Game Picks: ‘Batman: Arkham Knight’ not the hero Gotham deserves

The Arkham series has become renowned for capturing the essence of Batman. It pulls you into his persona, shows off his superb detective skills and fills its world with Easter eggs and dozens of familiar faces from the iconic character’s gallery of foes and allies. Most importantly for me, it captures the way Batman’s fists and boots connect with the faces and chests of the criminal thugs trying to overrun him. It just has a way of getting the blood pumping. “Batman: Arkham Knight” (Rated M, $59.99) has a heavy legacy to live up to, and while it is mostly successful at this, I can’t help feeling that the series could have ended on a much higher note.

Picking up on the storyline from “Arkham City,” “Arkham Knight” sees a return of several iconic characters in the Batman universe. Characters like Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy and Scarecrow make reappearances, alongside trusted Batman allies like Robin, Nightwing, Alfred and Commissioner Gordon. The game does a fairly decent job of weaving such a large cast naturally into the plot. However, the dialogue occasionally feels forced, and the voice acting from supporting characters like Gordon and Oracle is hit-or-miss.

Batmobile not a plus

Perhaps the biggest issue with “Arkham Knight,” however, is the overuse of the Caped Crusader’s Batmobile. Introduced for the first time in the series, players can now take to the streets of Gotham in the trusty, black-painted tank that we’re pretty sure isn’t road-legal in any state. Of course there are some perks to using the Batmobile, like a Battle Mode that allows the car to turn into a side-strafing war machine; the ability to use the Power Wench for puzzle solving; and the remote-controlled function, which saved my life many times.

At first, the Batmobile feels empowering and useful. It controls well, and overall it’s a nice addition to the series. However, there are several points throughout the game where it feels forced, like segments were added specifically to make it a necessary tool rather than allowing you to discover creative solutions. If you love vehicles and the combat options they offer, you probably won’t mind this so much. But for those of us who love the Arkham series because of how well it puts you into the mind of Batman, there are many times you lose the option to move in the shadows, and the game becomes more of a linear shoot-em-up because the Batmobile is required to take down any enemy drones and turrets.

Gadgets and weapons

When outside the cockpit, “Arkham Knight” still captures the amazing feeling of beating up thugs, as well as offering a plethora of fantastic gadgets to play around with. Gadgets like the Batarang make a reappearance, as well as the Disruptor, which allows you to disarm enemy weapons and booby trap resupply boxes.

The Predator Mode gets a welcome addition with a Fear Multi-Takedown option, which lets you take out clusters of thugs in quick succession with dramatic flair. I personally leaned more toward a stealthy approach, but the option to be a little flashier was nice.

PC problems,

I’d be remiss not to mention the issues plaguing the PC release. The massive amount of stuttering, low frame rate and complete freezing of the game during intense moments is not a good sign for PC players looking to pick up the game close to release. Though WB has stated it’s working hard on a patch to fix these issues, it is still something that users should be aware of.

Overall “Batman: Arkham Knight” is a welcome finale to Batman’s story. The combat that has made the series such a favorite is still very much alive, and I still can’t get over the happiness it gives me to leap down from the skies and kick a thug in the face. Though the Batmobile seems excessive to the point of tiresome, the combat within its special Battle Mode is both smooth and mostly enjoyable. However, every positive – the twisting storyline, the iconic villains and the superb combat – are undermined by other factors. Mediocre acting, rough dialogue and overuse of the Batmobile leave “Batman: Arkham Knight” that much less cohesive than its predecessors.

GamerHub

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Game Picks: ‘Batman: Arkham Knight’ not the hero Gotham deserves."