Starting With Batman

Dead

The bright red word flashed on the screen repeatedly, making Charlie almost slam his fist into the keyboard. He hesitated, however, as the cost of the keyboard flashed through his mind. With a sigh, he restrained himself and clenched his fist instead.

Poverty brings peace of mind.

Charlie was increasingly convinced that this game was completely off the mark. He had played countless games, including some notoriously difficult ones that players had dismissed as "impossible." Yet, he had managed to complete them unscathed through skill and perseverance.

It was unprecedented for him to keep failing in the novice tutorial.

This game was unlike any Charlie had played before. Its realism was so extreme that it affected his overall gameplay experience.

For instance, Charlie kept failing as a beginner. He deduced that his deaths weren't due to minions having extraordinary vision, rather it's because they could hear sounds.

Indeed, if Batman landed from a significant height, the "hula-la" wind sound from his cloak might alert nearby minions.

Additionally, the ground is also a key factor for his failures. Despite Batman's training to move silently, he could still make noise on certain materials.

For example, wooden surfaces could create loud noises. Loose metal plates might make sounds when stepped on, drawing attention.

When crouching, moving slowly was crucial. If Batman moved slowly while crouched, he would make almost no noise on most surfaces, thus avoiding unnecessary attention.

After repeatedly alerting enemies and failing missions, Charlie abandoned his initial contempt for them. The Batman he controlled had fully entered stealth mode. As soon as his boots touched the ground, he switched to a crouching position.

Using this approach, Charlie managed to stealthily position Batman behind the first armed criminal. He pressed the right mouse button, and Batman swiftly covered the man's mouth and nose, pulled him into his cloak, and choked him into unconsciousness.

He repeated this with the second enemy and approached the third.

Batman closed in quickly and was about to succeed when the gangster suddenly turned around without warning.

Batman, controlled by Charlie froze. The two sides locked eyes in a tense standoff.

"Batman!"

The gangster exclaimed. At the same time, Charlie made Batman charge forward with full force, delivering a quick punch. However, the remaining gangsters had already gathered and opened fire.

Although Charlie managed to make Batman temporarily retreat from the fight, Batman had been injured. With the remaining gangsters now alerted and searching, the difficulty level increased drastically.

After a prolonged struggle, he died again.

Charlie had initially tried to figure out the minions' positions and patrol routes like in other games but soon realized there were no patterns.

The minions' positions were completely random in each simulation, and their patrol routes were unpredictable. They mostly wandered and sometimes chatted with their buddies.

These NPCs were incredibly frustrating. They would often look up and around randomly after taking a few steps. Several times, Batman, controlled by Charlie, was crouching in a high spot, observing and planning, when a minion would suddenly look up and spot him.

They would then turn their heads erratically, making it hard to predict when they would look back. If Charlie moved Batman from a distance while crouching, he risked being caught if the enemy turned around unexpectedly.

On another occasion, while Batman was observing from above, Charlie used the claw gun to reposition. Batman fired a claw that swung to the other side of the room. Despite noise reduction, the minion below still looked up, exclaimed, "Batman," and then opened fire.

When the word "death" appeared on the screen again, Charlie felt as if he had been crushed to pieces, still struggling with a minion in the novice tutorial.

This tutorial was so unreasonable. How could anyone play with minions that seemed to have superhuman hearing?

Charlie took a deep breath and saw the word "death" again on the screen.

The character on the screen was supposed to be Batman, but the tutorial made him feel like he was playing a game with Hello Kitty dressed in black.

This wouldn't do.

With his reputation as a top player in single-player games, he had to conquer this challenge!

Charlie soon realized that the difficulty wasn't as extreme as it initially seemed. His repeated failures were more due to unfamiliarity with the game mechanics than an actual handicap.

After calming down, Charlie adopted a more cautious approach.

As a seasoned game expert, Charlie had solid basic skills. With careful attention to the game mechanics, he knew success was achievable.

First, he avoided rushing in recklessly. Charlie observed Batman's surroundings, enemy positions, and terrain before taking action.

When observing from above, he ensured Batman was hidden in shadows, using darkness to stay concealed. Otherwise, a minion below might spot him if they looked up suddenly.

When enemies were close, Charlie avoided using the claw gun. Despite noise reduction, the sound of the claw line could still alert the enemy.

When moving on the ground, he stayed hidden in shadows as much as possible. When moving out of shadows, he ensured there was no direct line of sight towards him—detective vision helped with this.

The order and method of taking down enemies were also crucial. If a gangster noticed a teammate was taken down, he would call out, and all the gangsters would begin searching.

Additionally, Charlie avoided staying exposed for too long without cover. Enemies might turn around unexpectedly. He made sure Batman's time without cover did not exceed two seconds.

Ground material was another factor. If stepping on quiet concrete, he could stand up and move faster, but on wood or metal, he had to move slowly and stealthily...

There were many details to manage. To avoid missing anything, Charlie took notes on all the necessary precautions.

Before each simulation, he reviewed his notes thoroughly to ensure nothing was overlooked.

Eventually, although it took extra time, he managed to eliminate all the enemies one by one.

But the simulation wasn't over yet. After taking down the seven armed gangsters, the warehouse door suddenly opened, and a burly man charged in.

The screen announced the next step: a fighting training program. The burly man was a combat expert, and Charlie needed to control Batman in a direct fight.

The fighting system was similar to the Batman games Charlie knew, relying on two buttons for attack and defense.

Charlie clicked the left mouse button, and Batman would automatically choose the best offensive move. Batman, a master of all martial arts, could quickly exploit the opponent's weaknesses and select the appropriate attack.

When the opponent planned to counterattack, a blue warning sign appeared above his head. Charlie just needed to click the right mouse button, and Batman would counter the attack with the most effective moves.

When facing a difficult attack, a red warning sign appeared. In this case, Charlie needed to control Batman to dodge sideways or roll to avoid the attack.

Many action games have similar controls. For Charlie, who had extensive training, this combat system felt almost instinctive.

Although the difficulty was higher than traditional Batman games, it was manageable for someone with his experience.

He quickly adapted to the controls and defeated the strong man without injury.

He thought this was the end, but it wasn't. Then a group of ninjas with knives and guns appeared, and the system instructed him to fight them all at once.

Following that were tutorials on using Batman's various advanced gadgets...

Surprisingly, Charlie spent almost the entire day stuck on the tutorial. Aside from eating, drinking, and using the restroom, he dedicated the whole weekend to this tutorial.

He swore this was the most outrageous novice tutorial he had ever encountered. It was not only extremely challenging but also incredibly long. Given his extensive gaming skills, he wondered if a less experienced player might need a day or two to get through it.

"Mission complete, all simulations ended."

The long-awaited notification finally sounded, and the warehouse screen returned to the Batcave.

Charlie exhaled deeply.

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