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Monday, August 03, 2015

Batman: Arkham Knight Review




   Rocksteady has returned for the final installment in the Arkham mythos, and the end has come to be just as epic as the entire series. This series is vital, because even with the controversial addition of Arkham: a origins, these are the best Batman Games ever made. Period.  Arkham Knight is no exception, and has, perhaps the best story out of the Quadrilogy. It is long, very long, nearly twice the size of Arkham City, and it feels like a ton more gameplay, and admiration to the Batman mythology. 
    The main story is long, and the best part of the whole game. Granted the side quests aren't terrible, but they don't feel as detailed, with the exception of The Riddler side quest, as that will take you as long as the entire main quest. 
    The story is great, as Scarecrow is the main villain, accompanied by a new villian: the Arkham Knight. When the big reveal comes who the Arkham Knight really is, it isn't much of a shock, but. A welcomed addition to this crazy storyline that is non-canonical, but it excels exponentially due to lack of constraint. The story itself is summed up as this:
       Scarecrow has developed a newer fear toxin, something that is the stuff if nightmares. Scarecrow has taken control of the underground crime syndicates, with the help of the mercenary army lead by the Arkham Knight. Batman is faced with the need to save his friends, and Gotham from it's biggest threat ever. The entire city is evacuated, which allows for armies and thugs to patrol the streets, and making for one of the largest groups of enemies seen in a Batman Videogame.
      Scarecrow, Two-Face, Penguin, and some of the biggest enemies of Batman are found throughout the game. The side quests do come off at times like nothing more than races at times, but I really enjoyed hunting down a killer that left bodies throughout the game, similar to those found in Arkham City from the Identity Thief Killer. The Riddler trophies also return, and fill in greater details to the story, as they did in Arkham City, but unlike its predecessor, Arkham Knight does so in deep prose, rather than straight diction. The story, which I must admit, I've not  had the opportunity to read, as I'm currently still solving the 240+ riddler trophies, and have three left. Still, I'm quite impressed at just how much work is put into the depths of the stout, and it gives a background of what has happened between Arkham City, and what's been going on in the midsts of Arkham a Knight. 
     The side quests are okay, a bit dull, compared to the greater faction of the game, and tactively drawl in-comparison, but they were supposed to be a takeaway, rather than a complete sidestep of the current story. Hell is breaking out in Gotham, and the side quest act like sequesters to the problematic onslaught from Scarecrow's duality in both his plans, and his purpose. However, the game is great, one of my favorites, and definitely one of the best third-party games for the next-generation consoles, so far. We are in the infantile stages of this generation of consoles, and with such a bright future ahead, I'd hate to see Arkham Knight go by the wayside, as it is a generally great game, and adds, not subtracts to the greatness that made the previous titles instant classics, last generation. 
    The story finishes, and then has the audacity to finish again! Yes, if you play the game as most are going to, and not get all of Gotham's Most Wanted prior to beating the main story, you will be given two endings, both of which are destined to be infamous in establishing WB Games as a power-player. With Mortal Kombat outselling all previous titles, and Arkham Knight being one of the best titles; so far, this year; we are in-store for a great deal of great DC games to come out, and a potential Injustice sequel, which could outshine the first game as a true title, rather than a tested concept. 
     Lastly on the topic of DC's future, I would truly love to see a fun, less dark game come out, perhaps a Superman title, which has been teased, or even a Green Arrow title, which would go the course of popularity, albeit, Supermwn is perhaps more popular, despite the potential sales of Arrow fans.  Although this doesn't seem to be the path they want to take, I'd not like to see something like an Aquaman game, but I'd like to see perhaps a Hawkman/Hawkgirl game, in-which you are galactic space cops in a very detailed origin story, and a GTA /True Crime:LA concept where you chased down and arrest some of the biggest arch-villains in the mythology. However, I know this is more wistful thinking, and not necessarily a proven five-year-plan for WB Games. 
     Not to finish off the series before it's officially done, but Arkham Knight is a great title, along with it's prequels, they are the quintessential Batman titles, and they pay homage to a great deal of the old lore, both beloved and debated; thus instilling the fact that this game series is the need-be for all comic book fans, especially Bstman fans, despite being non-canonical. 
   I really don't want to spoil anything, because I hold such reserve for this game, but lastly I'd like to just say that if you view this as a video game, it feels like one, and although the Batmobile is a great part of the game, for most of it you can do without it,more find ways around it, despite it being such an integral part of the game. I dearly loved this title, especially since it is one of the few titles I bought for my PS 4, I admire it greatly, and I'm truly impressed by Rocksteady, and WB Games. 

UPDATE: I was lucky enough to get all riddler trophies before posting this blogpost, and I must admit, it was trying, and it was also very absurd to think that everything I went through was for a mere extra minute of video; however, I think we all want to ride around in the Jokermobile, because it looks sick. Still, I think it would be fun to state here that the Riddler was a tad more difficult than I expected him to be, but the fight was overall an amazing addition, even though it was rather monotone in flow. However, I found it to be a fun, albeit, troublesome edition to the game, but now I am set to try out the DLC, and see just how much more it adds to the overall gameplay. 
   I'll state here that if, and when I'm able to play through the DLC, i. Ya post information, but as of now, it's a but more troubling for me to say it's a definite thwt I'll be able to download all of the DLC at once. 
 

 Thank you for reading the Malacasf Editorial!  

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