Category: Opinion

The epic conclusion to the Arkham trilogy, and yes, though the twist made many a comic fan groan, it still is a epic game.

Joker is dead, but Gotham’s problems aren’t over. Scarecrow has returned with a more damaging and drastic version of his infamous toxin and a new foe has come to his aid. Armed with a badass suit and an army of trained badasses against Batman’s tactics, the Arkham Knight has come. On top of this, Batman is haunted by the death of his greatest enemy and we see Joker’s final plot come to fruition; his blood is mutagenic, causing his likeness and madness to spread through it’s victims like a virus.With everything Batman has built crashing all around him, can he survive when all seems lost?

So, first, I’m not going to spoil what I know pissed off a lot of people- the true identity of the Arkham Knight. That being said, the game’s story is great all around and we get perhaps one of Hamil’s greatest ever performances as Joker. Visually the game is breathtaking and the gameplay is honed beautifully, including the new Batmobile stuff. Besides playing as the Bat, we get to take command of his epic ride and actually get to fight alongside the Bat family and Catwoman in pretty damn fluid combat. It’s a nerds wet dream. Many of the problems I had with City got fixed. The only real issues I have is that you can’t get the real end until you beat the game with it’s overabundance of Riddler shit and some of the Batmobile shit is annoying after awhile. Overall, I highly recommend it even if the reveal wasn’t great. Best Wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

My old roommate Gambit used to be utterly obsessed with this game, and for the most part he ain’t even a DC fan except for Flash and Wonder Woman. First time I saw it action, I was blown away but the level of customization. DC Universe Online is a MMORPG that can be played on PC or PlayStation 3 and 4.

The main story is Brainiac is attacking Earth and the JLA gets informed by Lex Luthor from the future that he very well can kill the planet. Meanwhile, through Exobytes that are releasing powers in ordinary people, the JLA has to try to stop Brainiac…but not all are heroes. We create our own characters from scratch: allegiance to good or evil, which mentor we will follow (Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman/ Luthor, Joker, and Circe), our costumes, our powers, weapons and means of transportation. For example: my first character is a ice villain that flies, uses hand blasters, and follows Luthor. There’s a shit load of options at start which is really cool. The roster of heroes and villains we meet in game is amazing and epic to behold; it was a dream come true to stand with Jon Stewart and Killowag and fight Sinestro, defend Gotham from a fear gas attack by Scarecrow, or help Grodd beat Flash into the ground. But for all the game has to offer, there is one teeny tiny drawback: FUCKING PAY WALL! You’re able to get your character through the opening levels and up to tier 3 of 8 before it sets in, but I guarantee you, the game gets 50 times more incredible behind the pay wall. Also, many of the insanely strong powers lay behind there too like red lanterns, atomic, and celestial powers for example. Getting into a PVP match against these powers can wreck you quick if you aren’t very well equipped. It’s $15 a month and once and a while I play but I can’t keep up with it. Overall, it’s a really cool game with a gaping flaw. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

I wanted to talk about this when Christmas was closer because it is in fact a Christmas game, but I think holidays are holidays. So I saw the trailer and was blown away but the cinematic sharpness and come on, watching Batman and Deathstroke face off only to interrupted by Deadshot was amazing. So what happened?..

It’s Xmas Eve in Gotham. Batman is relatively fresh being a vigilante only pumping out a year or two at this point. Most of the police are corrupt as hell and a spunky Detective named Jim Gordon wants to take Batman down as well as the other trash in Gotham. The cruel gangster Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, is fed up with Batman and decides to deliver an enticing offer to eight assassins to have Batman dead by Xmas morning and the killer will have a shit load of cash. These assassins are Killer Croc, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Firefly, Copperhead, Shiva, Electrocuitoner, and Bane. I loved it so far until one question popped up, and after that I groaned…”Who’s the Joker?” Yep, this entire game boils down to the first time Batman and Joker met, oh and the first time Bane used super roids.

For the most part, Origin feels like a glitchier version of Arkham City with a Xmas skin on it. Without internet, this thing kept freezing more than my experience with the trilogy combined. Not to say there isn’t fun. Fighting is just as fun and many of the boss battles are fun to play. Deathstroke steals the show as probably the best Arkham boss fight to date, followed closely with Firefly. The story isn’t bad on a whole but it becomes apparent a lot of the Dark Knight trilogy found its way into this thing: Joker’s face has been cut, Bane looks and speaks like Tom Hardy’s version, and Batman growls when he talks. Ugh, Batman pissed me off in this game. He ends up being a selfish, know-it-all asshole most of the game; Conroy doesn’t do the voice either, nor did Hamil return as Joker. Baker does a fair shot at Joker, I give him that. I’d say if you loved City, Origins is worth a single playthrough but not much further than that. I ain’t going to trash it but I won’t count it among the trilogy. Best wishes everyone and may the gaming gods bring you glory.