting I dive through the main chimney, referring to the strategy as "suicide."  But desperate times sometimes call for desperately taking a page out of the Santa Claus handbook.

Note to self: whenever Alfred describes something as "suicide," remind me to file it under "daring and awesome and fun to boot."  I grappled over the lip of the chimney, and immediately divebombed into a drop which I knew ended with a lake of molten hot magma, the natural by-product of the steel industry.  (I should know - I'm having a movie filmed about me in Pittsburgh, PA, the steel capital of America.)  I prepared to pull up dramatically and glide gently into the inevitable crack in the infrastructure, but luckily there was a wire spread across the pit, onto which I gently settled.  I must say, all this tightrope business in the early part of these adventures has me feeling more like the Prince of Persia than the Dark Knight.

Once inside it was a matter of sneaking through the vents until I came upon the giant empty space of the loading bay.  There was the doctor who Harley had kidnapped from the Church, and who had apparently failed to find a cure for Joker's illness.  As punishment for her failure she was about to fall victim to a giant clown with only one arm... but in that arm he held a gigantic sledge hammer, from which he got his name (the nearly 40 clowns waiting around him referred to the giant as "Mr. Hammer").  But at the last second, the clowns dragged her away to the smelting room, where she was to be guarded by a group of armed thugs, waiting for some unimaginable purpose.  Maybe Joker wanted her alive, just to lure me in there.  Whatever the motives, I obliged by clearing the room and rescuing the doc.

From her I learned that Joker was suffering from an illness caused by his blood being contaminated with Titan - Bain's influence reentering the atmosphere.  At least the disease didn't also make him bigger and stronger, like what happens with a Titan overdose.  Having a sick Joker on the loose is bad enough: it makes him desperate.  Never mind a sick Joker overpowered by an experimental chemical.  I also grabbed a piece of some industrial electrical machinery and modified it to allow me to shoot a remote electrical blast - picture Raiden's lightning bolt, except that it also allowed me to power up certain electrical devices remotely.  Thankfully, one of those devices was the door that let us out of that room.

Another one of those devices was a wrecking ball in the loading bay that I could swing back and forth to crash through the wall Joker was hiding behind.  But I couldn't use the controls before I tangled with Mr. Hammer himself.  It's a good thing my battles with the Titan henchmen at the Asylum prompted me to master a new combat move: the Ultra Stun, wherein I could triple-button mash Stun to take care of overlarge enemies like this guy.  Before I punched his lights out (pictured above), I noted his Russian accent and distinctive tattoos.  Then I went after Joker.

I burst in on Harley Quinn weeping at the feet of a shrouded figure seated in a wheelchair.  She pleaded me to leave them alone.  I tossed her aside like a ragdoll.  After failing to respond to verbal questioning, I used detective mode to scan the vitals on the figure in the wheelchair: deceased.  That's when the real Joker jumped out from behind me and hit me with a double dose of knockout gas.  And that's when I was knocked the fuck out...

Part 5: The Search for Mr. Freeze

Arkham City Post #3: The Church and Side Missions

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 2: Rescuing Catwoman

While I had my cowl's Detective Mode equipped to scan the bullet trajectory evidence, I noticed a human form huddled in the basement.  I cautiously crept down there and found Calendar Man locked away in the courthouse's holding cells, muttering something about Halloween being a good time to come and see him.  Why was he locked in the holding cells?  Could he have been referencing "The Long Halloween?"  Is that even in the same continuity as Arkham?  How can I even be sure what the date is?  But I had to file these questions away, as I had more pressing matters to attend to.

Outside the courthouse, I found a couple of civilians huddling together for safety.  These weren't criminals, but employees of the company that used to run security for Arkham City before Strange took over - political prisoners, if you will.  There was clearly something Strange wanted kept hidden, and I resolved to find out what that was, with the help of these folks - however many I could find.

On the way to the church, I ran into a familiar sight: a glowing green question mark situated on a rooftop; only this one was enclosed in a steel dome next to an unfamiliar sight: a circular floorplate embossed with a similar question mark.  Standing on the plate caused the cage to open up, allowing me to snare the Riddler Trophy with my batclaw.  As soon as I did, Edward Nygma's irritating voice came over my in-cowl radio, informing me that completing his challenges this time around was not just a silly diversion, but a matter of life and death.  Bringing my list of things to file away up to three...

Inside the church, I found Harley Quinn and her thugs holding several doctors and police officers hostage.  Harley split, giving me the opportunity to show off a few of the new Predator Mode moves I had developed throughout the past year.  Back at the Asylum, I had four basic ways to take out enemies: I simply choke them out (either from sneaking up behind them, jumping out of a floor grate, or waiting for them as they rounded a corner), string them up by dropping down on them from a vantage point, pull them over a ledge, or smash down on them through a glass ceiling.  To these tricks, I added the ability to break through wooden panels behind which a thug might be hiding, choke an opponent out with my legs from a platform above them, and a special trick whereby I could take out two nearby thugs in one move (I call that one the "let's put our heads together" attack, for obvious reasons...).

I interviewed the hostages - among which were familiar faces Aaron Cash and William North - who informed me that when Harley left the building, she took with her one of the doctors for the purpose of "fixing up the Joker."  I guess I gave him a worse beating than I thought back at the Asylum; and I'm sure his recovery process was not aided by the megadose of Titan he injected himself with before our final showdown.  I can't imagine the effects of coming down from that trip - the mind-altering effects that nearly took hold between when I was shot with a Titan dart and when I injected myself with the antidote were not insignificant.  But if Joker was the one who fired the shot from the church belltower, I might have a chance to ask him about the experience myself.

As I found out after climbing to the top of the church, it turns out that Joker wasn't indeed up there: the gun was fired by a remote control radio device... and was wired to a series of hugely exaggerated explosive devices.  I just barely had enough time to scan the radio receiver with my Detective Mode Evidence Scanner and dive out the stained glass window before the whole thing went up in flames.  But I got enough information to put a trace on the radio signal Joker was sending.  But since it appeared to be coming from the other side of the city, I decided I needed a more effective means of getting around...

I connected to the Batcomputer to embark on a little training session to ready myself for an upgrade for the grapnel gun that Lucius Fox still had in the prototype stages.  The increased power would enable me not just to grapple up to a point, but to launch myself into the air above said point, leading to further gliding and grappling potential.  But before I deemed myself ready for such an upgrade, I decided to put myself through a series of Augmented Reality (AR) missions that tested my ability to glide through various targets and make use of my newly-learned divebombing skill.  It was not easy, but I didn't get to where I am today through lack of discipline, and I eventually rewarded myself with the more powerful gadget - much to Alfred's chagrin.  Apparently he disapproves of me using a device that Lucius was still testing, but in an environment five times as large as the Asylum, I knew I would need a little extra edge to traverse ground more quickly.

With the Grapple Boost in hand, I was ready to head towards Joker's radio signal... until I was distracted by a ringing payphone, which I couldn't help but pick up.  On the other end was the chilling voice of Victor Zsasz, who informed me that he would murder a hostage if I failed to answer another ringing phone somewhere within the city in a certain amount of time.  The computer was able to track down the source, but it took time, and I had to make use of all my grappling, gliding, and running skills to get there in time.  I kept Zsasz on the phone as long as I could, but it wasn't enough to triangulate the position of where he was calling from.  As the FOURTH thing for me to file away, I don't doubt he'll call back at some point.

Part 4: The Joker's Steel Mill

Arkham City Post #2: Rescuing Catwoman

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 1: Opening Sequence

Two times in one night already I'd been knocked unconscious for an extended period of time, and I hadn't even put on my Batsuit yet.  This could not be good for my brain cells, I thought, but probably nothing worse than an average encounter with Scarecrow Gas.  Except after Scarecrow Gas, I don't usually get woken up staring straight at the short and stocky form of The Penguin.  The failed society figure spouted some nonsense about my family having destroyed his family, and how he aimed to take revenge on my face with a pair of brass knuckles.

While I was racking my brain to try to remember any social strain between the Waynes and the Cobblepots, I felt the first blow land across my jaw.  As he reared back for another punch, I determined that it wasn't particularly important for me to remember our personal family histories at this juncture.  I grabbed his fist inches before it connected, bent his hand back and distinctly counted as I broke every one of his fingers.  It's a good thing TYGER security doesn't handcuff their prisoners behind the back, like how real-life police do it, because then things might have gotten tricky.  But as it happened, I was able to break free of the shackles with an extra-human display of strength and easily take down the group of about five henchmen Penguin had surrounding him.

It was tougher to pull off my awesome combat techniques while wearing a monkey suit than it normally is in the Batsuit.  The arch support is definitely not as good in my wingtips, but they're still able to deliver a walloping impact.  Also, headbutts are noticeably more painful without the reinforced molded plastic of my cowl, but the temporary sting is worth it to see the big scary henchmen fall to the ground with blood in their eyes.  Once I was done with the group, I went over to Penguin, who was nursing his shattered hand over in a corner by a fence, and delivered him a Mortal Kombat style uppercut that sent him flying higher in the air than even Sub-Zero could send Scorpion on his best day.

After that it was just a matter of getting to higher ground so I could use my wrist-communicator to contact Alfred.  He immediately had my Batsuit dropped in via the Batwing.  It's good to have Alfred back.  Don't get me wrong, Oracle was great throughout Arkham Asylum, but there's something about Alfred being a butler that makes it easier for me to order him around - as opposed to, you know, a handicapped former sidekick.  Although, I think I've provided Joker more than adequate payback for shooting Batgirl in the spine, at least in terms of gross hospital visits, and she's such a trooper to still want to contribute any way she can.

Once I got my suit on - the process actually took me about 30 minutes overall, what with all the complicated machinery involved, but thanks to modern montage technology, I accomplished the task in about four quick shots - I inserted the security card I stole from the guard into my Cryptographic Sequencer and tuned it into the TYGER security feed.  What a difference a year makes for technology, huh?  The good ol' C-S is no longer limited to overloading security panels on doors - and in addition to the TYGER feed, I could also scan broadcasts from Gotham FM and the Gotham Police Department.  And people wonder why I'm not excited about the iPhone 5...

I heard a broadcast from the security feed that my old pal Catwoman was being held captive by Two-Face in the old courthouse, and that the binary-obsessed villain was planning on killing her, and that Strange intended to have his forces do nothing about the situation.  Some quick action was in order, so I set the courthouse - which happened to be right in front of me - as my waypoint and glided straight there.    Inside, Two-Face had Catwoman suspended upside down over a vat of acid and was a coin flip away from sending her plunging to her doom.  But luckily the good head prevailed and the former District Attorney set about the process of giving the feline anti-hero a "fair" trial.  While he talked, I snuck up to a vantage point above the crowd of 40-something henchmen who were listening and dropped directly into the fray.

Many of the henchmen split immediately upon seeing my grim visage, but the ones who didn't were tough.  Luckily I was not completely out of combat practice, as I had been at the commencement of my Arkham Asylum adventures; in fact, I had worked hard to improve my skills.  Right from the start, I could take an opponent out from a standing position, provided I had enough momentum in my attacks.  I had also developed two additional techniques, both utilizing the cape: one in which I could grapple someone and quickly deliver a flurry of blows, and another wherein I could vault off a stunned opponent and deliver a fearsome strike from the air.  I also had taught myself to split my focus among multiple opponents, allowing me to counter two strikes at once in one fluid motion.  You don't think I would go so close to Arkham City without preparing myself, even in the supposedly safe guise of Bruce Wayne?

All during this combat session, Two-Face was taking pot shots at me with his pistol from behind a reinforced glass cage.  I must have performed too elaborate of a flourish on the last opponent, because right after I had cleared the room, Dent lined up a direct hit, right to the bat-logo on my chest.  It's a good thing the Batsuit is made of reinforced kevlar, but the impact knocked the wind out of me and surely cracked a couple of ribs.  While I was catching my breath, I head Catwoman escape her bonds of her own accord, right before an unfavorable coin flip from Two-Face would have spelled the end of her.  She slashed him with her claws and was about to finish the job when Two-Face pulled his second hidden gun (she should have known he wouldn't ever carry just one of anything).  Luckily I had regained enough wherewithal to grapple his ass and suspend him dangling over the ominous vat of acid.

After a touching reunion, I asked Selina if she had any information about Protocol 10.  It sure seemed like she didn't know anything - she fed me some line about how it could be Strange's big plan for dealing with me, but we didn't have any time to go into the details, as I noticed a green laser sight - in the pattern of a twisted smiley face - slowly climbing up the side of Catwoman's face.  She's lucky I'm so observant, as I whisked her out of the way just in time to avoid having to clean up cat brains from off the floor.  On the other hand, I was lucky enough to have waited until the shot was fired to make the save, as the bullet-hole through the window coupled with the point of impact on the ground allowed me to trace the trajectory of the shot, and thus find out where the shooter was situated - the bell-tower of an old church being used as a medical center.  Unfortunately, while I was analyzing the evidence, Catwoman slipped away using her whip.  But I doubt this would be the last time we would meet within the confines of the prison city...

Part 3: The Church

Arkham City Post #1: Opening Sequence

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Intro

A year has passed, apparently, since that seemingly endless night where I found myself trapped within the confines of Arkham Asylum by my arch-nemesis The Joker.  I had to battle through a significant portion of my rogue's gallery - Bane, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy - and overcome some overwhelming challenges before I defeated the Clown Prince of Crime himself in a daring, Titan-enhanced showdown high on the rooftops of the Arkham Penitentiary.  But in the end, justice prevailed and the Titan program, which claimed the lives of co-conspirator Dr. Young and so many other innocent victims, was shut down.

However, as is often the case with the plots of supervillains, the completion of one obstacle only leads to the emergence of a much nastier one.  Such was the case with Arkham City, the heinous and despicable slum/prison devised by Gotham City Mayor (and former Warden of Arkham Asylum [and current host body for the spirit of Amadeus Arkham, apparently... at least according to those mystical/magical Chronicles of Arkham that appeared throughout the last adventure]) Quincy Sharp.  It seems we are no longer interested in attempting to rehabilitate criminals and reintroduce them to society - we simply quarantine them in a portion of the city that we give up for lost and try as hard as we can to prevent their escape.

 Well, I had just about had enough of this scheme, so I dressed up as my alter ego, billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, and marched down to a press conference to mobilize some political support for the burgeoning "Shut Down Arkham City" movement.  Everything was going well, Wayne's speech was inspirational and moving, Vicki Vale was lookin' fine, and the crowd was just getting into it... and that's when the SWAT team arrived.  I was immediately surrounded by troops that I recognized as belonging to TYGER, Dr. Hugo Strange's company that recently took over security for Arkham City.  I couldn't very well make a display of my mad skillz right there in front of all that press, so I had no choice but to go quietly.  Which is easy to do once you let yourself get cold-cocked with the butt of an assault rifle...

When I regained consciousness, I was tied to a chair with Strange's sickening chin-bearded mug pressed right up against mine.  The stench of his breath made it hard for me to concentrate on much that he was saying, but I did catch a mention of something called "Protocol 10" ... OH and also he let drop that he knows Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person.  (Maybe you remember an episode of the Animated Series where Alfred, Robin, and I dealt with a similar problem?  Yeah, adopted from the same case files.  This is how it "really" happened.)  He cautioned me not to try to escape, otherwise he'd tell the whole world my secret.

I thought about it for a minute, blinded by an interrogation-style hot light, staring at my chair-bound form in the mirror ahead of me, listening to Strange's haunting introduction video.  It sure would be a hassle if everybody in Gotham knew the identity of Batman.  The government would probably freeze all my assets, raid Wayne Manor and demolish the Batcave.  I have enough cash stashed in my Bat-mattress for Alfred, Lucius, and I to set up shop on some deserted island and operate under the radar for quite some time, but I couldn't afford to be off the streets long enough to set that up.  On the other hand, I would be able to do far less good if I remained trapped in here as Bruce Wayne, allowing Protocol 10, whatever it might be, to go into effect.  I resolved to escape, and pulled it off by rocking myself out of the chair and headbutting the guard who responded.  Before I was overtaken by a slew of Strange's armed minions, I was able to snatch the security encryption card from the original guard's radio, which I was sure I'd be able to make use of later.

I was tossed into a courtyard and forced at gunpoint to fall in line with a bunch of foul-mouthed, foul-smelling, orange-jumpsuited inmates.  They took one look at my designer suit and bruised face, and thought they could have their way with me once the gates opened.  If only they knew... Actually, some of them did get an opportunity to know very soon after that.  After a few moments in a holding cell with Jack Ryder (yes, the famous news reporter was imprisoned by Strange as well, for what reason I could only guess), the gates opened and a flurry of enemies jumped the fences and attacked immediately.  No point in holding back in displaying my skillz now, as survival mode fully kicked in.  Plus, I thought, showing off a little might convince that damn fool Ryder to stick close to me, however useless he had already proved in a fight.  It's always good to have allies on the inside...

Even with my hands and feet shackled together, I was able to make use of my impressive physical prowess to counter the incoming attacks and put down the first wave.  My undoing was trying to help Jack Ryder to his feet and support him to the end of the gauntlet, which distracted me enough for one of Penguin's goons to sneak up behind me and crack me in the head with a lead pipe.  He dragged me before the short, bird-like villain himself - cigar in hand and broken beer bottle in place of a monocle - who promptly booted me in the face, after which all went black.

Part 2: Rescuing Catwoman

Arkham City: Intro

I know the World Series of Baseball starts today, but seeing as no teams from Gotham City are participating, I find it hard to focus on the sport.  Especially since there are such exciting events going on in the world of my alter ego, The Batman.  Yes, it's true, the bat is out of the bag: the blogger you all knew as Pankin is, in fact, the true caped crusader, protecting the innocent citizens from nefarious villains that threaten the very fabric of our society.  I couldn't hold in the truth any longer ever since the release of a highly anticipated video game chronicling my latest adventures through that maze of sin and death known as Arkham City.

The folks at Rocksteady Games did such a great job of portraying me and my adventures through Arkham Asylum two years ago that I graciously extended them the license for using my likeness and personal history a second time.  They took a little liberty with the character design (notice the discrepancy between the REAL Batman (me, right) and a ludicrously exaggerated statue of the version of "Batman" used in the game (left)).  But the replication of my patented fighting style, the use of the gadgets included in my utility belt, and the choice of actor to impersonate my voice (Kevin Conroy from the Animated Series) are all second to none.

What follows is a series of excerpts from my personal case files that were compiled during the actual adventures upon which Batman: Arkham City is based.  As you may know, I'm not in the habit of publishing my own personal notes, preferring to filter them through various channels such as comic books, television shows, and feature films.  But based on the hype surrounding the release of this game, I figure I'd make an exception.

Please enjoy the outpourings of my expert detective's intellect as I take you through a harrowing journey into the heart of.... ARKHAM CITY!

Fair warning: SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW!

Part 1: Opening Sequence

Projections vs. Reality: St. Louis Cardinals

Just under the wire with a post about the Cardinals again, as they could be one win away tonight from knocking the Brewers out of the postseason and reaching the World Series for the first time since 2006.  I personally hope the Brewers win two at home to advance, partly because I like the Brewers, but partly because it would be too much of an underdog story to have a team projected to finish 4th in the division play in the Fall Classic.  However, the first comment the scout makes in "Enemy Lines" is that you can never count this team out because of their pitching staff and Manager Tony LaRussa's impeccable ability to strategically run his bullpen in the ground.

The next comment is that "there's nothing not to like about Chris Carpenter."  Well obviously this scout never consulted the Brewers - who have their own set of issues with the hurler - or examined Carp's injury history, which caused him to miss two of the past five seasons.  Keep in mind, their plan was to have Carpenter as the #2 starter behind Adam Wainwright, before the latter went down for the year with Tommy John surgery.  The scout praises replacement Kyle McClellan's curveball, which nevertheless wasn't enough to keep him in the rotation for the full year.  He also claimed

The scout also comments on Albert Pujols' apparent lack of focus throughout the spring.  Perhaps the looming promise of free agency and the potential of a $30m a year contract distracted him a bit.  This distraction apparently continued to the regular season, as 2011 was the first time in his 11 year career that Pujols failed to hit .300 or reach 100 RBI (he missed both  by 1).  Another thing the scout got right was that the Cardinals would not be happy with Ryan Theriot's defense - he cost his team between 8 and 12 runs with his glove at SS... but was anywhere from 3 to 6 runs above average at 2B (where he moved after the acquisition of Rafael Furcal).

One mis-judgment by the scout was that "Colby Rasmus is way too good a player to trade" - tell that to the Toronto Blue Jays, who acquired the potential star centerfielder in a blockbuster trade.  I don't think the scout writes the "Modest Proposal" section, but that includes another mis-judgment: play Allen Craig in RF over newcoming veteran Lance Berkman.  Tell that to his 31 HR, .959 OPS, and 5.2 WAR.  (That WAR includes 5.9 offensively and -0.7 on defense, as he's definitely better suited as a 1B/DH type.)  Craig played well in 75 games (2.1 WAR), and was better in the field (1 to 8 runs saved), but even when they needed another outfielder, the Redbirds went with Jon Jay (1.3 WAR) more often than not, so they must think less highly of Craig than the editors of SI.

"The Number" is 10 blown saves by the 2010 Cardinals' bullpen, "the fewest in the NL since 2004."  All that changed in 2011, where the team blew 26 late-inning leads.  Ryan Franklin (he of the 93.1% success rate last year) blew 4 of his 5 chances, and was promptly replaced by youngster Fernando Salas (and later in the playoffs by Jason Motte, who doesn't even figure as the ONE non-closer reliever in the SI preview.  That spot goes to Mitchell Boggs, who was good, but didn't figure nearly as much into the team's bullpen.  This is one grievance I have with the SI Baseball preview: the bullpen is such a big part of a team's strategy and success, and they leave room for a closer and ONE other reliever?  When the football preview leaves room for the entire defense and offensive line?  Where's the respect to America's true pastime.  OK rant over.  Enjoy the NLCS tonight...).

Projections vs. Reality: Milwaukee Brewers

Let me just say right off, that as soon as it became apparent that the Brewers would make the playoffs, they were my pick to win the World Series (against the Rays, but let's not get into that...).  I wasn't sure how they would get past the Phillies, but thankfully they didn't have to.  But after falling behind 2 games to 1 against the Cardinals, they still have their work cut out for them.  Their run is even more impressive seeing as they were projected to finish 2nd in the division behind the Cincinnati Reds.

Not to rag on the scout in the "Enemy Lines" section, but he got two things noticeably wrong.  The first involves the pitching staff: "With Zack Greinke out ... they're scrambling."  Well, as it happened, Greinke compiled just the fourth-highest pitching WAR (Wins Above Replacement) among Brewers starters.  And even though he missed five starts due to an injury, his pitching WAR per start is still fourth on the team.  Here's how the numbers shake out with Milwaukee's entire starting staff (the same as projected by SI, by the way):

The second thing the scout got wrong had to do with starting third baseman Casey McGehee, who the projected lineup has him batting fifth, behind the inspiration for Beast Mode: "He can protect Fielder."  McGehee could have done so with numbers resembling last year's 23 HR, 104 RBI, and 3.0 WAR.  However McGehee played so poorly in 2011 that he actually recorded one win below replacement (-1.0 WAR), the lowest of any Brewers player.  Kudos to manager Ron Roenicke for trusting the numbers and going with Jerry Hairston at 3B for the playoffs.  Below is a graphic illustrating the drastic decline in production:

Speaking of trusting the numbers, the "Modest Proposal" section refers to a sabermetric theory that a team's worst batter (i.e. the pitcher, for National League clubs) should bat 8th in the order instead of 9th.  That way you have the top of the order coming up with men on base more often, or something like that.  Be that as it may, Roenicke trotted out a batting order with the pitcher batting 9th for all 162 of the Brewers' games this year.  "The Number" emphasizes the lack of baserunning speed by powerhouse first baseman Prince Fielder, claiming that he only went from 1st to 3rd on a single ONCE last year.  The baseball-reference stats pages lump 1st-to-3rd and 1st-to-home scenarios together - they have Fielder with a "3" in that column.  That number increased to "8" in 2011, so maybe he increased his running drills in the off-season or learned to pick up the ball flight better.  Either way, he definitely still knows how to hit:

Pretty much the only discrepancy between the projected lineup and reality is that newcomer Nyjer Morgan started the majority of games in CF rather than Carlos Gomez, who served more of a defensive replacement role.  Also the batting order was rejiggered a little towards the end of the season putting Corey Hart into the leadoff role rather than Rickie Weeks.  And solid backup Mark Kotsay (whose swing I really like) is missing.  But other than those small differences, this team played as planned, and won.

Projections vs. Reality: Texas Rangers

Last year's AL champions, the Rangers were picked to finish second behind (*chuckle*) the fearsome Oakland A's.  (Let me just get in a quick aside here: it's strange being a fan of a team that consistently underperforms expectations.  I want the A's to do well each season and as a fan, I naturally set irrational expectations for them.  And when I see them projected to finish first, I always share in the optimism throughout the baseball community.  But then I take a look at the projected lineup, and it seems like the baseball community is showing my same irrationality.  Which is fine, but I can't help wondering when everyone else will wise up and see the numbers...)

In the "Enemy Lines" section of the SI Preview, the "rival scout" makes 7 points about these Rangers.  Three of them consist of gushing about Josh Hamilton's Mickey Mantle-esque strength, Adrian Beltre's unrivaled athleticism at the hot corner, and Mitch Moreland's strong spring performance.  Well, the former two players put up strong seasons despite both missing time due to injury, and the latter player quite frankly didn't hit like a starting first baseman on a playoff club.  However, this club didn't have anything close to a traditional setup at first base.  New acquisition Mike Napoli, a catcher by trade, spent most of last year playing first for the Angels due to an injury to Kendrys Morales, and SS-turned-2B-turned-3B-turned-DH Michael Young can play any infield position, which includes 1B.  Both filled in for Moreland a bit in 2011, mostly against lefties.

The scout also pegged C.J. Wilson as a back of the rotation starter, completely misinterpreting his successful transition from reliever to starter last year.  Maybe pitching behind Cliff Lee last post-season taught a lot about leading a team from the left side of the rubber.  His similar prognosis for Colby Lewis, however, was rather accurate.  Neftali Feliz didn't become a starter this year, so he didn't have to worry about developing another out pitch beyond his fastball.  The Rangers couldn't play Julio Borbon over David Murphy due to the former's general ineffectiveness, so they lost a little there defensively.  But the scout nailed it when he predicted they'd package Chris Davis for a pitcher (although it wasn't a starting pitcher, as predicted).

The "Modest Proposal" is strikingly similar to Detroit's: they should use their heavy-hitting new acquisition as catcher instead of general utility role.  Napoli did get enough at-bats to be considered a starter, although he split his time between catcher, first base, and DH.  "The Number" refers to how Rangers pitchers last year recorded just .190 strikeouts per batter faced.  They didn't improve too much - just to .196 - but apparently it was enough to improve their staff ERA from 3.93 to 3.79.

Projections vs. Reality: Detroit Tigers

Actually getting the chance to sit and watch a postseason game all the way through (thanks, weekend!), which gives me the opportunity to begin some real hard analysis.  (The slow, methodical pace of baseball games makes them more fun to watch while multitasking, and I can't think of any better additional task than writing about baseball.)  I wanted to do a feature involving the Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview issue, and what better way to do that than by looking in hindsight what it says about some of the teams in the playoffs.

We'll start with the visiting team in tonight's contest, the Detroit Tigers.  This team was projected to finish second in the AL Central to last year's division winners, the Minnesota Twins.  Along with these projections, each article includes a scout's take on some key players, a "modest proposal" for how the team could be managed differently, and a statistic that supposedly tells something about how the team will perform.  I'll go through those three elements and see how they measure up to reality.

According to said scout, the Tigers' success hinges on Miguel Cabrera, who is allegedly "right there with Albert Pujols" offensively - which the numbers support.  Justin Verlander is obviously the recognized leader of the staff.  The scout claims that Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello are overrated (not entirely untrue), but seemed very bullish on Brad Penny and Phil Coke - one of whom struggled to the tune of a 5.30 ERA and the other was sent back to the bullpen from whence he came.

The apparent key to the bullpen - even more than nerve-racking closer Jose Valverde - is Joaquin Benoit, recipient of the Setup Man of the Year award in 2010.  He certainly continued on that same path this year, with his average fastball velocity holding steady from last year at right around 94 mph.  The Tigers hope Benoit will continue to anchor that bullpen through the duration of his three year contract.  The scout also pegged Austin Jackson to "take the next step this year," yet he saw his OBP decline by nearly 30 points, despite an increase in walks.

The "Modest Proposal"is to give Victor Martinez more playing time at catcher than at DH to maximize his value.  That's only if you agree that inserting Alex Avila as the number one catcher "is a bit forced" - an opinion not shared by All-Star voters this year who justifiably handed him the starting job for the AL. Martinez also figures into "The Number": 76.13 at bats per home run by Detroit's 2010 DHs.  Even though Martinez only hit 12 bombs this year (to go with his 103 RBI), they still improved that number to 42.50 in 2011.

Two major midseason acquisitions that the SI folks could never have anticipated bolstered the playoff version this team: new #2 pitcher Doug Fister (brought over from the Mariners) and left fielder Delmon Young (from the Twins).  However, aside from those two players, the projected lineup pretty much accurately represents the actual real-life lineup.  Rest assured, that's not always the case, and I will not hesitate to elucidate every little discrepancy that exists when applicable.

Sho-menuchi Swing-i-yo: Baseball and Aikido

The MLB Playoffs are finally here!  (And have been since last week, but whatever I've been busy.)  After a grueling six months of regular season play, we've narrowed it down to seven of the best of the best teams.  I haven't been covering the playoffs because it's taking all my energy just to stay up to date with the proceedings myself, while simultaneously trying to manage my "real life" activities.  But there are plenty of reputable press outlets devoting more resources to the story than I could ever hope to achieve on my own.

As it happens, one of my "real life" activities is playing softball, which is very similar to baseball in most respects.  So seeing as how this is a great opportunity to combine the two subjects in the title of this blog (Baseball and Life for those with short-term memories), I'd like to share some thoughts I had while reflecting on my time taking BP at the batting cages last night.  They involve my swing and how I can potentially improve it using the precepts of another one of my real life activities: Aikido.  These two activities dovetail nicely - both involve physicality, can be meditative in nature, and contribute to overall self-betterment.

Here are four ways in which my brief studies in Aikido have informed the work in progress that is my baseball swing.  And although I won't get a chance to try out these findings any time soon, since tonight's game has been postponed due to torrential rain in Los Angeles, I will be sure to keep my loyal readers up to date as far as my softball performance in future games.


- Stance

The Aikido stance (Hanmi posture) has you stand with feet shoulder width apart, one foot slightly in front of the other, with your weight spread evenly between your two feet.  (Further, the weight on each foot should be evenly distributed between all four corners of the foot: each side of the ball and each side of the heel.)  I know some batters like to start with their weight all the way back in preparation for a tremendous leg kick, but I personally feel more comfortable when I'm fully balanced.  And since pitch reaction time isn't so important in slow-pitch softball (where I more often find myself having to slow down my approach due to the large amount of time it takes the ball to reach the plate), having my weight evenly distributed allows me to really settle in comfortably and wait till the perfect moment to start my swing.

- Bat Position

When performing technique in Aikido, there should always be a straight line between your center of gravity and your hands (see the picture at right).  Even before actively trying to apply Aikido to baseball, I would hold the bat with my arms oriented such (rather than tucking the elbows in or holding the wrists up by my ears), as I felt it put my arms in the best position to generate power.

- Menuchi

But since it doesn't make sense to hold a bat as low as the O-Sensei holds his sword (pictured above), we have to combine the basic principle of establishing a line emanating from the center of gravity with another basic technique.  Menuchi is the main technique in Aikido for protecting the head against a straight or downward strike.  It involves raising the hands quickly but smoothly while shifting weight forward slightly.  It can also be performed with a sword, most notably a wooden practice sword, which is similar to a bat in most respects.  While the weight distribution and orientation of how the body is facing differs from how it's used in Aikido, using the Menuchi motion in the batter's box helps by reminding me of how the arms should be positioned and by putting the hands and arms in a more action-oriented position.

- Stride

When warming up in Aikido, one of the exercises we frequently do is to take "laps" back and forth across the dojo floor.  We take these laps step by step in a very specific manner: move the front foot forward while remaining planted on the back foot, then as soon as you plant the front foot, move the back foot forward proportionally, and reestablish balance.  You are supposed to emulate the feeling of gliding across the floor rather than pushing off from the back foot.  The strategy of making an Aikido-style stride - rather than doing a big leg kick or double-tap with my front foot and planting it firmly down during the swing - allows me to actually move forward, through the ball, as I swing, generating more power and producing a more even, smooth swing in general.

...at least theoretically.  As I mentioned, I thought up with this stuff hours after taking about 15 minutes' worth of swings at the batting cages (in the same way as an actor always thinks up the perfect line reading on the way out of the audition or a comic thinks up the perfect joke after losing the improv cage match), so I wasn't able to put this theory into practice.  But the form is sound and time-tested by generations of Aikido practitioners in Japan, and the Japenese love Baseball!