He's the Goddamn Batman, and his game was awesome!
By Hamz 19 Comments
Lets get it out of the way first, I enjoyed the game and as the title suggest I thought it was pretty awesome. Definitely the best game I've played all year and if I'm going to be even more high-praising of it I'd say the best single player game I've played in the last five or so years.
"Hamz, what exactly did you enjoy about this game? Give us the rundown on what it is that made you feel like a little school girl swooning over Batman everytime he spoke."
- Jayge, resident man-bitch and post whore of the Giant Bomb community.
- Voice Acting - When a game is story driven there is always cutscenes and dialogue sequences between characters and if the voice acting is poor then those scenes are easily forgotten or remembered for all the wrong reasons. Thankfully Rocksteady Studios went all out and managed to score the best voice actors for their characters. Kevin Conroy is the Batman, no doubt about it. His voice is instantly what I hear and think of when reading any Batman comics and it was brilliant to see him return and voice the character in the game. I'm not sure I could of enjoyed the voice acting if they had picked different actors for the characters. Could you really imagine someone other than Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker? I mean he has such a brilliant way of portraying the crazed clown's emotions with laughter that I can't imagine someone else being able to achieve.
- Art & Visual Style - One thing that stands out visually about this game is that it has a dark theme too it both literally and visually but it doesn't heavily rely on a black or grey colour scheme. There are always obvious tints or green, blue or red to areas that make it look ever so dark and shadowy without relying on black to make it so dark you can barely see or enjoy the small details in the level design. The art style of the environments and characters are also a nice combination of comic-esque design with little touches of realism added to them. Simple things like Batman's obvious comic book inspired suit design having rivet holes and creases / lines between the plates of kevlar armour inside it. Instead of looking like a leotard made out of just one sheet of cloth.
- Animations - While facial animations left a little to be desired when compared to older games such as Half Life 2, which had brilliantly animated facial expressions and lip syncing, the full body animations within Batman: AA were really well done. All of Batman's combat moves and the reactions and general feel of the thugs and other enemies encountered within the game looked, for lack of a better phrase, real. The iconic cape itself moved and swayed with movement in the way you would imagine a real cape would. The cape itself almost had a life of its own in some ways since it was animated so well.
- Combat - The combat system isn't perfect but it's probably the closest thing too it I've ever seen in a game. It is so simple to grasp and use yet still provides a 'flashy' feel and look when Batman executes a bone crunching blow against his enemies. Racking up a large combo of moves is easily done once you grasp the basics of dodging, countering and attacking. And thankfully the low learning curve makes the combat a little forgiving and a lot less frustrating during moments where you do make mistakes and fail to counter or dodge an attack in time. The combat is very much an adrenaline fuelled flurry that I've yet to experience as much fun with in any other game.
- Gadgets & Gameplay - A Batman game needs gadgets and thankfully this game has them and they each provide an adequate advantage to the Dark Knight's arsenal in his adventure. From batarangs to the batclaw I have to say each gadget got an equal amount of use from me, more so the batclaw, and they all fitted nicely into their own niche situations as well as more open ended ones. The gameplay made me smile, this isn't just a stealth game and neither is it just a straight up brawler. It had a comfortable blend of both that seemed to not only fit with the source material but the general feel of the game. There weren't really any frustrating gameplay mechanics or moments created by bad gameplay and I enjoyed that.
- Detective Vision - It deserves a bullet point all to itself. A brilliant combination of night-vision and radar all in one nifty package. Not only did it fit in with the source material and get great use as a method for approaching the 'Invisible Predator' combat but it also was a great addition to the overall gameplay and feel of progression in the game. Following pheromones, DNA left by fingerprints or other such chemical markers to track down individuals as you progress through Arkham was great fun and this is all thanks to a nifty little gadget. It emphasised the detective aspect of Batman's personality and methods in how he approaches situations while providing ample 'eye-candy' as a simple gameplay mechanic.
- Boss Fights - It seems this is a bone of contention in the game for most who played it. I personally felt each boss fight was done in such a way that was relevant to emphasising the characteristics of the bosses themselves....
- Bane - He's a brutal and physical character, he is the man that broke the bat's-back and his boss fight emphasised his very 'hands on' approach.
- Victor Zsasz - He's cunning, cruel and likes to torment Batman as much as he does his victims before he makes the final cut. If you can consider the second encounter with him as a boss fight then it was done rather well.
- Harley Quinn - A crazy acrobatic trickster who likes to both toy and taunt Batman while indirectly attacking him. Her final encounter was played out in the same spirit and way she usually attempts to deal with Batman.
- Killer Croc - A powerhouse similar to Bane but his nature is much like his namesake, ambush and attack when his prey least expects it. The boss fight with Croc felt spot on in my book.
- Poison Ivy - Her boss fight was likely the most fitting one considering the context of her situation. She was high on titan steroids and thus explains why she summoned up some huge plants. I mean she controls plants, of course she'll send a big ass flower to attack Batman.
- Joker - He's a clown, a showman and someone who fears Batman more than he lets on. Even when physically superior to Batman after his titan steroid intake he still can't stop being scared of Batman. His boss fight emphasises this entirely as he plays up for the news helicopter filming him all the while never truly attacking Batman directly and even when he does have a chance to finish Batman, the showman, the entertainer, the joker in him is his biggest downfall.
- Scarecrow - He doesn't want to kill or harm Batman physically. He wants to crush him mentally, strip away the thing Batman considers his greatest asset, his mind and memories. The hallucination sequences are a simple battle of willpower. And if you can consider this a proper boss fight then I'd probably say it is the best one in the game due to just being so evocative and atmospheric.
Overall the game wasn't perfect, no game ever is, but I genuinely enjoyed it not only for the source material as a Batman game but for its merits as a game in and of itself as well. It had memorable moments such as Scarecrow's hallucination sequences and seeing Batman's suit continually get more damaged as you progressed in the game helped to further the story and pacing. A story that was brilliant and to the best of my knowledge original as well, not a plot taken from any previous Batman comic or cartoon etc. As a game I think that it is most deserving of the praise it has received and possibly one of the few games that did seem to get the praise it deserved in my humble opinion.
However no blog giving such a strong positive opinion over a game is complete without there being at least some retrospective look at the game and highlighting points in it that could have been done differently or in some cases improved on entirely. So commence more bullet points....yay?
- Batclaw - Easily my most favourite gadget in the game. However I think it could have been improved if they allowed you to disarm enemies by targeting the batclaw to the weapon they are holding and yanking it out of their hands. A nice way to deal with those few moments you find yourself face to face against a thug armed with a gun or stun baton, but perhaps haven't got the health or time to zip away to a gargoyle for safety. It would have been a nice way to even the odds in those situations.
- Gargoyles - While zipping to and from them was fun, it did become a little stale when you entered a room and had to take down enemies one by one using the 'Invisible Predator' combat method by simply stay on the gargoyles all the time. A little variation and less reliance on gargoyles would have been a nice addition to those more stealthy moments in the game. The fact that there was always five or six gargoyles in these rooms, placed in specific areas around them did become somewhat repetitive. Perhaps limiting the number of them and strategically placing them in certain areas would have presented a little more of a challenge.
- Unlocking Gadgets - The one thing that annoyed me with the game most was not being able to use all the gadgets from the start of the game. I never quite understood or enjoyed the reasoning why games require you to only receive certain items, gadgets or weapons that aren't plot specific at certain points in the game. It is a bit of a dated mechanic and one I personally don't like. By the time I got the Ultra Batclaw (the last gadget to unlock via plot progression) I had very few moments in the story mode to make great use of it and the same can be said for things like the sonic sequencer hacking tool and so forth. I enjoyed being able to unlock upgrades for my gadgets, such as multiple batarangs etc, but not being able to have them from the start but rather only receive them during mid-to-latter stages of the game was disappointing. Assassin's Creed started you off with everything, then suddenly you have to re-earn all your equipment again and it just, to be crude, sucks that games do this still.
- Jumping - Batman can glide for metres with his cape, grapple up to gargoyles, fight ten enemies at once, throw batarangs, fight the likes of Bane and Poison Ivy's giant plant but he still can't jump. It's a small gripe but one I still see now excuse to not include in games these days. The character fits the physical profile of an athletic and martial arts build, surely he can run and vault over obstacles by jumping?
Whenever a new game is released and the masses of players finish it there is always a moment where thoughts suddenly spring ahead to what we would like to see in a sequel, even if no sequel has been confirmed. So brace yourselves for yet more bullet points!
- The aforementioned issues above that I have listed.
- More gadgets such as smoke / flash bombs, explosive batarangs, a taser batclaw attachment, tranquillizer darts and generally more creative methods of dealing with situations by using gadgets. While I do enjoy a good batarang to a criminal's skull followed by a takedown, sometimes a little more variation can be fun!
- Combining gadgets and gameplay mechanics a bit more to create exciting sequences.
- Eg - Batman is in a vent system above a room, using detective vision you see there is one hostage and five thugs all armed with various melee and ranged weapons. Dropping down will likely result in Batman and/or the hostage being killed before all the thugs can be taken out. However dropping some smoke / flash bombs into the room first to distract, disorientate and confuse the thugs will allow Batman time to drop in and use his detective vision to see through the smoke and take out the thugs and free the hostage.
- Take the setting to Gotham City itself. A new and exciting location which I'd love to see brought to life and explored.
- Allow players to drive the batmobile and other vehicles Batman has at his disposal. The moment I saw the batmobile parked in Arkham's courtyard I really, really wanted to take it for a spin.
- Start the next game off where Arkham Asylum ended with Batman heading to Gotham in an attempt to catch Two Face after he has just robbed a bank. Hearing that had occurred during the ending cutscene after the credits I immediately had hopes we would see this happen. The second game (if there will be one) picking up straight after the first with Batman all 'battle damaged' from his horrifying night in Arkham Asylum would be brilliant.
- Show us the true Batcave under Wayne Manor. I want to see the giant penny, the robot dinosaur and the numerous bat-vehicles on display.
- Lets see Robin, Nightwing and Oracle / Batgirl.
- It must have a scene with Batman landing on the GCPD roof after seeing Commissioner Gordon light up the Bat-Signal into the night sky.
Anyway folks I think this will be a long enough read that most people will struggle through. As usual comment and critique as you feel necessary and as a nice end to what seems like an overly long blog. Enjoy this image!
Hamz, XOXO
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