We're a little behind in our Arkham Knight review, but give it a gander anyways.
Batman: Arkham Knight completes the canonical trilogy that started with
Arkham Asylum and its open world sequel, Arkham City. Those two
games were great, but after playing this new gem, they seem like late
beta-stage test releases. If you're a hardcore fan of Batman, or if you've ever
wondered what it's like to be a superhero, look no further. It's not just the
best superhero game I've ever played, It's also a legitimate challenger for the
2015 Game of the Year in a field of professional heavy hitters.
From the opening sequence to the end credits, Arkham
Knight is a much darker and more immersive affair than its predecessors.
It's good that they waited all this time to utilize the Batmobile as a gameplay
staple. It fits into this world perfectly. Rocksteady stepped up and
confidently used current-gen tech to create a new experience in Arkham
Knight. This is the Batman game I've always wanted to play. You have free
access to the Batmobile: it's available at any time with the press of a button
when you're near a road. They've integrated it into some brisk environmental
puzzles that always seem to come at the perfect time. Batman can also control
the Batmobile remotely, which sets up even more puzzles.
It's refreshing to have a game so rich and
complex come with such an easy and intuitive user interface. It's a real change
of pace after playing Bloodborne, The Witcher 3 and Axiom Verge the last three
months. A few hours after installing Arkham Knight, I was tearing up the
sparsely occupied streets in grand style with my tank/car.
Bigger maps and larger territories are always a
good thing in open world games, and
Arkham Knight has plenty of real estate to keep you busy. What sets this
massive open world apart from the competition is the way it all comes together
as a feast for the senses. Driving the Batmobile is an intensely visceral
experience, and transitioning from driving to combat or flight is both easy and
fun. They somehow managed to combine the diversity and chaos from Just Cause 2
with the more intimate experiences from Grand Theft Auto V - and make it work
in a Batman game.
I'm still scratching my head about that.
The fast-paced, combo-heavy combat is not my
particular cup of tea but I loved every minute of it because of the deeply
satisfying environmental attacks. When you engage enemies while climbing a
series of grated steps, Batman uses the wall to jump down and smash them in the
temple. Partners fighting is an abolute riot. If you're an experienced Arkham veteran, try
bumping the difficulty up a notch. I died my fair share of times on normal
mode, but it wasn't usually due to combat. There are plenty of ways to die in
Arkham.
Batman: Arkham Knight's miniscule, individual
shortcomings are neatly covered up by gorgeous and timely cinematic moments
that fit perfectly into a dark and grimy world that's full of things to do and
butts to kick. Whatever else happens, this should easily win best popcorn game
of the year. Oh, right. Mad Max on September first...
If you're a fan of either of the first two Arkham
games, go ahead and pick this up. You will not be disappointed. If you're a
hardcore gamer who's sick of the sword-and-shield action-rpgs that currently
occupy most of the genre's attention, you should also check this out as soon as
possible. Even if you couldn't care less about Batman, but
are a gamer looking for a good time, I highly recommend this. Everything comes
together brilliantly.
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Like this? Please share.
SCORE:
-Tom McDaniel