Sunday, January 8, 2017

Jack Red reviews Batman: Arkham series (main games)

Hi everyone I'm Jack Red, I finally get to do one of my personal favorite video game series. I grew up as an huge Batman fan not having many Batman games. Up til recently Batman: Arkham Asylum, I started getting more good Batman games or those with Batman in it. Easily one of the absolute best & most solid game series to date. I really can't recommend all four of these enough to do them justice alone.

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)

Currently the world record holder for the most critical acclaim super hero game. Batman: Arkham Asylum was an long awaited love letter to their fans. This is an amazing game holding up surprisingly well. There isn't many stories taking almost entirely taking place in Arkham Asylum. Every character is done incredibly well. Some of the finest in many aspects. A lot of people complain about the combat system, I like it. My only real problem with this game is there wasn't an new game plus. For those that doesn't know what it is, you can play the entire game again with all your upgrades. Therefore you don't have to start from scratch does make later playthroughs more enjoyable. Most bosses were too similar but those that weren't really did stand out. Yeah The Joker was very easy even on the hardest difficulty as the final boss. Of course you can attempt to take down The Riddler by collecting Riddler trophies and doing stuff. Some prefer doing challenges with only Batman being an playable character. They did an awesome job nailing how it exactly feels like being Batman. I am beyond speechless how damn good this game actually is.

2. Batman: Arkham City (2011)

One of the absolute greatest video game sequels ever made. Holy crap Batman: Arkham City is very good in every aspect. You get to explore an much bigger world. This time you have to interrogate Riddler henchmens. Each one is hidden among most enemy groups. You get a lot more costumes this time around. Adding Catwoman, Nightwing and Robin as playable characters for challenges. Both Catwoman & Robin are playable in dlc parts of the campaign. Some of my favorite gadgets are present in this game. I got to say in boss fights alone, Arkham City really gave us some great ones. Personally Mr. Freeze & Clayface are the best among them. I also like you get side missions with some having their own stories. These do come off like extra episodes separate from the main campaign. Not much improved in the combat system. One of the toughest challenges in any video game series. Once again every character was done very good. Each one bringing something truly unique. I highly recommend this game especially among Batman fans like myself.

3. Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)

An prequel set five years before Batman: Arkham Asylum. Before I start talking about the actual game. Let's bring up some of it's history first. The game company not TMNT character, Rocksteady passed working on Batman: Arkham Origins. In order to go straight into Batman: Arkham Knight. Warner Brothers decided to have an inside game team work on this game. They attempted to the best of their abilities recreating what the fans loved about the previous games. Despite reports of bugs including save glitch in Xbox 360 version. Honestly I was very impressed how good Arkham Origins was. Sure the story wasn't as good as the previous two games. To me it was better than Arkham Knight's. Some of the best bosses in the entire series. They did their own take on taking down The Riddler. Which I do respect since doing so can be tricky. This change in developers did change the voices of Batman & The Joker. Although there was many reasons behind that. The new voices for both characters are amazing. Challenges are back with Deathstroke added as an playable character. How awesome is it to have one of Batman's worst enemies as an playable character. I am also an huge Deathstroke fan, I thought they did an amazing job with him. I also like you can change costumes in the bat cave. After taking down towers under The Riddler's control. You can fast travel by using batwing not to be confused with the character of the same name. I felt important side missions were very good rivaling the main campaign itself. It is an step up from Arkham Knight but not by much. In all honestly Arkham Origins has a lot of great things going for it. Usually in most cases when game companies change developers. Their next game comes out upsetting a lot of people. In that regard I'm impressed with this game.

Update: Late 2017, I got to play Cold, Cold Heart dlc. This follows the conclusion of the campaign. One of my favorite Mr. Freeze's origin stories. They add some new stuff to the game that can only be experience in this dlc. Can I be honest I prefer this over Harley Quinn's Revenge of Arkham City. I do recommend this dlc for many reasons. I also did try out Initiation dlc. Both of these adds more tougher challenge maps. I do like Initiation dlc acts as a prequel story in Bruce's past before he became Batman.

4. Batman: Arkham Knight (2015)

The end of an great time line in any Batman universe. WOW Batman: Arkham Knight is an very good experience. We finally get to drive around in the Batmobile. They added more variety of challenges including those for Batmobile. The most playable characters in the entire series. You can get Arkham Episodes or Season of Infamy adding more story. In Arkham Episodes is similar to Catwoman's parts in Arkham City. Season of Infamy adds four more missions going after more villains. Majority of dlc adds costumes & skins for Batmobile. I will be honest in dlc area, Arkham Knight is the best. Although Arkham Knight does have an great story. I strongly felt several key moments could've been done better. Majority of bosses doesn't even feel like an boss fight. Sadly most dlc bosses are much closer to what I expected from the campaign. An better way of describing it is how they work greatly ruins the experience. An great example of this was most of Arkham Knight's boss fights. His second boss fight is in an big heavily armored tank very limited in areas to attack. Even at an short distance his standard attack will take away most of your health. But getting to his final phrase you simply go right up to him & fire away. Some you simply take down no real fight needed. I expected more from these bosses especially Deathstroke. I mean come on he was the best boss from Arkham Origins. They gave us such an terrible boss fight. I didn't like how they changed the upgrading system. I felt they over complex parts of it making the process of leveling more frustrating. I really should mention what could be an game breaker to many people. Yes you could beat the game but you won't get the true ending. Unless you go the distance of fully 100% that will take many hours. Especially using an guide to find Riddler trophies & how to win at his challenges. Guess what if you actually go through all that trouble. Unless previous games he gets taken down shortly after doing all of that. You with Catwoman fight him in an intense boss fight. Personally I loved how The Riddler was done in the previous games more. I really didn't like Arkham Knight version with an passion. Also despite having the largest map of the series. I felt previous game maps especially Arkham Origins' map was much better & simply more interesting. I know I am hitting this game hard but it is still an impressive game. An much better game than Metal Gear Solid V in it's entirely.

Now I know some of you are curious to see if I have an list or simply rate them as one big game. I will be ranking each one separately based on many factors. I know parts of this not everyone will agree. I still felt like this was an important part of my blog.
4. Batman: Arkham Knight
3. Batman: Arkham Origins
2. Batman: Arkham City
1. Batman: Arkham Asylum

I really hope you guys like hearing my thoughts about this Batman series. Possibly one of the greatest universes within the DC multiverse. Rocksteady and Warner Brothers really did so much justice to everything into Batman. Words can't do enough to fully explain how thankfully all four of these are made. Until next time I'm Jack Red and I will see all of you later.

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