The developers of Warner Brothers Montreal really did a fantastic job. Despite being given huge shoes to fill by temporarily taking over Rocksteady's incredible work of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, they somehow delivered a game which surpasses its predecessors by sticking with the same formula and improving on what was already there.
Since this is a prequel, the story line takes place before both its predecessors. Bruce Wayne has only been Batman for two years and is still believed to be a myth by some, however in this one night the Batman truly makes his mark on Gotham City and opens up the gateway that leads himself up to becoming the Dark Knight the city needs.
This Batman is young, arrogant and full of anger and rage but is by no means an amateur. As shown when he takes on 8 assassin who are after the 50 million dollar bounty placed on his head.
The story is by far the best of the franchise, it feels the most batman like of all three games. It's darker and has a deeper story line as it expresses Batman more as a human and his vulnerability. In fact the character development is so well done in this game, you can actually feel Bruce Wayne's pain and anger and fears. The interaction between him and Alfred is very well done, you can feel the emotion and tension of their parent child relationship throughout the game.
The gameplay pretty much uses the same core mechanics of that in Arkham City with slight tweaks and improvements here and there. With an expanded Gotham, it gives you a map twice as big as its predecessor to explore. The fighting mechanics stay true to the series as well as the stealth aspect of the game too. There are a couple new gadgets you'll enjoy and some familiar ones that you'll recognise too. The boss battles are a real highlight of this game, keeping you on the edge of your seat at all times. For the first time we have the batcave as our base of operations and a new fast travel system which utilises the Batwing.
Just so you are aware, the voice talents of the legendary Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are absent from this game. Instead we get a younger take on Batman on Joker from the voice talents of Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker. Without a doubt they do an incredible job, I absolutely love Roger's take on Batman. It actually sounds like a young Kevin and we all know who Troy Baker is and how much talent he has. He absolutely stuns you with his Mark Hamill impression. You almost wouldn't realise it's a different voice actor. So no need to worry, these guys do a marvellous job filling in even bigger shoes.
The replay value is also why you need to purchase this game right away. Apart from the giant map, engaging story and tons of side missions; challenge maps also return. And just like how you could play as Catwoman in Arkham City, now you get to play as Deathstroke aka Slade Wilson, the worlds greatest assassin. Online multiplayer has been included which adds a new dimension to the game, it's very entertaining and fun to play; especially with friends in a 2 vs 2 vs 3 game mode (Joker gang vs Bane gang vs Batman & Robin).
The negatives are the bugs/glitches and issues with poor frame rate and freezing this game is having. However, the developers at WB are hard at work addressing these issues and will eventually be sorted, some of which have already been fixed.
At the end of the day, if you loved the first 2 games then you'll love this one. As a Batman fan in general, you'll really love this game, it was a very awesome experience and I enjoyed it (still am enjoying it) the most out of all three games so far. I should also mention future DLC, including the initiation pack where you get to train/fight as Bruce Wayne in a series of challenge maps to fight against one of his teachers. Also not forgetting the all new additional story which details will be announced in the near future.
Since this is a prequel, the story line takes place before both its predecessors. Bruce Wayne has only been Batman for two years and is still believed to be a myth by some, however in this one night the Batman truly makes his mark on Gotham City and opens up the gateway that leads himself up to becoming the Dark Knight the city needs.
This Batman is young, arrogant and full of anger and rage but is by no means an amateur. As shown when he takes on 8 assassin who are after the 50 million dollar bounty placed on his head.
The story is by far the best of the franchise, it feels the most batman like of all three games. It's darker and has a deeper story line as it expresses Batman more as a human and his vulnerability. In fact the character development is so well done in this game, you can actually feel Bruce Wayne's pain and anger and fears. The interaction between him and Alfred is very well done, you can feel the emotion and tension of their parent child relationship throughout the game.
The gameplay pretty much uses the same core mechanics of that in Arkham City with slight tweaks and improvements here and there. With an expanded Gotham, it gives you a map twice as big as its predecessor to explore. The fighting mechanics stay true to the series as well as the stealth aspect of the game too. There are a couple new gadgets you'll enjoy and some familiar ones that you'll recognise too. The boss battles are a real highlight of this game, keeping you on the edge of your seat at all times. For the first time we have the batcave as our base of operations and a new fast travel system which utilises the Batwing.
Just so you are aware, the voice talents of the legendary Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are absent from this game. Instead we get a younger take on Batman on Joker from the voice talents of Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker. Without a doubt they do an incredible job, I absolutely love Roger's take on Batman. It actually sounds like a young Kevin and we all know who Troy Baker is and how much talent he has. He absolutely stuns you with his Mark Hamill impression. You almost wouldn't realise it's a different voice actor. So no need to worry, these guys do a marvellous job filling in even bigger shoes.
The replay value is also why you need to purchase this game right away. Apart from the giant map, engaging story and tons of side missions; challenge maps also return. And just like how you could play as Catwoman in Arkham City, now you get to play as Deathstroke aka Slade Wilson, the worlds greatest assassin. Online multiplayer has been included which adds a new dimension to the game, it's very entertaining and fun to play; especially with friends in a 2 vs 2 vs 3 game mode (Joker gang vs Bane gang vs Batman & Robin).
The negatives are the bugs/glitches and issues with poor frame rate and freezing this game is having. However, the developers at WB are hard at work addressing these issues and will eventually be sorted, some of which have already been fixed.
At the end of the day, if you loved the first 2 games then you'll love this one. As a Batman fan in general, you'll really love this game, it was a very awesome experience and I enjoyed it (still am enjoying it) the most out of all three games so far. I should also mention future DLC, including the initiation pack where you get to train/fight as Bruce Wayne in a series of challenge maps to fight against one of his teachers. Also not forgetting the all new additional story which details will be announced in the near future.