"Tonight... Gotham falls... and a city of fear rises. "
Batman: Arkham Knight is Rocksteady's third and final game in their highly acclaimed Batman trilogy and with the promise of a much more expansive game can it live up to the hype? Rocksteady ushered in a new era for superhero games when they released Batman: Arkham Asylum. Gone were the days of hammy voice overs, sluggish combat and seemingly wide open spaces that actually weren't open at all and in came a brilliant storyline an innovative combat system and an open world to play detective in.
On Halloween, Scarecrow teams up with The Arkham Knight and forces the evacuation of Gotham City and it's surrounding islands after threatening to unleash his fear toxin. And that Ladies and Gentlemen is all you will read here about the story. So fear not because there are no spoilers here. There are three islands which are instantly accessible and each has their own share of famous Gotham landmarks, Chinatown district, Wayne Tower, and Ace Chemicals to name just a few. Even though Gotham is a dark and gloomy place to visit with it's rain washed streets it truly is beautiful at the same time. Each island is large enough and beautifully detailed with light reflecting off every surface, even your cowl and cape.
Travelling around Gotham is an experience in itself and you will be doing a lot of it. There are no loading screens when you travel from one island to another and that is an amazing accomplishment considering everything that is going on. You have two options when you decide to switch to another island. Your trusty grapple gun has been vastly upgraded and allows you to cape glide faster and for much longer distances. But if you want to travel in style the Batmobile is your transportation of choice. For the first time in the trilogy Rocksteady allow you to take control of what I can only describe as a transforming, ass kicking behemoth.
The feeling of unbridled power I felt the first time I called the Batmobile to my location and watched as I effortlessly glided into the driver's seat was intoxicating. It's been a long, long time since a game has made me grin so wildly but in that moment I was a child again. Just driving around the streets and watching thugs run away screaming in fear is enough to bring a smile to your face and the destruction is sublime. You can destroy pretty much everything just by driving into them. Very rarely do you get this level of destruction in a game and when your bored of that there is the ball busting tank mode. One click of your left bumper and the Batmobile transforms into an ass kicking machine. When your in tank mode you will fight against battle drones which are makeshift tanks. If you decide to slam the Batmobile into some thugs they get electrocuted and bounce off into the distance but miraculously they don't did but this is Batman after all.
Tank battles sound brilliant and the first few times they are but they soon become tedious because there are so many of them. Better armoured tanks and flying drones get introduced and do add a more taxing challenge but I just upgraded the Batmobiles armour and weapons just so these encounters were over as quickly as possible. You also have the ability to control the Batmobile via remote control. This comes in real handy when solving the games varied and near limitless puzzles. Need to trigger a switch in one location but be by an opening in another location then this is your only option and is great fun in small doses. The Riddler trophy side quests alone number in the hundreds and by the end you will be an expert. But yet again getting there can be a bit of a chore. You will be in tank mode for most of the puzzle solving tasks and it just doesn't work well.
This is a tank your controlling and even though it's quite nimble it tends to became awkward when you're in a puzzle room and need to manoeuvre up narrow ramps. It just becomes clumsy and you will find yourself falling off ramps time and time again. One final piece of advice when driving the Batmobile and when in tank mode is to switch the controls to toggle mode. This makes driving and combat in the Batmobile much more intuitive and more importantly fun. The default mode controls are all over the place and trust me this is the only way to play.
The combat system is still the best in its class. Nothing has come close to capturing it's brilliant free flowing fight mechanics and it will be a long time until something does. A few tweaks have made the already sublime combat even smoother. Remember the first time you switched on detective mode and hid in the grate system to take down an enemy? As cool as that still is why make life hard for yourself when you have new ways of raining fear down on your enemies. You have a few new gadgets as well and with new gadgets comes new ways to take out your enemies. How about mimicking one of your enemies voices and telling one of your enemies to inspect an area where you have laid a trap for them or even get them to trigger a gate for you. Or how about the new fear takedowns where you can surprise a group of enemies and take them all out with one hit during an impressive slow-motion sequence. Still not impressed? How about calling in the Batmobile for some impressive non lethal takedowns. Still not good enough for you? How about calling in Catwoman, Robin or Nightwing for some more awesome dual action takedowns. Not only that but when you double team you instantly take control of whichever partner is hello you out once the move is finished. But you're free to switch between Batman and whichever sidekick you are fighting with at will. Which is a nice move and is seamless.
Don't be fooled into thinking you are invincible though. The enemy AI has been improved upon and it's very rare that they will fall for the same trick twice. Take an enemy down using the new Voice Synthesiser then try it again. The enemies will tell you in no uncertain terms that they won't fall for your tricks again. If they discover a bodies piled in a certain area they will litter it with mines making it nearly impossible for you to go there again. New enemy types are commonplace and help to keep the combat fresh. Working out how to take down a group of Medics who can revive fallen foes offers a sometimes maddening challenge. A new mini gun welding enemy who must be taken out last because of the amount of time you spend taking him down. Some enemies can now be electrified and have to be taken out in a specific way. Some weird swords and the charge attack that was once the preserve of much bigger enemies can now be performed by any enemy. With this much going on your tactics will change from one fight to the next.
Just finishing the main story is difficult enough. Not because of the games difficulty but because as you drive or glide your way around Gotham you will pick up various audio signals which range from opera music, whistling, gang's of enemies talking, Manbat screeching, the list goes on and on. The three islands that make up Gotham are not huge but what Rocksteady have done is populate them with so many things to do that they feel bigger than they are. You cannot go more than a minute without picking up one of the audio signals and embarking on a side quest and there are a ton of them to complete.
The Riddler, Twd Face and The Penguin will be your main enemies when completing side quests. You will stop Two Faces men from robbing banks within a time limit. Find The Penguins weapons caches and blowing them up to stop him getting a stronghold in Gotham. The Riddler, who's trophy hunts have always been one of my favourite quests in the Batman games has a mix of his typical riddles and trophy hunts of which there are 243 to find this time. But a new race against the clock race mode is something I defiantly wasn't expecting. These courses aren't your typical get from A to B as quickly as possible though but what else would you expect from The Riddler. Sure your racing against the clock but you are have to open doors, extend/retract ramps and open up retractable flooring before you plunge straight down. The races get really challenging really fast but they are great fun to play and add a nice twist.
I haven't even mentioned taking down control points, enemy watchtowers, guard posts, hunting down and interrogating The Riddlers men for trophy information, AR Challenges or the new Game + option you get after completing the main story. The one thing you won't notice immediately is the complete lack of any loading screens when you move from one island to another or when you transition to a cutscene. Considering everything that's going on here this in one hell of an achievement and should be applauded. You will only see a loading screen if you die and the game has to load your last save. The voice acting is another highlight and Mark Hamill's performance as the Joker is amazing. At one point in the game he sings a song to you and it's just an absolutely hilarious moment. A truly stand out performance from someone who has truly made the Joker his own.
I cannot praise Rocksteady enough for what they have achieved with Batman: Arkham Knight. The game is just sublime in every single way. It's beautiful, mesmerising and even dangerous to look at. The amount of missions and quests is unbelievable and most importantly the gameplay is truly amazing. When I turn my Xbox One console off after a lengthy sessions I am constantly switching it back on again five minutes later just for one more go. And that is the true measure of how brilliant this game is. If this really is Rocksteady's final Batman game and I hope it's not then this is one hell of a swansong. Rocksteady, I salute you for making what is easily my game of the year so far.
Review copy supplied by XCN.
Game: Batman: Arkham Knight.
Genre: Action Adventure.
Developer: Rocksteady Studios.
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
Platform(s): Xbox One.