Batman: Arkham Knight
Developed by: Rocksteady
Published by: WB Games
Available for: PS4 (reviewed), Xbox One, PC (delayed)
We’ve come a long way. Rocksteady has set the standard for superhero games not just with Arkham Knight but with its two previous installments. All three are incredibly different from one another. Batman: Arkham Knight puts Batman in the world I could only dream about while playing through Batman: Arkham Asylum. Free reign over Gotham and tearing through the streets in the Batmobile. While most of that is exactly what I had always been dreaming of there are a few bumps along the road. With old favorites lightly touched upon like the combat. To brand new tank controls for the new Batmobile, this game is packed with new and/or great ideas.
So let’s start with the bumps, get it out of the way first. Playing through the first couple hours of Arkham Knight can be daunting with all the Batmobile that is thrown at you. It had taken me more than a couple hours to get a full grasp of the Batmobile and the tank it can turn into. More on the tank in a minute. The Batmobile plows through anything in its way which is awesome but also weird because Batman doesn’t kill and is trying to save this city. But that feels like a nitpick and shouldn’t matter, just an observation I had while playing. As crazy as chases and pursuits can be I always felt like I had complete control on the Batmobiles movement. taking tight turns, shooting out of the front seat at a breakneck pace. But as for the Bat Tank. It controls pretty well and it’s great for maneuvering and getting out of tight spots. But for a game that prides itself on you “Being the Batman” it’s weird to see him shoot things with any gun, suppression rounds or not. And the many side missions that make you blow up 30 some odd drones can be a bit tiring and annoying, combat outside the Batmobile is simply more fun.
“I think he’s double parked…”
One thing this series excels at is the voice over. Probably because they have some fantastic talent behind the mics. John Noble voices scarecrow beautifully. He’s creepy, and authoritative, his voice bellows over the loudspeakers and is quite a bit different than Joker’s monologues in the last two games. Dependent on what reviews or features you have read there are a couple other standout surprise voice actors and they are all fantastic including Batman himself Kevin Conroy. I can’t imagine a number of pages he had to voice for every single main mission, side mission, basic noises, and grunts. there’s only one weak spot in the voice department, it’s a particular villain and his fiery side quest. And the story while not all that tight – I mean how could it be in a giant city.– Is very engaging and full of DC Comics Easter eggs. Even the side missions are more engaging, I found Riddler’s missions and Penguins missions much more fun than last time around.
Part of the reason for that is because you have backup and someone for Batman to talk too, instead of just himself and Alfred. Jumping into a pack of surpised thugs is even more satisfying with back up. pulling off dual takedowns with Nightwing, Robin, and Catwoman are really fun to watch. it pulls together how kinetic and fluid the combat really is. My love-hate relationship with the Batmobile continues with these Riddler races. I was honestly not looking forward to these once I heard about them, but they are genuinely fun to do. Along with the Batmobile, this game relies on Batman’s friends. From Cash to Catwoman and plenty other new ones. And along with those friends comes great villains. The best rogues gallery in comics probably ahead of The Flash and Spider-Man, has his work cut out for him on this night. The city is brimming with evil. Rocksteady managed to pack this city full of people and things that would make any Batman Fan’s head explode.
And as far as the titular Arkham Knight goes, it’s a long running secret who he is. After you have figured it out and Batman has not it can get a little tiresome. But that isn’t the only twist this game uses. There are plenty and a few of them I found shocking. some of them happen well after you’ve taken care of the Arkham Knight. You’ve been fed that scarecrow is taking over Gotham, and that’s about it but once you step into the game, you realize how much else is going on. The pacing is surprisingly great for such a massive open world game. After a couple primary missions, you are given a rundown of all the happenings in Gotham. It all feels very fluid. and their is no shortage of stuff to do. the militia alone is packed to the brim with things to blow up and chase down.
Why does anyone even live in this city anymore
But the whole reason these games are loved is because of the gameplay. And it hasn’t changed a bit, the things around Batman sure have. Like the new enemy types and unmanned drones filling the Gotham skies, this game mixes the old with the new to some great success. Adding enemy types like the healer who can revive fallen enemy and the mini gunner are great step ups from the previous games. Gliding across the sky to then suddenly dive to the street to call the Batmobile is a great visual and hasn’t gotten old yet. It did take me a long time to get used to the new gadget wheel. In fact, I still find myself fumbling with it from time to time. The D-pad gadget wheel from the previous games is just muscle memory to me.but just like any arkham game, the more time you put into it the more used to it all you get. the controls eventually become second nature. taking out checkpoints in a matter of minutes.
It would be weird to go this entire review without even acknowledging the troubled PC version. plenty has been made about it already but I figured it’s appropriate to include in my final thought. I played on PS4 so this is strictly from that console point of view. some lucky PC gamers were able to buy the game without a problem but having even one person play with a broken game is pretty sad and anger inducing. plenty of people will now be turned off to this game because of this awful first impression it’s made, regardless of whose fault it is. and that sucks because there are plenty of little things about this game that I love. that I won’t go into. Partly because of spoilers and also because it might be hard to explain without seeing. It’s all those little things that make Batman: Arkham Knight shine. Rocksteady has taken this series to a close(*) with some of its finest work including the best 3rd person combat around and adding a intimidating ride to traverse Gotham’s massive open city. A voice-over cast that any game would dream of, from Troy Baker and Nolan North to Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. There is a strong sense of finality to this game, whether it is in the main quest or even in simple interactions while talking to Nightwing after busting a gun smuggling ring. its obvious that every ounce of this game was made with care and respect for such a massive character. Rocksteady has put their stamp on both the superhero gaming genre and third person action games overall. Nobody does it quite like them but expect this to be the standard for Batman.
