When it comes to these three games, I was pretty late to the
game (pun intended) in playing them. I actually didn’t get to play Arkham
Asylum (AA) until 2011. It was the first game I played on my PS3. I don’t exactly
know when I got Arkham City (AC), but it had to have been a while after it was
released. I rarely get games when they come out. Plus, I was in grad school. I also waited a
while for Arkham Origins (AO), but that was more for reasons I’ll get to later.
Other than AO, I’ve played these games more than once.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: AA was released in 2009. In the story, Batman is
escorting the Joker back to Arkham Asylum again. Unfortunately, this was all a
part of Joker’s plan as he and other inmates take over the island. Batman has
to face some of his deadliest enemies and save everyone on the island.
I think I can say that this game is awesome. There’s no
other word I can give it. The game is as perfect as it can be. The story, written
by Paul Dini, is pretty good for the most part. The characters presented here are
really put to good use. The graphics and designs are pretty well done. The
voice acting is also pretty good. Both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are back
playing their respective characters and it is glorious. The game also has a
nice, eerie soundtrack and that makes sense because the game takes place in an
insane asylum.
Joker Smash!!!!
The gameplay is pretty awesome. You get to be the Batman here.
You have the moves and the gadgets to use in order to do the job. It all works really well. The boss battles
are interesting and pretty unique for the most part. My favorites are the ones
with Killer Croc and Poison Ivy. While the Scarecrow sections aren’t
necessarily boss sections, those sections are really good and creepy. I also
enjoyed the Ridder parts of the game where you have to solve certain riddles
and find items.
I don’t really have anything bad to say about the game. It
might get a little repetitive at times, but that’s how most games are. I also
thought they made some of the Riddler items too hard to get. There were some
character designs that were a little lackluster. One of them is Bane’s
monstrosity of a design. The final battle is also a little disappointing. You
basically fight a Hulk version of the Joker. It’s a bit lackluster but it it’s
always cool to beat the crap out of the Joker. Other than those things, this
game is awesome. If you haven’t played it, then what are you waitin’ for?
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: AC was released towards the end of 2011. A lot of
good games came out that year. We had Skyrim, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, L.A.
Noire, Infamous 2, and Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Batman: AC is definitely a part of that list.
The story takes place 6 months later. Doctor Hugo Strange has gotten Gotham
City to make a part of Gotham into a giant prison. All inmates from Gotham’s
prisons are thrown into this place. Batman knows Strange is up to something
bad, so he sneaks into Arkham City to stop the evil plans. Batman also has to
deal with a dying Joker who has infected Batman with his poisonous blood.
This game is the definition of awesome. It’s literally one
of my favorite games for any console. I’ve read where someone compared the
Arkham series to movie franchises like the Terminator franchise. If Arkham
Asylum was the first movie, than Arkham City is Judgement Day. Everything is
dialed up to 11 in this game. The story is good for the most part. We get more
villains and even some heroes this time around. While you have the main mission,
you also have some cool side missions to play with this time as well. My
favorites were the ones involving Victor Zsasz, Deadshot, and Hush. The voice
acting is also top-notch for the most part.
Possibly one of the best boss battles ever.
The gameplay is also expanded upon and the world is much
bigger. The fighting mechanics are pretty cool and turn Batman into more of a
BMS (bad motha’ sucka’) than he already is. The boss battles are really good
here. You have a lot of diversity and uniqueness again. The battle with Mr.
Freeze is probably one of the best boss battles ever. The boss battles with
Ra’s al Ghul, Clayface, and Solomon Grundy were also really good. The Riddler
quests are also as good and confusing as before. The music is also pretty
awesome. It’s like a mix of Danny Elfman’s score and Hans Zimmer’s score from
the movies.
I really don’t have any issues with this game either. You
might have a couple of voices that don’t fit right. I wasn’t really fond of
Ra’s al Ghul’s voice. I think there’s one side mission that really didn’t
amount to that much. Other than that and a couple of other small nitpicks, this
game is perfect. It’s definitely one of the best.
Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: AO was recently released in 2013. As you can tell by
the title, it’s a prequel to the other games. Since Rocksteady was working on
Batman: Arkham Knight (coming in 2015), WB Montreal developed the game. The
story takes place during Batman’s early years of crimefighting. Black Mask has
ordered out a hit on Batman and eight assassins come to town on Christmas Eve
in order to kill him. Batman also has to deal with the Gotham City Police
Department who are also hunting him down. Things start to get worse when he
ends up facing one of his deadliest enemies for the first time.
I was pretty hesitant with this game when word came out
about the game’s glitches. It was also being done by someone else, so I was
worried that the game would be bad. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. This is a
good game. I don’t know how it stacks up to the other two, but it is really
good. This might have the best story out of all of them. The story has some
interesting twists and turns along the way. The voice acting is adequate for
the most part. The replacements for Batman and the Joker were pretty good. This
also has Bane at his best I believe.
Another Deathstroke cameo... at least he is Deathstroke here!
The gameplay is more or less the same from Batman: AC. The
fighting mechanics are still good. You also get some new gadgets to play around
with. Detective mode gets a bit of an overhaul here and it’s a pretty
interesting one. The boss battles are good, but I will say that they are really
reminiscent of boss battles from previous games. My favorite battles are the
ones with Deathstroke, Firefly, and Bane. I liked most of the side
missions here especially the one with the Mad Hatter. The soundtrack is also
pretty good. The game also has a multiplayer mode and it’s okay.
Now, there are some big issues here, but they’re not deal
breakers for me. There are some really noticeable glitches in the game. I
haven’t had any really bad ones but it is distracting. The controls have also
been switched a bit and that was pretty annoying for a while especially when
you’ve gotten used to the ones from previous games. The game is also basically another
“Batman vs. The Joker” game. While I don’t have a big problem with that, I do
hope the next game changes it up a bit. I also thought some of the graphics were
a little weird. They didn’t really match up well with the previous games.
While I had more issues with the game than any of the
others, it’s still a pretty good playthrough. As I said, the story is really
good, the gameplay is excellent, and the voice acting is good. Check it out if
you haven’t yet.
..................................................
Well, that pretty much wraps it up for this post. Luckily,
we’ll be getting one more from Rocksteady called Batman: Arkham Knight. It was
supposed to come out towards the end of this year, but it got pushed to 2015. Judging
by the trailers, it looks to be their best game yet. I can only hope it will be
good. I can also hope that a certain Man of Steel will get a good game similar
to these. While some say it can’t work, I think it can if someone really puts
in their work. Well, I’m out. Peace, God Bless, and remember to charge that
controller.
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