Is Batman Arkham Knight the best super hero game ever created ?
Back in 2009 Rocksteady Studios released Batman Arkham Asylum and like many I thought it was another bad licensed super hero game. That was until i played it and thought finally someone created a good Batman game that made you feel like Batman. So when Batman Arkham City came out in 2011 it was a day 1 purchase for me. It was an amazing game that had a satisfying ending that no one saw coming. So i wondered how they were going to top this sequel Rocksteady has been hard at work on this game and it shows..
Presentation/Sound:
Thanks to Next Gen this is the most detailed, best looking and biggest Batman game to date. Lighting, weather and particle effects are amazing and the way neon lights in the city are reflected in the world look Spectacular. There a lot of attention to detail here and it shows the sound design is also very well done. From the engine of the bat mobile as you power slide around the city and fire the 60mm Canon to the top notch voice acting of batman and some of his villains. If you’re like me and have a pretty good headset or a 5.1 surround sound set up you won’t be disappointed with the sound of this game.
Story:
The story takes place one year after the events of Arkham City on Halloween night Scarecrow is threating to release his fear toxin all over the city. Some of Batman biggest villains join Scarecrow in an attempt to take over Gotham city. He is also joined by the Arkham Knight a militarized anti- batman who shares the key villain role with scarecrow I won’t spoil any part of the story here but there are memorable moments in the story. What I really enjoyed about the story was at different points in the game as you encounter different villains each provide you a different gameplay element which adds lots of diversity to the gameplay as the story unfolds.
Gameplay:
The game play has been an important part of the Arkham franchise and in my opinion it’s one of the best combat systems out there and it’s only been improved it feels more fluid and more stylish than ever before with more options. You can know pick up Enemy weapons on the ground like baseball bats and use it against your enemies in combat. If you’re like me and like performing silent takedowns you will be rewarded, this move now fills the fear takedown meter and once charged up allows you to takedown up to 5 enemies (if fully upgraded) for a cool cinematic takedown that never gets old and is very useful in the game. The bat mobile is also a big part of the game that you get early on. The controls are a bit awkward at first but you get used to it rather quickly so it’s not a deal breaker.
Thanks to an early upgrade to the grapnel it feels more fluid and really makes gliding around the game that much more fun. In addition there a new feature called Dual play that lets you team up with robin, cat women, or nightwing for some specific story or predator mission within the game. This mechanic allows you to switch characters mid battles, It’s a welcome change to the free flow combat and it’s a nice change for the series even though minimal it keeps things fresh. One thing that i found a little weird was that the game does not have a tutorial.. the game is expecting you to know how the controls works, this is fine if you’re a veteran but if your new to series you might find this a lil strange. If this is a short coming for you fear not the game has an excellent Training method called AR challenges where you can polish up and practice your bat mobile driving, predator challenges and improve your free flow combat skills and get rewarded for doing these challenges.
Editor’s opinion:
When i started my review i posed the question is Batman Arkham Knight the best superhero game ever created? I’m happy to report in my humble opinion Yes it is.. Rocksteady has created the ultimate Batman experience with beautiful visuals great voice acting and a great combat system. That only gets better as you invest in upgrades. The story is good with some memorable moments and for the first time in the series the Batmobile makes an appearance and thankfully it’s a great addition to the series. This game is loaded with content from the many side missions to the complicated Riddler puzzles that involve the Bat mobile to the many collectibles trophy to find, there even a a new game plus option for when you complete the game. If you’re a veteran of the series or a new comer this is a game that totally worth your time and money. Rocksteady has created it’s best game in the series this studio loves the batman universe and it shows..
