If you are a fan of the Batman franchise like I am, then last year when Batman: Arkham Knight came out, you were excited to see what it was all about. There have been those that have been burned in the past. They have been afraid to venture out and try playing this game on their own. The good news is that unlike other games that have come out this outing is actually pretty good.
Yes there are some areas where the game does seem to be a little disjointed especially when we are looking at the long history that is involved between Batman, the three robins as well as Jim and Barbra Gordon. This can be a little mind numbing and may lead to bouts of insomnia being cured. Beyond this though the graphics are amazing and the 12 hours of story in the game does help to let a person that has never touched the Batman universe to get caught up in rather fast fashion.
The origins of the Arkham Knight seem to be explained way too quick and would otherwise kill the game as this would not be enough to keep a player engaged. However I was quite surprised when I saw that the game has a load of other surprises that kept me wanting to keep playing the game. Mark Hamill is featured as the Joker posthumous and delivers some lines that are in classic Joker fashion. There is the classic voice of Batman we have all come to love of Kevin Conroy that fans of the game and the animated series will love.
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The size of Gotham City has grown to be a lot larger than in previous games. There are now three islands to the city that a player can explore. The familiar areas of Gotham are able to be noticed through the neon and barely lit streets. You can still make out places like Ace Chemicals, Wayne Tower as well as other notable areas. The attention to detail in the graphics is one thing that will have a lot of players hooked on the game from the minute they begin to play.
Just like in the past games, the city is all but vacant of innocents, so if you had any dreams of beating up innocent people, that will be crushed. There is a lot more criminals that are in Gotham than in the past Arkham games. Another welcomed surprise is the fact that a player does not go back to the batcave. This was annoying as it seemed to take up a lot of precious game time in the past.
The rocket powered Batmobile is the Batman version of the Kool-aid man. The car makes quick work of the streets and allows you to get around the city a lot faster as well as you being able to cape glide in a lot less time than in previous games. The chase scenes are as close to the real thing as you can get without actually being in the car. I found this to be quite enjoyable and while it seemed almost comic book like running over the bad guys, it did have an element of satisfaction that we could all enjoy.
Speaking of the Batmobile, there is a new feature that many players will enjoy and that is the remote controlled feature that is now part of the Batmobile. This is a good feature to have in the event you need to be in two places at once or any other puzzle that may involving you cloning yourself. With the ability to go almost anywhere, you can call it to you and perform the neat trick of diving in as it comes to you. This move does require a bit of practice as it can backfire on you if you are not careful.
In the end, if this is in fact the last Batman that is put out, then it ended with a positive note. The graphics rock, the story is engaging and well laid out. With the expanded map of Gotham people players are able to travel a lot easier and without all of the issues that they had in previous experiences.
