Thank you Kevin: A Batman Arkham Retrospective

 

This honestly feels strange, owing so much to someone that I never even met. But I'm glad that I was born at a time to be able to fully appreciate what he gave to the role of Batman.

Kevin Conroy isn't just someone who played the role of Batman, he IS Batman. His voice is the one that I hear in my head whenever I read the comics. I'm no professional voice director or actor, so I can't exactly put it to words what makes his performance so memorable and iconic. All I can really say is from the first time I heard him speak through the character, my brain just automatically accepted "Yep, that's what Batman sounds like". It's so deep and monotonous, yet it carries so much emotion and personality, as if through every word he is conveying the reason he is doing this. You can feel all the anger and heartbreak in his delivery, as if he is always thinking about that tragic night and it's behind his every action, even without him saying a word about it directly. I think that's what makes it so great.

During my formative years, the majority of my time spent watching television was dedicated to superhero cartoons on Cartoon Network and the Fox Block. Spider-Man: The Animated series of course had a huge impact on me, but what I really loved about the DC shows was the shared universe aspect (not that Spider-Man and X-men didn't have crossovers). 

At the time you couldn't really watch all the episodes unless you had them all recorded on VHS, CN mostly played reruns of Batman TAS, meaning if you wanted new adventures of the Caped Crusader, you'd have to tune in to Justice League or the occasional crossover on Static Shock or Superman TAS. A pretty brilliant marketing scheme now that I'm older and jaded, but I didn't care as a kid because I grew to love all those heroes too. (And found my first crush on Teen Titans and an appreciation for goth girls, but that's technically separate from the DCAU)

For those of you who didn't know, we recently lost one of those greats. Kevin Conroy sadly passed away from intestinal cancer at the young age of 66. Many have retrospectively looked back at his performances in the Animated shows and movies, but I want to do something a little different. 

Video game voice acting is a bit different from acting in a cartoon or movie, and is underappreciated despite being the most involved. Many different lines are recorded for each character that are dependent almost entirely on player action, a lot of which you may never even hear.

So to draw attention to that, I'll be going over the Batman: Arkham series. A retrospective from a small-time blogger like me doesn't feel like a lot to dedicate to someone's life, but it's something. 

Here goes…

Batman: Arkham Asylum 

A bit later into my childhood came a trailer for something called Batman Arkham Asylum, which had most of the same voice cast and a story written by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, making it feel like a more photorealistic, extended Batman TAS episode that you can play. I watched the trailer over and over again on my Wii (it was the only way to watch YouTube at the time since I didn't have a smartphone), excitedly anticipating the chance to actually play as Batman in a well-designed setting. If you weren't around for it, superhero video games weren't always uh… the best, to put it lightly. Sure, you had Hulk Ultimate Destruction and the Spider-Man PS2 game, but there wasn't really a lot to "wow" people the same way modern Triple A games of that era did, and the bitter taste of games like Superman 64 were STILL left in people's mouths. This game clearly aimed to shatter that status quo.

And it succeeded.

I've seen these opening credits so many times that I can repeat each of the lines word for word without watching it. You'd think I'd be sick of it at this point. But I'm not. 

It's just so cool, it pulls you in right from the start with atmosphere and immersive, visual storytelling. It's like you're being taken on a tour into Arkham Asylum through Batman's eyes, with the Joker as your tour guide. I also think it's really cool when games have interactive credits like this, it really lets you appreciate everyone who put work into it, and it's the type of thing that can only be done in a video game. 

Immersion is the name of the game here. Arkham City is often heralded as the better of the games, but Asylum is still appreciated for its atmosphere. Some even go as far as considering it a horror game, but I wouldn't go that far. It's more of a "3D Metroidvania" where you control a character in a 3D environment, exploring and collecting items to progress through new areas.

The gameplay revolves around the three main components of Batman's skills: Combat, Stealth, and Investigation.

Granted, there are Batman games that have featured one or two of these, but Arkham Asylum is the first to really nail all three, making it feel like a complete Batman experience. 

First, the Combat.

Have you ever seen a Batman movie where he takes on ten guys at once? If you ever wanted to do that without actually having to fight ten guys, you're in luck.

Arkham Asylum introduces a combat engine known as the Freeflow Combat System, which allows you to seamlessly move from one enemy to another with single powerful strikes. To avoid incoming damage, you must either evade or counter them. I used to wonder why there wasn't a block button, but now I'm thankful that there isn't one. Blocking in games like this often slows down the pacing, turning it into a waiting game while you sit there for your turn to hit back. Countering moves cuts out the middle man, making combat much more fast-paced and satisfying. The Counter mechanic even later inspired some of his Special Moves in Injustice.

Each of Batman's attack animations feel straight out of some form of Batman media. Every punch, kick, swipe, and palm strike is pulled from a comic panel or movie, even if they are just standard martial arts moves with a cape and gadgets.

Next up is the stealth.

Stealth in the Arkham games are heavily dependent on a mechanic known as Takedown. The most common of which is the Silent Takedown, which allows you to quietly neutralize patrolling enemies from behind while moving around unseen. There are also less low profile Takedowns that will alert other henchmen to your location, meaning you'll have to hide or quickly grapple away after using them. There are Ledge Takedowns, which allow you to pull armed enemies down when hanging from ledges to knock them out. Corner Takedowns, which allow you KO enemies from the front by ambushing them from around a corner. And there are Inverted Takedowns, which are straight out of the Dark Knight Trilogy, where you swoop down on an enemy from above and string them up. Finally there are Ground Takedowns, which you can perform on downed enemies after tripping them with a Batarang, gliding down from a vantage point and kicking them, or just walking up and punching them if you're reckless. 

The Non-Silent Takedowns will draw enemies to your location, but you can use that to your advantage. For example, you can set a trap by KOing a thug and then planting Explosive Gel on him, and detonating it when a group checks the body.

A large aspect that allows you to clear these rooms is Detective Mode, an Augmented Reality interface within Batman's cowl that allows him to monitor enemy locations and patrol patterns as well as scan their vital state from a distance. The reason this is important is when they have a normal heartbeat, or are Calm, they will act as though you are not there. It will be easier to sneak up on them because they don't know you're in the room yet. When they are alerted of your presence, such as when they discover an unconscious body or one of your Batarangs on the ground, they start actively looking for you and are more careful, now in Nervous state. When there are only one or two enemies left in a room, they become Terrified, and will begin jumping at every little sound and moving object. If you appear in front of them they will flinch, giving you a few extra seconds to either take them out or escape. 

Of course, you can circumvent this entire process by sneaking around, picking them off silently one by one before they even know you're there, but it takes speed and efficiency. There's even a method coined by fans as "Aggressive Stealth", which involves the use of stuns, Ground Takedowns, Inverted Takedowns, pulling thugs off upper levels and a combination of gadgets to neutralize enemies as fast as possible. Both methods take practice to pull off correctly, but it only goes to show how many options you have to clear out stealth rooms, complimenting the replayability.

And finally, Investigation. As you could probably guess, Investigation is the primary function of Detective Mode. It allows for environmental scanning and forensic analysis, allowing you to gather clues as you progress through the game. You will be utilizing this as a method to track down and neutralize the members of Batman's rogues gallery present in Arkham, as well as rescue hostages. Detective Mode is highly advanced, and precise down to the molecular level. At one point, it scans for traces of alcohol in the air to find the owner of a whiskey flask. 

In another moment, Commissioner Gordon is dragged off and Batman needs to find him. Earlier he was smoking a pipe, allowing Batman to trace the tobacco in his saliva left behind. It's such a small detail but speaks to the intelligence and forethought of Gordon, which is appreciated because Batman is often portrayed as the only smart person in stories like this.

Now, I will admit that this particular portion of the gameplay isn't nearly as robust as the other two. You will usually be walking around scanning fingerprints and DNA samples. However, it is equally important, as few games, or media outside the comics for that matter, actually explore the "World's Greatest Detective" aspect of Batman's character. Plenty of games have combat or stealth elements, the investigative aspects make it feel more specific to Batman. 

A major complaint when it comes to this game however, is that there is almost no downside to using Detective Mode, as it allows you to survey all potential threats in your environment. A majority of the game you will probably be looking at the characters as glowing skeletons. However, there is nothing stopping you from turning it off, and new players will need this advantage as the stealth mechanics can be a bit of a hurdle if you aren't used to them. The later games also have ways of working around this, but we're not there yet.

And then there's the whole reason I decided to do this in the first place: the overall performance. 

There is an argument for whether or not video games can be considered art. Well, it is well past the 80's, the time that we accept video games as a legitimate medium of storytelling is long overdue, and this game is a testament for games being considered art.

One of the biggest selling points of the game was that it featured two writers and the main voice cast from Batman the Animated Series. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammil could take turns reading the dictionary and it would still be gripping. 

Mark Hammil is a household name due to being Luke Skywalker, but not enough praise is given to his performance as the Joker, a general audience instead favoring live actors. Any actor can play a sociopath in clown makeup, it takes skill to deliver lines with a charming charisma and menace at the same time, and hot take but only Jack Nicholson has come the closest to doing that in the Batman '89 movie. Just like Kevin Conroy is the definitive Batman, Mark Hammil is the definitive Joker.

That's of course not to take the spotlight away from the rest of the cast, who are mostly also reprising their animated roles with the exception of Gordon and the Riddler.

The characters take center stage here. The stellar voice acting and the motion capture animated character models come together to bring the characters to life. The animation, setting, design, and acting all come together harmoniously to make it feel like a living, breathing world. If you were to cut out all the gameplay and edit it into a CG animated movie, it would stand on its own as a unique Batman story.

Much like the Killing Joke, so many elements from the source material are given with such close attention to detail it could potentially be accepted into the canon lore without changing anything. Of course, we in the future know now that the events of these games are now considered a separate continuity known as the "Arkhamverse", but it's interesting to think about what could have been. 

On the subject of attention to detail, many elements, plot threads, and references allude to Batman media. The interview tapes between Harleen Quinzel and Joker are straight out of Batman TAS, the relationship between Aaron Cash and Killer Croc is pulled from the Arkham Asylum: Hell on Earth graphic novel (as are many other things down to the mapping and architecture of Arkham Island), and the backstory and in-universe folklore of Amadeus Arkham is adapted from the comics as well. More obscure DC villains such as Humpty Dumpty and Killer Moth are given love as well, which goes to show that the developers really did their homework and have a genuine passion for the project. 

A common complaint of the series is the Riddler side mission, but I would strongly disagree against this being a weak point of the game. The Riddler Trophies encourage exploration, and may unveil new secret areas you have previously not known about. The Riddles themselves are a clever way of tying together the story and environment, and give you little snippets of story related to the atmosphere while making you feel like you're solving a mystery like Batman. Then again, maybe I'm just a huge nerd that likes puzzles and critical thinking, I did play a lot of Zelda growing up after all. But if you solve them all, you get this really cool moment where you track down his location and literally SWAT him.

And of course, no discussion of Arkham Asylum would be complete without talking about the Scarecrow sequences. The game takes a clever approach to fear-based hallucinations that haven't really been done since Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, and gives an in-depth look into Batman's psyche. I love when stories portray a stoic, seemingly infallible character as having more depth beneath the surface. It goes to show that these characters have more to them that people give them credit for.

And the third and final Scarecrow Nightmare is an absolute classic and still gets me to this day. I don't want to spoil it, but I would highly recommend checking out at least a playthrough just for this one big twist.

Batman: Arkham City

There is a difference between a Classic and a Masterpiece. A Classic upholds artistic standards, using millenia-old archetypes and reinventing them for its era. A Masterpiece, on the other hand, subverts traditional artistic conventions, takes risks, raises the bar, and creates a new standard that other art pieces attempt to emulate. 

Arkham Asylum is a Classic, whereas Arkham City is nothing short of a Masterpiece. The thing about art is that many attempt to create the next Classic or Masterpiece, but statistically very few are actually successful. Arkham City is part of that elite few. It is not only the best Batman game or even the best Superhero game, it's one of the best video games period. If you look at any "Top Ten video games of all Time" list, about 80% of them will have this game somewhere on that list, among the ranks of other 10/10 Classics and Masterpieces of their times such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, God of War 3, and Shadow of the Colossus. It's that good. Now, these lists are often arbitrary and heavily opinion based, but all art is subjective. 

This is one of the best Batman stories out there. It's an absolute banger from beginning to end, and I struggle to find a single low point in the storytelling other than minor nitpicks that honestly might be a stretch. 

It hooks you right from the start, and since we don't see the characters at the beginning credits it's a testament of the stellar voice acting between Kevin and Corey Burton playing Hugo Strange here, who played Cad Bane and Count Dooku in Star Wars:The Clone Wars as well as many other iconic roles in animation. 

Hugo Strange is an underrated Batman villain, and he's perfect as the main villain for this game. Right out of the gate he's created the ultimate nightmare scenario for Bruce Wayne. He knows he's Batman, and has relocated all convicted criminals to a newly walled off section of Gotham- which happens to contain Crime Alley, the very same location his parents were murdered- leaving all of Arham's supercriminals and their mobs fighting a gang war out in the streets. 

Once we take control of Bruce Wayne, we see everything play out through his perspective, and is again, the type of storytelling that can only be done in a video game. When you are dragged out into Arkham City, you understand why Bruce wants to shut it down right away. Not only does the gang war threaten the safety of those outside the walls, but the treatment of the prisoners is inhumane. Bruce and Jack Ryder themselves are political prisoners, but the criminals themselves are also given few basic human needs in the middle of Gotham's harsh winter, other than guns to fend for themselves and occasional airdrops of what is effectively dog food. As you walk through the line in cuffs, you hear Strange's voice over the intercom announce a set of draconian rules that result in lethal force if not followed. 

Batman is the type of person that will stand up for the fundamental rights of every human being, even when they are actively trying to kill him, which some may find frustratingly naive, but to me it makes Batman a better character.

Soon, we are again treated to an incredible performance by the acting and animation of Two-Face. 

It's here that we perform our first Takedown, and are introduced to a new mechanic known as Knockout Smash, which will KO enemies faster once grabbed but the sound will alert the others.

Dropping down to the ground floor of the courthouse, we engage in the first real combat encounter of the game. From here we can tell that Rocksteady really found their bearings through the development of Arkham Asylum, and with the higher production value we can see the improvements they've made to the gameplay. If you ever felt that controlling Batman in Arkham Asylum felt a bit heavy or stiff, here you will feel the metaphorical weights coming off. Combat feels much more flowing and seamless. In addition, enemies will now pick up weapons off the ground and attack more than one at a time, making it feel less choreographed and more like a street fight, and dodging around these weapons and doing multi-counters is super satisfying to pull off. You may also notice you are given a few new options to deal with groups of enemies, such as new Combo Takedowns and Quickfire Gadgets that give you an edge and a bit of breathing room. A new mechanic called Beatdown allows you to open up an enemy's defenses and then follow up with a flurry of precise pressure point strikes to overwhelm them, which is useful for combatants wearing body armor, but will take longer than when used on normal enemies, meaning you'll have to isolate them from a group and continue to Counter anyone trying to charge you from behind.

The improved sound design also compliments the gameplay, with a swelling orchestral score that is reminiscent of the Dark Knight, Batman '89, and Batman TAS soundtracks while still being original enough to stand on its own (which is fitting considering the Arkham series is a celebration of Batman's history), as well as sounds like joints snapping and thunder strikes as you pull off good timing with your hits, encouraging you to perform better. 

(5:13)

This part in the church is awesome. You hear Batman's inner thought process as you survey the first stealth room of the game. Not only is this good game design as this is effectively a tutorial for how you'll deal with these stealth encounters later, it also takes advantage of a concept known as Gameplay-Story Integration, which combines story or character actions with gameplay elements, and this is a very clever way of using them in tandem.

You also may notice Batman has new moves to silently take down enemies, including grabbing enemies through weak walls and windows, Double Takedowns on two thugs standing together, even hanging from a ledges while choking out a guy with his freaking legs.

You're going to need these new tactics later on as well. The stealth is much more robust this time around, and seems to address every minor setback in Asylum. For example, there are now enemies that carry backpacks that jam electronics, preventing Batman from using Detective Mode in that room,  addressing the complaint that Detective Mode is too overpowered for stealth. You can still track the source of the interference, meaning you can still detect the Jammer enemy, but you will have to move carefully and listen for sound cues, as well as watch enemy movements around corners and from atop vantage points. 

There are also thugs that wear body armor, which can be difficult to deal with due not being able to use conventional Takedowns, instead having to use gadgets and the terrain to your advantage.  When I played this game when it came out, I thought these armored guys were way too unfair. I thought you had to use Inverted Takedowns or a Beatdown and there was no other way to beat them. Now that I'm not a teenager anymore and started actually paying attention to the game though, I learned that the game actually gives you plenty of tools for dealing with them. There's the aforementioned Inverted Takedowns and Beatdown methods, but you can also still pull them off railings or use explosives, and that isn't just limited to your own, you can also detonate their own Proximity Mines when you have the upgrade for it. Sonic Batarangs are free KOs on these guys as well once you get fully upgraded. The amount of options you really have is a testament to the depth of the gameplay.

Then there are the Tyger Guards, the primary enforcers of the Arkham City supercomplex facility.  Their stealth encounters are especially challenging, as they are more coordinated than your standard thugs and don't as easily fall prey to Batman's fear tactics. They will also have armored members in each group, in addition to having thermal goggles to track Batman's location, heartbeat monitors to keep tabs on the condition of each guard, and can place mines to make navigation on the ground more difficult. They will also destroy vantage points if you grapple to them too often. In addition, they are psychologically conditioned against becoming Terrified. Enemies having their own gadgets and tactics to combat your own adds a new layer to the stealth as well as making Hugo Strange more threatening and intelligent by proxy. Did I mention I love Gameplay-Story Integration?

I of course can't properly discuss the stealth system in this game without bringing up Mr Freeze. There is little I can add that the video didn't already explain, but Mr Freeze is essentially an eye-opener to beginning players, revealing to them the toolkit they have available and opening them up to more advanced techniques. Every time I return to this game and I come across the Mr Freeze fight, I have a moment where I'm like "Oh, you can do that!?" to this day, which is the mark of superb game design. Recently, I learned that you could use a Remote Electrical Charge on generators to magnetize enemies' guns and disarm them, and this was after encountering Mr Freeze on a new playthrough encouraged me to experiment with them more. It's difficult to get the concept of a "Stealth Boss" right, so it's all the more impressive that this one is considered one of the greats. It truly feels like a battle of wits between two comic book super-geniuses, while still being accessible enough to the average player. Mr Freeze is the gold standard in terms of Supervillain encounters, but Ra's al Ghul, Solomon Grundy, and Clayface are noteworthy standouts as well.

The Investigation is a major step up as well, a far cry from following trails of fingerprints and DNA. Here, you're investigating victims of Hush and Deadshot, locating patterns in their MO to triangulate their base of operations. In Deadshot's case, you're tracing the trajectory of bullets, and connecting surfaces that they ricochet off of to find the point they were fired from. These moments feel right out of the comics they originated from. I don't remember anyone ever complaining about the Investigation in Arkham Asylum, but they found ways to refine and polish it anyway, and I commend them for it.

Players often disregard Riddler's sidequest in this game in particular as a tedious fetchquest, but it's not that at all and actually awesome. 

I made a Twitter thread addressing this perception, but here's the tl;dr version:

"440 Riddler Trophies" seems daunting and tedious, but that number is actually misleading. A lot of it isn't actually Trophy collecting and are physical challenges based on traversal, or simply using Special Combo moves or gadget upgrades you unlock. You can knock out a lot of the Riddles by scanning unique parts of the environment and a lot of Trophies themselves by simply picking them up along the main story path. Subsequent playthroughs will also save your progress on these, meaning you don't have to start over if you start a New Game Plus. 

Hitting milestones on these Riddler challenges unlocks an Enigma Machine, a riddle Cypher you solve in order to reveal the location of a hostage. These locations are Riddler Rooms, which are amazing. It's a shame that no one ever talks about these cleverly designed and comic-faithful Riddler Rooms, instead focusing on the Trophies as a negative. The last area where you get the drop on him is incredibly satisfying as well. 

Obviously, Kevin and Mark Hammil give incredible performances here and bounce off each other perfectly as Batman and Joker. They could do it in their sleep at this point. 

There's an incredible twist at the end involving Joker that few Batman stories hold a candle to, and is written so cleverly you believe that even Batman is surprised by it. I said before that Scarecrow's final nightmare in Asylum alone is worth playing that game or at least seeing a playthrough for, but this one completely blows that out of the water and ends the story in a very bold and solemn way.

There are expansions for the story mode, but when I say "this story is perfect", I'm referring to the base game. Your enjoyment of the DLC may vary.

Batman: Arkham Origins

I remember seeing this trailer in a Gamestop after I had beaten Arkham City to 100% completion, and was hyped for a new Batman game, since I was left craving more.

Deathstroke was an exciting addition, since with Asylum and Origins we had just about exhausted most of Batman's lore and villains, so it made sense that we start moving outward to other DC universe characters. We had cameos and little nods to Metropolis, Keystone, and Queen Industries, but Slade was the first time we had an external DC character have a major role in one of these games.

The general consensus when it comes to Origins is that it's a glitchy, unbalanced mess with a flawed story, but has cool moments and awesome boss fights.

As for the glitches, I can't speak for all the versions of the game as I only play the Xbox 360 version, but thanks to one of the game modes I've probably poured enough accumulated hours into specific parts of the game repeatedly to be considered an unofficial QA tester, and I've encountered a few bugs here and there but nothing that majorly affected my overall experience. It's by no means the Sonic 06 of Batman games. 

The story also contradicts a lot that happens in the previous games, but I always considered it its own standalone Batman story that happened to have Arkham-based mechanics, which is what it was, until Arkham Knight retconned it into the timeline. We'll get to that later.

Origins takes us two years into Batman's career, when he was still busting mobs and supervillains in Gotham were scant. After toppling the Falcones, it leaves behind a power vacuum, giving Black Mask the opportunity to become the new criminal kingpin of Gotham. After neutralizing a riot at Blackgate Prison incited by Black Mask on Christmas Eve, Batman soon discovers that Sionis has placed a 50 million dollar bounty on him, prompting DC's deadliest assassins to come hunt him down. 

Sure, that premise isn't going to win any academy awards anytime soon, but it's perfectly fine for a game centered around Batman, and not every story has to be a Triple A production to be good. It takes the "Everyone here is out to get you" aspect of Arkham Asylum and extends it to the entire city, every street crook and even the police are attempting to cash in on that bounty.

While this retrospective is centered around Kevin Conroy, Batman here is instead played by Roger Craig Smith. That's right, Batman is played by Sonic the Hedgehog. It honestly speaks to his range as a voice actor, and I'd place it somewhere between Kevin and Christian Bale's performance as Batman. He can convey softer emotions like the former, but can also be rigid and rough without sounding too gravelly like the latter. I honestly wouldn't mind hearing him voice Batman more often, because his delivery is seamless, and makes you believe this is a younger, angrier Batman. 

I also must say they did a good job of making Batman look intimidating. Having him up against a saturated backdrop, making his glowing eyes and Bat symbol pop, really looking like a supernatural being surrounded by darkness from the perspective of other characters. It also speaks true to his status as a mythic figure this early in his career. There are quite a few scenes where they present Batman like this and I'm here for it.

There are some wholesome moments with Alfred, which I appreciate. Just because this is an angrier Batman doesn't mean he has to be cruel or callous to everyone. Alfred is the only family he has left. While they have their spats, family relations are often complicated and their interactions feel authentic.

Alfred is the only person he trusts and opens up to, and his character arc in this game is learning to open up to others. Particularly, this is before his friendship with Gordon, who is Captain at this time. The GCPD is corrupt in this period, with Gordon attempting to be a good cop in spite of his crooked peers. They don't know or trust each other yet though, but over time they learn they need each other to change Gotham for the better. 

Ok… I have to address the elephant in the room. Joker gets shoehorned into the story about 3 hours into the game. Not only is this a bit too early for Joker to appear, this story was advertised as Batman vs DC Assassins, and it feels like we were fooled into another Batman and Joker story.

That being said, while I fundamentally disagree with Joker being in this game at all, I still applaud the overall presentation. Every scene with Joker is a spectacle, complimented by the voice performance of Troy Baker, who emulates a younger version of Hammil's Joker perfectly. 

And…yes. The boss fights ARE awesome. The constant threat of the assassins adds tension knowing that they could get the drop on you at any moment. It takes the Invisible Predator aspect of Batman's stealth and turns it on its head.  And that's on display here. Batman attempts hiding in the elevator's emergency hatch, but Bane sees right through his trick and pulls him right through. Joker tries to steal the scene, but Bane is in complete control. Honestly, they should have just let him be the main villain instead of Joker.

Batman is woefully unprepared for this fight, as Bane easily overpowers him. You can feel his desperation as you try to keep up with him with Special Combos, gadgets, and waiting for your Shock Gloves to recharge as you hold him off just long enough for Gordon and his strike team to arrive. 

The fight with Deathstroke is spectacular as well, but is a bit too early, which is a letdown considering how big a deal he was in the marketing. I wish he got two fights like Bane did, where in the first fight he's testing Batman, but the second fight it's personal and he's actively trying to kill him. It's a bit weird how he gets knocked out once and he just lets him go after the bounty gets called off, you'd think he'd take it personally like he does with Dick Grayson and the other Titans, but this is Arkhamverse Slade so maybe he's different.

With all these fights, of course there's been improvements to the combat system. The game effectively uses Arkham City as a template for its gameplay, which isn't a bad thing since I've already gushed about that game so much. The Special Combo Takedowns are all back, as well as the Batclaw, Batarang, and Explosive Gel quickfire gadgets. There's also new gadgets like the Concussion Detonator which… ok I'm not going to sugar coat it, the thing sucks and there's only a few specific situations that I actually use it. There's also Glue Grenades, which are mechanical replacements for Mr Freeze's weapons from AC.

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Batman will now lock on to enemies in combat, and get into a ready stance. It doesn't affect gameplay a whole lot, it's just a neat detail because in the chronologically later games, Batman casually just stands there, and can counter enemies without getting into a stance or even looking at them. Character growth represented in gameplay, I love it.

And of course, there are the Shock Gloves. I personally never found them too "broken", but then again I always play on the higher difficulties and more challenging game modes given I have a lot of experience with Arkham games. You are going to NEED these things on New Game Plus and I Am the Night mode.

There are some new enemy types, such as Venom users. You will need to use Special Combo moves or the Shock Gloves to disable their backpacks, reverting them back to normal enemies. Martial Artists will also Counter your attacks, giving the combat some additional depth.

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All the mechanics from AC are integrated into the stealth as well. Little is changed other than new stealth rooms to learn and new gadgets to play with. Patrolling thugs still adapt to your playstyle, destroying vantage points, laying mines, and dropping grenades in maintenance hatches.

Bane's crew, the Santa Prisca inmates, are effectively stand-ins for Tyger Guards, since they are more intelligent and organized than normal enemies. They are especially challenging to deal with, and to make up for it you are given the Remote Claw, a new gadget that allows you to attach a wire between two anchor points from a distance. You can use it to knock two enemies together, remotely string them up from gargoyles, or knock objects like fire extinguishers into them. You get three Remote Claw based knockouts per room, otherwise it's unlimited for distraction and room traversal. 

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With combat and stealth being similar with some added tweaks, the Investigation is given a major revamp. Detective Mode now has a feature called Crime Scene Reconstruction, which plays out AR simulations when you scan for clues, which you can then fast forward and rewind for additional details. This is a neat way of externalizing Batman's inner thoughts to the player. It's a bit weird though that he has this feature in a prequel but not the other two games, but my headcanon is that as he improved at Investigation with time he no longer needed it and could do it all in his head, kind of like the combat stance comparison from earlier. 

Overall, Arkham Origins, while it has its flaws, is still a highly fun and satisfying experience, and a welcome addition to the franchise. 

Batman: Arkham Knight 

If you care, there are going to be MAJOR SPOILERS regarding this game and Arkham City's plot, and if you don't want to be spoiled I recommend skipping to the next section.

This is still a tribute, so I don't want to focus too much on the negatives, here is instead a video that well summarizes it (even if I have my personal disagreements with his issues regarding City, but that's a topic for another day) and a bulleted list so we can go ahead and move on to the good parts:

• Arkham Knight has this obsessive need to "innovate", tacking on a bunch of mechanics that feel more like cheap gimmicks than anything.  This classic ProZD video sums it up perfectly.

• Everyone down to Batman feels like a shallow stereotype of themselves rather than the faithful representations they were in the last three games.

• Batman has an iedetic memory, meaning he can remember everything with perfect recall. Batman should have figured out who the Arkham Knight was as soon as he heard him speak. Even if he had his doubts or was in denial, he has a device in this game that synthesizes voices. The fact he didn't do any of that is textbook plot-induced stupidity in its most literal form.

• Batman has no reason to suddenly adopt a fatalistic outlook. He's been poisoned, shot, and injured, and has had the entire city attempting to gun him down. He has been through exponentially worse and never given up.

• The Batmobile, while fun at first, is strongly over-utilized, outnumbering the more important stealth and combat sections about 3 to 1. Even the Riddler Rooms require the Batmobile now. This weird overuse of the Batmobile has given this game the nickname "Batman: World of Tanks".

• Personal nitpick, but why does the Batmobile always have to look like a huge tank ever since Batman Begins? What happened to the more sleek, stylized design used in Asylum? It's not 2005 anymore, you guys.

• Joker in this game is unnecessary. It's a problem with a lot of modern Batman stories. Joker can't live without Batman, but contrary to popular belief Batman can absolutely live without the Joker, and we were ready to explore that.

• A lot of repeated story beats from City. Scarecrow lording over the city and the Arkham Knight's Militia just feel like Hugo Strange and Tyger again. 

• The Arkham Knight is a huge wasted opportunity. He's the spitting image of Prometheus, and that's honestly who I thought it was as he's THE Anti-Batman. Hush was setup in the last game, imagine the mind blow moment when the Knight is unmasked and Bruce sees his own face. Instead, if you even have a surface level knowledge of Batman, you'll think, "No, that's too obvious, they wouldn't do that" but then they do.

• Jason turning his helmet red at the end is like one of those movies with an established, well-liked character where they're misrepresented the whole time, only for them to go "Hey guys look, it's that thing you like about the character" at the very end.

All that being said, there are still things I like about this game. Kevin and Mark are reprising their roles, which is always a treat. And technically Joker isn't in Arkham Knight except when they show his body in the beginning. He's still dead, he's just a Scarecrow Toxin-induced hallucination. This means that anything Joker says or does comes from Batman's psyche. Take this moment here for example:

People often have these misguided issues regarding Batman, like "Batman brutalizes the mentally ill", but it's not like Batman media itself doesn't directly address these issues. While Batman has actively tried to rehabilitate his villains (see the end of Killing Joke and basically any Two-Face story), they repeatedly refuse his help and still endanger and kill innocents. Nevertheless, this shows Batman still has his insecurities regarding how he deals with criminals, and he feels he should do better even after all this time. 

I almost squealed with excitement when I got this scene. After being underutilized in Origins we now get round 2 with Deathstroke? Hell yes.

Arkham Knight actually handles its post-game content well, and given modern game business practices, I'm surprised yet thankful they didn't relegate this to DLC. Not only is the prospect of another boss fight with Slade exciting, the way he takes over the Militia is very reminiscent of his more "Mastermind" take on the character from the Teen Titans animated series, while also being a nod to his comic origin of being ex-military. It's like a love letter to all the best incarnations of the character from DC media. 

Unfortunately, instead of another incredible boss battle like the one we got in Origins… it's another tank fight.

Well, at least that was fun while it lasted, and it makes sense story-wise that Batman wouldn't risk facing him head-on again if he didn't have to. It's still a letdown gameplay wise, but at least the characterization and presentation was great. 

Building on the external DC rep from Origins, Knight draws a lot more attention to the fact that other characters are out there in the Arkhamverse. You can listen in on street conversations, and you'll hear mentions of the Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Superman. You'll see billboards for Lexcorp, the Daily Planet, and STAR Labs all around Gotham. There's a voicemail you can listen to from Lex Luthor that he's interested in Bruce's Applied Sciences Division. While it doesn't affect gameplay, it's interesting to think about where Rocksteady intends to go with this, since they've always followed up on little teases like this in the past.

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/arkhamcity/images/d/dd/Areal_with_Ice.png/revision/latest?cb=20160430212317

Azreal is in this game too, following up from his appearance in City. His design and gameplay segments are really cool.

He promises to take up the Batman mantle if something happens to Bruce, and contrary to his comics counterpart, honors his no killing policy.

Batman trains him through various combat and stealth challenges to test him, and there are hints dropped that actually pay forward in the game's conclusion. 

https://images.app.goo.gl/FjbqYWqpWMXKsFZbA

Like I said before, the Batmobile segments are fun at first. If there weren't so many tank battle segments that overshadowed the other gameplay elements, if they were cut out of the side content a fair bit, and if the tank battles themselves were just a bit more varied, I wouldn't mind them so much. 

https://images.app.goo.gl/bLz82MCrxQHU56LJ8

Speaking of, we still do get plenty of gameplay regarding the usual formula of stealth, combat, and Investigation. A new Batsuit is given, which looks really cool and sports a few new features. One of which is Fear Takedown, which you can use to chain together Takedowns against groups of enemies during stealth segments. 

That trademark Arkham Combat is still here, with new tweaks such as being able to pick up weapons off the ground and arena-specific Environmental Takedowns. In addition, other characters including Robin, Catwoman, and Nightwing can join in for very satisfying Team Takedowns. 

Crime Scene Reconstruction also returns, and there's not much I can say about it that I didn't already for Origins. 

https://images.app.goo.gl/veMkGbhLdTyZPsrc8

The ending confused the hell out of me at first, and I honestly didn't feel motivated enough to 100% Knight like I did Asylum and City, so I'll be honest I looked it up on YouTube.

And then I promptly looked up an "Arkham Knight True Ending Explained" video. I felt it fell flat at the time, but after giving it a lot of thought, I really came around to liking it a lot.

After Batman is publicly unmasked by Scarecrow, Bruce fakes his death and starts terrorizing criminals as a seemingly supernatural entity, presumably using Fear Gas. Criminals now fear the "Terrorbat", rumored to be the vengeful spirit of Batman from beyond the grave.

I really like this, it's a cool way of "resetting" the mythic status of Batman after he had become a public figure, and seems like the type of contingency plan Batman would have just in case a situation like this would happen. 

I wish I could say that these positives outweigh the problems, but it's the inverse situation with Origins. Rather than being good in spite of its flaws, the flaws weigh down the overall experience, and there's a hint of a good game buried underneath all these setbacks.

One good thing this game brought is that fans now look back at Origins with newfound appreciation, because while Knight was contrived and derivative of what came before, Origins at least tried to shake up the existing formula with a fresh premise. It might seem unfair to say that the negative aspects of a game allows people to reflect on the positive aspects of another game, but I think this is good for the franchise overall. Three great games and one mediocre game is not a bad track record. 

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While the Arkham games ended on a bittersweet note, I'm definitely optimistic for DC games as a whole going forward. While a bit review-bombed for not holding up to the legacy of the Arkham games, Gotham Knights was still a decent and well-written game about the Bat Family. The Arkham Games also laid the seeds for future DC games, and I'm holding out hope for Superman getting the same treatment that the Arkham series gave Batman. 

The basic framework is there, Detective Mode is practically Xray Vision already, and the gliding mechanics can work as a sort of proto-flight. The Injustice Games have also shown us that a playable Superman can totally work. A Rocksteady Superman game was in development at one point, I just hope that dream doesn't fade into obscurity. 

I'm curious for what Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League brings us, and it's the last time we're going to hear Kevin Conroy's iconic voice as Batman, much like the Two-Face animated movie was the last time we heard Adam West as Batman, so I'm definitely checking it out.

I have been Hero’s Shade and once again…

Thank you, Kevin.