The final Bat
By Gagan Gupta
It’s the night Batman dies. No this is not a spoiler, in fact it’s a line said in the intro itself. It’s a statement that explains everything Batman does in this – the final game in the Arkham Trilogy.
The looming sense of finality is omnipresent in Batman, Gotham City, and in just about every other character you encounter in the game. Batman knows things will change after this night, and therein prepares the world around him for what’s coming.
Everything here is on a much larger scale, and Rocksteady has cut no corners. This is the best looking game on Consoles yet, with not only the character models, the scope and detailing of the cityscape, and even minute effects like rain and smoke.
It’s like Rocksteady is the first to fulfill the “next-gen promise” that we’ve been waiting for the last year and a half.
The weakest element of the game is the title antagonist – Arkham Knight. He’s nowhere close to being as menacing as any of the traditional Batman villains and he often indulges in empty threats and overconfident banter. None of which is an appealing trait.
The turning point is finding out his identity, but still his arc is not as interesting as what most other characters have to offer. One thing that the Arkham Knight does bring is a much smarter army.
The henchmen are much smarter this time around, setting mines on vantage points and using new moves to fight Batman. Combat itself has improved with new moves, most notable of which is the Fear Takedown that allows you to quickly clear a room of armed thugs. As always Rocksteady has built on top of the moves you learn in the previous games, rather than making you jump through the same hoops again.
Then there’s the Batmobile.
More than being just another tool in your arsenal, the Batmobile is more of a sidekick that alters the gameplay every time you take control of it. It adds a lot of chase sequences, vehicular combat, platforming, and additional puzzle solving elements – all of which are necessary in this enormous open city.
That said, many of the Batmobile bits also come off a bit short, and don’t seem as well refined as the rest of the game. The tank bits get repetitive and the chase sequences aren’t all that much fun.
We’re glad about its inclusion, as it’s definitely a huge part of the dark knight’s mythos, but it was the Batmobile bits that we weren’t looking forward to, after a few hours into the game.
Though it’s common with films, games have never had a trilogy that’s a telling of a large, epic story before the Arkham series.
Rocksteady has given the Batman his dues, and have successfully completed what they started in Arkham Asylum, tying all the loose ends, and telling a story that you’re not likely to forget for the rest of your life.
Arkham Knight has presented the trilogy with a conclusion that’s more compelling than the Nolan films.
It’s the night Batman dies. No this is not a spoiler, in fact it’s a line said in the intro itself. It’s a statement that explains everything Batman does in this – the final game in the Arkham Trilogy.
The looming sense of finality is omnipresent in Batman, Gotham City, and in just about every other character you encounter in the game. Batman knows things will change after this night, and therein prepares the world around him for what’s coming.
Batman himself seems more jaded, angry, and less tolerant this time, which probably explains the lack of fetch quests or micromissions in this game. Everything you do here comes with a sense of purpose, and has a meaty story and good reasoning behind it. There are Riddler’s quests as in the previous game, but they don’t stand out to overwhelm the landscape as in Arkham City.
Everything here is on a much larger scale, and Rocksteady has cut no corners. This is the best looking game on Consoles yet, with not only the character models, the scope and detailing of the cityscape, and even minute effects like rain and smoke.
It’s like Rocksteady is the first to fulfill the “next-gen promise” that we’ve been waiting for the last year and a half.
The weakest element of the game is the title antagonist – Arkham Knight. He’s nowhere close to being as menacing as any of the traditional Batman villains and he often indulges in empty threats and overconfident banter. None of which is an appealing trait.
The turning point is finding out his identity, but still his arc is not as interesting as what most other characters have to offer. One thing that the Arkham Knight does bring is a much smarter army.
The henchmen are much smarter this time around, setting mines on vantage points and using new moves to fight Batman. Combat itself has improved with new moves, most notable of which is the Fear Takedown that allows you to quickly clear a room of armed thugs. As always Rocksteady has built on top of the moves you learn in the previous games, rather than making you jump through the same hoops again.
Then there’s the Batmobile.
More than being just another tool in your arsenal, the Batmobile is more of a sidekick that alters the gameplay every time you take control of it. It adds a lot of chase sequences, vehicular combat, platforming, and additional puzzle solving elements – all of which are necessary in this enormous open city.
That said, many of the Batmobile bits also come off a bit short, and don’t seem as well refined as the rest of the game. The tank bits get repetitive and the chase sequences aren’t all that much fun.
We’re glad about its inclusion, as it’s definitely a huge part of the dark knight’s mythos, but it was the Batmobile bits that we weren’t looking forward to, after a few hours into the game.
Though it’s common with films, games have never had a trilogy that’s a telling of a large, epic story before the Arkham series.
Rocksteady has given the Batman his dues, and have successfully completed what they started in Arkham Asylum, tying all the loose ends, and telling a story that you’re not likely to forget for the rest of your life.
Arkham Knight has presented the trilogy with a conclusion that’s more compelling than the Nolan films.
