A developer, who have already made the brave narrative move to kill off Batman’s most revered foe, The Joker, are poising to end the trilogy with the same passion and heart they started it with introducing a new villain, The Arkham Knight. With Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocksteady are taking the next step forward in innovation. It not only makes for a memorable game, but a fine addition to the caped crusader’s back catalogue in all forms. And it wasn’t an unintentional move hiring these voice actors, but one that means the characters, at least to some degree, are already familiar and established. With the cast of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprising roles that had previously edged them towards the top of the ‘best Batman/Joker’ list, making it even more of a mouth-watering experience. The story is one of the finest Batman tales you’ll come across in recent years. After all, 2009 was the height of the Bale Batman europhira which was striking the planet at the time. You’re not controlling Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man or Halle Berry as Catwoman, you’re controlling the Batman, in a situation you are experiencing for the first time.Īnd this must have been a difficult decision to make, it would have been far easier for Rocksteady to simply squeeze out a Nolan-inspired Batman game.
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Instead they created a unique superhero experience and wove in their own story, similar to what happens when an author is commissioned to create a one-off graphic novel for instance.
#Batman arkham series series
The Batman Arkham series doesn’t rely on a narrative penned by someone else, they aren’t tasked with shaping interactivity into a film and throwing it out to coincide with premieres. Villains aren’t just thrown in to make up the numbers, they are part of the notorious Arkham ethos after all, and whether you’re avoiding enchanted flora in the botanical gardens or a humanoid crocodile in the sewers, it’s all there on purpose. Platforming sections are how Batman stalks his prey, the boss battles are clever and considerately thought though and as for narrative filler, there is none, every line feels like an essential piece of the ark. The Arkham games do have these features, but not one feels shoehorned in or that it shouldn’t be there.
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Things feel out of place, particularly with the movie still fresh in your mind’s eye and makes for nothing more than a dogged experience, think of games like Catwoman, or to a lesser extent the Spider-Man tie-ins or The Incredibles all of which were average at best. This often means cramming in unnecessary platforming sections, adding repetitive boss battles and stretching out the narrative with more filler than a WAG’s forehead. The doesn’t normally happen because very often superhero games are film-tie ins, squeezing all the action and drama of a 90-minute movie into a six-hour game with no room for character or class. The change of pace comes from left field, and rather than yet another session of mindless brute smashing, it brings home the true character of Batman and his motive and state of mind, something you rarely see in a game of this ilk.
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It’s when, for the second time Batman has succumbed to Scarecrow's fear toxins, and in a hallucinogenic state, relives the night of his parents murder and the foundations of his relationship with Jim Gordon. It’s not the constant chains of endless combos, or the now iconic setting, but rather when the game takes a break from the usual. There’s one moment that stands out for me. As we optimistically glided, punched and kicked our way through the early stages of Batman: Arkham Asylum, introduced to a fascinating story, interesting characters and mechanics that actually worked, we were stumbling across the seeds of one of the finest series of the generation, let alone one of the finest superhero games. There was a point that most of us encountered back in 2009, one that changed the superhero genre forever. Articles // 24th Jun 2015 - 6 years ago // By Dom D'Angelillo How The Batman Arkham Series Redefined a Genre