Title: Arkham City, and My Desire for a Better Batman Game
It's funny that almost all my problems with Arkham City's gameplay have to do with agency, or lack thereof. That so many of my criticisms can be boiled down to not fully being in control. I will dive into the storytelling, world and art direction as well, in this critique that originally targeted the whole Arkham series, before being limited mostly to one game, for time. They are not truly bad games. But designing for such a broad group of players by streamlining the controls and intentionally making the mechanics shallow is, in a way, even worse. Rocksteady Studios never made me feel as if I controlled the real Batman.
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PART 1: COMBAT
Arkham City's freeflow system never engages the player in the way a fighting system should. The player only gets to drive Batman's legs until he delivers the first hit, at which point the game takes over and begins to PULL him to his enemies. Regardless of how far away the enemy is, Batman will automatically take the necessary number of linear steps for the player. Briefly tilting the analog stick will pull him to a specific target, but that's only required when the camera is not pointed towards that target. If the player separates from that automation (meaning move around on their own so that the game no longer pulls them from enemy to enemy) even very briefly, their combo is broken and their attacks become weaker again. You are not encouraged to take back control, and so never get a sense of the foot movement and positioning that play such vital roles in almost any martial art.
All threats from any direction can be countered without navigating or can be evaded by double-tapping the run button. Even three enemies standing around Batman hardly pose a threat, as the player simply taps the counter button rapidly and watches an elaborate animation take care of the trio. Only swords and knives require them to pull away while countering. The warning icons above enemies are only removed in New Game Plus and can't be turned off in Riddler's Revenge, the collection of challenge maps. Since the combat is built around those warning icons, enemies don't have tells or adequate windups, like in other action games. They attack as soon as they are at arm's length of Batman. As long as you remember that, you will be perfectly fine even without the warning icons.
Batman moves far faster than his opponents, who serve as little more than punching bags, thanks in part to the generous counter system. Every seventh combo is awarded with a special move that permanently incapacitates any of the hurt enemies. After upgrading, it only takes five [1].
[1] Combo_five.png
Rocksteady wanted to make the player feel like a Batman who is so well-trained and powerful [1] that he doesn't struggle in a fight. But it feels more like a rhythm exercise for points and doesn't look like any Batman fight I ever saw. Only the games make his fights so [2] consistenly one-sided, weightless and ridiculous from second to second. He glides over the floor or twirls up into the air [3], with no catapult, zipping from enemy to enemy, almost like he's playing The Flash in a Chinese wuxia movie. As if he can shift gravity in different directions [4]. His domination should be earned through skill and practice, not given away with superhuman agility, attacks that can be so easily anticipated and automation or streamlining.
[1] Batman_has_superman_strength.mkv
[2] Batman_beating_Penguin.mkv
[3] Gravity_Rush.mkv
[4] Gravity_Rush_actual.mkv
Imagine the alternative... The player moves Batman freely around the arena. They must pay attention to where the enemies are and position Batman where he will be most effective and not in immediate harm. That sounds more engaging to me than a system that automates almost all of the foot movement and simplifies defense.
Beat 'em ups, or games with unarmed combat against large numbers of opponents, don't need automation like this when the player can move freely and has the moveset and tools to handle crowds. I don't see why a three-dimensional Batman game couldn't implement crowd-handling mechanics similar to those in games like the Streets of Rage series.
* Enemies in Streets of Rage slam into each other when thrown. [1] These collisions could be expanded in a Batman game, with powerful attacks like flying kicks causing enemies to bump into each other, briefly staggering the second person and giving the player a little more room.
* A special attack takes care of enemies both behind and in front of the hero, while making them invulnerable at the cost of health [2]. This special attack can also be used to separate from the enemies' grabs.
* Players can perform rear attacks without turning around. [3][4] The Mega Drive or Genesis controller has an A-B-C arrangement of buttons, where pressing B and C (which are the normal attack and jump) simultaneously triggers the rear attack. Modern controllers have four buttons arranged in a diamond. If the left face button made Batman attack, made him throw a punch, and the bottom face button let him jump, then pressing the thumb on both could trigger the rear attack [5]. Accidental jumps could be prevented by having the player drop the part of their thumb closer to the knuckle on the jump button only immediately after depressing the attack button with the tip.
* Fighters in Streets of Rage can pick up and use pipes, bottles, bats and other objects until they break. These temporary weapons can also be thrown. Arkham Knight, the third game in Rocksteady's trilogy, did let players pick up and use weapons, but they were never longer than an arm and could only be used on one enemy at a time. They also couldn't be thrown, if I remember correctly. Since Batman often climbs and grabs ledges and such anyway, I would use R2, the right trigger, as a grab button, allowing the player to throw enemies [6] and pick up those types of melee weapons. They could then use that weapon with the attack button, drop it by pressing the grab button again or throw it by pressing the attack and grab buttons simultaneously.
[1] Streets_4_throwing_enemy_at_other.mkv
[2] Streets_4_secondary_attack_invulnerable.mkv
[3] Streets_2_rearward_attack.mkv
[4] streets_4_rear_attack.mkv
[5] Animated series scenes > Rear_attack_(Rebirth).mkv
[6] Animated series scenes > Batman_throwing_enemy.mkv
The attacks in Streets of Rage are simplistic and quick rather than intricate like in the Arkham games [1], but that snappiness too helps to make me feel that I am [2] in control. I wouldn't animate all these different counters that slow the fighting and disrupt player input. Just have Batman keep his fists raised defensively while the player holds R1, the right shoulder button. As he takes the hits, a status bar representing his poise gradually depletes. He would only be protected in the front, and not all attacks could be blocked.
[1] scripted_fighting_animations.mkv
[2] take_control.jpg
It would be nice if there was also breakable furniture that you can jump on top of, throw enemies into and flip over for cover. The arenas in the Arkham games are mostly empty.
After watching so many Batman fights, I can't imagine controlling him without a lock-on system. Locking on prevents the character from turning around and exposing their back to the enemy as soon as the player tries to pull away from their attacks or gain space [1]. It allows two fighters to dance [2]. I would assign the lock-on to L1, as a hold function. The player would switch to the next closest target ahead (and back) both by pressing down the left stick, meaning the L3 button [3], and by letting go of L1 and quickly locking on again [4]. This system, called "Z-targeting," was common [5] before Demon's Souls and Dark Souls popularized [6] the R3 lock-on [7]. I prefer the older system because it's not a toggle, thanks to the button not actuating at the base of a tilting stick. Because it's so easy to keep the button depressed and the function is actively felt rather than only seen, the player is more aware that it is active and the ability to run backwards and sideways is just built in even when there is no target. This can make lining yourself up for things in the environment outside of combat a little bit easier. If you wanted to be really creative, you could even let the player move sideways between narrow walls without triggering the usual canned animation [8][9]. Ocarina of Time and later Zelda games HAD toggle options, and I always hated them [10]. I would NOT lock the camera behind Batman while the targeting system is active. [11] It cuts off too much visibility. You can't see what you back into. Using the jump button with the lock-on button would allow my player to perform a kind of dodge. However, to make them use as many of the fight mechanics as possible, have them heed the positions of their enemies and hopefully keep them moving, jumping to the side or backwards would not be effective against every attack or type of enemy.
[1] animated series scenes > animated_lock-on_1.mkv
[2] animated series scenes > dancing_(Legends_of_the_Dark_Knight).mkv
[3] Targeting_DMC3_A.mkv
[4] Targeting,_Zelda_A.mkv
[5] Targeting,_MGS3_B.mkv
[6] Demon's_Souls_targeting.mp4
[7] Elden_Ring_R3_targeting.mkv
[8] Targeting,_Zelda_B.mp4
[9] Rise_of_Tomb_Raider_canned_animation.mp4
[10] *Record the toggle option in menu of Wind Waker or Ocarina of Time*
[11] Elden_Ring_R3_targeting_lack_of_visibility.mkv
I would also include a light auto-targeting system without the locking on and strafing that activates when the player comes very close to an enemy. Nowhere near as generous as it is in the Arkham games or something like Bayonetta; only strong enough that the character doesn't end up punching air instead of the opponent they face, making the game still playable without locking on.
Arkham's freeflow system allows Batman to fight many more enemies than games with lock-on systems, but that's not a positive. Do I really have to point out how ridiculous it looks for Batman to fight twenty men at the same time, with only the few closest to him willing to attack while the rest wait their turns?
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PART 2: STEALTH
The predictable attacks and automation make fights in Arkham City so easy that the sneaking had to be completely separated, in what are called predator maps. Enemies in predator maps are far deadlier. Trying to fight them head-on will quickly get Batman shot to death. It's kind of bizarre. They react to your presence instantly, like they have a sixth sense, and with perfect composure [1], but are not scripted for effective pursuit. [2][3][4] Their eyesight is poorer than in most stealth-action games and they don't watch you while closing in on your position. [5] Is their incompetence by design?
[1] reaction_speed.mkv (caption: "Watch this man's reaction speed as I try to trip him with a power slide.")
[2] Unable_to_pursue_2.mkv
[3] Unable_to_pursue_3.mkv
[4] Unable_to_pursue_4.mkv
[5] Unable_to_pursue_1.mkv
The predator maps are highly context-sensitive, with playground floor grills, catwalks, gargoyles and other designated spots [1] favored over natural movement, so densely packed together that the player inevitably performs the wrong actions or struggles to prompt the desired one. They crouch by a railing in order to hang, but the game keeps offering corner cover [2]. They try to go under a grate, but the game pulls them towards another waist-high object [3]. You try to do a silent takedown, but Batman takes out his last used item and then raises his fists. The run button also being the interact button while crouched means that Batman will attach to these waist-high objects as you switch back and forth between the crouch and upright movement [4]. Be careful that you don't drop Batman's only smoke grenade as you try to escape, since it supplants all of his other tools when he is discovered, while the prompt calls attention to itself in the top-middle of the screen. You can't even separate from certain walls without giving away your position [5]. The context-sensitive controls can also make taking down enemies quite finicky, depending on what they are doing. [6] Here the available action changes from Silent Takedown to Corner Cover and Batman stands up and raises his fists. The functions that the buttons share are the same whether you use a controller or a mouse and keyboard [7]. They cannot be separated.
[1] What_ARE_these_things.mkv (caption: "What ARE these things?")
[2] Stealth > conflicting_actions.mkv
[3] stealth > conflicting_actions_2.mkv
[4] stealth > conflicting_actions_3.mkv
[5] wall_hug_reveals_position.mp4
[6] Stealth > Finicky.mkv
[7] with_a_controller.mp4
You can hardly do anything creative and cool because of how scripted and magnetic almost all the available actions are and how twitchy the enemies are [1]. The unconscious can't even be dragged away where they hopefully won't be found [2]. The antagonist of the area always announces over a loudspeaker that one of the men is down, and then they come running to him [3][4].
[1] Twitchy.mp4
[2] Metal_Gear_Solid_2_body_dragged.mp4
[3] presence_announced.mkv
[4] presence_announced_2.mkv
Transitioning between stealth and action in the same map would have added so much dimension to the encounters. Imagine Batman being overwhelmed in a fight and throwing down a smoke grenade or rupturing a steam pipe or cutting through some flour so that he can find a position from which to stalk again. Or he runs behind the geometry and makes another turn or climbs before the opponents can catch up and see where he went. After stealthily taking down a few more, another fight ensues. The encounter doesn't just end with them instantly locking their guns on Batman and killing him.
How can you possibly make a Batman game without incorporating [1] darkness as a stealth mechanic? Why can't any of the lights be turned off, cut or destroyed [2], like in the Thief and Splinter Cell games that preceded Arkam Asylum? The light doesn't need to be [3] as weirdly isolated to one small spot as it is in Splinter Cell. I also wouldn't want everyone in the game willfully living and working in [4] such darkness, as if electricity costs a fortune. But it absolutely should be a feature in a modern Batman game. As his puppeteer learns to master the darkness, some enemies would adapt with flashlights, night vision goggles and fires. Light could blind them as well, after their eyes have adjusted to the darkness.
[1] Splinter_Cell_clip_1.mkv
[2] Splinter_Cell_turning_off_light.mkv
[3] Splinter_Cell_isolated_darkness.mp4
[4] Splinter_Cell_CIA_security_checkpoint.mp4 (caption: "You would think the CIA would at least keep this security checkpoint lit.")
Why does every single modern third-person game with sneaking force the low crouch? It slows the action and just doesn't look good. Even The Legend of Zelda recently adopted this tedious feature. I'm glad that Arkham City isn't one of the countless games in which the crouch quiets the character's footsteps, since that isn't how noise works. It also doesn't make Batman invisible at a distance like in those other games. But because the crouch is the only speed available between the walk that's quiet and the semi-full run that's noisy, you still are driven to crouch in most of the predator encounter. Isn't it funny that Batman moves faster in a crouching position than [1] his upright enemies can run? I would still include a crouch, assign it to the right face button, but it would mostly be used to hide behind objects, take cover from gunfire and access low spaces. The player could also duck under certain attacks and strike while crouched [2][3]. A forward roll could be performed by briefly holding the crouch button while fully tilting the left stick.
[1] Stealth > Batman_crouches_faster_than_they_run.mkv
[2] Animated series scenes > Batman_crouch_attack_1.mkv
[3] Animated series scenes > Batman_crouch_attack_2.mkv
I would let the player use the aformentioned grab button, R2, to take unaware enemies from behind or the side. They could then be incapacitated with the attack button or dragged and used as a hostage [1]. Maybe even interrogated with one of the buttons on the D-pad [2] and carried into the air with the rappel gun. In fact, I would let the player take enemies in combat as well, if they can get behind or beside them. No reason for the mechanics to change just because Batman has been discovered.
[1] animated series scenes > hostage
[2] MGS3_grabbing_enemies.mp4
Seeing through walls diminishes tension and feels like a cheat. The player always knows what's around the corner and barely has to track enemies. I can't remember if Arkham Asylum had a scientific explanation for Batman's x-ray vision, but it would be invalidated by Catwoman having the ability as well.
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PART 3: TOOLS/GADGETS
Few of Arkham City's tools or gadgets are fun to use. Only about half of them are true to this version of the character.
* The Explosive Gel, Freeze Blast and Remote Electrical Charge all basically do the same thing in combat: stun enemies. This pacifistic version of Batman would never detonate explosives beneath men's feet. Exploded enemies don't stay stunned long enough for the gel to be of much use in that capacity [1]. You can choose the order of the three explosions by looking at the gel in first-person view [2]. I also can't imagine Batman freezing people after seeing how victims of the gun's prior owner suffered. To be fair, the freezing process seems weirdly harmless in this version of Batman [3]. In predator maps, the only effective use of the Remote Electrical Charge is powering generators and zapping anyone nearby.
* The reverse batarang and sonic batarang are too specific in their uses to be noteworthy. You're lucky if the Sonic Batarang [4] has the effect you want, and usually it's easy enough to go right up to your prey. Knocking on a wall or throwing a rock would have served the same purpose [5][6].
* The Remote Controlled Batarang is ridiculous, steering like a slow drone.
* The Line Launcher [7] is just another stun weapon. You can push enemies off catwalks and over railings with it, but a flying kick or throw in a better Batman game would have done the same thing. It's kind of useful at the beginning of a fight, though. Before the combo has started [8]. It also lets you speed past tedious level design [9].
* If you thought Batman's explosive gel wasn't designed to be lethal, then I'm sorry to tell you that the upgraded disruptor can detonate the enemy mines under their own feet. The disruptor is not limited to electronic devices; it can also jam guns, SOMEHOW. [10][11]
* The normal batarang and smoke pellet are alright.
[1] explosive_gel_very_short_effect.mkv
[2] explosive_sequence.mp4
[3] why_didn't_you_finish_him.mkv (caption: "Why didn't Penguin freeze the rest of him?")
[4] can't_drop_enemy_on_another.mkv
[5] Metal_Gear_Solid_3_knocking.mkv
[6] Splinter_Cell_picking_up_item_and_throwing.mp4
[7] Pursuing_assassin,_meeting_Robin,_Line_Launcher.mp4
[8] line_launcher_combat.mkv
[9] backtracking_less_tedious.mp4
[10] How_do_you_jam_a_gun.mp4
[11] jamming_gun.mkv
I would limit Batman's tools more, opting for smaller gadgets that fit in his pockets or at least look a little more reasonable. He would carry maybe three boomerangs, which the player needs to pick up again if they want any later in the campaign. I will speak more about the length of the campaign later. To make up for this limit, the player could use plenty of environmental objects as distractions and weapons. Some crates on a platform above could be dropped on enemies by cutting a rope. Barrels or logs could be released, rolling into and incapacitating enemies, or disorrienting them for an easier fight. What is Batman if not resourceful? [1][2]
[1] animated series scenes > Resourceful_Batman_1.mkv
[2] animated series scenes > resourceful_(Legends_of_the_Dark_Knight).mkv
Batman's tools would be assigned to L2, the left trigger. The player would aim the batarangs, smoke pellets, grapple gun and other gadgets by holding L2 and use them by letting go. They could quick-fire by quickly double-tapping and put the gadget away with R1, the block button. My reason for not simply letting the player aim the gadget with L2 and use it with R2, like in the Arkham games, is because my system would already use R2 as a grab button. Leaving the button free for grabs would allow my Batman to use gadgets while holding people and climbing. The goal is to limit the kinds of conflicting actions that the Arkham series is plagued by. I wouldn't want to scroll through a bunch of different items with the D-pad. You run the risk of scrolling too far and having to cycle back [1]. You could bring up the whole inventory in a small corner menu that pauses the action by tapping just one of the directional buttons. This corner menu would arrange Batman's tools in an efficient grid. The Arkham inventory isn't too far off [2]. I just never used the menu because the number row of my keyboard gave me immediate access to all the gadgets [3]. To be honest, I don't even understand how to quick-fire certain gadgets with a controller. I select the gadget with the D-pad, but when I double-tap the right trigger he uses a different one. Strange control scheme...
[1] Elden_Ring_scrolling.mkv
[2] inventory_with_controller.mp4
[3] keyboard_controls.png
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PART 4: ENVIRONMENTAL TRAVERSAL
Also largely automated is the environmental traversal. You hold the run button and Batman automatically jumps over gaps, climbs onto higher platforms and hops over obstacles. They probably put this in Arkham Asylum because people were so impressed by the Bourne Identity-inspired chases in Assassin's Creed two years before [1], three years if you go all the way back to the first gameplay demonstrations. It's just like protagonists in so many story-driven games [2] gravitating like magnets towards platforms after the player jumps, or stopping at the edge of a drop, all designed to keep the player from failing and supposedly hurting the cinematic presentation. Most of us would be unhappy if Super Mario automatically jumped at the end of a platform and the game took care of the distance or trajectory to the next platform, but for some reason we just accept these things in story-driven triple-A games. The possibility of failing a jump makes success more satisfying. You can't make a Batman game without a jump button, because of who he is and what he does. They easily could have put a dedicated jump in there by letting the player run without holding that button on the face of the controller. If the tilt of the analog stick covered the whole range of movement [3]. While jumping, the player could have kicked by pressing the attack button [4]. The Batman game of my dreams would have also let them slam down with the special attack (the top face button) and dive into a roll by tapping the crouch button (the right face button) during the jump.
[1] Pursuing_assassin,_meeting_Robin,_Line_Launcher.mp4 (chase portion)
[2] Rise_of_the_Tomb_Raider_jump.mkv
[3] Zelda_analog_movement.mp4
[4] Streets_4_two_kicks.mkv
The lack of fall damage only makes the world blander. [1] Batman's cape always catches enough wind right before he hits the ground. I would remove the parachute function completely, as well as the glide [2]. Batman rarely glided in other media. It was always at far higher speeds and usually involved a glider. Grapple points should also be specific, with the player having to aim at the flag pole or railing or whatever it is. Their aim would be assisted by slow motion as they fall or swing through the air.
[1] Falling_(Fear_of_Victory).mkv
[2] the_glide.mkv
I could do without the automatic grabbing of ledges. The old Tomb Raider games required you to press the action button. [1] You could hold it down during the jump, so that Lara Croft reached out until making contact. I would do the same thing with that grab button that I talked about earlier. The player would need to hold the grab button for the duration of a climb [2] and while swinging on a horizontal pole or pipe. Speaking of poles and pipes, it would be nice if you could make Batman do a twirl by quickly tapping the jump button again as he lets go at the height of a swing, for extra distance.
[1] Tomb_Raider_grabbing_jump.mp4
[2] animated series scenes > batman_climbing.mkv
Water is like lava [1] in the Arkham games. When you include the side-content, there are so many floating sequences that it makes you wonder why Rocksteady couldn't cut a few hundred Riddler trophies [2] and build a good swimming and diving system instead [3][4]. In the flooded chamber of the museum is a shark [5]. If you can avoid falling into the water, only one brief encounter with it is guaranteed. It clumsily bites down on Batman's raft [6], never to be seen again. A diving system would have taken you into its domain, for a thrilling fight [7]. The lock-on and grab mechanics I suggested could also work underwater, with enough time, money and effort.
[1] water_is_lava.mp4
[2] water_is_lava_2.mp4
[3] Tomb_Raider_underwater.mp4
[4] Banjo_Kazooie_swimming.mp4
[5] shark_2
[6] shark_arkham_city.mp4
[7] animated series scenes > shark_(The_Laughing_Fish).mkv
When you're not fighting in an arena, the field of view [1] is cramped. There is not much visibility around Batman, particularly in denser interiors. This means that the player has to adjust the camera much more. It may explain, at least in part, why the walk speed is forced. Why the player has to hold the face button to go faster. I would have just pulled the camera back more and let the player center the camera behind Batman by pressing down the right stick, the R3 button. But my Batman game would not have had that investigative zoom feature that's assigned to R3 in the Arkham games.
[1] field_of_view_while_walking.mp4
XXXXXXXXX CONTINUE HERE
Parts of the story have you playing as Catwoman. Sadly, Rocksteady simply forced her character onto a city and mechanics built for Batman. She doesn't have a grappling gun and so needed a whip that stretched to ridiculous distances in order to easily go where Batman went [1]. What does the whip [2] cling to? What kind of glue is [3] attached to the cracker? Even with that magical whip, she still had to pounce gradually up to her target, which involved tapping the rappel button repeatedly [4]. She ropes up hostiles, just like Batman, despite having even fewer pockets. You can't control how far from the gargoyles she lands. Her last chapter features fences inexplicably placed under ceiling equipment, that she can SOMEHOW crawl on [5]. She also doesn't have a cape that can soften her falls, and yet... [6] In spite of her high heels, she can run right up to enemies without making a noise. I guess I still prefer that over crouching all the time as Batman.
[1] Catwoman_swinging_with_whip_2.mp4
[2] Catwoman_swinging_with_whip_4.mkv
[3] Catwoman_swinging_with_whip_3.mkv
[4] Catwoman_swinging_with_whip_1.mp4
[5] catwoman_bad_level_design.mp4
[6] catwoman_no_cape.mp4
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PART 5: THE WORLD
Why did Arkham City and its sequels need to have big open worlds [1] if the player rappeled and glided over everything anyway? After getting the Grapple Boost, you can fly endlessly [2][3]. The overworld connecting the various interiors has nothing of interest, aside from a few chaptered side-quests, some challenges and the hundreds of trophies that you need in order to defeat the Riddler, which could have been placed in a linear game too. A marker always tells you exactly where you need to go. [4] Really? You needed to interrupt my game so that I could see on the map the giant tower that Oracle and Batman JUST talked about? You couldn't let me search the perimeter and find the entrance on my own? The whole adventure is so linear and GUIDED [5].
[1] the_whole_city.mp4
[2] grapple_boost.mp4
[3] endless_flying.mp4
[4] Guided_to_location.mkv
[5] bad_linear.mp4 (fast-forward)
As a side note, even after collecting all the Riddler trophies in the Rocksteady trilogy years ago, I must say that they are absurd. The stories and art direction take themselves so seriously, while all the glowing question marks, traps and button contraptions are [1] like something out of a cartoon collect-a-thon [2]. [3][4] Some of the Riddler puzzles are clever, but the areas are so big that they all have to be placed on the map for you [5], which means that finding them is not even gratifying.
[1] Riddler_trophies_3.mp4 (fast-forward)
[2] cognitive_dissonance.mp4
[3] Riddler_collect-a-thon.mp4
[4] Riddler_freak.mkv
[5] Riddler_location_added.mkv
I would prefer a linear Batman adventure, because of how much easier it is to concentrate good level design along a path. That path should still be expansive, however. If the player is going to feel like the acrobatic Batman who thinks on his feet and finds a way into any building or room, surprising criminals and allies alike, then there have to be alternate routes. Maintenance corridors, stairs, fire escapes, crawl spaces, elevators and elevator shafts, pipes and poles, rafters, construction equipment, spaces between walls, a few apartments... [1] Maybe keys and security codes could be hidden in the world. Maybe new paths could be opened as you interact with machinery.
[1] Animated series scenes > Oh_my..._(Fear_of_Victory).mkv
I don't know if Batman's investigative abilities need to be incorporated mechanically. If we ARE going to have to play the detective, then it has to be smarter than what the Arkham games did. I would honestly rather watch a cutscene than use the evidence scanner to search for a linear series of clues or brainlessly dial through letters with the decrypter until they slow and the correct ones chime. [1][2] The developers must have known that the decrypter was tedious, since dialing the right set of letters to the left and the left set of letters to the right at the same time matches up the two halves of the words almost every time, at least until New Game Plus [Dial boring].
[1] Detective.mkv
[2] Riddle_me_this.mkv
Arkham City really has a lot of needless busywork, that sometimes makes for unintuitive game design.
* I disabled Penguin's communications disruptor and moved on to the next one, only to go back after looking at my tracker and realizing that I was supposed to punch through the other two terminals as well [1]. Even though Batman said the disruptor has three terminals and that all of them needed to be destroyed, my brain did not compute that the game wanted me to waste more time there. The idea was to make disabling the disruptor challenging with enemies around, but most players would just beat them all up first.
* Another example happens late in the game. After unlocking the elevator that takes Batman to his confrontation with Strange, you have to hack ANOTHER terminal inside [2]. They couldn't just place floor buttons inside the elevator. No, every interface has to be built around Batman's tools.
* And why do we have to tune to the coordinates every time one of Riddler's hostages gives Batman a new set of numbers? [3] That's not gameplay, it's pure work.
[1] more_busy_work.mkv
[2] busy_work_4.mkv
[3] coordinates.mp4
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PART 6: STORY
[1] Arkham City's joyless story begins with Bruce Wayne being imprisoned in Hugo Strange's new Arkham project, eighteen months after the incident at the asylum. Strange learned that Wayne is Batman in some previous episode that we did not got to play. He threatens to reveal Wayne's secret if he tries to stop him from executing something called "Protocol 10," but never goes through with his threat. No explanation is given for the arrest, and the police and military never try to break in and take back their billionaire. If the story made sense, Wayne would have been framed for something.
The Titan formula that Joker infected himself with at the end of Arkham Asylum has mutated into a fatal disease. Joker gives Batman a blood transfusion [2], infecting him with the virus. Apparently, they have the same blood type. The clown wants to spread the virus throughout Gotham.
[1] Opening.mkv
[2] blood_transfusion.mp4
[1] In the museum chapter, Batman frees Penguin's captive Mr. Freeze for a cure to the virus. I can't remember why Freeze agreed to make a cure for Joker. They have almost nothing in common. [2] Anyway, after Freeze tells Batman that he first needs his suit back, Batman informs Freeze that Penguin is protecting himself with his ice gun. He does not tell Freeze that the suit is unprotected in the north wing where he just came from, and Freeze does not call out his dishonesty later. [3] Penguin having Freeze's ice gun has nothing to do with Freeze needing his suit. Calling it dishonesty is obviously too generous to the writing and game design. Batman goes back to the north wing and takes the disruptor from Freeze's suit [4], which lets him disable Penguin's ice gun in the Iceberg Lounge, which is in the west wing. [5] After a fight with Solomon Grundy, whose presence may confuse casual comic book fans because he doesn't even get a story, Mr. Freeze tells Batman that he can easily make a cure, but it needs a restorative enzyme. This makes Batman think of the immortal Ra's al Ghul, whose minion (in writing only a child could come up with) just happens to be in a display case in the same room. [6] He tracks her to Ra's and the League of Assassins, in the old Wonder City.
[1] where_is_the_cure.mkv
[2] Freeze_freed.mp4
[3] liar_batman.png
[4] Freeze's_disruptor.mkv
[5] Ice_gun_and_Solomon_Grundy.mkv
[6] Mr._Freeze_to_Ra's_al_Ghul.mkv
XXXXX CONTINUE HERE
Penguin and Freeze have little if anything to do with the game's main villains: Joker and Hugo Strange. Nor do Two-Face [1] and Poison Ivy [2], who appear in other chapters. Even though the game is not long, the coming and going of all these characters turns parts of the story into prolonged slogs, as you try to remember how your current task was supposed to lead to Batman's goal. Solomon Grundy's appearance is [3] probably the most offensive. No scenes before or after the fight. I would have rather fought that anamatronic dinosaur at the entrance of the museum [4], than see Grundy used and dumped like that, and I don't even particularly care about the character [5]. If the writers wanted an ensemble of villains and good structure, then they should have split each game into loosely connected episodes, some of which could have featured other protagonists, namely Robin and Batgirl. Episodes exploring different genres and tones, like campy adventure, horror and comedy.
[1] Two-Face.mkv
[2] Character designs > Ivy_1.mp4
[3] Solomon_Grundy_fight.mkv
[4] T-rex_1.mp4
[5] Animated series > T-rex_(Mean_Seasons).mkv
Before Batman finds Wonder City, Robin gives him the Line Launcher. [1] This ninety second appearance is his first in the Arkham series. As if the structure wasn't already messy enough, he would not be seen again until Harley Quinn's Revenge, the brief story DLC for Arkham City.
[1] Pursuing_assassin,_meeting_Robin,_Line_Launcher.mp4
Ra's al Ghul is poorly used [1]. The material had already been covered in other media like the animated series, possibly dabbling in the same continuity, judging from how well Batman knows Ra's and his daughter Talia. Again the 600-year-old father asks Batman to take his place and again he threatens to kill his daughter. I wouldn't have minded this retelling of the story if Batman had encountered Ra's and his League of Assassins for the first time. Watching Talia and Batman's relationship develop sounds more interesting to me than coming in years later, after some events that you read or watched in the comics or cartoons already happened but others, like Ra's threatening to kill her, apparently did not. It speaks to a bigger problem with the Arkham games: that Batman already knows almost all of the characters and fans can't tell what they have already been through together. Regardless, this whole Ra's al Ghul story would have worked better as a standalone adventure that took Batman out of Gotham City for once.
Much of the chapter is a hallucination of sorts. I think the main problem with the cliche video game hallucinations and dreams that became so common after Arkham Asylum and Far Cry 3 is that they are simultaneously too real and alien. The mechanics and movement of the character are barely different from the character's waking, sobre experiences, while the landscapes are too bizarre to draw from them. I have never played a video game dream and thought for a second that the character was awake. It's never subtle [2][3].
The end of the Ra's al Ghul hallucination highlights some of the poorer boss design of this series. The combat that you've used for hours is largely thrown out the window. You now shoot the electric gun through gaps in Ra's' spinning defense and try to roll away from his giant swords by double-tapping the run button. When you fought normal enemies, Batman started running automatically once the combo was active, but boss fights don't have so many opportunities for combos. Instead, you continuously hold that run button down with the side of your index finger, while navigating the camera with your thumb. I have always played these games with a mouse and keyboard. The forced walking would have driven me mad if I couldn't make Batman run by holding the Spacebar down with my unused thumb. It's easier to spam the electrical charges than to time them. For the other halves of the fight, you battle a bunch of fakes and roll away before the real Ra's can attack you. Each stage of the boss features a checkpoint that brings you back with full health, in part because the developers KNEW the design was too weird and would set players up for failure after the game did not establish the style of play earlier.
[1] Ra's_al_Ghul_chapter_and_fight.mp4
[2] animated series scenes > Perchance_to_Dream_1.mkv
[3] animated series scenes > Perchance_to_Dream_2.mkv
It becomes obvious not long after leaving Wonder City that Strange is Ra's al Ghul's puppet [1][2]. Their motivations are similar and the game leaves so many hints [3]. Ra's dies two minutes after the revelation, wasting the setup with little pay-off [4]. Learning that Ra's was behind it essentially doesn't change anything for Batman. There's no new obstacle for him in Ra's, no next chapter in that part of the story.
[1] hints_about_Ra's_controlling_Strange_1.mp4
[2] hints_about_Ra's_controlling_Strange_2.mkv
[3] How_predictable_indeed.mkv
[4] Strange_and_Ra's_defeated.mp4
It's good that the game is almost over at this point, because the simplistic fights became rote a while ago.
Minutes later we get the ending, with another revelation: Joker was actually Clayface, some of the time. We are never told why Clayface helped Joker. This is his first appearance in the game. Did I mention that this story has too many villains? The Clayface fight is similar to the Ra's al Ghul fight. Just spam the gadget as much as you can, roll away from his long range attacks and mash through the crowd [1].
[1] Clayface_fight.mkv
Even to the very end, Batman won't kill Joker [1]. Yet he was perfectly happy to drop goons on their heads from several meters up and explode them with gel and their own mines. They were only unconscious. Probably. Strict pacifism has no place in a video game about Batman. There are too many things that can happen to his opponents. You wouldn't want them to bounce off invisible walls when you're on a rooftop or high catwalk [2]. Having Batman automatically catch them with a rope would only disrupt the action. Since there is no way to believably save every opponent, the story should mostly ignore that aspect of Batman. If he kills a few, it's for a greater good [3][4]. Even if the man you just let fall from a rooftop never committed any serious crimes and was not involved in some evil plan, it would be better to score the player more negatively at the end of the game or call the player out on it like the Metal Gear Solid games used to than to save the man by restricting the physics.
[1] The_ending.mkv
[2] invisible_wall.mkv
[3] Batman_89_kills.mkv
[4] Batman_Returns_kill.mkv
Conveniently, every single regular enemy that Batman defeats loses consciousness [1]. Could the developers not leave some writhing and quietly moaning on the floor?
[1] unconscious.mkv
Do we really need dialogue and cutscenes injected every two minutes? [1] There is so little freedom in the Arkham games, because of the importance placed on the story and the constant exposition.
[1] Cinematic_games.mp4
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PART 7: SIDE QUESTS
The overworld feels rather dead after the story is over, with the chaptered side quests not amounting to much.
One quest has you listening for ringing payphones, tracing the serial killer Zsasz as he talks about himself and then rushing to his last location, in a series that feels endless. [1][2]
[1] zsasz_hunted.mkv
[2] zsasz_completed.mp4
The Deadshot story is similar in its repetition. You investigate the scene of a dead body, track where the sniper shot came from and then maybe find a clue there, before the cycle is repeated some place else. When you finally face off against him, all you have to do is sneak up as his laser sight slowly circles the area and take him from a conveniently placed floor grill. [3][4]
[3] Deadshot_hunt.mkv
[4] Deadshot_fight.mp4
You would expect an encounter with the Mad Hatter to be more thoughtful, but the only gameplay is simply another brawl, in a world as bizarre as the Ra's al Ghul hallucination. Why is it that a television program can tell a story like "Perchance to Dream," but video game developers take the same villain, a manipulator of the mind, and only think of the most insane, overt visuals? Like I said earlier, video game dreams and hallucinations are never subtle. [5][6]
[5] Mad_Hatter_fight.mkv
[6] Animated series scenes > Perchance_to_Dream_3.mkv
The gory Identity Thief quest doesn't have an ending. Hush leaves his hideout, locking Batman inside. Even though it takes Batman only twelve seconds to unlock the door, he prefers to speak with Oracle a while as the sadistic serial killer gets away. He closes the case before leaving the hideout, having already decided that he can't track him like he did several others earlier in the game. [7][8]
[7] Identity_Thief.mkv
[8] Identity_Thief_end.mkv
Another quest has you destroy all the Titan containers for Bane. When you return to him, you are both ambushed and fight together to protect the remaining Titan. He reuses all the animations and attacks from the couple of Titans you fought earlier. He betrays you, but there's no second half where you fight HIM, because the developers weren't going to build another boss fight for content few players will get to. [9][10]
[9] Bane_quest_1.mp4
[10] Bane_quest_2.mp4
Fewer still will be dedicated enough to collect all the Riddler trophies, save the last of his hostages and defeat him. The final hostages are not even part of a challenge like the five previous ones, since Riddler doesn't expect you for once. You simply move behind the hostages, who have been forced to walk for hours, and then watch as Batman pulls their captor through the floor. It reminded me of the useless reward for getting all 120 stars in Super Mario 64. More for its notoriety, since I still found the process of completing the game funner than what Riddler offered in that depressing city. The stars weren't all revealed on some map for me. [11][12][13][14]
[11] Riddler's_final_challenge_intro.mp4
[12] Riddler's_final_challenge.mp4
[13] Riddler_encounter.mp4
[14] Super_Mario_64_reward.mp4
Overall, the quests are too simplistic to justify the open world.
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PART 8: CHARACTER DESIGNS
The character designs of the Arkham games are in this ugly middle between cartoon and busy realism. Comic book artists and animators intentionally keep their designs simplistic, because they have to draw them over and over, while many video game artists clutter theirs with too much detail, not understanding that simplicity can make them more visually striking. They don't need to think about it because they only have to model and texture the character one time, aside from slight edits that make them appear more worn and beat up over time.
BATMAN
Batman's physique is so badly balanced. They put so much muscle on him that he looks malformed from certain angles [1]. He had pretty wide shoulders in the animated series, but here it looks strange because the art leans so much more towards realism [2]. I hate how metallic and angular the heavy gloves, boots and belt are. When you add all the punch holes and seams, the design becomes more about the suit than about the man.
[1] Batman_3.mkv
[2] Batman_shoulders.mkv
TALIA
Talia al Ghul looks like a biker [1]. I understand that those colorful flowing desert garbs she wore in other media might look out of place in Gotham City [2][3][4], but they could have gone with a more minimalist femme fatale appearance or something. There are so many lines, belts, hooks and buttons on the pebbled leather that you focus less on the woman, the character. Why do her assassins have all those ugly tattoos and not she, as a member of the same order?
[1] Talia_design.mp4
[2] talia_in_other_media_1.png
[3] talia_in_other_media_2.png
[4] talia_in_other_media_3.png
CATWOMAN
I don't understand what they were going for with Catwoman [1]. If the layer with the hexagonal patterns beneath is a bodysuit, then why the flat layers that are split all over on top? I guess it's all sewn together, with the top layer acting as stronger protection, but the straps resembling garters over her butt make it confusing. The way the top layer of the back of the legs makes those flat angles as it runs down makes no sense from a utility perspective, nor does it look sexy.
The zipper goes too low. If you go that low, you might as well continue over the whole pelvis, and then it will just look fetishistic. How low she has the puller and how the artists relied on rigid graphics to keep the open part of her suit always standing up like that bothers me too. The high collar doesn't work for me either, because of how open the chest area already is. If they wanted a prominent collar, then they should have started the zipper and collar at her cleavage.
I don't care for that thong 'n' stocking design in the back. Prior designs clearly had sex appeal, but they were less overt and more tasteful than THIS. [2][3][4][5][6]
The patterns and angles, how they're so intricately sewn together, imply that she has the same resources as Batman, that she can order expensive military or police grade equipment in sectionals (in bulk to reduce suspicion) and then finish putting them together herself, like in Batman Begins [7].
If you look at her neck, you will notice that the mask and choker are a single piece separated by two straps. Either have the mask cover her whole neck or separate the choker. THIS just looks needlessly complicated.
Why the belts on her sides? What are they supposed to do?
Because leather isn't fancy enough, the whip is made of metal [8].
Again, too much information in the design.
Also, why give her the protective goggles if she only pulls them over her eyes while using X-ray vision [9]? I think she only has them over her eyes in one cutscene [10]. Makes them look so useless on her head.
The Catwoman of Arkham Knight has a more human face. Her costume kept many of the problems and put a stupid cat brooch on her chest, but the patterns are at least simpler [11].
[1] play_in_corner_of_Catwoman_character_critique.mp4 (picture-in-picture explained here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL4yjMVZlfg)
[2] animated series scenes > Catwoman_(The_Cat_and_the_Claw).mkv
[3] catwoman_in_batman_returns_1.mkv
[4] catwoman_in_batman_returns_2.png
[5] catwoman_in_batman_returns_3.png
[6] catwoman_designs_through_the_years.png
[7] bulk-order.mkv
[8] catwoman_-_metal_whip.mkv
[9] catwoman_goggles_1.mp4
[10] catwoman_goggles_2.mkv
[11] Catwoman_in_Arkham_Knight.mp4
IVY
Those glowing vines on Ivy's body, the green skin with green eyes, the way her floating hair moves by itself, the panties made of foliage... [1][2] Individually, some of those details would be fine, but together they are excessive. Her best designs are the more subtle ones, in my opinion. The ones who could seduce because they are still so human [3]. Who can blend into society with only glasses and a suit [4].
[1] Ivy_1.mp4
[2] Ivy_2.mp4
[3] animated series scenes > ivy_toon_(pretty_poison).mkv
[4] ivy_liar_(Eternal_Youth).mkv
BANE, CLAYFACE, KILLER CROC AND SOLOMON GRUNDY
The games may have been aimed most at fans of the DC animated universe, with the reprisals of Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker and (at least in Arkham Asylum) Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. But Clayface, Killer Croc, Bane and Solomon Grundy have none of the humanity and dignity of Bruce Timm's designs. They look so sinister and grotesque. Croc with those long, horrible teeth [X][2]. Clayface with a face resembling a skull [3][4]. Solomon Grundy, now an ugly giant with huge veins and bright glowing eyes [5][6]. Bane's hoses and neon-bright veins are ridiculous. His head is too low or his upper back is too high or both. It almost looks like the back of his head comes out of the neck. Like his brain goes into his neck [7][8][9][10].
[X]
[2] animated series scenes > Killer_Croc_(Sideshow).mkv
[3] Joker_is_Clayface.mkv
[4] animated series scenes > Clayface_(Feat_of_Clay,_Part_2).mkv
[5] Ice_gun_and_Solomon_Grundy.mkv
[6] Solomon_Grundy_(Justice_League_-_The_Terror_Beyond_Pt._II).mkv (10:02.601 to 10:22.985)
[7] Bane_1.mp4
[8] Bane_2.mp4
[9] *Bane character viewer*
[10] Bane_(Bane).mkv
Let us not forget Joker's disgusting appearance as the final boss in Arkham Asylum [1]. Why did he have a mohawk after becoming Titan Joker? I don't care for Joker's regular appearance either. The projecting chin and nose stand out on a model that's otherwise pretty normal in a world with mostly human protortions, barring of course the hulking muscle look that's, unfortunately, all over the trilogy.
[1] TItan_Joker.mp4
HARLEY QUINN
Harley Quinn's tattoos complete her trashy look. The original jester style was the only one that ever worked for me. [1][2] Also, Catwoman and Harley can't both have chokers in the same game. She is overused, by the way. We didn't need the Joker and her in every game in Rocksteady's trilogy.
[1] Harley_Quinn_1.mp4
[2] Harley_Quinn_3.mp4
BATGIRL
Batgirl is cute [1][2]. Putting Barbara Gordon in a wheel chair in the only video games that we'd have for however many years was a waste of a fun character. Robin and Batgirl should both have been playable in their own full stories starting with the second game, even if it meant shortening Batman's campaign. Arkham Knight finally made her playable in a short prequel DLC, but I do not care for her design [3]. At five feet and eleven inches, she is almost the same height as Robin and Nightwing and not that much shorter than Batman. You don't need to read her in-game bio to see that she is pretty tall. It's obvious when she stands next to the criminals [4]. Curiously, Tim Drake grew two inches between Arkham City and Arkham Knight. Another detail that would have helped to differentiate Batgirl from Batman and Robin is a shorter cape. Most of her other designs have shorter capes. Her suit also has too many distracting angles and lines [5]. I can't tell which parts are hard leather and which are plastic or steel.
[1] animated series scenes > Batgirl_1_(Batgirl_Returns).mkv
[2] animated series scenes > Batgirl_2_(Batgirl_Returns).mkv
[3] Batgirl_in_Arkham_Knight.mp4
[4] Batgirl_fighting_in_Arkham_Knight.mp4
[5] Batgirl_in_Arkham_Knight.mp4
ARMOR
*Text saying, "Some of Arkham Knight's other designs..."* [1][2][3]
All the armor and padding take away from the theatricality of these characters and conceal the athletic physiques that are supposed to make them appear extraordinary. Realistically, the armor would encumber Batman and his allies and make them more audible when they try to sneak. You would hear all the metal, plastic and stiff leather. Skintight outfits also make gunfire more visually threatening [4][5].
[1] Batman_in_Arkham_Knight.mp4
[2] Robin_in_Arkham_Knight.mp4
[3] Nightwing_in_Arkham_Knight.mp4
[4] Animated series scenes > Batman_vulnerable_no_armor_(Robin's_Reckoning,_Part_1).mkv
[5] Audio from Aeon_Flux_commentary.mkv played over "Aeon_Flux_1" to "6" clips
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LAST FEW THINGS
The voice-acting is good, but that should be expected when a project is funded by a giant studio. Still, the lead is played by a curiously uncharismatic Kevin Conroy. [1][2][3]
[1] Uncharismatic_1.mkv
[2] Uncharismatic_2.mkv
[3] Uncharismatic_XX.mp4
It's probably not a good idea to have enemies talk so much and let the player hear them all from afar over Batman's earphones if you only have a few voice actors for them. They all sound the same. Almost everything they talk about involves the characters and story, as if none of them have personalities or interests.
All the reporters in the opening wear hats. That old style doesn't appear anywhere else in the game.
The music is... fine. Much of the score imitates Hans Zimmer's unremarkable Dark Knight trilogy, like a number of animated Batman movies of that time. Zimmer never really had a heart for melody. I can remember the music in Gladiator and Black Hawk Down and not much else. The Lion King's instrumentals were also good, as I recall. But for so many other movies, he composed moods rather than memorable melodies. I have no idea why Rainman got him the Academy Award nomination. Nikita by Eric Serra sounds weirder and far more interesting than Zimmer's score for the remake, Point of No Return. I have heard that he now uses ghost writers for a lot of his music. Anyway, modern Batman scores, including the games, are such a far cry from the MELODIES in Danny Elfman's Batman and Batman Returns and the work Shirley Walker supervised and sometimes composed herself for the animated series.
The Batman franchise is, sadly, too big for Warner Brothers to give the character the games that he deserves. They could target more discerning players by budgeting more modestly, but prefer a bland product that appeals to as many people as possible, like nearly all tripe-A developers. Obviously, it paid off for them. I wonder how profitable and influential the Arkham series would have been if it wasn't about Batman. Do people really like the gameplay, design and art direction THAT much? If you thought this critique was too negative, then consider it a contrast to more popular YouTubers praising so many of the things I complained about. I found it hard to finally sit down and listen to what they had to say as I finished this months long project, which will likely remain the only one of its kind on my channel. I did not explain every manuever and threat because the game fails at the fundamentals that they are built upon. Playing through Arkham City again ten years later made me dislike the trilogy more than I did before. I'm embarrassed that I ever thought it was a good game.
