{"id":77847,"date":"2015-07-17T14:52:12","date_gmt":"2015-07-17T13:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=77847"},"modified":"2015-07-17T14:52:12","modified_gmt":"2015-07-17T13:52:12","slug":"batman-arkham-knight-review-threes-a-charm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/reviews\/batman-arkham-knight-review-threes-a-charm\/","title":{"rendered":"Batman Arkham Knight review: three’s a charm?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In many respects,<\/b><\/span> Batman: Arkham Knight<\/strong><\/em> is purpose-built to deliver the ultimate Batman power fantasy. It\u2019s an opportunity to don the caped crusader\u2019s cowl and, for the first time, utilise everything the billion-dollar baby of Gotham has to offer. <\/span><\/p>\n

You can tear through streets in the Batmobile, eject into the air and glide out across the mesmerising skyline and, most importantly, stand atop Wayne Tower and look broodingly down upon the populous. <\/span><\/p>\n

But as Arkham Knight<\/strong><\/em> tries so hard to be the complete package, it fails to make the game fun on a basic and consistent level, opting to force the Batmobile down your throat at every opportunity instead of building on the gameplay we all know and have loved from Rocksteady over the years. <\/span><\/p>\n

The third and final entry in the Arkham<\/strong><\/em> series is set across a much larger playground
\nthan the one you encountered in Arkham City<\/strong><\/em>, this time under attack from Scarecrow and the titular \u2013 and forever whining \u2013 Arkham Knight<\/strong><\/em>. It\u2019s a beautiful space, a collection of three distinctive environments that feel genuinely breathtaking to traverse via Batman\u2019s returning grapple-and-glide combination. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, most of the elements that have returned from both Asylum<\/strong><\/em> and City<\/strong><\/em> play fantastically here. The free-flow combat is as slick as ever; there\u2019s nothing quite as satisfying as blitzing through a room of ten-plus thugs, leaving them a mess of crippled bones and disfigured faces, without getting so much as a scratch in return. <\/span><\/p>\n

Equally as exciting is the opportunity to once again become the world\u2019s greatest predator, \u2018incapacitating\u2019 enemies with swift attacks from the shadows and the new Fear Takedowns that let Batman take multiple enemies out of the game instantly with coma-inducing strikes. <\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s less enjoyable, however, is how Rocksteady has unnecessarily forced vehicle combat via the Batmobile into proceedings as a third pillar of the core gameplay loop. <\/span><\/p>\n

We understand, Rocksteady. You\u2019ve spent four years developing this sequel, and it contains barely any new gameplay options or mechanics, of course you\u2019d want to show off the biggest. But where the Batmobile feels like it naturally should be used as (in)frequently as any of Batman\u2019s other gadgets strapped to the utility belt, it\u2019s forced upon you at every opportunity. <\/span><\/p>\n

It slows the pace of the game to a crawl at times, as it\u2019s integrated into the most monotonous of puzzles, while the Batman-versus-robot-tank-army segments that pervade almost every instance of combat are without question a chore. The novelty of blasting thugs in the head with rubber bullets fired from a tank-mounted cannon \u2013 which apparently doesn\u2019t render death \u2013 quickly wears off. <\/span><\/p>\n

The stealth vehicle combat is dispiriting, if not enjoyment-crippling, to the point where it begins to spoil the Batmobile\u2019s primary focus: actually using it to explore the city. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you can overlook the disappointing inclusion and over-reliance on the Batmobile in both the main story and plentiful side-quests that litter Gotham, you\u2019ll find an enjoyable and well-constructed end to the Arkham<\/strong><\/em> trilogy waiting, not to mention plenty of fan-service for the avid Bat-fan. <\/span><\/p>\n

Just don\u2019t be surprised if you begin brooding like Bruce Wayne when it forces you back into the driving seat for yet another round of Bats versus robots \u2013 only you won\u2019t have a billion dollars to distract you from the pain; only the sinking feeling that you wasted \u00a340 on driving a tank, not busting skulls, as the Caped Crusader this last time around. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is Arkham Knight the trilogy closer that Gotham deserves?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":77851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":""},"categories":[8,848],"tags":[4601],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Arkham-Knight.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77847"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}