The Batman simulator we deserve, Batman Arkham Knight Review

Batman Arkham Knight (XboxOne, PC, PS4) (Rated Mature)

I have been a huge fan of the Arkham series since its inception. Arkham Asylum was a standard-setting action game; it had a great story and some the best combat of it's time. Asylum was followed up by the equally spectacular Arkahm City, City once again featured another great story, though it was not as good as the first's, it still had many awesome moments; tt also had some of the most refined and well-tuned combat that not only bested Asylum, but is among some of the best in any action game to date. City was followed by Arkham Origins, a prequel to Asylum, it had yet another superb story, which I enjoyed even more than City's; nevertheless, Origins did very little new, and was not as refined as the previous two entries, it is worth noting that the team responsible for the first two games, did not make Origins. Now the original development team is back, and closing out the Arkham story line; but, is it the conclusion to the series we deserve? 

I am incredibly happy to announce, that not only is it a fitting end to the series, it is the best in the series as well; and one of the year's best games so far. While the previous two game technically takes place in an open world. They were broken up by loading screens, they also felt rather small and more like a playground than a living breathing world. Now in Arkham Knight, not only is the entire world seamless, it is larger than ever before while also featuring the most detailed environments in the franchise's history. The world is also visually beautiful and features a great rendition of Gotham. I was skeptical of how the world would feel. As much as I loved Origins and City, I never truly enjoyed those worlds, as much as I did Asylum's. They were stunning and well designed; yet they did not have the same amazing atmosphere that Asylum did. While I was concerned how the world would feel, after playing for a few minutes all my concerns disappeared. The art style and atmosphere reminded me of BladeRunner; it feels like a very different kind of Gotham. It is a joy to explore, the game also has jaw-dropping visuals; it is also one of the best looking game's to date. Beyond even that, it features the first time you can drive the Batmobile.

I was hesitant though, seeing the footage of the new Batmobile the style was odd and seeing it turn into a tank, did not seem very Batman like. Thankfully, once I started playing, I instantly fell in love with the new version of my favorite car. While in car mode, the mobile drives like a bat out of hell; it corners and moves like a Ferrari, while being as destructive as a tank. It takes a little while to get used to the controls; but once you do, moving through the city and taking part in high-speed chases is incredibly tense and viscerally satisfying. The sheer jaw-dropping nature of driving the Batmobile, never wears thin; I never lost that feeling of oh my god, i'm driving the fucking Batmobile. This is as fun as any driving game, things change a bit when you toggle tank mode; moving the Bat-tank is a bit clumsy, to begin with, while it can move with more precision than the car mode, it lacks the car's agility. But what it lacks in speed, it makes up with sheer firepower. 

It packs a machine gun, cannon, and a less-lethal riot gun for human enemies. You will notice I said a less-lethal riot gun, this is because Batman does not kill people; and I am happy to see that they integrated the tank combat, while maintaining the sense of being Batman. You will use the riot gun to knock out human enemies, while using the other more destructive weapons on drones. Yes, you will be fighting drones; and a ton of them at that. All throughout Gotham unmanned drones roam the city, and you are free to obliterate them. These action scenes are tons of fun, and feature extremely satisfying cinematic styled gameplay. The game also features race tracks, vehicle puzzles and even some vehicle platforming sections; there are plenty of opportunities to pilot the Batmobile. These sections are for the most part skippable; but, they also give the game plenty of variety, something the previous game's lacked. Beyond driving around in your Batmobile or Bat-tank, you can also launch yourself out of the vehicle at extremely high speeds to reach greater heights and glide further; which is not only extremely useful, it is damn fun to do. The Batmobile is not simply tacked on, it is an essential part of the game, and it is extremely well refined and designed.

There is tons of content beyond the 10 to 12-hour story, the game packs another 10 to 15 hours of side content; which features plenty of high points that are as good as the stories best moments. The game's sense of exploration and puzzle solving reminded me of Zelda in a way. It has that sense of adventure, fun and atmosphere that makes Zelda such a classic.  Hand to hand combat features the same level of refinement and craftsmanship seen in the rest of the game. Having played the other Arkham game's, I always thought it can not get better than this; the series is known for it's extremely intuitive and satisfying combat; and Knight takes that fantastic combat system, and polishes it so well that it outshines the past games and then some. The mechanics feel very similar, but Batman is brutally powerful, in fact, he is vastly more powerful than he was in the past 3 games. You will face enemies in far greater numbers than ever before. While Batman is extremely powerful this time around, combat still has the same satisfying challenge found in the previous games.

Something new in this installment is that there are a few times you will team up with members of the Bat-family. You will switch control between Batman and his partner to take on huge waves of enemies, these moments are among the games many highlights. You and your partner can execute a team finisher attack, which is extremely riveting. It is also just tons of fun to play as Robin or Catwoman while fighting beside Batman. There is just so much in here for a Batman fanatic to sink our teeth into. The storyline this time revolves around Gotham being threatened by the Scarecrow. The threat of a massive fear toxin attack causes all the decent people to evacuate Gotham, leaving tons of criminals and only a few good people to hold back the chaos. Of course, there is more to the story than that, featuring a new enemy the Arkham Knight, along with many of Batman's mortal enemies. The story as I noted before, also has a far bigger part for the Bat-family. While many of Batman's allies were mentioned or featured in some form in the past game's, they were more or less just cameos, and not essential parts of the story. I was extremely happy to see them have a much bigger part this time around. The story is my favorite of the series, I enjoyed where they take Batman's character in this story, and I also really enjoyed the way the game used so many of Batman's famous characters. The writing is the best the series has seen, and features the same high-quality performances you have come to expect. Kevin Conroy who is regarded as the best Batman of all time, and my favorite Batman, gives one of his finest performances. But also the entire cast truly delivered some of the best performances I have seen all year.

It is also worth noting just how dark this game is. This is the first Mature rated Batman game, and the gloves definitely came off this time. While there is not a ton of cursing or even gory images, the tone is darker than any of the other game's. It is also far more brutal in its level of violence, while there is not a lot of gore; the viciousness of the violence is unmatched. The even darker take on Batman, is a great way to end the series. And it is an epic conclusion to one of the greatest superhero game franchises around. The story is incredibly dark, and had many moments that left me utterly stunned. But at this game's core, it is just an immensely fun experience. For fans this is the closest we will ever get to being The Batman. For everyone else, this will still be one of the funnest action game's you will play all year. But that is not to say it does not have a few flaws.

The game did crash on me a couple of times, the frame rate also dropped noticeably at times. The game does have it's technical issues, but I am glad to say they were all very rare and infrequent. There is no such thing as a perfect game, but this is as close to perfection as a game can get. And I finally feel like I am the goddamn Batman. 

A mature fantasy epic, The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Review

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt (Xboxone, PS4) (Rated Mature)

Sitting down to play a new game is always thrilling, but few games have sucked me into the world like The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt has. Sure it is the third entry in the series, but you do not need any knowledge of the past installments, to thoroughly enjoy this game. I only dabbled in the first Witcher game, and while I spent quite a few hours in the second, this game is so well constructed that from the moment the game begins, I was instantly captivated and immersed in this huge world.

This is a world you will live in, explore, quest in and, experience an incredible story that gives meaningful context to the gameplay. I love playing open world RPG's, games that give me a sand box to go adventure in, or a story to make my own. A few of those experiences managed to create worlds I could really live in, and a story that was as good as any great fantasy film or novel. The Witcher 3's story is as well written as they come, the world is inhabited by so many diverse characters, and each has their own story to tell. Yes there is a main story arc, and it is the main catalyst for the game, but there are so many other stories the game has to tell. And even the smallest most insignificant side quest, has a story that is more than just a reason to kill things. All of the game's stories are treated with the same level of detail as the game's main arc. Each character is brought to life with the same level of nuance, every character you interact with gives performances that are not just well voiced, but truly well acted. The level of emotion you can see in each character is second to none.        

This is what makes the world feel so alive, each character I met felt like they had their own story, and often theirs was just as interesting as mine was. And that is not to that Geralt's story is not incredible, it is, and his story hits all the marks I wanted it to. The story has great depth, featuring politics, war, romance and an epic conflict. But what makes it all interesting, is that at its core, this is a very human story, based on finding your long lost daughter. And you just feel emotionally connected to the world, which is very rare. Running around in a world this beautiful would always be fun, but having that connection to the world, makes for the type of experience I play game's for.

There is so much attention to detail in this game, and frankly, it really is staggering to think, that every part of this game is just as well crafted as the last. Yes, the story is on the same level as Lord Of The Rings Or Star Wars, but the world you get to explore is also mind blowing. The world is not just massive and packed with content, it is varied and unique as well. You can simply ride along the road and go from village to village, but you could also explore the forests and swamps to find hidden treasures and things to do. This is not a game about loot, but there is plenty of weapons, armor and other trinkets for you loot fans. Walking through a thickly wooded area, and stumbling upon some small but fascinating story gives you a reason to go off the beaten path. And this is a game about forging your own path in the world, while it is a very story driven, you are the one behind the wheel, and your choices shape the world you inhabit.  You can also get Geralt a shave and then watch his beard grow back. Totally random addtiion, but a fantastic little detail.  

The world is separated into many distinctive lands, which you can explore at your own pace, and the way the world is constructed really keeps it from ever feeling daunting. While a good portion of the game is about conversations and interacting with other characters, the game is also about exploration and combat. Moving through the world is very easy, Geralt can run, jump or climb in the environment which makes him feel very capable, but you also have your trust steed Roach and access to boats to reach the game's many islands. Controlling all your methods of traversal is intuitive and smooth, the same can also be said about the game's combat, most of the time. The Witcher 3 takes most of its combat queues from the Arkham games, while it does have it's own rhythm, it does play for the most part in the same style as Batman does. 

You will be able to move swiftly during combat, dodging or striking with great speed and efficiency, and it is very easy to pick up and hold your own during the game's many battles. 95% of the time, combat felt immaculate, moving from enemy to enemy was smooth, striking your opponents was weighty and satisfying, along with some killer executions and many dismemberments with bloody results. However, there were times that something felt off, I can not quite explain it but it just felt like the game's internal rhythm got out of whack.Which is unfortunate, still these few moments that feel off, does not take away from the times when everything feels right. The games parrying mechanic was a bit strange, but this was the only part of combat that felt off.

But you have more at your disposal than blades, you also have magic abilities to use in combat, these really spice things up and give you more options. You also have a crossbow, used mainly to knock flying enemies out of the sky, it is also good for taking out low-level enemies from a distance. Combat does have a certain tactical edge, while it is never frustrating, combat does require some thought. You can survive on pure reflex, but you will thrive with a bit of thought. You can even fight from horseback, though this is mostly for either low-level mobs of enemies or getting in an attack before you dismount. There is also an investigative mode in the game, where you use your "witcher" sense to find clues in the environment. This does make hunting monsters more than a simple fetch quest, and I did enjoy the added element of solving a mystery or being a detective of sorts. With that said, however, your "witcher" sense does not work as well as it should. Your sense highlights the clues in the environment, but it is often difficult to even see the smaller items, the red outline that should help you find what your looking for, is often extremely difficult to see. Still, it is rewarding to find the clues and solve the mystery at hand, but there were moments when I was slightly frustrated. Fortunately, none of these sections are long or frequent, and some of them manage to rise above the mechanics shortcomings.   

Exploring the world and crafting your own stories are a big part of the best moments in The Witcher 3. While I always had an objective to tackle, there were plenty of times I just wandered around the world, looking for loot or monsters to slay. Beyond having fun gameplay and a well-made story, the world is also gorgeous to view. Every new area is as eye-catching as the last, and there were times I just wanted to sit down and observe this stunning world. The color palate is wide, with areas filled with color or areas devoid of any color. It's not just artistically lovely, the world is incredibly well designed with clean textures, spectacular visual effects and meticulously detailed character models.  

That is not to say there are not faults in the visual presentation, sadly there are several visual bugs and glitches. There is plenty of pop in, strange animation or character behavior, and the frame rate does wig out at times. Thankfully, this never happened during combat, and most of the time never affected gameplay. Most of the time the glitches take place during cutscenes or story moments, while it is noticeable it did not affect how the game played. With all that said, however, I did experience one game crash, the game had just autosaved so it was not a big deal for me. But it can happen, thankfully most of the time the game has few issues, and almost none of them affect gameplay or become intrusive to the experience. 

The other good thing is the developers are working hard to patch the game, so rest assured that your experience will be a hassle free and enjoyable one. There is a staggering amount of content in this game, and your playthrough can easily last over 100 hours. And what really makes those hours tick by, is just how diverse the game's mood can be. There is plenty of action, romance, humor and even tragedy sprinkled all through the game. And as I kept playing all I felt was that sense of awe, few games give me feelings like this. I am not trying to be over indulgent in how I praise this game, but it just is truly that good. 

For me, this is one of those games that just has that "it" factor that "magical" quality all games strive for. And while it does have more than a few faults, these never hold the game back from greatness. I firmly believe no game is perfect, no game can truly be flawless, however, a game can get so much right, that none of its faults matter. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt is one of those game's that gets more than enough right, it may not be flawless, but it is a masterpiece. On a side note, a new addition to my reviews will be talking about how the experience is while smoking some bud. No that is not a joke, and if it turns you off, bummer man. 

I write about games not to judge them, but because I love talking about games, I also love smoking weed and it goes hand in hand with gaming for me. I do not believe in being oppressed by what is acceptable and what isn't. Anything that improves someone's quality of life, is a good thing. Games are not just fun, they add great joy to my life, weed does the same. Neither gaming nor smoking weed hurt anyone, as long as something adds to a person's life and does not hurt anyone, it should be allowed to be talked about with positivity and not censorship. For me, this is already just a fun world to inhabit, and an incredibly immersive experience. But this is the perfect game to play stoned, you are just so dialed into the world that everything feels more kinetic and vibrant. While combat does require some reflexes, put the difficulty on easy and just soak up the story and atmosphere. It is an awesome trip, one I can't wait to take again.