Games: Arkham Knight

Batman: Arkham Knight is the final in the trilogy of Arkham titles (probably best to just forget about Arkham Origins), providing the epic close to the series that promised to emulate what its like to be the Batman. The Joker is dead, leaving a power void in Gotham City which every one of Batman’s nemesis is eager to fill. In steps Scarecrow with a plan to spread his fear gas across the city and descend Gotham into total chaos. He is joined by the Arkham Knight, a mysterious figure with knowledge of Batman’s tactics and an intense hatred for the caped crusader.

Opening on the Joker’s funeral, the game sets the mood while also quickly recapping the events of previous games. The first action you take in game is to ignite the incinerator, the scene fading out on the clown’s smile.

The game then jumps ahead to a few months later, putting you in the role of a GCPD officer casually going about his day at his regular diner. Mere moments later, the Scarecrow unleashes fear gas into the diner, bringing out the worst fears of all the patrons, including the armed police officer. You control him as he shoots at what he believes are costumed villains. Straight away the dangers of the fear toxin are apparent.

The use of Batman’s villains is perfectly handled, with most of his rogues getting their own side quests if they don’t show up in the main game itself. Bane and Mr Freeze are the only two major villains whose absence I noticed (even Killer Croc gets a cameo). Two-Face is attempting to rob banks across Gotham, while Penguin is trading guns throughout the city. Considering how much set-up she received in the trailers for the game, Harley Quinn is actually hardly featured, only appearing in one story mission. I expected at the very least a side quest for her and found myself a bit deprived, perhaps her story will be followed up in future DLC.

In the interest of giving you the complete Dark Knight experience, this game adds the Batmobile to the mix. Here represented as a speedster which can transform into a tank, combining elements of the classic Batmobile with the Tumbler as seen in the Christopher Nolan films. The Batmobile is unfortunately a poor addition to the game. It’s clunky to drive, making race missions damn near impossible. Combat in its tank mode is more well done, although taking down wave after wave of robotic drones becomes tiresome far too fast.

Rocksteady also made the odd choice of forcing you to use the Batmobile for much of the first few missions. During these initial missions, there’s very little of what the series is known for, stealthy predator encounters and its Free Flow combat. Instead, you are required to bring in the Batmobile to take out drones, get a few brief fights and then have to get the Batmobile to another area to take out further drones. Playing through these missions, I was genuinely worried that they had completely abandoned what made this series work in favour of a Batmobile game. Thankfully, later missions do require use of more than just the car but the Batmobile is an ever-present source of annoyance.

Furthermore, the addition of a tank-like Batmobile feels at odds with Batman’s no guns, no killing sensibility. You are able to shoot missiles at enemy cars, fire (supposedly non-lethal) bullets at criminals and the vehicle electorates attackers on contact. They may as well just give Batman a gun and get it over with.

The Free Flow combat makes a return with a few additions, the most notable of which is the new area takedowns which can be performed on various objects throughout Gotham and allow you to quickly knock out thugs. New enemy types up the challenge slightly and vary the way you fight. Medics are able to revive their allies as well as giving them an electrical charge attack. Brutes can now carry swords and have wrist-mounted tasers, making them incredibly difficult to take down (and they weren’t that easy before). Batman is also able to pick up weapons dropped by enemies, which can be used to hit any enemy regardless of their abilities but break after a few strikes. The real triumph in hand-to-hand combat is the new team-up mechanic which allows you to fight alongside your allies (including Robin, Nightwing and Catwoman) to take down foes, switching between the two characters in glorious tag-team take downs.

Predator Mode also gets an upgrade, giving you new ways to terrorise foes. Many familiar gadgets make a return with a few improvements to help you face the new foes on offer. The disrupter can now create stunning traps out of ammunition crates as well as being used to overload remote control drones. The hacking device can be used to create distractions and detonate explosives. The new voice mimicking gadget provides a great way to lure goons away from the pack and into your traps. The Fear Takedown is a welcome add-on, allowing you to take out a small group of enemies. I am surprised they didn’t carry over the ability of the explosive gel to explode in proximity to enemies, as trying to do so at just the right time can be tedious, particularly if you have more than spot set up.

Many of the side missions you can play throughout the game are fun and engaging and make great use of Batman’s rogue gallery. Two-Face’s missions give you a completely Predator focused experience that tests your stealth abilities and provides a genuine challenge. Penguin’s see you team up with Nightwing and make great use of the new team-up takedowns. A storyline which sees you track down a serial killer brings out the detective side of Bruce and has a incredibly creepy ending. There are also a few one and done missions which while challenging do feel like they could have been more developed, particular in regards to the Jack Ryder story which is mostly hinted at throughout the game.

However, many of the side missions are tedious if not annoying. Not surprisingly, many of these missions revolve around the Batmobile, making them a frustrating affair. Far too many missions (in fact a third) revolve around the Arkham Knight’s control of Gotham forcing you to take down tanks, watchtowers, checkpoints and waves of drones. Two storylines revolve around minor villain Firefly’s efforts to burn down Gotham’s fire stations, with one forcing you to chase him down in the Batmobile. It seems disappointing that these missions are so lacking when many of Batman’s best rogues do not return for this final chapter.

The Riddler makes a return, flooding Gotham with more riddles while also providing you with challenges. The crux of his story is that he has kidnapped Catwoman and the only way to release her is to complete his challenges. While many of these are interesting and require you to use your brain, a fair amount are race tracks and you can imagine how fun they are with a vehicle that can barely move in a straight line. The game seems aware of the car’s shortcomings and allows you to retry each lap of the tracks as many times as you like. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be beyond frustrated by the third time the Batmobile refuses to drive up a wall while dodging falling blocks that crush the car, causing it to explode.

Completing the game to 100% is encouraged, as it provides an extra cut scene after the credits. However, if you find yourself frustrated by the Batmobile and the horror that is using it, I’d imagine this scene is already on YouTube.

The game’s story throws in many twists and turns along the way, some of which are more predictable than others. I have to admit, I was 90% sure I knew who the Arkham Knight was from the first trailer (and I was correct). Asking the basic question: what does Batman fear? The game provides many different answers while Scarecrow torments our hero throughout the night, but eventually lands on one which will probably seem obvious to anyone familiar with the character. I wasn’t overly fond of the last minute twist the finale provides, although I am glad they didn’t go in another direction considering they promised this would be the finale.

The clunky Batmobile is disappointing throughout the game, particularly as they had an extra year to work on it. However the strong story and improvements to the already stellar Free Flow combat and Predator systems do make for a fun playing experience as a whole. Overall, Batman: Arkham Knight is a great game and does do justice to Asylum and City while also closing off the series very well. While I doubt it is the last we’ll see from the franchise, this game does provide enough closure that fans can pretend it is.