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    Batman: Arkham Knight

    Game » consists of 11 releases. Released Jun 23, 2015

    Developer Rocksteady's return to the Batman series takes place one year after the events of Arkham City. It expands the open world from the previous game and allows players to finally drive the Batmobile throughout Gotham City's streets.

    d-man123's Batman: Arkham Knight (PlayStation 4) review

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    • 2 out of 2 Giant Bomb users found it helpful.

    Batman Arkham Knight Spoiler Review

    As I'm perched on a gargoyle I look down on some thugs harassing a captured fireman. I count 6 of them and before they can know what hit them a cloud of smoke surrounds them. I jump in the middle of them and take out 5 of them in true Batman fashion leaving only one left. He foolishly rushes me and a swift counter takes him out easily. If there is one thing the Arkham series excelled at was making you feel like the Dark Knight. Rocksteady turned Batman from a joke in the gaming industry to a phenomenon and Arkham Knight looks to cap the series on a high note. Adding the batmobile and access to the full city of Gotham to run and punch bad guys in this entry looks to top the others, but does Arkham Knight end the series on a high note or are these bat boots even to big for Rocksteady to fill?

    What starts out as any typical night in Gotham city turns into anarchy when Scarecrow announces to everyone that he is going to release a new and more potent version of the fear gas enclosing it in a cloud of perpetual fear. With all the citizens evacuated Batman only has one night to stop Scarecrow from achieving his mission. Of course, Batman's other villains take note and decide to gang up to be rid of the bat once and for all. Added to this is the mysterious Arkham Knight and his militia turns the city of Gotham into a jungle gym of death and chaos only someone like Batman can maneuver through expertly. While Batman's goal is to stop Scarecrow from unleashing his toxin Scarecrow himself takes a backseat in favor of the mysterious new comer in the Arkham Knight. A man with a bone to pick with Batman and knows seemingly everything about him. As much as I liked the Arkham Knight as a character I was disappointed in the reveal of him to be Jason Todd. Hearing that he would be a brand new character to the Batman mythos I expected the man under the mask to be the same. The twist being of Jason Todd being alive and returning as the Arkham Knight was a nice adaptation of the Under the Red Hood story, but having read that meant the reveal fell flat for me.

    Arkham Knight features another character "return" from the dead in the Joker. He's still dead, but the fear toxin Batman has inhaled and the Joker blood that has infected Batman since Arkham City sprouts a Joker manifestation in his mind and it's slowly trying to take over Batman from the inside. I was thrilled about the prospect of a Batman game without the Joker and was underwhelmed by his presence in the game. Albeit the Joker serves as a nice way to get into the mind of the dark knight. It's I enjoyed seeing how the mind of Batman works. The guilt Batman carries over Jokers death and having the Joker pick at the psyche of Batman was interesting to watch with his random hallucinations around the city to taunt him along the way. As soon as you saw the Joker you knew he was going to say something hilarious.

    All of these factors has given a darker tone to the story unlike the series predecessors and the disorder of the city and urgency of his quest to stop Scarecrow even makes Batman even more brutal than usual. One of his interrogation methods he uses on a solider is to back the batmobile tire on his head to give the information he needs. This more ruthless Batman doesn't stop at story moments either. Batman can use the environment to his advantage when in combat with his foes. Dropping light fixtures on people and throwing them in fuse box adds to the combat in new ways, but also shows a more ruthless, desperate, and scared Batman on the edge as he tries to save the city he loves. One addition to the combat is the fear multi-takedown move letting dispose of foe quickly in true ninja like a style. It comes in handy in situations where you have to sneak and lets you play around with opponents placement so you can get the jump on multiple enemies at once.

    Something completely new to the Arkham series is an option to use the batmobile taking inspiration from the Nolan movies to drive around Gotham with. There are two modes while in the bat tank driving and battle mode. While it was somewhat fun to drive around Gotham the controls are a little weird. Using the left trigger to change into battle mode and the square button to brake cause me problems throughout the whole game. I would accidently go into battle mode while chasing someone in a car or during a race leading to a frustration time and time again. I got used to it as I continued to play, but having to do some driving missions with it was still a chore than anything else. The combat sections where you fight drones which are unmanned so Batman can still abide by his no kill rule were fun to play, but eventually got tedious near the end having take upwards to 40 drones at once multiple times. While the batmobile was a nice edition to the game nothing will beat the joy of gliding around the city Gotham.

    Even playing on a PS4 Batman has never looked better. His weathered face and the ripped cape is a sight to see patroling around the city. The desolated streets of Gotham look amazing amidst their chaos as crazed gunman try to take the city by the throat. Gliding high above the city gives a certain beauty to it and you can see why Batman is trying so hard to save the city he loves. Although the game being capped at 30fps occasionally freeze more than I would like to take me out of the experience for a second, but other than that the game looks and runs fine.

    With Gotham being in a state of anarchy it gives all of Batman rouges a chance to shine in this game. There are a variety of things to do like stopping Two-Face's string of robberies, Penguins weapon caches, solving one of Riddlers puzzels, taking down the beast Manbat, and one of the many AR challenges are only a few of to past the time in between story missions you take on as Batman. Batman's rogue's gallery isn't the only ones to join in the fun. Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman are apart a select few missions as well requiring you to team up with them. When fighting with them you get the option of doing cinematic dual takedowns and can switch between the two in combat on a whim. It's a shame they aren't in the game longer as I had so much fun bouncing around the characters in combat. How you go about the world is up to you and the game doesn't overwhelm you with everything at first. You have to wait to complete the next part of a particular side story giving you the incentive to go back to the main story.

    Arkham Knight manages to cap a strong trilogy of games and let Batman and Rocksteady respectively leave the series on a high note. The improved combat and darker tone are highlights of the game and despite the wonky Batmobile controls and the disappointing plot twist, I can say this is arguably Batmans best adventure available. Batman fan or not you will enjoy this one and everything it offers.

    Other reviews for Batman: Arkham Knight (PlayStation 4)

      A study in bad sequel design 0

      When it comes to great sequels, few games knocked it out of the park in the 360/PS3 era quite like Arkham City. It expanded upon the cool gameplay of Asylum and added some fun new tech and a great world to explore, along with a strong narrative and a hell of a lot of fun stuff to see and do. Arkham Origins was passable, mostly because it didn't upset the apple cart - if someone liked Arkham City and wanted more of it, Origins could help scratch that itch. Arkham Knight is neither great or passab...

      7 out of 7 found this review helpful.

      I liked Arkham Knight, but I didn't like Arkham Knight 0

      SPOILER ALERT: I'm not holding back. I will dive deep into spoilers for Batman Arkham Knight. I liked Arkham knight, but I didn't like Arkham Knight. In Arkham Knight, the final entry in the Batman Arkham series created by Rocksteady, Batman faces his biggest challenge yet. No, it's not Scarecrow. No it's not the eponymous Arkham Knight, or 200 Riddler trophies. Instead, Batman's biggest challenge is the realization that he is just not enough to keep Gotham safe anymore. It's an interesting ang...

      2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

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