Can you believe it's already been over 3 years since Arkham Knight? Time really goes by way too fast. Anyways, recently replayed all the Arkham games and I have to say Arkham Knight is probably my least favorite. It looks absolutely stunning and I love the Batman/Joker dynamic in this game. Making Joker a figment of Batman's imagination really did much to show how they are different sides of the same coin. It also enabled Joker to 'chase' Batman throughout the entire game making for some really interesting reflections. However, the rest of the game is really not that great. I loved the Batmobile but hated the tank sections and the endless stream of drones you had to shoot. There is so much of it that it's more World of Tanks than Arkham. The Arkham Knight is a stupid character. Yeah, you could see from miles away that he was Jason Todd but that isn't really what bothered me. His entire presence was just annoying. I did love the design though, espescially toward the end when his helmet started to light up red like he was punched back to the Red Hood.
Having Scarecrow as the main villain was kinda meh as well. Again, the (re)design was awesome but I wasn't sold on on his motivations which seems to have been based on random Wikipedia facts on the neurobiological basis of fear that he repeated all the time. It's like his stupid fear gas served to bore Batman to death with random facts. Side missions were all shit in this game, with maybe the exception of Firefly which really made the most of the Batmobile(ie no tank sections).
The Batman/Joker dynamic in Knight(which was really well done) and some moments in the story like Gordon's reaction to Batman when he found out about Barbara's kidnapping and the weight on Batman's shoulders when he realized she was 'murdered' were the definite highlights, but in general the writing was just a lot weaker. Espescially in the side missions the absence of Dini could definitely be noticed. Take Two-Face for example. He was really cool in City and his character from the comics stood out but in Knight he was just this one-dimensional bank robber. Same for Penguin or the super annoying Riddler. The trailers for Arkham Knight kinda had this Knightfall vibe but that was definitely nowhere to be seen in the game.
Arkham City has to be the best. It's more open than Arkham Asylum but exploring it feels similarly intimate. Espescially the way Gotham is build with different levels of Batman history stacked on top of another. The main story is awesome with Dr Strange's intentions feeling quite sinister and the Joker also having a strong presence. But beside that every side mission has a story that is of similar high quality. You really feel immersed in Batman's world, or more particular the long comic book history.
By extension I felt the same with Arkham Asylum, which would be a close second for best Arkham game. I was absolutely blown away when I played this for the first time in 2009 and it will probably remain my biggest gaming surprise of all time. I just think that City improved on everything that made Asylum great even if the metroidvania structure is still unique to this game.
Shouldn't forget Origins ofcourse, which I also enjoyed but put in a kind of similar league as Knight. Really bad side missions and the world was spread way too thin. But the main story missions were really fun, and I absolutely loved that whole 'Gotham at Christmas' theme which actually reminded me a lot of Batman Returns.
So yeah, four Arkham games all good in their own way but Asylum and City are definitely the best in my opinion. Now that Rocksteady apparently moved on from Arkham(for whatever mystery project they are working on) I wonder who is going to make the next Batman game and if it will live up to the legacy set by Rocksteady. Not just Batman but superhero games in general; they showed licensed games don't have to be crap. Bring on...Spider-man I guess.
Having Scarecrow as the main villain was kinda meh as well. Again, the (re)design was awesome but I wasn't sold on on his motivations which seems to have been based on random Wikipedia facts on the neurobiological basis of fear that he repeated all the time. It's like his stupid fear gas served to bore Batman to death with random facts. Side missions were all shit in this game, with maybe the exception of Firefly which really made the most of the Batmobile(ie no tank sections).
The Batman/Joker dynamic in Knight(which was really well done) and some moments in the story like Gordon's reaction to Batman when he found out about Barbara's kidnapping and the weight on Batman's shoulders when he realized she was 'murdered' were the definite highlights, but in general the writing was just a lot weaker. Espescially in the side missions the absence of Dini could definitely be noticed. Take Two-Face for example. He was really cool in City and his character from the comics stood out but in Knight he was just this one-dimensional bank robber. Same for Penguin or the super annoying Riddler. The trailers for Arkham Knight kinda had this Knightfall vibe but that was definitely nowhere to be seen in the game.
Arkham City has to be the best. It's more open than Arkham Asylum but exploring it feels similarly intimate. Espescially the way Gotham is build with different levels of Batman history stacked on top of another. The main story is awesome with Dr Strange's intentions feeling quite sinister and the Joker also having a strong presence. But beside that every side mission has a story that is of similar high quality. You really feel immersed in Batman's world, or more particular the long comic book history.
By extension I felt the same with Arkham Asylum, which would be a close second for best Arkham game. I was absolutely blown away when I played this for the first time in 2009 and it will probably remain my biggest gaming surprise of all time. I just think that City improved on everything that made Asylum great even if the metroidvania structure is still unique to this game.
Shouldn't forget Origins ofcourse, which I also enjoyed but put in a kind of similar league as Knight. Really bad side missions and the world was spread way too thin. But the main story missions were really fun, and I absolutely loved that whole 'Gotham at Christmas' theme which actually reminded me a lot of Batman Returns.
So yeah, four Arkham games all good in their own way but Asylum and City are definitely the best in my opinion. Now that Rocksteady apparently moved on from Arkham(for whatever mystery project they are working on) I wonder who is going to make the next Batman game and if it will live up to the legacy set by Rocksteady. Not just Batman but superhero games in general; they showed licensed games don't have to be crap. Bring on...Spider-man I guess.