Back in 2011 Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros Games released the follow up to the amazing Batman: Arkham Asylum with the sequel, Batman: Arkham City. It was a highly anticipated sequel and frankly one of the best games I played back in 2011. It took the Dark Knight out of the confines of the asylum housing his rogues and brought the action to a small subsection of Gotham itself; albeit overrun with criminals. Much like Arkham Asylum, Arkham City proved that it's possible to take a licensed character and make a worthwhile game. However it would be quite some time before we got the follow up to Arkham City. In the meantime, Warner Bros Games treated us to another entry into the Arkham series with a prequel done by a completely different studio. While it maintained a close tie to the series and served as a set up to the world established mainly in Arkham Asylum, it was not as well received by fans as the iterations done by Rocksteady Studios.
Thankfully Rocksteady was hard at work on their next entry into the Arkham series. With the release of Arkham Knight, Rocksteady Studio marks their first foray into the next gen console space and their final entry into the Batman: Arkham series that they kicked off back in 2009. After spending some time with the game over the last day or so I can honestly say that Rocksteady saved the best for last. Arkham Knight takes the tried and true combat system made famous by Rocksteady (and cribbed by various other studios) and expands on their open world gameplay introduced in Arkham City while weaving a captivating narrative starring DC's most popular character. Making all of thise happen is no small feat and Rocksteady must be commended for what they've managed to accomplish with Arkham Knight on a heavily modified Unreal Engine 3 when Unreal 4 is already in play in some corners of the industry. It's really a testament to the work the studio is doing. Lets get down to business though and start talking about what makes this game so good. Beware, spoilers are ahead.
Story
The story of Arkham Knight picks up months after the end of Arkham City. Those of you who are familiar with the franchise will remember that the end of Arkham City found the Dark Knight once again going toe to toe with his arch nemesis, the Joker. And when it was all said and done, the Joker finally met his official end in the Arkham universe. Naturally this left a bit of a power vacuum in Gotham's criminal element, one that is soon filled when the Scarecrow launches a plan to cover the city of his new fear toxin to take control of the city. Scarecrow has since allied himself with various members of Batman's rogues along with the a militia lead by the mysterious Arkham Knight who has a particular grudge against Gotham's Dark Knight.
Together, these villains hatch a scheme with the intent of taking Batman to his limit and essentially breaking him through manipulation of his friends and allies. Naturally there are twists, turns, and surprise visits from other Gothamites to help tear Batman down along the way. And for the most part all of these parts work to create a greater sum. The story hits certain expected beats but it also does its best to set itself apart from other Batman stories. As the Arkham series goes, and this being the series' swan song, this is one of the better alternate timelines when you think of this series in terms of a DC multiverse.
In fact that only problem this story suffers from is that it's a bit predictable at some points. In fact about midway through the game there are plot beats that start to get layered on pretty thick. If you're familiar with Batman properties at all then you can quickly start to piece two and two together to figure out the big mystery in the game. Is it a good revisionist story? Hell yes it is. It's probably one of the better Batman stories done in quite a while that wasn't made by Bruce Timm and company for DC's animated universe. The only real complaint I have in regards to the story is that Rocksteady had free reign to make this universe their own and in the end, it felt a little too familiar for me. Despite this, it's still a solid story with some shocking moments that may send fans for a loop.
Gameplay
Arkham Asylum's combat mechanics were a game changer in the industry. The free-flow combat from that game turned a lot of heads and for good reason. As Batman the player should feel extremely lethal when it comes to engaging in combat with the in game A.I. The free flow combat system goes a long way to making this happen. From the intuitive counter system to the environmental interaction, the gameplay is designed to keep the action flowing perfectly at all times until all enemies in the encounter have been dispatched. This could very easily devolve into a button mashing frenzy if it weren't for the fact that Rocksteady manages to blend in various combo modifiers coupled with enemy variety and weaponry. While combat is quick, fluid, and technically easy, it does require a certain amount of strategy and finesse.
Naturally you do still have the Bat's arsenal of gadgets at your disposal. From hacking devices to an electronic disruptor, you have the ability to tactically plan out your attacks; causing weapon malfunctions, distractions, and even hacking the enemy's weaponry. All of this helps to build the fear meter that fuels Batman's most brutal takedowns. Mainstays like the inverted and silent takedowns are still there of course, allowing Batman to swoop down from the rafters or whichever perch you prefer in order to quietly and swiftly incapacitate thugs. Using these takedowns of course builds the fear within the remaining enemies within an area. Once that meter is successfully filled and those enemies manage to group together, it's possible to then pull off a fear induced multi takedown. While very simple to pull off as it requires a minimal amount of button presses, it is amazingly satisfying to do and see in action.
The biggest addition to the Dark Knight's growing list of tools would probably be the Batmobile. The previous two entries into the Arkham series were pretty contained. Arkham Asylum very literally was confined to just the asylum itself and Arkham City saw a small subsection of Gotham occupied for the purpose of the story. Arkham Knight opens up all of Gotham for exploration and that exploration requires advanced traversal mechanics. While launching off a building and gliding through the air via Batman's cape can be great, there really isn't anything quite like whipping around corners in the tank like Batmobile. It's one stylish way to make your way around the city but there is also a combat element to it. When the Batmobile is built like a tank you know there's going to be a combat section involving such a creation.
For a game that does it's combat so well, the Batmobile combat is probably clunkiest part of the whole system. To break it down, there are two modes that the Batmobile can take; driving mode and battle mode. Driving mode is straight forward as you imagine. Battle mode of course puts you into a form of strafe style movement and booster enhanced dodging with a primary chain gun and 60mm cannon. Needless to say the Batmobile is very formidable. Manueverability and the handling of the Batmobile is actually very good. Most open world games nowadays seem to struggle with driving mechanics but the Batmobile feels steady in motion as opposed to games with floaty handling when it comes to the cars. The battle mode leaves a bit to be desired though. Not in terms of the actual mechanics but the design choices behind the battles. In short bursts this can be fun and as you build up the stats of the car with upgrades it naturally becomes more powerful just like the gadget and armor upgrades for Batman himself.
As you progress through the story though rather than just toss more varied attacks at you the game simply tosses sheer numbers at you. This can be frustrating in terms of the clunky control design for the actual battle mode coupled with the overwhelming numbers. It becomes more annoying and frustrating as time wears on in the game. This tactic is also substituted in place of probably the weaker point of the Arkham games which is the actual boss battles. Instead we are treated to these extended battle mode sections that take the place of the old group boss battles. Not that those aren't still there but in fewer numbers due to the Batmobile battles being spliced into the game. So while the rest of the game shines, it's the boss battles where the game oddly stumbles. Boss battles will forever be the one facet of this franchise that Rocksteady never quite mastered.
Sound
Just another of the things that Rocksteady gets right with this series. The sound and atmosphere of this game is always spot on. The dark, brooding soundtrack that plays in the backdrop to game is great. Not exactly on par with say Hans Zimmer's work for Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy but still pretty top notch for a video game. On top of this Rocksteady and Warner Bros are able to assemble an amazing voice cast featuring the best Batman voice in the business, Kevin Conroy. This is also complimented by excellent performances from Nolan North as The Penguin, Troy Baker as both Two-Face and the titular villain, the Arkham Knight, and John Noble as the Scarecrow.
This is probably the area the game shines the most. Sure the atmosphere is great and the sound of the Batmobile tearing through the streets is excellent. Prowling the roof tops and listening to the chatter below of random thugs chiming in about the events happening in the city is a nice touch as well. All of these combine with the amazing voice cast to create this near perfect Batman experience.
Design
In terms of design there's going to be some overlap with the gameplay section. Plain and simple, this game is beautiful in motion. Batman has never looked better in terms of an actual in game character model. What Rocksteady managed to do with a heavily modified Unreal Engine 3 is truly astounding. Arkham Knight is a true model of what an existing franchise on new hardware can be. And in moving to new hardware you figure that Rocksteady might hold back a bit. Working with new technology can be a bit daunting but instead they only increased the scope of their project. Like mentioned before, this series has been expanding in scale with each iteration. Arkham Asylum took place strictly in the confines of the asylum and Arkham City was just a small section of Gotham for us to play in. Arkham Knight then ups the ante to giving us Gotham in its entirety as our sandbox and it looks amazing. It literally comes across like a weird mix of different versions of Gotham combining into a cohesive unit.
The city is split into three separate islands connected by bridges of course. Each island has a bit of it's own personality. While gothic structures may dominate the skyline of one island much like the dark portrayal in Tim Burton's Batman movies, there is another island that gives way to more modern building design with skyscrapers and buildings lined with neon signs much like Joel Schumacher's take on Gotham. While it might seem a weird shift, it does serve as a contrast between the more rundown areas of Gotham and the more upscale areas. It's representative of the struggles between Gotham's elite and its lower class, something that was evident in Christopher Nolan's interpretations. And it's this that help breathe a certain sense of life into the city.
Closing
At the end of the dark, Arkham Knight will stand as Rocksteady's best game in the franchise. Expectations were high for their return to the series after the less than stellar Arkham Origins and they have certainly delivered. While the Batmobile combat sections may be annoying to some and the story does some some predictable turns, it isn't much of a damper on an otherwise amazing experience. It is quite the worthy successor to Batman: Arkham City and one hell of a way to cap off the series. Honestly I can say right now it's in the hunt for game of the year but frankly it might be too early to start talking about that. Despite that though, it is definitely a memorable game and one of the better next-gen/current-gen titles to be released so far from both a gameplay and polish standpoint. Especially in an era where so many games release in a broken or almost unplayable state. Although this is from a console perspective as it will be noted that the PC version has notable issues which are currently being worked on. The only question this really leaves us with is where will Rocksteady go from here? With the Arkham series over, will they stick with the licensed properties of Warner Bros or will they be allowed to branch out with their own IP? Should be an interesting time for this studio.
Score
9/10
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