Batman: Arkham Knight - PlayStation 4

This review will contain minor spoilers to Arkham Knight and major spoilers for Arkham City. You have been warned. Batman: Arkham Knight is the last game from Rocksteady in the Arkham Trilogy. While Origins is canon and alluded to in the game; the game is still Rocksteady’s last Batman game. Whether this is the last in the series is debatable because I have a good feeling there will be more Arkham games in the future, but I digress. Months have passed after Arkham City and the death of the Joker. Gotham City has been peaceful with the crime rate going down. Then Scarecrow emerges from the shadows and threatens the city with is new potent fear toxin, forcing the city to evacuate. He is not alone in his vendetta against Batman. He is with the new villain the Arkham Knight who has an unknown history with Batman. Batman still haunted by the deaths of the Joker and his girlfriend Talia Al Ghul must stop Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight from destroying his beloved city. Batman Arkham Knight is a fitting conclusion to the Arkham Trilogy. Rocksteady did its best to include everything and the kitchen sink. First of all the graphics look amazing the rain, the character models all look amazing. The city is three times larger than Arkham city with Gotham being divided into three different islands. The character models have been changed to fit the new consoles and the new characters look amazing the Bat suit is my favorite redesign and my favorite in the entire Saga of games. Rocksteady is finally ditching the underwear on the outside for a more armor looking suit. This is one of the best looking games out there and it also manages to run bug free with no crashes or frame rate stuttering, unless you play it on PC which was a poorly done port so wait until its fix if your on PC. Gameplay is the same free flow Arkham combat but polished and refined to perfection. With new abilities and gadgets but Batman isn’t the only one to get upgrades. The goons ravaging Gotham also have new tricks up their sleeves with new tactics during the predator gameplay and even charging at Batman during large fights. These are the deadliest enemies in the entire Arkham Series and Batman is going to need all his tools, which includes the Batmobile. The Batmoblie is the center in the Marketing and a big part of the game even being featured in the cover. However the Batmobile is a double edge sword in the game. It is fun to ride around Gotham it handles great and I even love solving Riddler puzzles with it. However it ends up being forced on you way too much throughout the game. It has a tank mode feature and in the most unbatman way you have to shoot tanks with it. The tanks are drones so Batman doesn’t kill anybody but still it so off putting, The game doesn’t stop with spamming unless horde of tanks it also has stealth tank elements. No that is not an oxymoron the game literally has you stealth around in your tank to take out the bigger tank’s Achilles heel weakness. Too many tanks are already in the game yet the game still decides to add more. With most of the boss fights in the game being tank battles. Deathstroke makes a surprise appearance near the end of the game and I thought too myself “sweet Batman’s physical equal I can’t wait for the epic showdown.” To my complete shock that his boss fight was Batman shooting him in his tank with him being on a tank! It’s absolutely disappointing when Arkham Origins the weakest in the series had better boss fights than Arkham Knight. Batman Arkham World of Tanks aside, the game adds Dual play where Batman man teams up with his allies such as Nightwing, Robin, and Catwoman to take out the bad guys. This feature is only used in a few parts in the campaign and some side missions. Which is really disappointing since it adds a breath of fresh air to the combat. Also Rocksteady removed the challenge maps for whatever reason replacing it with inferior simulations around the city, which is a real bummer the challenge maps would go great with Dual Play. The story in Arkham Knight is great even though being sort of cliché. This is one of the darkest stories told in the Arkhamverse hence the M rating. However the identity of the Arkham Knight was boring and predictable in fact the whole story with the Arkham Knight ends up being poorly written as foreshadowing and dialogue pretty much tells you the Arkham Knight’s identity. The only way it could have surprised you is you are so new to the character Batman that you don’t know anything of the characters in the lore. The story also goes to already establish themes that the movies, cartoons and animated movies have covered. The I am going to gas the city was already seen in Batman 1989, Batman Begins, and hell even the Amazing Spiderman? Now don’t take this criticism as me hating the story because I don’t because even though its something we seen before it is told in such a unique way that it ended up being one of my favorite in the series I can’t spoil it you just have to trust me. The soundtrack is also great with it feeling very batman like and deserves a mention in this review. The Voice Acting is also phenomenal with Kevin Conroy as Batman, Jonathan Banks as Commissioner Gordon, and John Noble as Scarecrow. They real had an all-star cast in this game with a surprise role, which steals the show. In conclusion Batman: Arkham Knight is a fitting conclusion to the Trilogy. Is it my favorite game in the series? No. Arkham City was better in my opinion, however this is a solid second then Asylum and Origins; Blackgate is not worth mentioning. What is worth mentioning is this game it has some of its problems but at the end of the day this Series is still the greatest Superhero game franchise ever. I fell in love with this Universe it made me go watch the Animated movie that took place in the Arkhamverse and the Nolan Trilogy. I even ordered some comics. If a game could leave me in a state where I must consume more it is a fantastic game well worth the price. Too Long didn’t Read: Go Buy This Game!

Before I expound, here's the quick rundown... Pros: Gameplay - Batman has never been more fluid nor has had a bigger arsenal of moves and gadgets. The brawling is better than it's ever been, and much more has been added to predator mode. Combine that with all of the added Batmobile interaction, and you can't help but feel like Gotham's savior. Graphics - After all of the updates since launch, Arkham Knight is one of the best looking games available on consoles. At least on PS4, the framerate remains solid even when there are 50 different things happening in a single frame (quite literally). The draw distances are detailed, the lighting and effects are gorgeous, and the animations and physics engines are impressive. Presentation - The story is dark and gritty, the voice acting is nothing less than perfect, and the game maintains a scope that feels quite epic, even though it all takes place in Gotham City. DLC - In agreggate, I think the DLC is a worthy package. It all works together to add a lot more to your Arkham Knight experience. I particularly enjoyed the Batgirl and Catwoman Arkham Episodes, along with the Season of Infamy main game expansion. Cons: Gameplay - The Batmobile, unfortunately, also detracts from the main game experience. Several scenarios force you to use it, and the drone warfare can become incredibly tedious. Sometimes the controls for the game in general can also be overwhelming. Just when you think you get the hang of it, there are ten more button combinations to remember and master. DLC - Even though in aggregate the DLC is hefty, many of the individual pieces are a bit underwhelming. ********** For all its effort at playing it safe with what has worked for the series in the past, Arkham Knight is definitely the best Batman game ever made when the smoke pellet clears. The story is as strong (if not stronger) than it's ever been, the fighting has somehow improved on an already superior brawl system, the voice acting is nothing less than excellent, and the inclusion of the Batmobile is HALF awesome (more on that later). As is typical with a major licensed game like Arkham Knight, you can't rely on the reviews of the game when it debuts. After multiple updates and a ton of DLC, Arkham Knight is probably at least 25% better than it was at launch. A LOT of fans and media critics slammed the game for its pricey Season Pass, and then slammed it even more as that DLC came to us in very small portions. However, in aggregate, the DLC is actually pretty impressive. You get six stand-alone mini-stories called "Arkham Episodes" wherein you get to play several different characters both before and after the events of the main game, in addition to all of those characters becoming playable in most of the challenge maps. You get a great in-game expansion called "Season of Infamy" that adds four new "Most Wanted" missions with four of Gotham's most notorious villains (I'll keep it spoiler-free). You get several multi-character "Challenge Packs" that include challenge rooms from almost 50 different locations from game (some across all of the Arkham games). Then you get a ton of skins and all of the previously stated movie-themed Batmobile tracks. Is the DLC worth the $40 price tag? Relative to Season Pass pricing for other games, no, it's not. However, a case can be made that DLC for games has traditionally been "underpriced" anyway, so I had not problem throwing down an extra $10 for a package that rounds out the greatest Batman game (and probably best superhero game) ever made. Furthermore, the DLC was supposed to have ended in December, but Rocksteady threw in one more challenge pack and a the Batman Inc. suit skin as a thank you to fans. All in all, there's a good amount of content here. At the outset I mentioned my one biggest gripe with Arkham Knight. The Batmobile is both the game's biggest blessing and its biggest curse. Inclusion of the Batmobile as a stand-alone device is fantastic. Driving around the city at high speeds (especially later in the game) and ramming bad guys off the roads is exhilarating. As you upgrade its features you start to gain more control, more speed and eventually you can use it to launch you into a glide that will carry you halfway across the city. Using the Batmobile free-form and with impunity is when it really WORKS in Arkham Knight. But when you're forced to use the Batmobile during several points in the main game--that's when it fails in several instances. The biggest of these instances is the modern tank vs drone warfare. The Batmobile has two basic in-game modes: road vehicle with missile capabilities and tank vehicle with an array of military capabilities. It's cool blasting relentless numbers of military drones for the first few times they coordinate with the main story, but then when you realize that roughly 1/4 of the game is said tank warfare, suddenly it almost becomes a deal breaker. Some players may love this aspect of the game, but for me it was tedious and practically destroyed my hands a couple times (you'll see what I mean when you engage in your first battle with fifty drones). It's super intense, but not really in a good way. Furthermore, the "tank" aspect of the Batmobile actually ended up hurting the developers in the end as they were not able to incorporate ANY of the tank functionality with MOST of the awesome Batmobile DLC skins (e.g., the '89 Batmobile or even the Tumbler from the Dark Knight trilogy). This proves incredibly frustrating for many reasons, not the least of which means that you probably won't be using any of the sweet DLC skins until after you complete the main game. This makes much of the otherwise cool DLC seem like a poorly planned afterthought. I do, however, like how the Batmobile is used in The Riddler missions of the main game, and though difficult, his insane courses are pretty fun. Add to that about 30 obstacle tracks with immersive themes from all of the different Batman films (except for Schumacher's neon nightmare of crap) and 10 more in Scarecrow's dream world, and the Batmobile does sort of make up for the modern warfare tank garbage. So in the end, Arkham Knight is about three times more game than any of its predecessors, along with current gen graphics at a solid frame rate. If you like Batman like I do, then immersing yourself in his plight doesn't get any better.

間違いなくキャラクターゲーム史上最高傑作であると同時に、 アクションゲームとしても大傑作であると断言できます！ 良い点を5つほどあげようと思います 1つ目、 前作のアーカム・シティから正当に進化したコンバットは、倒れた敵を起こす新アクションや、 周辺のオブジェクトを使って敵を一撃で倒すエンバイロメント・テイクダウンを筆頭に、多彩化しており、 今作から導入されたサイドキック達と同時に戦える「デュアルプレイ」は 特にアーカムシリーズにおいても偉大な発明だと思います。 前作からの操作の違いや複雑さに最初は戸惑うかもしれませんが、 強さの絶頂期を迎えたバットマンで何十人もいる敵をノーダメージで 華麗に捌けた時の爽快感は抜群です！ 2つ目、 プレデター戦ではコンバットライクにスピーディーなアクションである、 フィアーマルチテイクダウンの導入によって、 より積極的に敵に攻撃を仕掛けることができます、ところどころ前作とは違う仕様もいくらかあり、 新しい敵である、メディックや、ブルート（ミニガンを持った大きな敵）が 追加されたことによって、難易度も上がっているような気がしますが、 一方で前作のソニックバットラングに似た働きをするボイス・シンセサイザーや、 敵の装備を撹乱することが出来るディスラプターなどの 強力なガジェットを上手く使うことによって、強敵を圧倒することができます。 敵を恐怖のどん底に突き落とし、暗闇の中からフィアーマルチテイクダウンで一網打尽に出来た時は 「I AM BATMAN!!」って感じです 3つ目、 グラフィックに関しては言わずもがな、雨粒を1粒1粒レンダリングするという 次世代機に特化した表現力で、マントに水を滴らせながら敵を倒していく バットマンは映像的に凄くカッコイイですし、1つ1つのオブジェクトや建物も とても丁寧な作りになっていて、キャラクター達の表情も活き活きとしていて驚くほどリアルです。 4つ目、 基本的な移動手段であるグラップネルとグライドに関しても 街の広さに合わせて、信じられないくらい速いスピードで移動できるようになっていて、 ビギンズの時のようにだだっ広さを感じることもなく楽しいです、 人によってはこれだけで移動しちゃうのでは、というほどに自由にゴッサムの上空を飛翔できます 5つ目、 ストーリーでは序盤中盤にかけて、“彼”の登場以外の盛り上がりはやや欠けるものの、 終盤とその演出に関してはビギンズも含めたシリーズの、どの演出、展開よりも優れていますし、 サブミッションを7つクリアすると見れるナイトフォール・プロトコルでも、 アーカムシリーズの最後を飾るにふさわしい“バットマンの死”であるエンディングだと思いました。 そして今作4つほど悪い点を上げるとするなら 1つ目、 今作の目玉であるバットモービル、 パシュートモードに関しては個人的に特に操作が難しいとも思いませんでした、 カーチェイス戦は特に楽しいですし、モービルから一気に上空に飛び上がれるイジェクトも、 今まで以上にグライドが楽しくなりました。 しかしながらバトルモードを使用する頻度の多さと、そのバトルモードでの戦闘はやや単調で ゲーム全体のテンポを悪くしています。 2つ目、 ボス戦、手抜きと言わざるを得ない出来です 基本的にはコンバット、あるいはプレデター、バットモービル戦に少しだけ要素を加えたような感じで、 過去作での、ミニゲーム的あるいは演出的に優れたボス戦のようなものが殆ど無いです。 3つ目、 オープンワールド性、オープンワールドを謳っていますし、確かに街の作り込みも尋常ではないですが、 その割にはランダムミッションのようなものがなく、 設定上市民も街に一切いないので、サブミッションをひと通りクリアしてしまうと 密度が低く感じてしまう点で肩透かしを食らうかもしれません。 4つ目、 新規プレイヤーへの不親切、シリーズファンには関係ないことですが ゲームシステム的にも、物語的にも、あまり新規の方向けでは無い気がします、 少なくともシティを経験してないと物語の重要な部分で？マークが頭の上に出てくると思われる上、 操作部分でもあまり親切とは言いがたいので、詰んでしまう可能性があります。 総評 いくらかあるテンポの悪い部分や盛り上がりに欠ける部分を覆い尽くすほどの アクションゲーム史に残る偉大なアクションシステムであるフリーフローコンバットの最終進化と、 それに勝るとも劣らないプレデター戦の進化、 壮大で作りこまれたゴッサム・シティと、多彩化した豊富なミッション、 ケビン・コンロイを筆頭とする素晴らしいボイスアクトに シリーズファンにとっては胸熱である演出と展開の数々、 5つ星以外に何をつけろっていうんですか……本当に素晴らしく偉大なゲームだと思います。 アーカム・シティの時、ジョーカーがGOTY授賞式で「Arkham World」の脚本を持って予告していた 4年前からずっと楽しみにしていたゲームだったので、 本当に本当に、人生において最も楽しめたゲームでした、それではこのへんで BE THE BATMAN !!

Llegó antes de lo previsto. Sin daños y completamente sellado. El juego es una joya. Estoy muy feliz de haberlo conseguido a tan buen precio.

Bought as present for my Son who had been wanting this game for his PS4. Did have a few issues with it being a warehouse deal that was not sold as stated but Amazon soon put this right. My Son was very pleased his present and the game lived up to expectations

Loved by my Son..

Un excelente final para la trilogía de Batman. Conserva el mismo sistema de pelea de las anteriores entregas pero con algunas mejoras que hacen mejores las luchas. La historia es muy buena, el mapa es muy grande y está lleno de misiones secundarias y cosas para hacer. Además el Batimovil es un elemento muy divertido de usar. Si no has jugado esta serie de juegos realmente te recomendaría hacerlo, es buenísima.