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Don't be surprised should you end up muttering to yourself, "Too. The Batmobile is also the centerpiece of a number of mediocre boss encounters, all manner of puzzles, boring cat-and-mouse games with superpowered tanks, and even some of the Riddler's many optional challenges scattered across the city.
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The story's final hours succumb to a series of same-ish battles that play out more or less like the last, lending an air of tedium to what should be the game's most poignant surprises. His orphan skills go underutilized, however.īut in spite of the upgrades the Batmobile earns over time-EMP blasts, the ability to hack enemy drones, and so forth-the Batmobile battles never become more interesting, just more monotonous, as they seem to go on forever. Gameplay utilizes Batman's excellent detective skills. All the while, you fire your cannons at the drones and use small fire to eliminate missiles fired upon you the dark sky lights up during these battles, giving vehicular combat an initial spark, and making you the director of a spectacularly violent fireworks display. You strafe from side to side, sliding the vehicle into safe areas between the visible lines that indicate the path of incoming enemy rockets. When you first engage in this kind of combat, which turns the Batmobile into an agile tank, it's a delight. Particularly in the latter third of the story, you're frequently forced to take part in vehicular battles against remotely manned drones. As a result, Arkham Knight is constantly trying to justify the Batmobile's presence, forcing it upon you at nearly every opportunity. Yet there's no beating the incredible rush of using your line launcher to fling yourself through the sky-and it's worth mentioning that taking to the air is usually faster than settling behind the wheel. The driving itself is slick and satisfying, as long as you can overlook Rocksteady's tendency to wrest away camera control to show you some dramatic sight or another. For the first time in this series, you can leap into the iconic vehicle and zoom down the streets, drifting around tight turns and pursuing key vehicles as they speed away. There is another, more surprising obstacle which you must overcome if you wish to retain your ownership of Gotham's skies, however: the Batmobile. Scarecrow, Arkham Knight, and the legacy of the now-dead Joker loom large over this freedom. Now Playing: Batman: Arkham Knight - Video Review Hey, it's the Batmobile! Over and over! It's fortunate, then, that Arkham Knight, for all its ham-fisted storytelling and frequent returns to well-trod ground, features the qualities developer Rocksteady has infused its previous games with: superb production values, hard-hitting combat, and a wonderful sense of freedom as you soar above the skies of Gotham.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's We've seen these themes before, many times over, and Batman: Arkham Knight's villains repeat them ad nauseum, as if you weren't already choking on heavy-handed metaphors at every turn. Arkham Knight is no exception: the caped crusader growls his way through one confrontation after another in which he must question his role in Gotham's current crisis. "All eyes, all hopes upon a man who fails his friends," calls out Scarecrow through Gotham's public networks, reminding Bruce Wayne that he, too, bears responsibility for the losses his loved ones endure.īatman is a troubled hero, and past Arkham games haven't shied away from exploring his dark side. Scarecrow similarly trades on Batman's doubts, attempting to convince the troubled hero of his own impotence at every turn. "That's all it will take." At every opportunity, the Knight speaks of the horrific deeds he might perform, doing his best to drive fear into Batman's heart throughout the open-world adventure game that features his name. "A clean shot to the head," drones the villain known as Arkham Knight.