Month: February 2023

Here’s the links to all three of my retrospectives/reviews of the Batman Arkham series by Rocksteady:

Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) Retrospective/Review

Batman: Arkham City (2011) Game Retrospective/Review

Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) Retrospective/Review

After two damn near perfect Batman games with 2009’s Arkham Asylum and 2011’s Arkham City along with an inconsequential but still enjoyable prequel installment in 2013’s Arkham: Origins (which I’m not covering), we would get 2015’s Batman: Arkham Knight, the intended finale to the Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham franchise, at least until that Suicide Squad game would come along eight years later.

At the time this game came out, the reactions were fascinating. Despite the strong critical reviews at it’s release, the fans’ response was more divisive. Some found it to be a worthy conclusion to the series and just as good as the entries that came before it while others were fairly underwhelmed by it. This mostly had to do with some of the new features added in the game, most notably the Batmobile and the Arkham Knight himself. Just like with any other franchise that tends to have two beloved first chapters of a story, the third and final one always tends to be the hardest to get right. In the case of Batman: Arkham Knight, it basically had to find a way to end this version of the Caped Crusader on a high note with an ending that made logical sense for the character and would (mostly) not have the most iconic comic book villain of all time. I’m sure Christopher Nolan can relate to trying to meet unrealistic expectations with a finale on those terms. However, now that eight years has passed and we are about to explore the Arkhamverse yet again with Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League coming in May, how does Arkham Knight hold up? Does it deserve the criticism that it gets or were people perhaps too harsh on it and should now appreciate it for what it was able to achieve on it’s own merits?

Plot:

Taking place on Halloween night and nine months after Arkham City, Scarecrow has returned and is able to get the entire civilian population of Gotham City evacuated after he threatens to unleash his potent fear toxin. The only ones remaining in the now deserted town is the police force from Blackgate prison and the unleashed criminals who now have the entire streets to themselves. Batman is called into action once again alongside his partners in Commissioner James Gordon, his daughter Barbara Gordon A.K.A. Oracle (who Jim doesn’t know is still in the city and is working for Batman), Alfred, Lucius Fox, Robin, and Nightwing.

As Batman tracks down Scarecrow, he finds himself encountering a new nemesis in the Arkham Knight, a trained and highly skilled fighter whose identity is unknown but seemingly knows a lot about Batman and has a big grudge against him. Batman discovers that the Arkham Knight is teaming up with Scarecrow to take over Gotham with his heavily numbered and armored special forces.

After locating Scarecrow, Batman discovers that he has turned the entire location of his hideout into a toxic bomb, one that could plague the entire city with that fear toxin. During his encounter, Scarecrow reveals that Oracle has been kidnapped before escaping. Exposing himself to the toxin, Batman is able to inhibit the bomb’s blast radius before he’s seemingly confronted by the Joker out of nowhere.

However, the Joker that is presented is not actually the real Joker himself but an hallucination in Batman’s mind. This is an effect of the fear toxin and Joker’s infected blood still being a part of Batman that the clown transfused in the Dark Knight in Arkham City. The blood that the Joker sent shipments to Gotham hospitals in Arkham City effected four other members in Gotham which seemingly turns that person into their own version of the Joker, with the fifth member being Batman himself. Throughout the story, the Joker frequently appears in mental projection form to taunt Batman and twist his perception of reality.

Once again, we see that Batman has a lot on his plate for the night. He has to stop Scarecrow’s plan, discover the identity of the Arkham Knight, rescue his friends, and take back the entirety of Gotham City from his most known enemies in what could be Bruce’s final night as Batman.

When discussing the plot of Batman: Arkham Knight, it’s quite complicated. Not necessarily because it’s hard to follow or not easy to talk about without spoilers (aside from the Arkham Knight himself) but with the way it decides to wrap up the Arkhamverse as a whole. It’s no secret that Paul Dini, the long known writer for Batman who wrote Arkham Asylum and City, did not return to write the script for this game. It’s believed that it was due to creative differences from Rocksteady over the story direction for Knight such as more focus on Hush, Azrael, and Harley Quinn having her own kid along with the company just wanting their own writers for their upcoming games instead of freelance ones. Changing the writers for a finale is usually a big risk as you loses the voice from the folks who made your previous chapters such a success. Even with Sefton Hill returning, the only returning write from Arkham City, you do definitely get the sense that this story was written by complete different writers from the other Arkham games, for better and worse.

On paper, this should be the best story of the entire Arkham franchise. It contains the biggest stakes, the highest tension, the direst consequences, the hugest risks, and certainly the most personal story for Batman. It contains the most focus on Gotham City itself, the biggest internal conflict for Bruce Wayne as Batman, how his action as Batman as brought out the worst from those close to him, and actually dares to end the Caped Crusader in a way that feels definite but also earnest. These all feel like the perfect ideas to make for a perfect finale. How is it in execution? Well, it’s make for both the very best and very worst storytelling of the Arkham franchise.

What it gets right is the way it wraps up the story by showcasing the consequences that being Batman can have on Bruce involving the people he loves. Despite having plenty of allies who have fought greatly by his side, getting them involved to help fight crime will always put their lives in great danger and leave a huge red target on their back. If the way his enemies go to destroy the one he cares about with success, then what exactly is Batman’s purpose? If he isn’t making criminals scare and is only empowering them, how can Bruce still be Batman? Is there a way for the meaning of Batman to evolve or does their need to be a brand new symbol of hope for Gotham City to rally upon? Arkham Knight is able to provide strong answers to every one of those questions and make a ending that ties these themes together quite well. Questioning the mythos of a beloved character is always risky but it works for the better for the purpose of this story.

Another great strength involves the focus on Scarecrow as the main villain. Despite the Joker now being dead and bringing back who was mostly a side villain from Arkham Asylum, Scarecrow is basically the perfect bad guy for this final installment. He is someone that aims to destroy Batman mentally and spiritually making him suffer during every last moments of living breath. He wants to unmask Batman in the hopes of showing to the world that even a strong man like him can break under the weight of his own fear. Aided by a more threatening character design and incredibly stellar voice work by John Noble, Scarecrow does make for a terrifying villain and one that is certainly the most frightening opponent that Batman has ever faced. For a villain that had somewhat of a reputation as being a joke, I don’t think anyone could make the case for that anymore thanks to this game.

What’s even more creative is the way that the Joker is implemented in the story. Even if the character is technically now dead in this universe, he has probably never been more alive than in this game. While the Joker may be gone, the consequences of his actions still remains in the head of Batman and the other folks he had infected with his blood. With a story that is as moody and dark as Arkham Knight, the Joker’s appearance is able to add some much needed levity to certain sections of the game, which is aided greatly by Mark Hamill returning to reprise his role once again. Even if it was this point in time where the Joker was now getting INCREDIBLY overexposed and I likely would not be as favorable of his return if it wasn’t Hamill voicing him, it was probably the best way to tie up Batman’s connection to the Joker following the clown’s death. Plus, without getting too heavily into spoilers, the final confrontation between the two could not have been any better.

When it comes to the Arkham Knight himself, this is when you starting diving into the worst elements of this game. I won’t go too deep into why this character just doesn’t work for me as I do have a future piece in the works that goes into great details but this was the one element that really held the plot of the game back for me. I love the idea of having a mysterious figure who knows Batman’s every move and seem to have his own vendetta against Batman due to mistakes he’s made in the past. However, it’s the reveal of who the character actually is that just feels like a total cop-out.

This mainly has to do with the promotion of the game where Rocksteady tried to throw everyone off claiming the Arkham Knight would be a wholly original character and someone you haven’t seen before. However, just like J.J. Abrams and crew tried their hardest to convince everyone beforehand that Benedict Cumberbatch wasn’t playing Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness, Rocksteady tried their hardest to convince everyone that the Arkham Knight would be a brand new character. In both cases, it was a lie and the characters felt more designed for marketing purposes rather than for the purposes of their own stories.

It’s not that what’s done with the Arkham Knight is inherently bad in it’s own right and I’m sure that folks who aren’t as familiar with Batman lore might view the big reveal as a legit surprise, it just doesn’t feel like it fits with this iteration of Batman. It’s basically the exact same origin story as another well-known character but with slightly different motivations to have the character make more sense in this universe. It also just comes out of left field since the character himself had been barely hinted at in any other Arkham games with only an occasional reference or two that was clearly never meant to be anything except for that. That’s not even going into the thousand of mentions and references the game drops out of nowhere at one point which basically spells out the reveal right there. I won’t spoiler who it is for those who still are unaware but I certainly found this aspect of the story very underwhelming.

I do also find it odd how despite the initial premise of the game hinted at all of Batman’s deadliest foes coming together to stop Batman, most of them don’t serve a purpose to the main plot except for Scarecrow and Arkham Knight. While we see a few new villains returning such as Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn that you run into every once in a while, they don’t really serve much narrative purpose and only seem added to pad the campaign. I guess this decision was likely done to make room for the other side missions in the story and the writers perhaps thought that players being required to take 100% control of Gotham City is enough in it’s own right to make the villains matter but I wish putting them all away felt more important to the main A plot of the game instead of the multiple B plots with the story.

When it comes to the plot of Batman: Arkham Knight, it’s quite a mixed bag. When it works, it some of the best moments in not just the Arkham series but in the history of Batman. When it doesn’t work, then it’s quite frustrating and will leave you a feeling that it left much to be desired. I guess that’s the price you pay when you write a finale that dares to swing for the fences. Or maybe just changing up the writers for your intended finale.

Gameplay:

Just like with the previous games in the series, Batman: Arkham Knight is an action adventure game set with it’s own open world of Gotham City. A good majority of the gadgets and gameplay elements make a return here with a few upgrades added to them. As Batman, the player is still able to fly, glide, jump, climb, crouch, punch, kick, and use any item or gadget that they need along with the useful detective mode. I’m not gonna go too deep into these elements since the previous two Arkham reviews already covered it but I will focus more on the new things that the game adds.

Among the new gadgets, the main one that makes a huge difference is the Voice Synthesizer. With this gadget, the player can use it to be able to imitate other character’s voices such as Harley Quinn and the Arkham Knight. This is mostly use to manipulate the thugs either to open up certain doors for you or just so they can walk into a trap you have set for them. This is a device so genius that it kinda makes you wonder why Batman hadn’t come up with that idea before until now.

A bigger emphasis this game has than the other Arkham games is with exploring Gotham City. While this was introduced in Origins, you still had the sense that it barely scratch the surface on what Gotham was. Here, you truly get the sense of scope and scale that the city provides. Even bigger than Arkham City itself, this is the first time in any Batman game that you got a true look at Gotham City itself. Whether you are gliding through the skies with the much improved gliding system that allows for longer flights or roaming through the streets with the Batmobile (which will be discussed later), you will likely have the time of your life exploring the ins and outs of Gotham City. It does feel odd how it took until this game to get a true look at the one city that Batman swore himself to protect but now we have it, I don’t think I could have asked for it any other way.

The “FreeFlow” combat system makes a return here that has been tweaked and improved upon to make the combat somehow even more fluid and fun than it was before. Whether it’s the basic attacks to take out enemies or ones where you have to perform certain actions to properly defeat them, it hasn’t been more satisfying than it has been here. The strikes feel more powerful, the counters feel more accurate, and the dodging feels more on point than ever before. Disarming enemies also is much better as you might find yourself attacking enemies more head on because of it. As time comes by during these Even more so than any other Arkham game, taking out criminals have never felt sweeter.

What helps make the combat even more sweeter is the introduction of the Dual Play. During missions where you are fighting alongside one of your allies such as Robin, Nightwing, or Catwoman in freeflow combat, the player has the opportunity to switch with one of those characters in battle and perform a double-team takedown to take out their opponents. These appear whenever the players enters an uninterrupted combat-streak that you can build up to quicker with the more combos you are able to pull together. Each successful, uninterrupted attack adds to the player’s combat score, which can carry over between each controlled character, and unlocks those double-team takedowns at a higher score. If you ever wanted to get a good sense on how not only how it feels to be Batman during combat but also fighting alongside his allies, then you will definitely get a great sense of that here.

To make the encounters with enemies a tad more difficult, the game also introduces enemy medics. These are opponents who have the ability to shield enemies in electrified fields and even revive unconscious ones, enemies with swords, and brutes who can’t be damaged without the requirement of being stunned before attacked. Enemies are also capable of employing their own tactics to counter Batman’s various skills such as deploying landmines, controlling hovering drones, disabling vents if Batman is found using them, and detecting his location if Batman uses Detective Vision for too long. If it weren’t for the upgrades and improvements of the combat system, this might have come across as cheap and stupidly difficult but since it is, it does have some much need challenge to the game. What helps these sections greatly is the addition of the “fear takedown”, where Batman is able to take out up to five opponents at the same time as long as he remains undetected. Time is slow during each takedown which allows the player to take out each opponent in the designated time they need before the mode is inactive. Even it can be a tad annoying to the player, it does make for good character development from the part of the enemies to where they are now more prepared to fight Batman and knows his moves after the Caped Crusader had been fighting crime for over a decade now.

And of course, you can’t discussed the new gameplay elements of Arkham Knight without addressing the ENORMOUS elephant in the room that is the Batmobile. For the first time in the series, you are given the control to use the Batmobile. This is a vehicle that can be summoned anytime at an accurate location that you can call whether you are on foot or in the air. The Batmobile has the abilities to perform jumps, speed boosts, rotate on the spot, smash through objects, and fire missiles at enemy vehicles. There also two modes of it’s own that can be switched at any time: Pursuit and Battle. Pursuit is for moving from area to area and completing specific driving challenges, Battle is when the Batmobile transforms into a tank and using it’s weapon systems to attack enemy tanks head on, including a vulcan rotary cannon, a 60mm hypervelocity cannon for fire support, anti-tank guided missiles, and a non-lethal riot suppressor. Batman is also able to eject from the Batmobile and immediately begin gliding around Gotham City. Regardless of what objective you are completely throughout the game, you will find yourself using the Batmobile A LOT whether you like it or not.

This is the newest gameplay element that tends to make or break the game for most people. With this being the first game in the series to include the Batmobile, Rocksteady clearly wanted it to be an integral part of the gameplay. However, they perhaps they went a bit too far with that because there is so much of it in the game. I love the idea of having the Batmobile as it was something I’ve been wanting to control since the series begin and with this being the final entry where you explore all of Gotham City, this had to be included. That being said, you might likely find yourself to be really fatigued by it by the halfway point of the game.

There are certainly times where the Batmobile is really fun. It can be a joy to take out tanks with your machines guns or chase after an enemy with all the speed and firepower that you have. However, around the half way point, it starts to become way too much of a good thing. Whether you are focus on the main campaign or doing a random side mission, there will always be a section where you will be forced to use the Batmobile to complete an objective. This mostly amounts to either chasing after an enemy or doing tank battle after tank battle to get to the next part of the story. Heck, a good majority of the boss fights mostly amounts to either a chase or a tank battle with an opponent. Have you ever heard of the phrase, “less is more”? Well, Rocksteady clearly didn’t when it comes to the addition of the Batmobile.

My overall opinion of the Batmobile is like my overall opinion on sex, it’s great when it’s not forced upon you. Unfortunately, it’s forced upon you quite a bit in this game. So much so, that even the most meaningful enemy encounters of this game mostly involves to nothing but tank battles. Remember that glorious one-on-one duel between the Deathstroke in Arkham Origins? Well, if you were expecting a rematch of that! Prepare for disappointment! As much I admire the addition of the Batmobile, Rocksteady was just WAY too carried away of it which made you feel exhausted towards the end of the game.

The last main feature in terms of gameplay involves the side missions, or was is known in the game as “Most Wanted” missions. There are the side missions that can be completed at any time of the game and features prominent characters throughout Batman’s history. The main difference this time around is that these all need to be completed in order to get the true ending of the game. After completing the main campaign, Batman orders Alfred to unlock the so-called “Knightfall” protocol. In order to unlock the complete protocol, that would require to complete every single side mission in Gotham and put every known criminal back behind bars. Although, there is a time during it where it tells you are able to unlock the Knightfall protocol before doing that, that only unlocks half of the true ending. To get the complete true ending, you must fully 100% the whole game and take back the entirety of Gotham City like the goddamn Batman you are. While this will no doubt be very tiring, there is something rewarding about being able to accomplish something I doubt 90% of gamers would dare to do.

The side missions themselves though are honestly quite basic. There’s a handful of loose ends that are carried over from Arkham City such as Hush and Azrael but they aren’t giving the completely satisfying payoffs that the previous game was building up to. This might have to do with the changing of writers and perhaps Paul Dini may have had plans to have them serve a bigger purpose to the main story but it didn’t feel like it amount to much other than I guess that happened. The best by far involves the mission known as “The Perfect Crime”. That was the one which was intriguing, tense, and had an immensely satisfying payoff to who was involved with it the whole time. I won’t spoiler who it is but man, would I love to see that character be in a future Batman movie, perhaps the next Robert Pattinson Batman movie. Aside from that, it’s mostly nothing more than locking away the main bad guys doing the same things you’ve already been doing with not much new added to it.

Of course, the main side mission that you will likely spend the good majority of your time doing involves the dreaded Riddler once again. This time around, he has captured Catwoman, by putting a collar around her neck that could cause her head to explode unless Selina is able to find the right keys to unlock it. In order to free Catwoman, Batman most beat a number of challenges set up by the Riddler. These challenges consist of racing sections where you have to complete the course before time is up before going back to Riddler’s hideout to help Catwoman get the correct keys to unlock the collar. There are about ten of these sections you have to do before you are able to free Catwoman.

However, after saving Catwoman, you then have to go back and solve every single Riddler challenge you have remaining throughout Gotham City before you are able to fight them again. As before, these challenges consists of collecting trophies hidden throughout the city, using gadgets or Batman’s car, disable traps and barriers, and completing timed races. You are able to mark Riddler trophies on the in-game map once found if you don’t have the necessary equipment to beat the puzzle and learn of certain locations for collectables by interrogating the Riddler’s henchmen. There’s a total of 243 Riddler challenges and man, are they harder to solve than ever before.

I can’t tell you the massive amounts of time, energy, and searching up YouTube videos that I needed to gain all 243 of these things. If you weren’t sick and tired of The Riddler already, then you will certainly find yourself hating that man with a burning passion once you are going through these. Once I was able to unlock every single challenge that psycho provided, I couldn’t wait to kick his ass and boy, did I enjoy every single moment I did exactly that. Please, for the love of god, never bring back the Riddler! Never! Just don’t do it! Lock that psycho away in his own little claustrophobic that SOB deserves! Goodness gracious!

The last mention of gameplay features is that of AR challenges. These are challenges you start off with near the beginning of the campaign as you learn of each ability in combat, predator, gliding, and with the Batmobile and then is totally optional later on that can be used to gain XP points and unlock content. These are mostly akin to that of the side content from Asylum and City except there’s much more of it and has brand new missions involving the Batmobile itself. Just like with the Batmobile, it feels like it’s too much of a good thing that there are so much of these you have to complete in order to get all the trophies on your Playstation 4 account. I was able to do with Asylum and might some day do it with City but I highly doubt I will ever get every single trophy in Knight since it’s all just too much work. Also, the new game plus mode is back as well, just to let you know.

When it comes to the gameplay of Batman: Arkham Knight as a whole, it’s does about everything that it needed to do and what you could ask for with a next-gen Batman game. The combat is more fluid and fun, the gliding is faster and more enjoyable, the gadgets and detective vision are just as useful as before, and is still able to capture that feeling like you are indeed the Batman. When looking at it, this is probably the most polished gameplay out of all the Arkham games.

It’s just unfortunate that a good chunk of it is plagued by way too much focus on the Batmobile. These sections aren’t awful by any means and are fun in small doses but they are repetitive and really disrupts the pack to play here. Just like how the Arkham Knight bogs down to what is mostly a really good story, the Batmobile sections bog down to what is mostly really good gameplay.

Graphics:

The graphics in Arkham Knight is quite simply AMAZING! Not only is this hands down the best looking Batman game to date but this is still one of the most gorgeous games that I have ever seen period. From a technical standpoint, I don’t think there are many games during the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One era that looks anywhere near as good as this game did. Heck, I’m not even sure there are many games on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X that will be on the level as this game did.

Gotham City looks exactly like the exact corrupt cesspool of a town that you’ve always imagine it looking like in next gen form. The character models, while radically different than previous games, do fit greatly with the art style for the game. I love the way Batman looks when’s he flying through skies or zooming through the streets in his Batmobile. Like with the rest of the Arkham games, it’s able to look real and great enough but never goes too overboard in it’s realism.

Folks can say what they want about the game’s overall story and gameplay but I would be hard pressed to find everyone that would take issue with the way the game looks graphically. This is an amazing technical achievement in ways that I’ve never seen been accomplished before.

Sound:

The score for Arkham Knight had Nick Arundel return once again as he did with the previous Rocksteady Arkham games but this time around was assisted by David Buckley as oppose to Ron Fish. The pair teamed up to deliver a score that easily contains the most bleak and gloomy tracks of the entire Arkham series. Considering this was intended to be a bleak and gloomy finale, it perfectly captures that dark tone and haunting atmosphere that the game itself presents.

I wouldn’t call it my favorite score in the series as there isn’t as much tracks I go back to listen, with the exception of the main theme for The Perfect Crime. It still fits the game rather well but I don’t think the music stands out as much as it did in Asylum and City.

Similar to Arkham City, we have an enormous cast of well-known voice talent with both old and new faces in this series. And of course, just like with all the other previous games, it’s all stellar here and features some of the very best vocal performances in the series.

Kevin Conroy arguably gives his best performance in the whole Arkham series and possibly even the very best of his career here. With what is suppose to be Bruce Wayne’s most personal and emotional journey out of any of the games, there leaves plenty of room throughout for Bruce to show and express more emotion than he has ever had. Whenever that moment comes of Batman showing raw emotion or even brutality, Conroy absolutely nails it. It’s amazing how even though Kevin Conroy voiced the character as long as he has, he is still able to find new levels of depth and range to add to this iconic brooding character.

Mark Hamill makes an unexpected but very welcome return as Joker who is basically living rent free inside Batman’s head. He doesn’t get nearly as much material to work with as Conroy did as Joker is nothing more than an hallucination and feels like he’s here to add more levity to such a grim story but I can never get tired of hearing Mark Hamill’s iconic Joker laugh. You can definitely argue that this is when this series had rely way too much on Joker but at least Rocksteady was actually clever this time around to bring back the man who plays the clown prince of crime in the very best way.

The other returning members don’t get as much to do this time around but still fit their roles rather well. The returning voices include the likes of Grey Deslie as Catwoman, Troy Baker as Two-Face, Nolan North as Penguin, Wally Wingert as the Riddler and Tara Strong as Harley Quinn. And for those wondering, Strong is much better here as Harley than in Arkham City. It was at this point in 2015 that she had fully settled into the role after voicing the character multiple times and came into her own voice of Harley as oppose to just trying to copy Arleen Sorkin’s HQ voice and failing. I still prefer Arleen as Harley but Tara does makes for a worthy successor.

There were some other notable changes to the cast that are worth pointed out. We have Jonathan Banks, who played Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, as Commissioner Gordon and Ashley Greene, who played Alice Cullen in the Twilight movies (*shivers*), as Barbara Gordon/Oracle. I don’t why the changes to these voices were made but both of them do a fine job voicing the characters regardless that it never bother me to much. Although, there are times where Ehrmantraut walks a fine line between monotone and just sounding bored. And even if I didn’t care much for the Arkham Knight himself, Troy Baker does everything he can to make him an engaging character and a legit threat whenever it matters.

The one main standout with the new voice cast is no other than John Noble, from Fringe Frame, as Scarecrow. He is quite simply EXTRAODRINARY as this character. Not only giving hands down the best performance in the entire franchise but one of the best vocal performances I’ve heard in any video game. He is able to deliver every single line of dialogue from Crane with absolute convention and terror. He perfectly showcases why Scarecrow is an absolute threat who should be taking seriously and why he might just be the deadliest foe that Batman has ever come up against. Even when there are moments in the script where the character falls flat, it’s impossible to notice because how convincing Noble is in this role. If I ever do a list of my top 10 favorite vocal performances, I wouldn’t be suprised if John Noble as Scarecrow would be on that list because of how good he is in Arkham Knight.

Downloadable Content:

When it comes to DLC, Arkham Knight easily has the most amount of DLC in the series. Not only does it have all the skins, challenge maps, and allies you could ask for but even has a total of at least six different story packs. These packs allows you to play as different characters other than Batman. There’s the Harley Quinn pack, Red Hood pack, Batgirl: A Matter of Family pack with Batgirl and Robin, Catwoman’s Revenge pack, GCPD Locked Down pack with Nightwing, and A Flip of a Coin pack with Robin.

Most of these packs can be beaten in less than half an hour with the one main exception being the Batgirl pack which would probably take at least a full hour. The Batgirl one is probably the best one out of the bunch as that contains the best character work and progression of the bunch. Even if it technically acts as a prequel to Arkham Asylum, it does feel nice to see how Oracle was in her days as Batgirl before Joker paralyzed her. I can’t help but feel like these DLC packs were strictly made to address criticisms of the main game such as the lack of boss fights and not being able to play as other characters aside from team-up mode. It’s mostly fun but it kinda feels like too little too late.

There is also one other story pack called the Season of Infamy pack. It contains four missions with some of the other villains that didn’t appear in the main game such as Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, and even the League of Assassins returning to Gotham City in an attempt to resurrect Ra’s Al Ghul. I’ll admit I haven’t played this pack yet but for what I’ve heard and seen, these seem to be the best DLC pack of the bunch and felt more satisfying the majority of the main side missions in the game.

Just like with the DLC of the previous games, I was able to get all of this content for free and can’t speak for someone that had to pay extra bucks to be able to require it. I can’t speak for someone that had to buy the season pass at the time of it’s release to unlock all of this content. What I can say though is that Arkham Knight easily contains the most amount of DLC out of all the Arkham games. Not all of them are winners but the ones that are did help fix some of the flaws I had with the main game.

Conclusion:

In the end, when it comes to Batman: Arkham Knight, even with it’s undeniable flaws, I still can’t help but feel like this game is underappreciated. As much as many fans have loved to complain over the years about the bad elements to this game, not nearly enough attention is giving to the good elements of it, which are plenty. The game is graphically stunning, much of the combat and challenges are improved upon and even more fun, Gotham City is a delight to explore, the voice acting is superb, the themes are worth resonating and feel very Batman appropriate, and is able to find a fitting end to a character that isn’t very well enough for having definite endings. Yes, the story can be hit or miss but I still respect for the risks it takes and daring to go into the direction it goes. Yes, the Arkham Knight himself is underwhelming but I mostly view the title of Arkham Knight to resemble Batman more than anything else and he’s still a fine character in his own right, even if the emotional connections comes from other Batman media. Yes, the Batmobile is too much, but it does have it’s fun and badass moments throughout to not make it feel like a complete waste. Even with every con you can point out in this game comes a pro.

Do I think Arkham Knight is as good as Asylum or City? Not quite but I do feel there are plenty of instances where it comes pretty darn close. Had it perhaps tone down on the Batmobile and maybe handle the Arkham Knight a bit differently, it might have been on par if not better than those too. Even so, I strongly believe the positives of Arkham Knight far out way the negatives.

Regardless of how this new Suicide Squad game pans out, I do hope it encourages fans to look back on this series and see the amazing accomplishments that these games have turned out to be. Showcasing how superhero and license video games don’t have to suck. When you have the right amount of right people who want to create something special, it’s then you will have a gaming series as successful as the Batman Arkham series. Even when this series is not as it’s best, it still beats out the majority of other license games out there.

I really loved that I came back to revisit these games and realized how spoiled I’ve been to be able to grow up with these games. Not only showing my love for video games but my love for the character of Batman. This series fits greatly with the 90s animated series, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Tim Burton’s duology, and hopefully the Matt Reeves universe has being the definite forms of Batman medium in my eyes. Regardless of where the series goes from here with Kill The Justice League and beyond, I will always look back on these games and realized what amazing accomplishments they truly were.

In terms of the superhero world, don’t be surprised to see everyone’s favorite web swinger getting a special look back in anticipation for his newest game coming sometime this year.

Thanks to everyone that joined alone in my Batman Arkham retrospective this month and look forward to more content on this side soon! Have a good day! Cheers to a great March!

In an age where spoiler-free trailers and marketing for movies are at an all-time high, we tend to act more suspicious when going into a movie. While many of us surely like to go into a movie without knowing any of the big twists or surprises before hand, we also like to go into a movie where we don’t feel deceived by the pre-release coverage of it. Even if that is likely to be toned down now that movie studios can potentially be sued for false advertising (Yes, that does seem to be happening! Go look it up!), there are times where it’s hard to keep our expectations in check because we don’t know exactly what movie we are going to get once we are in the theaters. Which makes it all the more refreshing when we get a movie like Cocaine Bear, where the people behind it clearly have no intended on trying to trick the audiences or catch them off guard with what movie they should expect but would rather make it’s exact bizarre premise as the major selling point of the whole thing.

I’m not sure there’s much to say about Cocaine Bear than that it’s exactly the movie that the trailers and marketing has advertised itself as. You have a group of both recognizable and unrecognizable actors trying to run for their dear lives from a CGI bear who is addicted to cocaine and is all the more violent because of it. There’s some laughs, some thrills, some intense moments, some brutal moments, and it’s all paced well in a refreshingly brief 95-minute long runtime. You can argue it’s uneven, has too many characters or subplots, and never fully committees to the two distinct tones that the movie flirts with but then again, it’s a movie about a cocaine bear. If that’s not enough to get you interested, then I don’t even know why you are still bothering reading the rest of this review.

Premise: Cocaine Bear is inspired by the true life story of the known “cocaine bear” referred to as Pablo Eskobear. After a 500-pound black bear consumes a mountain-sized amount of cocaine, she (Yes, the bear is a woman!) embarks on a drug-fueled rampage to eat or kill anyone or anything that stands in her way. Caught in the middle of a rampage is an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists, and teenagers that come together in a Georgia forest. It’s then that they all must figure out how to survive this insanely high bear before they all get eaten.

First off, let’s get this out of the way, No! None of the things that happen in this movie is real other than there once was a real alive bear that was high on cocaine at some point. There’s no way a bear would be able to survive as long as it does in this movie with that much cocaine stuck inside it for that long period of time. This shouldn’t matter unless you are an historically accurate purist but there you go.

What does matter tho is the way director Elizabeth Banks and writer Jimmy Warden are able to play with this insane idea as straight forward as you would expect along with something a bit extra sprinkled throughout. By that I mean it’s able to flirt with the notion of being an intense horror-filled thriller with the way the cocaine bear is presented with killing people and leaving plenty of gore and carnage lying around but still is able to commit to being the dark, black comedy that it is. Even if the movie perhaps goes a bit too far in trying to make you “care” for the other characters when you know at least some of them are gonna be eating anyway, there is still plenty of cocaine bear action when it counts. Even when there are instances where it might seem like the movie is losing track of what people are going to see this movie for, it always remembers to turn it’s attention to the central bear doing something funny, crazy, or brutal. It doesn’t quite reach the level of self-awareness in a way that M3GAN did, but it is nice to see Universal continuing to crank out these kind of movies that come off as fresh and a grand feeling of giving folk’s their fully money’s worth.

The cast we are presented with is a whole lot of fun. Keri Russell just seems like she’s about to fit herself greatly into that category of badass mothers in Hollywood with the way she plays her character in this movie. Alden Ehrenreich is done more justice here than Disney or Lucasfilm ever bothered to do with him as Han Solo. The back and forth rivalry between Isiah Whitlock Jr. and O’Shea Jackson Jr. makes for some of the best laughs in the entire movie. Margo Martindale is a scene stealer in every scene that she is in. And of course, the late great Ray Liotta is utilized very well here and the film dedicates his memory greatly in what tends to be one of his final performances.

However, the real star of the movie here is no other than the Cocaine Bear herself. The CGI on the bear is absolute top-notch with there not being very many moments where you won’t be able to buy the effects on it. It’s able to provide with the right amount of laughs, thrills, and tension every time the bear appears on screen.

Whether you are chuckling whenever the bear sprays itself with the cocaine, scared to death whenever it’s about to attack one of our main characters you may like, or thrilled to see it dismantled one of our main characters you hate lime from lime, there is plenty to enjoy whenever the bear is on screen. The main standout set pieces being the ambulance chase and the tree sequences as they provided the most memorable moments of the picture involving the bear.

Could there have been an extra scene or two of the bear instead of the human characters? Sure, but I highly doubt anyone seeing this movie will feel like the bear herself was sideline at all. If you are something that was underwhelmed with the amount of screen time that say Godzilla was in his recent movies, then you will certainly be more satisfied here as the movie never once forgets that this is the bear’s movie.

I can’t say for certain that this is the overall best version of Cocaine Bear we could have gotten as there are few faults that perhaps makes it just shy of an instant classic. As I said, there is perhaps a few too many times where the movie tries to make you care about the characters and their dilemmas. Some of it works well while other scenes with it will make you wish they could have cut it out and just put more scenes of the bear in action. And as much as Elizabeth Banks is clearly growing as a director and does great work here, she still doesn’t seem to be the best when it comes to finding complete tonal control from scene to scene. With the kind of movies she has made thus far, it doesn’t matter but in the future when she tackles more serious subject matter and stories, that might be something she might want to consider before considering doing those kind of movies.

Even so, as much as one can nitpick about certain things, it doesn’t change the fact that Cocaine Bear delivers exactly what the title would suggest, a CGI bear filled with cocaine wreaks havoc and kills people. I’m not sure what more could expect out a movie with this premise but it delivered exactly what I expected and even wanted out of it. If you are someone that has been burned out on Disney and Marvel movies and don’t have confidence in whatever Warner Bros is planning for their future because they keep canceling everything, then Cocaine Bear might act as a refreshing good time for you. With movies like this, M3GAN, Violent Night, Strays, it’s certainly nice to see Universal playing in it’s own sandbox of crafting unique bizarre flicks that lives exactly up to it’s title and premise. I’ll certainly take that than whatever the hell they were trying to do with their so-called monsterverse.

After a month of January movies that felt like they belonged in February and following that up with a month of February movies that felt like they belonged in January, it’s nice to see Elizabeth Banks providing the exact fun change of pace I needed to end this month on a high note. Thank you, Mrs. Banks! I certainly can’t wait to see you tackle Cocaine Paddington next!

Other Notes:

• I was just joking on that last part but I actually kinda want to see a movie where Paddington Bear is on cocaine.

• Unless it ends up like that effing Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey abomination! If that’s the case, then don’t bother!

• Speaking of which, I should get to reviewing that movie and tear it the asshole that it deserves!

• As someone that’s from around St. Louis, it’s nice to see that city get a special shoutout here.

• That scene where Alden Ehrenreich finds out the bear is a woman will likely be the funniest scene I will see in any movie this year.

• The opening credits of the movie has the mention, A Elizabeth Banks Film! What an absolute queen!

• To steal the line from Rich Eisen, I would give this movie two thumbs up but the bear has taken both thumbs off!

Batman: Arkham Asylum was an absolute gamechanger when it came out in 2009. It helped set a complete new gold standard for not just superhero games but licensed games in general. Due to the enormous critical and financial success of that game, no doubt a follow-up would be in the works. After Arkham Asylum was basically the pitch-perfect Batman game that just made you feel like The Dark Knight himself, how exactly do you top that? By going bigger, bolder, and more open world of course. Fans would only have to wait two years for the next entry in the Arkham series in 2011’s Batman: Arkham City, a game which Rocksteady already had in mind even before Arkham Asylum was even completed. In some respects, you could possibly even look at Asylum now as being somewhat of a building block strictly for City. Was lightning able to strike twice for the Caped Crusader or does going open world end up being too big for his own good?

Plot:

Taking place roughly 18 months since the events of Arkham Asylum, Bruce Wayne finds himself in a sticky situation at Arkham City. After arranging his own press conference in Gotham to protest the infamous Arkham City itself, he is captured and imprisoned by TYGER mercenaries led by Professor Hugo Strange. During his interrogation with him, Strange discovers that Bruce Wayne is Batman and that his master plan in the so-called, “Protocol 10” is in the works. After Bruce is released into the prison’s criminal populace, including running into a familiar foe with the Penguin and delightfully spraining his hand, he is able to free roam the city and obtain his Batman equipment via airdrop from his great butler, Alfred.

With very limited knowledge of Hugo Strange and Protocol 10, Batman enlists the help of Selina Kyle, A.K.A. Catwoman, whom he believes is the person with the most knowledge of Arkham City. Despite initially being captured by Two-Face after trying to steal something from him, Catwoman is aided by Batman to her rescue. Selina tells Bruce that she has no knowledge of Protocol 10 but has heard rumors about Strange potentially working with the Joker to take Batman out once and for all, suggesting that might be Protocol 10. After Joker attempts to assassinates Catwoman, Batman goes to track him down to his secret location, believing Mr. J., who has been very sick after injecting the Titan formula into his blood, may know the truth behind Protocol 10.

Once Batman tracks the Joker down, he is captured by him and Harley Quinn along with having a blood transfusion performed on him, affecting him with the same disease as the killer clown. Batman initially makes peace with the notion that him and the Joker will die together until it’s revealed that Joker’s blood has been sent to hospitals all over Gotham, potentially poisoning the City as well. Joker reveals that Mr. Freeze has the cure but has not been keeping contact with him.

It’s at this point where Batman finds himself in the fight of his life. Not only having to discover the secrets of Protocol 10 before it begins but now has to find a cure to save himself, Gotham, and possibly his number one arch-nemesis. Can Batman accomplish all of this before the end of the night or will this finally break the Bat as we know it?

It’s also worth noting that if you bought the DLC when it came out or waited until you got the Game of the Year edition that was released several months later, there was also a storyline involving Catwoman in the main campaign. Despite initially not needed to complete the game, it did mostly become available in future ports for free that it’s basically part of the main experience for many players.

During her story, Catwoman is looking to find a way into Hugo Strange’s vault, giving her all the loot she needs before she escapes from Arkham City. After being captured by Two-Face and rescued with the help of Batman, she goes to Poison Ivy for help to get into Strange’s secret base. Ivy at first refuses as she still has a grudge against Selina after letting her flowers die by forgetting to water them but agrees once she suggests that she’ll get the remaining plant that Strange has left in that same base she is trying to get in (which *spoilers* ends up being complete BS!).

It’s during this part of the story where the stakes becoming increasingly higher with Protocol 10 being mere moments of starting. As she tries to claim her loot and discovers that Batman might be in danger, Catwoman finds herself having to come to making a decision that could jeopardize her mission but will also save Batman in the process. Will she commit to her own personal goals or does she have that heart of gold needed to do the right thing and save the man she deep down has strong feelings for?

That’s all I reveal for Catwoman’s side of the story but it is worth noting that it’s nowhere near as long as Batman’s main story. Despite being mainly DLC at the time of the game’s release, it is a main thing that I believe the majority of people who have played Arkham City have likely experience for themselves. Whether they bought the DLC when it came out or waited for the Game-of-the-year editions/future ports, everyone knows Catwoman plays a part in this story and is definitely worth acknowledging.

Overall, the main core story of Arkham City is MASTERFULLY done! It’s able to find that right mix of main characters and villains without losing cohesion, even better than Arkham Asylum did. Even if certain characters don’t get as much screen time as before such as Harley Quinn (who basically doesn’t get much to do after the main plot gets underway), the ones that do get the most focus serve a great purpose to the main story of Batman fighting for his life for the sake of Gotham City, himself, and even the Joker.

The main big improvement here is that of the Joker’s plan which feels more in character than that of just “Let’s make an army of Banes!” His overall goal of making Batman give him the cure he needs to survive by bringing Gotham in the mix is an absolute stroke of genius on the clown prince of crime’s part. Joker knows deep down that Batman is just as much a part of his world as he is of Batman. He’ll accept death as long as the Joker dies with him but never at the expense of Gotham. With what could be his last stand as Batman, we see Bruce fight at war within himself, as he is looking to discover who he is underneath, who he is trying to really save, and whether or not he can still be Batman after the Joker or himself is gone. This honestly makes for an even more engaging final conflict between Batman and Joker than even The Killing Joke. (On a side note, I love that Joker has an opportunity to know Batman’s true identity early on in the story but doesn’t want to know.)

Another thing the plot does well is able to add in side characters and subplots in the exact right way. Throughout the whole game, you find yourself hitting plenty of stopping gaps with plenty of other characters thrown into the mix such as Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Ra’s Al Ghul, and Talia Al Ghul but it never feels like a drag. If anything, you find yourself hoping there is more to the story than just going from Point A to Point B to find the cure. You want to see the way the story expands itself and the twists and turns it is willing to make. Not only to see the way the universe of Batman himself unfolds but to see how much more personal this conflict is for Batman.

If there is a downside to the story is that Hugo Strange himself doesn’t have as much of a role than what was initially teased. Despite one of the game’s main trailers showcasing he would be a main villain, he doesn’t serve much of a purpose aside from the very beginning and very end of the game. Not to mention, him knowing Batman’s identity doesn’t seem to matter all of that much with the exception of a side conservation with another side character and one important plot point that is revealed during their final confrontation. The only main threat he possesses throughout the rest of the story is constantly taunting you to let you know how long it will be until Protocol 10 actually begins. Also, having perhaps a bit more Catwoman in the story would have been nice.

Even so, I did find himself to be INCREDIBLY engaged throughout the entire story of Arkham City in spite of some minor gripes. Even if you have never read a Batman comic before or have watch an episode of a series, you will likely find yourself with a great bit of knowledge of nearly every character that is presented throughout the game and will make you want to learn even more. It’s a shame that this ended up being the last game which legendary Batman writer Paul Dani would tackle as he would eventually be let go by Rocksteady after this game as the company would later decide to hire their own writers instead of freelance ones. This might have been the end of the road for Dani but it was sure one great one to go out on. It also worth giving a shout out to Paul Crocker and Sefton hill as well as they are two other credit writes for the game.

Gameplay:

Similar to Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City is an action-adventure game that takes place through a third-person perspective with stealth elements thrown into the mix. The main hook this time is that there is a much more open world as the player is allowed to explore and realm through freely within it’s boundaries. The majority of the combat elements and gadgets from Asylum are still here with a few new tweaks and features added to it.

The “detective vision” makes a welcome return and is just as satisfying to use as before. It’s still the visual mode that highlights elements of interest on-screen, such as character status, collectables, and clues needed to get to your next objective. This mode is useful to perform forensic activities such as tracking the source of a sniper rifle round, which is not just included for the beginning of the campaign where you have to track down Joker by using evidence from his gunshot from a sniper rifle. Also, the player has access to an in-game criminal database which includes forensic puzzles, as well as a network hacking communication frequencies.

A main difference this time around is that there are sections of the game where detective vision will become corrupted. These will occur during sections when these network hacking communication devices are placed and active in certain areas which might prevent the player of moving on to the next part of the game. The only way to deactivate those devices is by defeating all the enemies in the area and destroy them yourselves. Aside from that, almost every detective mode feature that was present in Asylum is still here and you might just even find yourself using it even more this time out than you did before.

When it comes to Batman’s gadgets, most of what was presented in Arkham Asylum is still available here with a couple of new ones. There are some gadgets that you obtained in Asylum are present at the start of the game while others you have to work your way through the story to get. Nearly every single one of them have features that are either improved or have new capabilities.

You have the Cryptographic Sequences, the gadget used for hacking security consoles, that can also be used for monitoring shortwave radio channels and the line launcher which can now be deployed as a tightrope and can alter direction when using it. Other returned gadgets include the remote-controlled batarang, the explosive gel, and the grapnel gun. All of these that have been tweaked and upgraded to make it more useful in combat, stealth, or free roaming Arkham City. With a game that is much bigger in scale and scope, Rocksteady clearly needed to make these items more useful than before and they did exactly that.

The new featured gadgets include smoke bombs, a remote electric charge (REC) gun, freeze blast grenades, and the disruptor. The smoke bombs are used to disorient opponents and make them lose your location along with being helpful during stealth. The REC gun can electrocute enemies for a brief period of time and temporarily power motors. The freeze blast can freeze enemies and be used to travel on water. The disruptor can be used to disable enemies weapons and explosive mines. Just like with the previous gadgets, they will always come in handy at the exact right moments when you need them most and will likely find yourself using at least one of these at some point.

The combat system that was implemented beautiful in Asylum of course is presented just as well here if not more so. The biggest feature of this is with the improved version of “freeflow” mode. The player can now defeated enemies in many other different ways such as countering multiple blows simultaneously, catch hurled items thrown at them, attack aerially, and of course, the delightful string of consecutive strikes which raises your combo meter at maximum level.

Many of Batman’s gadgets are now useful for combat, which is good considering there is much more enemies to encounter here than before and will need some of these gadgets to properly defeat certain ones. Bad guys from all around are armed with either their own personal armor or weapons that they have. Certain enemies with weapons such as a baseball bat and pipe can be countered attack while ones with guns can not and need to be disarmed using a certain gadget to prevent any or further damage Enemies with stun batons can only be attacked from behind as attacking head on will do nothing and can inflict damage on the player. Enemies with shields require aerial attacks to disarm while enemies wearing body armor must be stunned with the bat cape and a range of successive punches before they can be defeated. The bigger enemies must be tackled with stuns and combo attacks and can even be manipulated to take out their allies.

Just like before, combat will reward the players with experience points after taking out a group of enemies that can be use to level up Batman abilities and purchase upgrades to strength your Batsuits, gadgets, and skill system. Each one will contain at least 15 different upgrades in order for it to reach it’s absolute maximum point. While that might sound overwhelming, it’s not considering how much there is to do throughout the game and how you will always find yourself fighting enemies no matter what you are doing.

Arkham Asylum receive minor criticism for it’s combat system being nothing but mindless button mashing. While I’m not sure folks who took issue with that will be satisfied here, there are at least certain enemies that takes more strategy to beat this time around and not just by simple punching and kicking. And with much more focus on upgrades this time around, you do feel progressively getting stronger and stronger as the game goes on where you feel like a much more badass Batman than you were at the start of the game. And you already started off as a badass!

And if you are wondering how the boss fights are, which was my main complaint with Arkham Asylum, they are much better here. While some are still a tad repetitive, they are much more inventive and fun to play and actually feels like you are fighting different enemies than the one you are facing. The best one in the game is the one with Mr. Freeze, where you are basically forced to find new ways to take him down as once you beat him one way, you can’t beat him that way again for the rest of the fight. It’s a very challenging and intense fight, especially in hard mode, that you will be on the edge of your seat. Even if these aren’t quite the very best boss fights in the series (as that honor surprisingly still goes to Arkham Origins, which I’m not covering for this marathon), they are actually pretty damn good this time around and certainly beats Asylum’s bosses by a landslide.

Of course, the main new feature of Arkham City is the open world of Arkham City itself. For those that found Arkham Asylum to be too small with not much room for exploration, you will be much more than satisfied here. While it may not reach the heights of Gotham City itself and even the idea of giving criminals their own playground is quite bizarre when you think about it, no doubt is Arkham City an absolutely fascinating place to explore.

No matter what objective you are doing and how far you’ve progressed through the story, you will be having the time of your life exploring every inch that this city can provide. Whether you are trying to get through the next part of the story or doing a side mission, you will always feel the urge to scratch any kind of surface that still needs a itch throughout this open world. Because of that, you will be flying on and gliding with Batman’s cape more than you ever did in Arkham Asylum. It really helps you getting the sense of beating Batman on any given night and going around to beat up whatever criminal he can to keep his city safe.

Rocksteady had a layout and vision of what the open world of Arkham City itself and it clearly shows. It has a virtual footprint five times that of Arkham Asylum, and the city design was modified to accommodate Batman’s ability to swoop and glide. When playing this game, you get the sense that this is a world that Rocksteady had been waiting to make their whole lives with a Batman game. If that is the case, then this is certainly a vision that was extremely well realized.

When it comes to the post-game content, there are very few games out there I would say that did NOT give the player their full money’s worth no matter how much they paid or what version they got for it. While the main campaign can take roughly 25 hours to beat, the main side missions will likely take around 15 hours, making the gameplay consists of about 40 hours to fully complete. It’s not just collecting Riddler trophies this time around (although there is a LOT of it), but plenty of other side missions with well-known Batman antagonists and even lesser-known that you can complete any time you want.

That’s not to say The Riddler doesn’t have a side story of his own this time around because he certainly does. He has captured a handful of hostages in certain locations scattered throughout Arkham City. In order to save a hostage, you have to collect enough Riddler trophies/solve Riddler puzzles in order for the Riddler to give him their location of his death traps.

There is a total of 440 (!) Riddler challenges for you to solve, 400 of them are for Batman while 40 of them for Catwoman (who will be discussed in a little bit). Most of these challenges consist of collecting trophies hidden throughout the city and using gadgets to disable traps and barriers to collect them. There are also environmental challenges which requires the player to solve riddles by locating a specific item or location and having to locate certain green question marks painted throughout the city. If you are finding trouble finding any clues of Riddler trophies through the map, you can find a certain criminal with “detective vision” that lights up green and interrogate him to force him to reveal location for these trophies.

Just like with Asylum, these aren’t required to beat the main campaign but you can’t help but pick one of these suckers up whenever you find them. Even after being the main campaign, you will likely want to find every single of them just to have the opportunity to take down The Riddler head on and make that sucker pay for everything he has put you through. It will certainly take time and plenty of YouTube videos to look up but once you found them all, you will be gloriously satisfied.

The biggest new feature when it comes to the post-game content involves a “New Game Plus” mode. This is a mode you can unlock after beating the game for the first time which will give you access to all the upgrades and gadgets that you had already required up to that point but also is basically the game on “Hard” mode. The main difference here is that the enemies will be more powerful and harder to take down along with not having a notification to when the enemy is about to strike you. I would advise not doing these mode until you have unlocked every single upgrade for everything but for those looking for a challenge and going for the Platinum, then this will definitely do you some good.

The game features a series of challenge maps that are separate from the story mode. Similar to Asylum, these focus on completing certain goals, such as eliminating waves of enemies in combat, taking on enemies in stealth, or traveling to a specific location as fast as possible. The methods, varieties, and ways used to achieve these goals earn you the highest score possible that can be ranked online with other players.

Now, to finish off the gameplay section with the new addition of Catwoman. While initially DLC, she has become available to play for free on any other version since it’s release and man is she a lot of fun to play as. While her gameplay style is quite similar to Batman’s, she does control a bit differently and possibly even better. She tends to move at a much quicker pace and has elements similar to Spider-Man with the way she uses the wipe to swing to different areas and crawl up the walls. Her combat emphasizes agility and allows for the use of her own unique weapons such as gauntlets, bolas, and her iconic whip. And as mentioned before, there are a portion of Riddler challenges made strictly for Catwoman which only she can complete.

While this might give across the impression of it being a last-minute feature, it’s no doubt a welcome feature. Catwoman has always been one of the most famous characters in the Batman world and Rocksteady did a great job showing why. In some ways, this is possibly my favorite Catwoman in any Batman media. I love her attitude, sass, sex appeal, and the way she plays. I could have used an extra mission or two with her but any Catwoman is better than no Catwoman in my book, unless you count that movie with Halle Berry.

I don’t know how to describe Batman: Arkham City’s gameplay other than it’s simply stellar. It takes nearly everything that worked so well from Arkham Asylum and not only expands upon it with new, unique additions but also improved certain other elements that folks might’ve had issue with. Just about every minor nitpick that one might’ve had with Asylum is fixed here. While I doubt I will ever find a certain gameplay of a game to be completely flawless as there will always be a particular gripe I have or a glitch I run into, there’s very few games I’ve come across where it basically feels perfect. When the only main issues you have with a gameplay is that there are certain things you want more of, I think that speaks volume to how great a game plays when all you want is more.

Graphics:

Batman: Arkham City has always been a great-looking game to look at and it continues to look great nearly 12 years later. They are a big improvement over Arkham Asylum (which already looked quite good) with much improved animation, character designs, texture, and looking more realistic but doesn’t go too overboard with it. The character models in the Return of Arkham addition took some getting used too but they do look more fluent and natural this time around whereas last time they felt a bit stiff in certain areas.

The game of course looks at it’s best when exploring Arkham City itself, giving yourself the impression that you are free realming the exact kind of playground full of crooks you would imagine in real life if it was actually a real thing. There’s plenty of nice details scattered throughout with tons of Easter eggs, references, and callbacks to well known Batman lore. Not only will this be useful to complete other objectives involving Riddler challenges but they also make for a great touch visually that I couldn’t imagine being implemented better.

While I can’t say with confidence that Arkham City has the very best graphics I’ve seen in any video game, it’s definitely has some of the very best effort and details put to them that I’ve seen in any video game. Not a single complaint to be had here.

Sound:

Nick Arundel and Ron Fish return once again to do the score for Arkham City and somehow they are able to top themselves. Not only is the music presented throughout are filled with tracks that would fit greatly in one of the animated shows or movies, but it just feels perfectly in line with the Batman character. It has the right amount of intensity, sorrow, and tragedy that has help define the character of Batman for many generations.

This is a soundtrack I tend to go back to from time to time as it contains some of my favorite tracks in any video game. There are plenty of great ones that stand out such as the main theme and ending theme but one track that should absolutely not go unnoticed is the one referred to as “I Think You Should Do As He Says”. That is the absolute definite Batman track as far as I’m concerned. From the very first time you hear that, it just gives you goosebumps and makes you know you are in for quite a ride. I also quite dig the theme when you acquire a new gadget.

If Batman: Arkham Asylum had one of the best soundtracks I heard in a superhero or licensed game, than Batman: Arkham City has one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in any game period. It is just absolutely stellar all around!

Most of the voice cast from Arkham Asylum makes a return here along with a couple of new and welcome additions. Of course, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are back as Batman and Joker respectively and are just as good here as they were in the previous game. There’s two specific scenes with them together that might just be some of the very best voice acted scenes in not just in a Batman game but possibly any video game. If you’ve played the game, you might know exactly which scenes I’m talking about. However, you really get the sense of history that both Conroy and Hamill have had together playing these iconic roles and it pays off big time here. At the time this game came out, Mark Hamill claimed that it would be his final time in the role. While that ended up not being the case as he would later return in Arkham Knight and The Killing Joke film adaption (unfortunately!), it’s a hell of a performance and would have been the perfect note to go out on if this was his last go at the clown prince of crime.

The one notable voice change is with Harley Quinn. As Arleen Sorkin retired from the role after Arkham Asylum and DC Universe Online, longtime veteran voice actress Tara Strong was brought in to replace her, who has since been the main voice of the character in future Batman content. The results are…..quite mixed. Strong is an amazing voice talent but here, you can really tell she had not quite settled into the role yet. Her voice in the game is like an odd mix of trying badly to replicate Sorkin’s voice and just sounding like Timmy Turner but with a Boston accent. She has her moments (I love the way she says pudding!) and would much improve in the role later on down the road but Tara Strong’s performance just feels like she had to come up with the voice at the very last minute, almost as if Arleen Sorkin was expected to come back and then Rocksteady had to find a new voice actress quick.

With the cast being expanded with many new additions of characters, there are plenty of notable voice actors that play a part here. We have the likes of Corey Burton as Hugo Strange, Troy Baker as Two-Face, Nolan North as Penguin, Maurice LaMarche as Mr. Freeze, Jim Piddock as Alfred/Calendar Man, Stana Katic as Talia Al Ghul, and Dee Bradley Baker as Ras Al Ghul. All of these are wonderful voice talent that fit their roles like a glove. However, the main standout in terms of the new characters introduced here is no other than Grey DeLislie as Catwoman.

I don’t think Catwoman has sounded any better in any Batman medium than the way she sounds here. DeLisile perfectly captures the sassy, seductive nature of the character while also nailing the wisecracks and banter between everyone else she plays off of. Selina Kyle is a character in this game you just can’t keep you eyes off and steals every scene she is in and a big part of that has to do with her vocal performance. DeLisile has always been one of the best voice actresses in the industry with her playing the likes of Daphine from Scooby Doo, Vicky from The Fairly Oddparents, and Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and her portrayal of Catwoman just makes for another wonderful edition to her amazing resume.

Even with my lukewarm at best first impression of Tara Strong’s Harley Quinn, the voice acting is still outstanding all around! The characters just sound perfect and exactly the way you expect them to sound without really questioning it. If there’s one thing that Rocksteady knows how to greatly with these games, it’s the terrific casting and voice direction!

Downloadable Content:

Arkham City has received quite a bit of DLC over the years since it came out. Whether it was pre-order bonuses or content that came along the way, everyone should have had a taste of them by now. Just like with Asylum, there were a handful of new maps for challenge modes, most notably ones with the Batcave and even in Bruce Wayne’s mansion. However, there is a bit more content this time around.

As I’ve mention before, there was the Catwoman DLC that now plays through the main campaign on just about every available version of the game now. However, there are other DLC packs and costumes with other characters such as Robin and Nightwing. These characters are available to play during these challenge modes and you are free to change their appearances however you like. These costumes include Batman and Catwoman, who can be changed at anytime through the campaign or during these challenge modes. These costumes are clearly inspired from previous Batman media such as The Animated Series, The Long Halloween, and The Dark Knight Returns and these re-skins are available for anyone that had always imagine themselves wanting to play a Batman game with these kind of outfits on.

When it comes to story content, there is one notable addition with the DLC pack that was originally released seven months after the game’s release in Harley Quinn’s Revenge. This takes place about two weeks after the events of Arkham City. Despite the entire mega prison being evacuated, Harley Quinn has returned, still not over the death of her boyfriend, and captured a handful of Commissioner Gordon’s men. Batman initially enters Arkham City to apprehend the cops and Harley Quinn but goes missing while trying to track them down. It’s then that Robin has to step in to discover the disappearance of Batman and rescue the cops before it’s too late.

The main hook of this DLC pack is that it gives you a chance to play as Robin. While controlling quite similarly to Batman, he does have some elements of it’s own, such as the bullet shield which he can use to get past gunfire without taking damage for a limited period of time. For a character that for years has been the butt of every Batman fanboy’s joke, it is nice to see this character being treated more serious and feel like a worthy ally to this version of Batman.

While Harley Quinn’s Revenge doesn’t necessarily move the Arkham series forward in any way, it does at least make up for the lack of screen time that Harley herself didn’t have in the main game. With how quick her initial reaction was to Joker’s death by the end, it was interesting to see her taking that dark turn most assume she would take after her pudding is gone. I don’t know if I paid for the DLC that I would have felt like I got my money’s worth but for those who got it for free, I don’t really seem them complaining much about these DLC packs.

Conclusion:

I don’t think Rocksteady could have followed up Arkham Asylum any better than they did here. Batman: Arkham City is about as good of a video game sequel as one could get. Not just as a superhero or licensed game but basically any game in general. It takes everything you loved about Asylum, tweaks some of the things that didn’t work about it, adds in some new elements, and is able to offer a much grander and wider open world where you truly feel like the Batman. Are there some grips I have with the game? Of course! However, no video game has ever been 100% flawless and didn’t have at least one thing I had a grip against.

As the years have went on, people have been debating endlessly on whether or not this or Arkham Asylum is actually the better game. When it comes to the answer of that question, I think it strongly depends on what kind of preference you have and what you look for most in a Batman game. If you prefer a smaller scaled, tighter paced, and more detective focus Batman game, then you will prefer Arkham Asylum. If you prefer a larger scaled, more action heavy, and open world focused Batman game, then you will prefer Arkham City. Personally, I give a slight edge to City since that gave me a strong resemblance of what I imagine the Batman would do on any given night where he flies around a large city and beats up criminals with his bare hands. You can prefer what you prefer but I think most would agree that when it come to superhero or licensed games, these two games do help set the high standard of them.

Batman: Arkham City is the perfect sequel to Arkham Asylum and quite honestly one of the most perfect video games I’ve ever played. NOT a flawless game, mind you, but when it comes to the ambition this game has in terms of it’s story and gameplay, it’s basically perfectly executed. This is still one of the most celebrated video games of the last decade or so and it deserves every bit of it. Even if this is where the franchise basically peak, at least it peaked laughing and with a smile on it’s face.

Next up, we tackle the divisive end (?) to Rocksteady’s run of the Batman Arkham series, Batman: Arkham Car…..I mean Knight.

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to move on into it’s next distinct phase, the big anticipation seems to be not so must what the next movie or show will be about or if it will be any good but more of will this finally be the one where everyone says enough is enough? The whole term of Marvel fatigue is something that has roughly started around 2015 after the lukewarm reviews of Age of Ultron rolled around and continues greatly after Endgame wrapped up things for the main Avengers cast who carried the entire Infinity Saga on their shoulders. Despite some cracks in the armor beforehand, it was ultimately the negative reviews of Eternals shown that these movies can no longer be viewed as critic proof. Proof that continued to be in form after the mixed reviews of Multiverse of Madness and Love and Thunder along with the overall rotten ones that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently receiving. Regardless of what your overall opinions on these movies and on post-Endgame as a whole is, it would be easy to claim that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now in the current situation that Spongebob Squarepants has been in since the first movie or Pixar has been in since Toy Story 3. In that, perhaps Marvel had finally reached it’s peak and met it’s own match, where the lesser ones are no longer allowed to get a free pass and even the good ones just aren’t good enough anymore. If Quantumania is really gonna be viewed as the main MCU movie that broke the camel’s back for critics (it’s currently tied for Eternals as the worst rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes) and for audiences (it’s only the second movie to be given a B grade on Cinemascore), I certainly wish it went to a more interesting or even worse movie than this.

Despite what you might have heard, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania isn’t the worst Marvel movie ever made but it might just be the first one since maybe Thor: The Dark World that just feels like a waste of time. Even if the movie’s overall goal is to give everyone a clear direction as to where this next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going, it still has that feeling of inconsequentiality because of how little that will likely matter in the long run and how it barely progresses the characters and their stories here. It still hits the same beats you would expect or even want from a Marvel movie at this point but whether or not that will be enough is entirely up to you.

Premise: Taking place sometime after the events of Avengers: Endgame, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has become a successful memoirist and has been living happily with his girlfriend, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). His daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton), who is now a teenager and totally not played by Abby Ryder Fortson or Emma Fuhrmann, has become as scientifically minded as the Pyms and have gotten herself into trouble with the law after attending political rallies as an activist. While visiting Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his long-lost wife Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), Cassie reveals that she has been working on a device that can act as a tracker within the Quantum Realm. Upon learning about this and her experience within the Realm itself, Janet demands Cassie to shut it down but it’s too late. As a result, the device releases a portal that Scott, Cassie, Hope, Hank, and Janet all get sucked into and find themselves pulled straight into the Quantum Realm.

Once they reach the Quantum Realm, the group gets separate as Scott accompanies his daughter on one side of the realm while the Pym family find themselves together on another side. As they adventure through this weird world, they find there are other folks who live down there such as a rebel force who is fighting a war against armies led by M.O.D.O.K. (I won’t reveal the actor’s name in case no one is aware yet!) and a deadly mercenary known as Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). The group then must find a way to defeat these armies led by familiar and new foes, save the group of freedom fighters that live down there, and escape from the Quantum Realm before something even worse can possibly happen.

One thing that is clear right off the bat with Quantumania is how different it is in terms of tone, humor, scale, and style when compare to the first two Ant-Man movies. There’s no longer the small scale plots involving heists or personal family matters, no Michael Pena and his buddies, and it certainly can’t be described as a so-called, “palate cleanser”. Director Peyton Reed had gone on record claiming that he wanted to make his own “Avengers” movie with Quantumania and it clearly shows. We see more action, a somewhat darker tone, more expansion of the MCU lore and universe building, a more threatening baddie, and obvious setup to whatever the future holds. Yet it still doesn’t feel like it belongs for what you expect from an Ant-Man movie.

Say what you will about the previous Ant-Man movies, but they at least worked on their own level of being self-contained individual stories with a beginning, middle, and end with only an occasional cameo or Easter egg that gave you a hint of things to come. The same thing can’t be save for Quantumania as there are many subplots and threads that don’t get a clear resolution because it’s clearly being saved for upcoming movies. Who Kang is, what his motives are, and what his backstory consists of is mostly kept to the backside as that’s mostly kept vague in favor of possibly building his character up until whatever this new Avengers group will show up to fight him!

Granted, saying an MCU movie spends the majority of it’s runtime setting up other things is nothing new. This is an interconnective universe after all where all of it’s movie and shows connect with one another and there always tend to be a universe building set piece or two to give a hint at what’s to come next. The problem here is that there doesn’t seem to be much reason for this film’s existence outside of being set ups for other things to come and there isn’t a story worth telling here like some of the better Marvel things that make this stand out as it’s own thing. That’s why you hardly hear anyone complain about the universe world building in Captain America: The Winter Soldier than they would in Iron Man 2. I’ve always defended the MCU movies and shows as mostly acting as their own thing outside of the Avengers movies but I unfortunately cannot say the same thing here. Save for Iron Man 2 and possibly Avengers: Age of Ultron, I don’t think there has been the perfect example of the cinematic universe world building going too far in the MCU than with Quantumania.

The movie kicks off to a rather clunky start. We spend the first ten minutes rushing through where Scott as been up to all of this time while forcing out way through the Quantum Realm with awkward exposition and contrived actions made by the characters. Then we start exploring the Quantum Realm quite a bit with allows Reed’s to show off the weird, out-there visuals that is clearly inspire about his previous work from a certain sci-fi franchise (Many folks tend to forget he directed episodes from The Mandalorian!) along with other which for better or worse will welcome comparisons to that of the cheesy, sci-fi flicks from the 2000s such as Spy Kids and Shark Boy and Lava Girl. There’s some fun visuals here but the splitting up the main cast and have them deal with their own problems really makes it hard to get invested right off the bat.

When the movie starts to pick up a bit of momentum is whenever the villains come up on screen with M.O.D.O.K. and Kang. Despite having vague/dumb motives, they are entertaining whenever they come up on screen. M.O.D.O.K. brings his own style of camp that feels ripped out of a cheesy superhero movie that I couldn’t help but enjoy. Kang, on the other hand, with the help of Jonathan Majors, brings his own style of broodiness that definitely helps shows that Ant-Man is clearly out of his league when facing off against him. As much as I wanted more out of them and they certainly have quite underwhelming resolutions, the two just has their own energetic screen presence that I couldn’t help but have fun with them.

Performance wise, they are fine but there’s only a handful that’s able to shine well here. Paul Rudd is able to keep that charm and likability as Scott Lang/Ant-Man that he always tend to provide with whatever role he plays. (And that’s even including one scene where we see Scott show more anger and emotion than we’ve ever had). Jonathan Majors, again, is a main standout here as Kang the Conqueror, somehow able to make this mysterious and confusing character feel like a major threat in every scene he is in. While he’s not as much of a scene stealer as he was Loki and am not convinced that he will rival Thanos, Majors gives it all and is only the start of what I imagine will be a long journey for him as an established actor. Michelle Pfeffer gets more time to shine here as Janet van Dyne, certainly better utilized than she was in the last movie, and is able to make the character motives throughout the story seem believable even when the script fails at that. I won’t spoil the actor for M.O.D.O.K. in case no one is aware who the actor playing him is or the character but I approve of that performance as well.

The rest of the cast, however, is a mixed bag. Kathryn Newton is a talented young actress but I’m not sure recasting her as Cassie was needed, especially when Emma Fuhrmann felt more convincing as Scott’s daughter in just that one scene in Endgame than the entirety of the movie. She’s not particularly bad here but there’s nothing from the script that helps make the performance stands out, especially when a good chunk of the movie is her screaming “Dad!” and has one moment of a poorly written monologue meant to rally the troops. Evangeline Lilly has barely any screen presence as Wasp, clearly obviously being due to the actress’s off-screen controversy involving being anti-vaccine. Bill Murray is no better as he just has one expositional screen, which again was likely due to the recent controversy with him as well. Michael Douglas is fine but underutilized this time out as it seems like the movie can’t decide how important he should actually be on this journey. Everyone else is serviceable but none of them stand out in any meaningful way.

Production wise, they are just as much of a mixed bag as it has been. Certain visuals stand out well while other fall flat and are clearly green screened. There are moments where M.O.D.O.K. looks as beautiful as he does ugly than there are others where he looks as ugly as he does beautiful. There are sequences involving Ant-Man, Wasp, and Cassie that look cool but others where it looks about as cheap as it can get. I don’t know if it’s due to constantly rushed productions or what but I seriously hope Marvel is either able to hire more VFX artists in the future or they just push back certain movies altogether if that can make these movies look better because now, it’s just ridiculous.

Despite what seems like a mostly negative impression that I’ve written out, I didn’t hate Quantumania. It’s just that what’s good about it is basically everything you have come to except with Marvel movies at this point that it’s hardly worth repeating. When the action works, it works. When the visuals work, they work. When the character moments hit, they hit very well. When the individual dark and light scenes are good, they are very good in their own rights. Unfortunately, none of it is able to stick out as well as before and comes across as a bunch of puzzle pieces that don’t quite fit together.

As time goes on, it’s getting harder and harder to review these movies. Not because I don’t what to think about each one but more of it’s tough to write material that can’t be written out for basically ever new Marvel release. It’s clear that Marvel is well aware of it’s own style and formula and aren’t looking to make new fans overnight anymore. You are either still on board or you are not and there’s really not that much in between.

For those that are still fans of the MCU and perhaps wanted a more larger-scaled, somewhat darker Ant-Man adventure, you might just have a good time with this. To those that jumped off the Marvel train long ago, I highly doubt this will be the one that will make you want to hop back on.

If there’s anything positives to go by with the overall reception to this movie is that perhaps this can be seen as a wake-up call for Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel. If the recent interviews with him are any occasions along with a handful of shows and movies that have been pushed back, there seems to be a restruction of Marvel Studios in the works. They seem to be aware they have a problem and because of that, changes are coming. Will those changes mean anything? Time will tell. Until then, I can still have fun with these imperfect, experimental projects while waiting for that great ones that will be thrown in between that will remind me why this universe has been a success. Perhaps we might just get that in the next coming months with James Gunn’s finally ride with Marvel and the Guardians himself. Until then, I will stick around and find out, even if no one else will.

Yesterday saw the matchup of Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. It turned out to be one really entertaining game with plenty of action, twists and turns, and both superstar quarterbacks playing at the top of their game. Sure, the ending was rather anticlimactic with yet another questionable call from the referee that basically decided the outcome (To be fair, the calls of the game were mostly even on both sides until that one) but it was certainly thrilling nonetheless. While I’m sure sports fans from Philadelphia will definitely take this Super Bowl loss has a hard pill to swallow (and that’s not even taking out also losing the MLS championship and the World Series just 14 weeks ago), the Kansas City fans out there have plenty to celebrate now and definitely for the foreseeable future.

This Super Bowl win for the Chiefs makes it their third title won in their franchise history and the second title they won in the last four years. Despite not being the favorites to win with Eagles being favorited by 1.5, they were still able to get the job done and prove that their championship from 2020 wasn’t a fluke. Because of their recent playoff success for the last five years including five straight conference championship appearances, three Super Bowl appearances, and now two Super Bowl titles, I think it’s fair to call this core group of the Kansas City Chiefs as a dynasty. A dynasty that proved they can win it all more than once and basically have nothing else to prove to anyone else in the league. Can they win more? Absolutely but they have now won more than enough to prove they are indeed the real deal.

The best comparison I can make with the Kansas City Chiefs in recent memory is the Houston Astros. The Astros have been an absolute juggernaut of a team since 2017, which includes six straight league championship appearances, four World Series appearances, and now two World Series titles. After having to deal with the fallout of controversy from teams and fans everywhere due to the cheating scandal that took place in 2017 (even if it’s now been confirmed that they weren’t the only team to cheat recently), the Astros had something to prove. They had to prove that they are capable of winning it all fair square with no cameras or trash cans to speak off. Not only that but they would have to proved this with nearly everyone else in the league hating their guts. Despite failed attempts of getting the job done in 2019 against the Washington Nationals and 2021 against the Atlanta Braves, they were able to win it all once again in 2022 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Not only did this win confirm that the Astros were legit and didn’t need to cheat to win, it showed that Houston is in fact a dynasty at the moment. They are certainly the biggest dynasty in baseball since the late 90s/early 00s New York Yankees. While there are plenty of folks how there that still don’t like the Astros for what they did in the past, I’m sure there are now more folks that at least respect with what they’ve been able to accomplish since then.

Granted, unlike the Astros, the Chiefs didn’t have to deal with backlash involving cheating in the same way that the Patriots did during Tom Brady’s first ever Super Bowl win. However, after failing to win it all back-to-back years against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021 and falling short in the Conference Championship against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022, there were people that were begin to doubt that the Chiefs were an actual dynasty in the making. Many were starting to believe that their Super Bowl victory in 2020 against the San Francisco 49ers was just blind luck and overachieving. They had a complete group of high end talent but not good enough to be champions multiple times over. After their win yesterday and the way they were able to win it, I think most folks who thought so cynical of the Chiefs would probably take back some of their previous statements.

All you have to do is take a look at Patrick Mahomes himself during this game and even the entire postseason. He’s been a young star quarterback since his debut and became the MVP of the 2022 regular season but he had to fight through the postseason in quite some pain. Mahomes had been dealing with a messed up ankle all postseason long and was not at his 100%. Folks were doubting Kansas City could win it all this year and their luck would eventually run out once Mahomes becomes too injured to play. And how does Patrick response? By fighting through the pain and pushing himself and his team to three straight victories to end his spectacular year.

Despite many folks believing he was done in the first half of the Super Bowl after getting knocked down in clear pain in his ankle, Mahomes returned in the second half as a completely different person and was able to Karate Kid his way (Yes, I did just say that!) to victory. In so doing so, he was rewarded the Super Bowl MVP, the first player in the NFL to win MVP in the regular season and the Super Bowl since Kurt Warner in 2000 when he won it all with the St. Louis Rams. While it might be premature to start calling him the best quarterback off all time and even better than Tom Brady right now considering he still has a LONG way to go before we start having those conservations (Remember, he’s only 27!), I don’t think anyone would argue that Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the game at this very moment. Even when he’s not at his full 100%, he still beats out the majority of other quarterbacks in the league. Let’s be honest. Who would you rather have? Mahomes at 50 to 75% or Josh Allen at full 100%? Even if you have to think on that for a second, that should tell you all you to know.

Of course, this victory wasn’t just because of Mahomes as it’s always a full team effort. Travis Kelce is still probably the best tight end in the game, the defense was able to wake up just enough to hold the Eagles until the last minute, and Andy Reid seems to be at his best coaching whenever things come full circle for him (Eagles fans punching the air right now!) but no doubt Patrick Mahomes will be the leader and center of this current dynasty of the Kansas City Chiefs and will be hugely responsible for the majority of their success now and in the future. Even if Mahomes is currently in the middle of one of the longest and most expensive sports contract in sports history, I don’t think anyone from Kansas City regrets a single penny that they’ve spend on him.

In the end, the Kansas City Chiefs are hands down the best ran organization in the NFL right now and this Super Bowl win all but confirms that. While they will still need more Super Bowl titles to be on the level as the Patriots two-decade long dynasty, this has definitely been something special in the making for many years now and it’s all paying off the Chiefs greatly. There is still plenty more winning seasons ahead of them but they have now won enough to officially be crowned as a dynasty. A dynasty that has been in the making for quite some time now and a dynasty we will likely see continue for a very long time.

You would be hard pressed to find a superhero or even licensed game that was able to define the seventh generation of consoles than Batman: Arkham Asylum. It was released in 2009 to massive praise from critics and fans alike, along with winning plenty of awards in the process, including Game of the Year from several media outlets. After so many Batman games have come and gone with mixed results, this was the first one that just perfectly capture the distinct feeling of being the Caped Crusader himself. Coming off the year after the release of The Dark Knight which helped set the golden standard for superhero movies, DC and Rocksteady was able to follow the success of that greatly with Batman: Arkham Asylum, the game which helped set the golden standard for superhero games. As the game is set to turn 14 years old this year, time to look back to see how well this game has held up since then. Does it still work strong as it’s own self-contained Bat experience or is it perhaps a bit overlooked when compared to other entries in the series?

Plot:

The Clown Prince of Crime is at it again! Shortly after the Joker attacked Gotham City Hall and held the Mayor hostage, he is captured by Batman and is taken to Arkham Asylum, just as is often the case whenever he is caught. However, this time Batman believes something is not right, feeling that the Joker gave himself up too easily and something more sinister is on the rise. Because of that, Batman accompanies him along with other personal guards into the Asylum.

Despite Batman’s assistance with the escort, a trap is sprung. It’s revealed that the Joker has issued a plan to take over Arkham Asylum, a plan which he has secretly prepared for months now. With many of gang members being transferred from Blackgate prison after the attack on City Hall along with the help of his girlfriend/sidekick Harley Quinn, Joker is free and now has complete control over the Asylum. With the control he has, he release many criminals that were celled along with Batman’s deadly foes that he has encountered over the years. To avoid anyone else in Gotham from getting in the way, Joker threatens to detonate hidden bombs scattered throughout the city if anyone dares to come to Arkham Asylum.

It’s then that we follow Batman being forced to work by myself along with his trustworthy companion Oracle to stop Joker in what may be his biggest and most overly complicated plan yet. Not only with having to put back ever single criminal that he has put away over the years behind bars and rescue any endangered guards/doctors along the way but Batman must also discover the Joker’s true intention in all of this.

As the game goes on, Batman learns more and more about this so-called Titan program. The kind of program that was used to test on the mercenary named Bane. Titan includes a formula that is able to make someone superhuman and give them super strength. With the Joker constantly getting information on the Titan from the doctors in the Asylum, Batman believe that Joker is using it to create his own army of super hence men, an army that can destroy Arkham Asylum and Gotham City once and for all.

On this very night, Batman must discover the secrets to Titan, put away all of his deadly foes, stop Joker’s ludicrous plan, and take back Arkham Asylum before all hell breaks completely loose.

The story to Arkham Asylum was written by long time veteran Batman write Paul Dini, whose most notable work is from Batman: The Animated Series and a handful of well-known Batman animated films and comics, who takes clear inspiration of the long-running comic book mythos to craft a tight, engaging plot. It’s able to hit the right vibes of being serious but not straight up gloom and add to that feeling of being sucked into a superhero world with Batman and his companions. You really feel like you are with Batman the whole way through and stand perfectly in his shoes as you try to complete every single task at a time to save the night.

The game does an overall good job of finding a good mix of villains that fit in the narrative without distracting you from the main objective of trying to take down the Joker. While not every noteworthy villain in Batman’s gallery is presented here, as that would be saved for later games, there’s enough here to leave any die hard fan satisfied. We get to see the presences of Harley Quinn, Bane, Scarecrow, Zsasz, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and the annoying Riddler himself. About every single one of them feel right at home and ripped straight out of a comic book or an episode of an animated series. Batman is always known for his amazing rose gallery of villains and the plot of this game is able to demonstrates that very well.

The main standouts scenes of character development for Batman revolves with the encounters with Scarecrow. We meet him at least three times as he is constantly trying to get inside Batman’s head by reminding him of the dark sins of his part and potential glimpses of the future to get him to crack like an egg. They are arguably the most emotionally engaging sequences in the game, showcasing just how strong Batman is on the inside and out and the ones which you dive into the inner turmoil of Bruce Wayne and not just Batman. This helps show how Bruce’s goal as Batman is to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies and not the other way around.

The only real downside to the overall story mostly comes from the Joker’s plan itself. It feels quite strange, silly, and frankly out of character of him to want to create an army of titans to take over Gotham. While that certainly adds to the comic book-like feel of a game of having a main bad guy with a goofy, over-the-top plan, it doesn’t feel like a plan to come from the Joker himself. This is especially the case with how there are instances where he is trying to get Batman killed, which is something that he deep down doesn’t want to do because as we all know, Joker is literally NOTHING without Batman and has no reason to exist without his presence.

It also doesn’t help with how throughout the game, his motives of wanting to create an army of titans is practically spelt out to the player themselves and Batman with not much mystery thrown in. Even if the ways of achieving his plan is quite unpredictable, the overall goal of the Joker is incredibly straightforward with not much logical reason as to why he wants to achieve it. While the Joker himself is undeniably engaging and a blast to watch whenever he is on screen, his overall plan feels rather superfluous and not something I would imagine would come from the Clown Prince of Crime.

Despite the overcomplicated motives from the main bad guy, the writing in Arkham Asylum is very strong. It’s able to provide that nice blend of the fantastical and whimsical elements of Tim Burton and the more grounded and serious elements of Christopher Nolan without straying too far in either direction. There’s plenty that goes on in the story to keep you engaged and moves at a breakneck pace to where it’s nearly impossible to lose interest with what’s going on because of how the tension always presents itself. The plot of the game is made by someone who has a clear knowledge and love for Batman and it completely shows.

Gameplay:

Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action-adventure game that takes place from a third-person perspective. The player controls Batman as he explores the ins and outs of Arkham Asylum. As Batman, you have the ability to run, jump, climb, crouch, glide using the cape, and use a grapple gun to either climb on lower structures or teleport yourself to higher ledges. You are able to use these abilities to counter every single gameplay element that the game throws at you.

The most Batman-like element that the game introduces is the “Detective Vision” mode. This is a visual mode which provides contextual information where everything is blue and black that appear in x-ray vision except for certain targets and weaponry that are more red and orange. While this is a mode you are free to use willingly throughout the game (so much so that I’m surprised Batman never suffers a brain tumor by the end of the game), there are certain points you are required to use it to solve the latest crime or follow the tracks of a suspect to get to your next destination. It also comes in great use for other things such as highlight interactive objects like destructible walls and removable grates, the number of enemies in an area, the enemies’ health and mental status, show civilians and corpses, investigate odors, located Riddler trophies, and solve puzzles.

This is a feature that comes incredibly handy that you might even find yourself using it at least a quarter of the whole game, if not more than that. I did find myself mostly using it during the stealth sections as those would always give me the perfect indication as to where each enemy is and what would be the right plan of attack without getting myself killed. If you ever wanted to have the feeling of actually being the World Greatest Detective, then Arkham Asylum will give you that exact experience, even more so than any other game in the series.

Another welcome edition that feels completely like Batman are the gadgets you acquire to help aid yourself whenever you explore a location or fight enemies. The Batarang is a throwing weapon that can temporarily stun enemies or trigger certain devices. The remotely controlled Batarang is one that you have complete control to steer until it hits someone or something. The sonic batarang can be used to gain the attention of specific enemies that are wearing monitoring collars and can even be detonated to knock a nearby enemy out. The explosive gel can be used on breakable walls and floors, and be remotely detonated whenever you want. The line launcher can be used to transport yourself in the air from one location to another. The Batclaw is a grappling device that can be used to for remote objects such as covers for vent and even to grab and pull enemies. And there’s the Cryptographic Sequencer that is used to override security panels, open new paths, and disable various asylum functions.

Every single one of these gadgets tends to serve some sort of purpose for any possible enemy counter or progression in the story to get from one location to another. The best times to use them is whenever you are in a stealth section and want to take enemies out one by one or when you need to get to certain areas to either advance in the story or find certain unlockables/riddler trophies. I don’t think there’s a single person that ever thinks of Batman without some acknowledgement of his fancy toys and Rocksteady was certainly well aware of that when developing this game. While there’s other equipment you never get control of such as the Batwing or Batmobile (something which would get introduce MUCH later down the road), you will likely find yourself using a good portion of these gadgets to move along with the game and feel pretty satisfied when using them.

Even with how claustrophobic the game can be when exploring each Asylum, the game does have it’s own open world with Arkham island. This is the island you will explore to get from Point A to Point B to advance in the story along with finding certain items, solving puzzle, and collecting Riddler trophies in order to unlock bonus art and content involving maps for the optional challenge mode that the game provides. While this is certainly not the most wide open world that the series would have and those who were wanting more time spent just gliding with Batman’s wings might be a tad underwhelmed, it does function as giving players a bit of space to free roam around in until they have to get to the next area to either make through way through the plot or collect a certain Riddle trophy.

And speaking of riddles, the one side mission that the game present that you will likely have to wait until beating the main campaign to beat involves collecting the green question mark and solving every riddle that The Riddler himself is able to throw at you. There are a total of 240 collectable items scattered throughout. These include Riddler trophies, chattering Joker teeth that you can simply batarang in half, interview tapes with the Arkham inmates, and cryptic messages left in the asylum by it’s founder Amadeus Arkham that discuss the history of the Asylum itself. The player is rewarded for solving riddles and finding collectibles with experience points that can help upgrade whatever you need and additional game content, including maps for the challenge mode. You must collect all 240 items to defeat the Riddler himself and unlock every single bonus content that the game provides. While it’s not something that’s require to beat the main game, you will likely find yourself collecting whatever trophy or item you are able to get along the way as it’s nearly impossible to ignore them. Especially since they are everywhere, EVERYWHERE!

And of course, who would I be if I review Arkham Asylum and I don’t bring up the the game’s combat system. As Batman is clearly an experienced hand-to-hand combat fighter as he trained with the League of Shadows, you get to experienced that first hand in this game. During the game, you will encounter a lot of thugs and bad guys at once. When doing so, you are able to perform several moves to be able to take them down. You are able to punch and kick enemies head on, stun them with your cape, and be able to counter certain attacks to prevent damage to yourself. The more you are able to do so without breaking a sweat, the higher you will achieve your combos. The higher the combo, the more XP points you will reward yourself that can help upgrade any kind of combo, gadget, and suit that you need.

While it may not necessarily be the most skilled combo set ever and rarely ever goes past the simple button mashing mechanics that gamers have grown accustom to with fighting games, there is never a moment when fighting bad guys that isn’t satisfying or doesn’t feel like Batman at all. There’s too many different combos, moves, and skill sets that is introduces that is always able to keep the experience fresh without losing any steam. It also helps that there are certain enemies introduced throughout the game that requires different methods to beat such as using the stun attack or attacking them from behind.

It’s not quite perfect and wouldn’t be until later games which the combat would be provided with more polish. There are times where I would lose my combat meter due to the game not responding to my counter attack when it should have, an enemy that just wasn’t in the right position for me to attack for some reason, and not being able to block an upcoming enemy’s attack when performing a ground takedown because the game itself won’t let me. It’s not a deal breaker or something that will make you want to rage quit the game but every once in a while, you might experience some minor frustration when building up certain combos during an enemy encounter or challenge because of one of the three things I just mentioned.

One other notable aspect that I’ve already mention a few times are the areas of stealth. These are usually doing certain areas of the game where you are required to take enemies out (most of which are armed) one by one without being detected in order to either save a hostage or move onto the next area. The player can use predatory tactics through stealth which include silent takedowns, where Batman drops from overhead perches and is able to snatch enemies away, or even using the explosive gel to knock enemies off their feet. There are certain section where you are required to use certain tactics instead of choosing your own way to take enemies out such as needing to avoid Joker’s henchmen or else you will fail your objective.

Many of these areas include stone gargoyles that are placed very high and near roof-level, helping Batman to remain concealed and out of enemies’ sight. You are are able to use the grapnel gun to get to the gargoyles very quickly, giving yourself a high vantage point by gaining a good spot to observe the area you are in and spot where each enemy is at. From these gargoyles, Batman can chose either to glide down and attack enemies head on (which I only recommend doing if it’s far away from other enemies scattered throughout the room) or hang upside down and be able to grapple a nearby enemy and leave him tethered there (which again only due when it’s only one enemy close by). Other options to to take out enemies in stealth include using floor gates to attack from below, hide around or behind corners to catch them by surprise, use batarangs to stun them, and use the grapnel gun to pull them over ledges which will knock them completely out. These are the areas where you are usually required to do more than just punch and kick enemies whenever you can and more have to take more careful and smarter measure to take out your opponents.

I can’t tell you how satisfying these sections can be most of the times, even more so than the other games in the series. It’s just so much fun to always screw around with the bad guys and scare the living piss out of them as you take out each opponent one at a time. Especially when you and even the enemies know that the Batman will take them down at some point, it’s only a matter of when.

As nearly every single aspect of the game feels exactly like Batman, these sections are arguably the most important one. These sections are a reminder of what Batman himself stands for, striking fear into the hearts of his criminals. If that’s not what Batman is suppose to stand for, then I don’t know what does.

The one final big aspect to the gameplay are the boss fights. Unfortunately, these are easily the worst part of the game and arguably the only real weak element about the gameplay. They aren’t exactly unplayable by any means and those who enjoy mindless combat might get enjoyment out of it but they don’t feel satisfying to play through. Most of the bosses feels very repetitive and redundant. They aren’t any different than fighting the other bad guys in the game and most of them required the exact same strategy to beat every single time. It’s mostly just the fight you have with Bane earlier in the game and repeated several times over for the rest of the game with two exceptions.

The first exception is Poison Ivy, whose fight is actually quite decent. While there are still henchmen you have to fight, you do have to find different ways to beat her than previous battles and always have to be on your toes as she will always find a way to attack you. It’s not a great boss fight but it does at least feel like one in the game which feels different than fighting a random titan thug or a big fella.

The second exception is Killer Croc, whose “fight” is an absolute joke. I put fight in quotes because it’s not really a fight. Even saying encounter is a stretch. All you do throughout this section is collect spores around Croc’s lair and whenever he approaches you, you just throw a batarang at him and that’s it! For a main bad guy whose set up at the very beginning of the game, you would expect their encounter to feel more important than it actually is.

As much as most folks referred to the final showdown with Joker as the worst boss fight in the game (which was also rather underwhelming), the one with Killer Croc is one that stood out for me as the lamest one and the perfect example of how weak the boss fights are in this game.

Even with the lackluster bosses, the gameplay throughout Batman: Arkham Asylum is about as polished and well-done as one could hope for with a Batman license game. Despite many different gameplay styles and elements the game introduces, it all feels cohesive and comes together as a satisfying whole. It rarely felt like a chore to play through and even the things I didn’t need at one moment, I would always go out of my way to get because of how nearly impossible it is to avoid. Whether I was beating the crap out of bad guys, gliding through the Arkham island, investigating a certain crime scene, finding stealth ways to take out my opponents, or going out of my way to collect a simple green question mark, there was always something to keep me interested in the game and made it hard to find a stopping point with each playthrough because of how much fun it is. Back in 2009, there wasn’t many licensed games that earned the title of it’s successful IP that it was adapting but no doubt, Batman: Arkham Asylum was and still to this very day is one of those exceptions.

Graphics:

At the game of it’s release in 2009, Arkham Asylum looked absolutely great with the right textures and visual imagery throughout the whole experience. However, there were some minor issues when it came to some of the animation of the cutscenes and the CGI stuff had a bit of pixelization. While the newer Return to Arkham edition (which is the version I played recently) does look much clearer with more light and texture to it along with updated character models, it still does feel like the same skeleton throughout with not much effort to fix those minor errors. I’m not sure why it’s so hard for companies to patch a couple of bugs that should only take a short amount of time to do but whatever.

Even so, I’d love the way the game looked graphically back in 2009 and I still love it now. The islands of the Asylum have the perfect mix of a creepy and cool factor to them, the locations you explore fit right in the overall mood of the game, the characters designs fit them and match the art style, and it’s also refreshing in a video game to see the main protagonist shown taking more damaging and even bleeding in certain areas to show how much of a messed up time he has had in the game. It’s exactly the kind of look you would expect for a DC Batman adventure that I don’t think you could replicate any better.

Arkham Asylum has the kind of graphics, aesthetics, and art style that I miss in games nowadays. Where most games that come out today try to look as bleak and realistic as possible, Asylum is able to still feel like it belongs in it’s own fictional superhero universe despite telling a rather dark story. It’s okay to modernize your graphics to have it look more realistic but you still need to remember that it’s a video game overall and not a live-action movie. This is able to have that functional graphical brain in it’s head that certain games nowadays lack. Because of that and more, Arkham Asylum remains a graphical wonder.

Sound:

The score composed by Nick Arundel and Ron Fish is expertly done. It perfectly captures the mood and tone of the game while giving the impression you are in a true Batman adventure. It’s not the cheesy pop of Neal Hefti, the epic tune of Danny Elfman, or the intense, fist bumping tracks of Han Zimmer. It’s just feel like it’s own thing but also is able to scratch that surface of Batman that had yet to be fully scratched by other composers up to 2009. The whole music fits so well that even the tracks you here on loop such as the ones for the combat or predator challenges and even the little tune you hear before Joker speaks on the intercom never gets tiresome because it always feels right at any given moment.

However, the real achievement when it comes to sound comes from the strong voice work throughout. Those who grew up with or have watched Batman: The Animated Series and the DC Animated Universe are clearly familiar with certain voice actors in this game. The three main ones include Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as Joker, and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. Not only are all three of them as good as you remember them being in this game, they are arguably even better here. Even if it might feel odd to hear these voice actors more known for voicing these characters in more child-friendly Batman content (imagine how Sonic fans felt having hearing the voice cast from Sonic X saying swear words in Shadow The Hedgehog), these three have clearly not skipped at beat when voicing these iconic characters.

Kevin Conroy (May his lovely soul RIP!) is able to deliver the perfect voice delivery throughout every cutscene as Batman himself. He’s able to find the right brooding voice without it coming off flat, wooden, or as an unintentional parody. Just like with Kevin’s other work as Batman, you are always reminded just how human Batman can be, that there is a real person behind the mask. Whenever it seems like he’s stiff and emotionless, there will always come a few moments scatter throughout that will remind you of that exact fact, especially with the moments with Scarecrow. Even if you are someone that has never watched Batman: The Animated Series or haven’t seen any of Conroy’s previous work as Batman (I would strongly recommend checking out Mask of the Phantasm!), you will likely be engaged with his performance throughout the game without ever questioning it and understand perfectly why he has resonated as a fan-favorite voice for The Dark Knight for so many years.

Arleen Sorkin is an actress that had been the voice of Harley Quinn since the character’s official debut in Batman: The Animated Series (A reminder that Harley Quinn was not a character created from the comics but strictly from that show!). This game along with DC Universe Online would be her final voice performances of the character herself as Sorkin would retire from acting after 2011. With Arkham Asylum being among her final times playing this famous character, it sure is a great note to go out on. She’s able to find the right amount of charisma, craziness, and even vulnerability to make Harley Quinn a blast to watch whenever she’s appears on screen without her coming across as overly loud or obnoxious. For a character that was suppose to be a one-and-done deal in the series which she debuted in and only reappeared due to her popularity, I would imagine Arleen Sorkin played a huge part of that with her stellar voice work throughout her career as Mr. J’s pudding (I promise that’s the only time I will use that word that in this review!).

Of course, the real standout of the game, and perhaps the entire series, is no other than Mark Hamill as the Joker. As perfect as Hamill has been as the character since he first started, he somehow manages to bring something new and even better throughout the entire Arkham series developed by Rocksteady. While other previous performances with the clown prince of crime did have the character be more laid back and subtle with his delivery and actions, this game has him go all out and be more expressive than ever before. He’s sinister, menacing, funny, brutal, unpredictable, and always has the perfect laugh. With each scene, you just never know what you are gonna get with the Joker and whether or not he is being serious, funny, or sarcastic. While the strong writing might have more to do with that (save for the plan with the Titan monsters), it’s also the brilliant voice work from Luke Skywalker himself (I still can’t believe these two characters are played by the same person) that is able to always give that sense of ambiguity and unpredictability to the Joker, the two big elements which the character is most well known for. Hamill has stated recently that he is likely done playing the Joker after the recent passing of Kevin Conroy. Even so, I can’t imagine there being a better Joker voice than him.

While the rest of the cast don’t shine as well as the main three just mention, they all do great work as well with not a single voice feeling out of place or miscast. If I had to nitpick, there are times where Tom Kane’s voice as Commissioner Gordon and Warden Sharp feels interchangeable and the moments of Tasia Valenza’s Poison Ivy screeching out in pain just sounds like her orgasming. Even so, the voice acting remains an absolute strength with this game along with just about every other game in the series.

Downloadable Content:

Arkham Asylum also features a series of it’s own downloadable content. Unlike with the later Arkham games, none of them are related to the story itself and mostly just offers the optional challenge modes the game provides, which test Batman’s abilities in combat and in stealth. This DLC pack consists of challenge maps that are separated from the game’s main campaign. These mostly include maps that aren’t strictly ones you unlock while playing the game but has other maps that weren’t initially included at the time of the game’s release. Just like with the other maps, these largely focus on completing certain tasks, such as fighting your way through a big wave of enemies in combat and taking out patrolling enemy squads while using stealth. When completing these challenges, those who have access to online with Xbox, PlayStation, or PC will be able to have their score ranked along with other players with the game having it’s own online leaderboard for each challenge.

The biggest thing provided with the DLC is making the Joker a playable character in these combat and stealth challenges maps. During these missions, the Joker must confront the guards of the Asylum and even police commissioner James Gordon. The Joker has his own combat abilities and weaponry, such as a handgun, exploding chattering teeth, and x-ray glasses which allows him to see opponents through walls. For the most part, he plays pretty much the same as Batman only feeling a bit lighter and not as willing to throw himself all across the room in combat like Batman does.

Considering I was able to get all of this DLC for free when purchasing the Return to Arkham edition, I can’t really complain about it. For anyone else that wasn’t able to acquire this DLC for free, it didn’t necessarily come across as a must-buy unless you were either incredibly eager to play as Joker or just because you are a trophy/achievement whore (which I admit to be feeling guilty of too). The DLC is what it is and not much more than that. Of all the games in the series, this is certainly the one to have the least variety in terms of DLC.

Conclusion:

Batman: Arkham Asylum is ever bit as awesome as I remember it being in 2009. While the boss fights are still rather weak and I don’t fully buy Joker’s “let’s create an army of Banes” master plan, nearly everything else is done rather flawlessly that it’s hard to let those minor gripes bring down the entire game. The combat is absolutely fun with plenty of inventive ways to beat your opponents, the gadgets always come in handy, the detective aspects add a ton to the experience and character of Batman, the entire Arkham island itself is cool to explore, the unlockables are so eager to collect, the voice acting is incredibly stellar, and there’s never a second which you don’t feel like you are in control of The Dark Knight himself.

Is it the absolute best in the series? Well, you will just have to wait to hear my thoughts on the next two games in the series but no doubt, this is a game that has continued to stand the test time, even 14 years later. For a studio that was relatively unknown before Arkham Asylum came out, there was no better way for Rocksteady to put themselves on the map for gamers all around after crafting this absolute achievement of a video game.

If you are a Batman fan and somehow still have not checked this game out, I highly recommend it. Even if you are not a Batman fan and want a really fun action packed game, then I recommend it too. Perhaps it might even turn you into a Batman fan yourself just like I imagine it did for gamers everywhere back in 2009. If 2008 showed how good superhero films can get with The Dark Knight, then 2009 showed how good superhero games can get with Batman: Arkham Asylum! Even to this day, the Caped Crusader remains the standard!

Next stop, we will take a look at the sequel that Rocksteady already had their eyes on even before completing this game. If you look closely around in Warren Sharp’s room, you were given a clue to where the Arkham series would be headed next. If you didn’t, then you would be able to find out yourself two years later with 2011’s Batman: Arkham City!

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now available on 4K/Blu-Ray and for streaming on Disney Plus. While the film has ultimately been received well by fans and critics, one of the biggest things about the movie that is still being debated to this day is on whether or not it was right to kill off Prince T’Challa and not just recast the character. This is a discussion that has gone back and forth ever since the tragic passing of the late great Chadwick Boseman. While there’s a strong argument for both sides, I’m on the side that believes that not recasting him and even killing him off in Wakanda Forever was the right move. To back up that argument, I have come up with at least four reasons as to why that is the case.

1.) It Would Go Against The Film’s Themes

While the final finished movie was clearly not the one that Ryan Coogler and company had in mind during initial development of it, it really is impressive how organically natural of a sequel Wakanda Forever is, even without the original Black Panther himself. So much so, that it almost feels as if the death of T’Challa was planned from the beginning. Which is why ressurecting him in this story despite no Chadwick Boseman would have done a huge disservice to the film and possibly wouldn’t have been as emotionally powerful as it is.

Many of the conflict and arcs that Shuri goes through strongly reflect and mirrors the ones that T’Challa faced from the first film. Things such as having to move on to the next person up in a position of power after the last one sitting on the throne had passed away, how to negotiate with opposing sides during a time of crisis and brink of war, how much power and resources is too much to keep for yourself, and how even good heartfelt people can be consumed with vengeance to become the kind of monster they swore on destroying. While you can definitely tell how affected the entire cast and crew were with Chadwick Boseman’s sudden death, his presence is still felt throughout which helps makes Wakanda Forever a right companion piece to the original even without their main star.

Even if recasting wouldn’t outright contradict the themes and arc that Shuri herself goes through, it would not have hit as hard as it did if T’Challa was still around with another actor playing him.

2.) “Wakanda Is Not A Place, It’s A People!”

One of the best things that stands out about the Black Panther films is the way the main setting of Wakanda is portrayed. Similar to that of New York in Spider-Man and Gotham City in Batman, Wakanda represents the heart and soul of the Black Panther character. Not just as a place or even as a nation but as a people. It’s the people that holds this great tribe together, not the other way around. You can burn the whole country down but as long as there are Wakandans remain, it will never truly die.

The real glue that is able to hold these Black Panther movies together and helps compliment one another is how both seem to realized the importance of Wakanda. It understands that Wakanda itself is even greater than that of Black Panther. The Black Panther at it’s core is a resemblance of what the nation of Wakanda stands for, a powerful being with unlimited power and resources of it’s own with a goal of not attacking others but strictly to defend themselves from others that oppose them. Wakanda means as much to the Black Panther as the Black Panther does mean to Wakanda. Even if Black Panther dies, Wakanda itself must live on to avoid letting the previous deaths of their people be in vain. Not strictly to let vengeance consume them but empower them to inspire others to remain a loyal hero.

From T’Chaka to T’Challa to Ramonda to Shuri, as long as one is standing to lead their people, The Black Panther and Wakanda will always remain strong. In many ways, these two Black Panther movies basically does the whole “Asgard is not a place, it’s a people” thing better than even Thor Ragnarok did.

3.) Wrong Place At The Wrong Time

The unfortunate passing of Chadwick Boseman created a massive blackhole for Marvel and Ryan Coogler that simply could not be solved by just recasting or rewriting the role. No one was as important or as pitch-perfect in the role of T’Challa as Chadwick Boseman was and no one could replacing him this quickly. It would feel wrong and would put whoever was casted to replace him in an unwinnable scenario of trying to replicate a version of Black Panther that was never intended to be theirs.

The only thing anyone can do at the moment in the wake of this horrendous passing is to grief. Grief the loss of a beloved figure, realize the importance and legacy he bestowed upon the world, and figure out how to move forward without his presence. It might be the hardest thing to do but it is certainly the right thing to do. If Wakanda Forever is anything to by, it looks as though director Ryan Coogler and everyone involved with the sequel would seem to agree with those statements.

No one involved with the production of this movie was ready to see a new Prince T’Challa yet. Chadwick Boseman was clearly on their minds 24/7 throughout the entire development and still remains comfortably in their hearts. Simply putting someone else in the role would not make the pain go away. If the people behind Wakanda Forever are not ready to move on, then I don’t think anyone else is either.

4.) There Will Come A Time Later!

Once we get to the end of the film and see Shuri burning her funeral robe in accordance with her late mother’s wishes, we see her taking that one last moment of grief. We see her remembering her late great brother and all the amazing things he has done for his people. It’s the moment that Shuri has been waiting for at least a year now. A moment to finally be alone and be allowed to grief and mourn in peace.

What happens from here on out remains to be seen but if the post credit scene is any indication, there may come a time in the future that a brand new T’Challa will come to the world. After her time of grief, Shuri is visited by Nakia where she reveals that she and T’Challa had a son that she has been raising in secret. The son’s name is revealed to be Toussaint and that his Wakanda name is T’Challa, named after his own father and the Black Panther himself.

There are many ways you can interpret that post credit scene but to me, that is getting across the message that there will be another T’Challa someday. Even though Chadwick Boseman is now gone from Earth, the spirit of T’Challa will always remains, being passed from one generation to the next. Whether it’s in the form of his own son or another multiverse version of him, T’Challa will return one day and hopefully be played by an actor who is the perfect successor to Chadwick Boseman. Even if it’s not the right time now, there will come that time some day. It’s just a matter of when.

This weekend saw the release of M. Night Shyamalan’s new film, Knock Of The Cabin. With that, this beloved/despised director now has 14 films in his massive filmography. Regardless of what you can say about the man as a director, you can’t deny there is no other man in Hollywood quite like him. The man is basically his own unique beast of a filmmaker, now allowing himself to spend the quarter of his yearly salary to finance his own personal projects that give him permission to play in his own sandbox in front of the camera for the whole world to see. Whether the movie is good or bad, you always know you are watching an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Even if he is someone that everyone is aware of his tropes and reputation, something which even Shyamalan himself seems to be WAY too aware of nowadays, his movies are always so fascinating to watch and talk about because of it.

With that, let’s take a look back at every single one of his directed films and rank them from worst to best. Time to take this quality-like trip down memory lane!

14.) The Last Airbender

One of the most hated films ever to be released in cinema is absolutely deserving of all the scorn it gets! Despite trying so hard to be as faithful to a t to the beloved Nickelodeon animated series as possible, it ends up sucking out all the fun, joy, heart, and spirit that the show ever had.

With the way the film plays out with trying to squeeze the plot of an entire season of a tv show into an hour and 45 minute film, it was basically doomed from the start. However, when you added in actors who are massively miscast in their roles (And that’s not strictly because of the producer’s obsession to casting literally the whitest actors possible for these roles), replace the banter and character development with non-stop exposition, and effects that look more appropriate for a fan film rather than one spend a million dollars on, you have one truly awful and underwhelming picture. Not to mention, they couldn’t even be bothered to get the names of some of the characters right (It’s “Aang!” Not “Aung!”).

Admittedly, it’s hard to blame strictly Shyamalan for this train wreck because it’s clear that not every single choice made in this film was his as there was plenty of obvious studio meddling that plagued this mess. Even so, I don’t there there has been a film that has sunk M. Night’s reputation quite like this. It sunk it so hard that he might never, ever get it back again.

13.) Lady In The Water

Now, here’s a movie you can 100% fault Shyamalan for as it’s clear that his fingerprints are all over this abomination. And that’s not even going into the scene near the end where M. Night basically plays a self-insert version of himself and proclaims he’s gonna save the world from evil critics who dared to criticize The Village.

While there’s at least a tiny more creativity put into the world building and certain elements than The Last Airbender, almost none of it is put to good use. You have a great, recognizable cast that turn in some absolutely terrible performances, the plot and logic is basically non-existent and falls apart once you think about it for a split second, and how in the world can you make a movie about magic mermaids and such so unbelievably boring.

Even if you are someone that didn’t hate The Village or M. Night prior movies before this one and even take pride at taking shots at professional film critics, this film is just way too smug, ego-filled, and pretentious for you to get behind. This is arguably the first official dud that Shyamalan had ever put out that pretty much everyone agrees was a disaster!

12.) After Earth

Yet another incredibly silly but also somehow overly serious sci-fi journey that somehow manages to walk a fine line between unintentionally entertaining but also somehow painfully dull at the same time. To quote Honest Trailers, this was perhaps Will Smith’s biggest mistake since turning down The Matrix (at least until his infamous Oscar slap would shock the world).

Despite technically being an original sci-fi story, there is hardly any new actual elements to it. It has the exact same sort of characters and tropes you’ve seen a million times before and seen done a million times better in other things. The chemistry that Will Smith had with his son Jaden in The Pursuit Of Happiness is no where to be found here, which makes you shocked that these two are even related in real life. And I’m fairly certain if you told me the script did not receive a single re-write and was turned in after just one draft, I would certainly believe you.

This admittedly could have worked if it just stuck to it’s original premise and not feel the need to add in a bunch of other ridiculous elements but it pretty much falls flat in every way it possibly could. If The Last Airbender didn’t make you lose complete faith in Shyamalan, then After Earth might have finished the job for you.

11.) Glass

M. Night was making somewhat of a comeback before this one came out. His last two films were fairly well received and just one more after that could have potentially brought back on the map as a director we can all take seriously again. Oh…..what could’ve been!

2019 was a year filled with underwhelming endings to well-known franchises minus the big one with superheroes and this was no exception. It’s baffling how Glass takes a potentially exciting cross-over/finale and manages to turn it into a completely pointless slog that undermines everything that came before. With too much time spend in the hospital hearing the same, repetitive talking scenes over and over again about how these superpower folks aren’t really that super, an incredibly disjointed narrative, and a resolution that makes the main bad guys look like the dumbest idiots ever, you could not have made a more disappointing finale if you tried.

Sure, it’s well-shot, James McAvoy is still as awesome as ever in the role, and I’m sure there are folks who gave it bonus points for it’s so-called “bold” choices it makes towards the third act but very little actually works from a storytelling or character perspective. It’s baffling how just about the commentary and deconstruction elements that worked so well in Unbreakable just does not work here whatsoever.

10.) The Happening

I’m not gonna lie, if I was rating this in terms of entertainment value, this would probably be much higher on the list. This is hands down one of the most entertainingly bad movies ever made. From the direction to the acting to the dialogue to the script, there is so much for you to be entertained by and laugh at how ridiculous this is that it’s hard not to recommend it because of that. From an objective standpoint, however, it’s still really darn bad.

The premise is actually quite a solid one for a supposed B movie. The problem is that Shyamalan takes the material so seriously that it can’t be judge strictly for being an over-the-top schlock movie because it’s clearly trying to be something more than that. It actually thinks it’s telling a deep, dark story about death, suicide, and brutality that is going for the Oscar. But because the dialogue is so terribly written, none of the characters act like human beings, and the actors act like they are in a complete different movie than the one they are actually in, it’s impossible to take anything seriously because nothing feels real or genuine.

At this point, M. Night was not only starting to lose his pride but was becoming an unintentional parody of himself. Watching The Happening is like the equivalent of watching a deadly car crash, it’s awful and terrible to see but your eyes are glued to the accident the entire way through and you just can’t help to not look away.

9) Wide Awake

Believe it or not, The Sixth Sense was actually not the first film in M. Night’s filmography. That was actually whatever the hell this is that made it’s way into cinema in 1998. And tbh, even with it’s absurdly twist ending, you would be hard pressed to find out that Shyamalan actually directed this movie.

There is some occasional wit and charm to it along with a couple of touching moments but much of Wide Awake screams “first time director” and not in a good way. The whole experience feels too hollow and all over the place to be engaging all the way through with not having a clear idea as to who the movie was aimed for. Also, despite what the poster of the movie would indicate, baseball has very little to do in this movie and the two characters that appear on there have hardly any screen time together.

Releasing just one year before The Sixth Sense, this has that sense of a movie being solely made solely for M. Night to get his foot through the door and so he could go onto making a movie he would much prefer to make. Not a lot of people remember this as it’s first film and it’s probably for the best that it stays that way.

8.) Knock At The Cabin

The newest feature film from Shyamalan is well shot and has a handle of good performances, with the main stand-out being Dave Bautista, that helps make it watchable but unfortunately fails to be engaging or interesting because how tame the whole experience is. Almost as if M. Night is beginning to run out of ideas.

That’s not even going into how rather homophobic the movie is given it never tries to offer a satisfying resolution to the main queer couple, twists that are so obvious I’m not even sure you could actually call it twists, and even the actual “world ending” stakes presented feel about as inconsequential as that of a mission in a Grand Theft Auto game. By the time we get to the bleak and unceremonious end, you just wonder what exactly the movie itself is trying to accomplish other than with the message of how the Old Testament is right in that the world would be better off without gay people.

I don’t think there’s a M. Night Shyamalan movie that left me shrugging my shoulders than this one. Even the negative points aren’t ones that are worth thinking to deeply into because the movie itself doesn’t even try to do so. It just lacks it’s own value and substance which makes it’s brief runtime feel longer than it really is and it lays out a big surface that it doesn’t even bother to scratch. It’s as if M Night has finally met his match, being unable to shock the world any longer. In that case, then Knock At The Cabin does at least make for a rather unique metaphor of it’s own, even if it’s a tame one.

7.) Old

Here’s one that manages to display the very best and very worst of M. Night Shyamalan. When Old is playing around with it’s own “time flies” premise and does bizarre, interesting things with it, it’s an absolute blast of schlock value. When it actually tries to be deep and throw as many thought provoking messages into the mix as it can, that’s where it falters.

The craftsmanship is great, it movies at a good pace, it contains some of the most unique imagery and sequences in any Shyamalan movie, and is among the few times where letting M. Night without some sort of restraint is actually for the better. It even does a good job of showcasing just how fast life can go and why you should live it to your fullest potential. Just too bad M. Night just can’t seem to get out of his own damn way by feeling the need to be deeper and more complex than it should be along with including a third act twist just because that’s an absolute staple to his filmography at this point.

I can’t say this movie isn’t entertaining or even engaging at times but I also can’t say it completely worked because of how back and forth it is with what goal it wants to achieves and the ways it actually wants to achieve it. Old containing both the highest of the high and the lowest of the low of M Night’s filmography, which make it sit comfortably right in the middle of quality in this ranking.

6.) The Village

This is probably the only “bad” M. Night Shyamalan movie that I find myself defending. After hitting three home runs in a row with The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs, expectations were high that the great M. Night would be able to hit a grand slam like he’s Babe Ruth with his next trip up to the plate. Instead, this is more like a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded when you are still down by multiple runs in a game. You technically got the job done there to keep your team in the game but you were expecting to at least get a bases clearing extra base hit, if not a grand slam.

That’s not to say The Village is anywhere close to perfect. It’s way too slow for it’s own good, too hamfisted in it’s political themes, and the final twist doesn’t feel anywhere near as earned as it did in his last three movies. However, it also has intriguing world building, actors that fit quite well in their roles, and Roger Deakins proving once again why he’s a top-tier cinematographer. Also, unlike with most his later work, you don’t really get that sense of smugness here and actually feels like it’s something for anyone to get something out of.

While it’s a shame that The Village couldn’t make for the perfect quadrilogy for M. Night, it still not an absolute failure over all. It’s an intriguing film that has plenty of redeemable qualities even if it is frustrating that it can’t quite reach greatness. I get the feeling has this movie came out at any other different time than they did, people would be much nicer to it.

5.) The Visit

At the time this movie came out, it was instantly held as a return to form for M. Night Shyamalan. A reason to hope for the man who practically invented spoiler alerts would be able to return to form after so many failures over the past decade plus. Are these people right? Well, yes and no.

It’s definitely refreshing to see M. Night go back to smaller scale and low budget flicks after a handful of terrible blockbusters he directed. Most of the tropes that has become accustom to actually works quite well here, there’s a handful of story elements that get satisfying if not disgusting payoffs, and even the twist, while obvious, makes sense and helps to add tension during your initial and on repeat viewings with how the kids are going to deal with their supposed grandparents. Where the movie doesn’t work is when it goes too far with it’s black comedy or tries too hard with jump scares that don’t go anywhere. And I can’t stand the rapping…..at all.

It doesn’t completely work but The Visit does at least do a good job at foreshadowing the direction that M. Night would be taking with his future films and how it was start of a new era for him. While more missteps was sure to come, it was nice to see himself get another leash on life by reinventing himself as a filmmaker with this mildly entertaining flick.

4.) Split

While The Visit was hailed as one of M. Night’s better films in recent memory, it still had enough detractors to still consider it not good enough. With Split, however, even the detractor had to give credit where it was due. This movie felt like the Shyamalan of old was resurrected and returned to the big screen to show everyone how it is done.

This is an absolutely intriguing and intense thriller filled with great set-ups, satisfying payoffs, and stellar execution all around. James McAvoy is an absolute scene stealer, being able to perfectly portray every single personality of every single version of himself he is suppose to portray. Anya Taylor-Joy is also able to make for the right companion piece of being a shy girl with little to no emotion going up against a derange kidnapper with plenty of emotion. Even if you are able to guess the twist at the very end, this is still able to stand strongly as it’s own thing. The first act is quite choppy and it’s a shame that we don’t get to every single personality from Kevin but none of that can take away how surprisingly enjoyable the whole experience is.

Split feels like the last missing piece to the perfect puzzle that was the quad trilogy of M. Night Shyamalan in his prime. It might have took nearly 15 years to get it but it is satisfying all the same. Even if the follow-up to this was very underwhelming, this still remains for a wonderful fluke and a sign that perhaps the old M. Night Shyamalan we all knew and love is still in there somewhere.

3.) Signs

The finale of the original trilogy of bangers of M. Night’s early career does fall into the trappings of the third movies being the weakest of the bunch. It’s not quite as tight or as uniquely different as the other two movies that came before this one. That being said, much like other certain third installments that are technically the worst of their respective trilogy (*cough* Return of the Jedi), it’s still pretty darn good and satisfying enough in it’s own right.

Signs is able to balance between being an alien invasion flick and an engaging family drama quite well. It contains the proper amount of tension, suspense, and even scares with the supernatural stuff and even some natural conflicts that the characters go through which dives deep into moments of psychological, human-driven society. Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix also fit the roles very well as does the child talent of Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin. There is perhaps a bit too many themes the movie tries to tackle at once and has a final shot that feels unnecessary but it all mostly works out well.

As much as it’s not M. Night’s best movie, it’s probably the most heartfelt movie he has ever made. One which all the genuine emotion feels earned and plays out the way it was suppose to be. It knows how to make one feel in way that I don’t think even Shyamalan imagined. That in of itself makes Signs impressive in it’s own right.

2.) The Sixth Sense

If it weren’t for the fact that Wide Awake existed, this would make a strong case for being one of the best director debuts of all time. Imagine being a C-average student in your freshman year of high school only to being an A-average student the very next year as a sophomore. There’s not many directors out there that can say that but with The Sixth Sense, it’s hard to deny that M. Night was able to acheive exactly that.

This feels like a movie that only M. Night Shyamalan himself could have made as it knows exactly what he does expertly with no BS thrown in between any of it. It’s extremely well made, the narrative is engaging, the performances are top notch, it’s able to explore it’s subject matter involving psychology incredible well, and every scare is legit frightening regardless of if you know it’s coming or not. Even the twist ending, which would unfortunately make M. Night the child poster of that storytelling trope, works wonder and allows for different viewing experiences every time you watch it.

The Sixth Sense is able to bring out the very best of M. Night Shyamalan while also leaving the anything resembling the worst of him. It’s able to use the tropes it introduces without ever derailing any fraction of the film. While it’s not quite my absolute favorite of it as it ranks in the #2 spot, it would be hard to argue with anyone that has it at the very top.

1.) Unbreakable

This is where M. Night Shyamalan has hit home the best for me and what I believe is to be his absolute masterpiece. As much as their are handful of superhero films that try to “deconstruct” the genre to try to make an absolutely loaded genre feel fresh, very few are able to hit the mark of that matter with the way Unbreakable does.

It’s able to take the tropes that is most common for superhero movies and comic book stories and cleverly subverts them in ways that make the experience even better. Instead of being action heavy with cheesy one-liners and campy villains, it’s able to showcase what superheroes and supervillains could look like in a real word with a dark and sobering tone that fits perfectly for the movie. Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson are perfect in their roles as David Dunn and Mr. Glass, the main superhero and supervillain of the picture. The conflict between the two and the duality that they played off of each other is among the best I’ve seen in any superhero film. It shows that there is a more to a hero and villain story than simple fistfights and power-filled matchups, but it’s also about having an interesting internal conflict between two figures from a psychological and thematic standpoint that matter too. Some do it better than others but not in he way that Unbreakable masterfully showcases this.

Even in an age of where comic book movies have took the world by storm, Unbreakable is a movie that feels like it could have came out at any time and it would still feel fresh, different, and unique all the same. It’s one of the few times where a M. Night Shyamalan is exactly as smart, if not more so, that it believes it is. Because of that reason and many more, Unbreakable is hands down my favorite movie of M. Night Shyamalan and one of my personal favorite movies in general.

Earlier this week, the new head of DC Studios in James Gunn revealed the news he had been teasing since the start of 2023, the overall new slate of DC productions for the foreseeable future. As described by Gunn himself, this is a carefully planned out template to give the DC Universe itself some form of connective tissue with one of another in terms of it’s movies, shows, and video games. With 2023 bringing the end of the current DCEU with the four movies such as Shazam!: Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, with The Flash basically acting as a reset to it’s timeline, 2024 and onwards will bring forward the new content in the form of the now titled DC Universe and DC Elseworlds. The DC Universe will include content involving movies and shows that will be shared and take place in their own form of continuity. DC Elseworlds will refer to content outside of the continuity of the DC Universe that will mostly act as their own stand-alone stories. The first chapter of the DC Universe (which I imagine will be similar to that of the phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) is referred to as Gods & Monsters. While I’m sure we will get more info throughout the year as we get closer to the beginning of this new DC canon, this is what the overall plan for DC looks like for at least the next four to five years.

When looking at it, this seems like this is what Warner Bros has been looking to do with DC for at least the past decade. By not so much trying to play catch-up with Marvel and more carefully laying out their foundation with some intriguing voices behind it, this is a good way for WB to hit the reset button on their DC properties and offer a fresh new start to their next crop of movies and shows. It will allow to create the kind of straight forward continuity that the prior DC universe tried but ultimately failed to do while also being able to have mainstream audiences keep track of what’s going on with DC without much confusion. It will also help to include the likes of James Gunn who has had experience of being able to deliver crowd pleasing comic book properties onto the big screen and streaming services such as Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker in ways that Zack Snyder couldn’t do with his feature DC films. Despite this slate sounding like a good idea on paper, I still can’t help but think most of this sounds very been there and done that.

First off, despite what certain folks might claim, DC’s biggest problem in the past was NOT that they didn’t have a so-called plan for their universe. They actually did exactly that when Zack Snyder was in charge of DC movies. After Man of Steel came out and the wave of the success of The Avengers had hit the movie industry, that persuade Warner Bros to let Snyder be the guide to creating their own cinematic universe that compete with Marvel. Even before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice came out, there were plans for a Suicide Squad movie, Wonder Woman movie, Aquaman movie, Flash movie, and not one but TWO Justice League movies. However, despite most of those movies eventually getting made and making some sort of profit, they mostly didn’t turn out to be the success that Warner Bros wanted.

Even though it was a hit at the box office, Dawn of Justice got universally panned by critics and was divisive at best for mainstream audiences. The backlash was so strong that WB had to go back and do reshoots for upcoming features such Suicide Squad and Justice League to try to make it more “mainstream friendly” and try to make them more like Marvel movies, which results in mostly the same outcome as Batman v Superman in terms of reception. The problem wasn’t that they didn’t plan far ahead, the problem was that they planned TOO far ahead. Zack Snyder or anyone at Warner Bros never gave it a second thought of one of these movies could be underperformed or get panned by critics and audiences. They were so focused on Plan A that they never bothered to give much thought to a Plan B. A plan was there, it just ultimately fell apart.

As much as Marvel has gotten praise over the years for laying the foundation of their own cinematic universe, it was never as planned out ahead as many have claimed. For example, watch all four Thor movies back-to-back-to-back-to-back with the knowledge of Thor’s involvement in the Avengers movies for good measures. I dare anyone to tell me with a straight face that all of these movies were all planned out years in advance. Do you really buy that Thor’s friends who were set up and sideline in his first two movies where made to just be killed off abruptly by his sister in Ragnarok? Or how the ending of The Dark World teased at the notion of the next one being about Thor looking for his father that Loki might’ve done something with him only for that plotline to get wrapped up in the first 20 minutes of Ragnarok? Or how the way Jane Foster was shoehorn into the The Dark World, was cast aside in Ragnarok, and would eventually become Mighty Thor by Love and Thunder? I double dare you to say “Yes!” to any one of those. While there are certainly world building pieces that the movies introduces that would be payed off later, most notably the Tesseract, along with Thor’s arc of following in his father’s footsteps, the ways to get those things across was clearly changed and made up as each movie went on.

While Kevin Feige and the heads at Marvel have always had a solid road map in mind for each phase of the MCU, it’s the ways to get to each destination that change all the time. The difference here is that they go through each movie and show one at a time and allow themselves to build their foundation up before reaching it’s full destination. The key though is to make entries that feels like you have to see every single one of them but you really don’t. With a handful of exceptions, most content in the MCU is fairly self-contained and stand well on their own with what they are trying to do with only a handful of set-up and easter eggs scattered throughout each installment that gives a potential hint towards the future. Even if a certain way to get from Point A to Point B doesn’t work out, they can always find another way around it until they can reach their goal. Unless James Gunn and Peter Safran is able to understand that philosophy that Kevin Feige has implemented with Marvel since 2008, I could see this DC slate falling into the same trappings that the previous one did.

Granted, there are a few advantages to this DC slate working better compare to Snyder’s one. Firstly, it does seem like this won’t come across as rushed and abrupted as it did before since it seems like they will be taking their time instead of trying to chase Marvel’s tail. (Many tend to forget that Man of Steel was originally meant to be it’s own standalone movie and only became the building block to creating a cinematic universe for Warner Bros after the massive success of The Avengers.) Secondly, there does seem to at least be a back-up plan if this new DC slate doesn’t work out, particularly with the other form of continuity (or lack there of) with DC Elsewords, most notably Matt Reeves’s Batverse and Todd Phillips’s Jokerverse. And lastly, as I said before, Gunn does seem to know how to make superhero content that audience all around enjoyed in a way that Snyder couldn’t. (Regardless of what you think of Man of Steel, the fact that Warner Bros was trying to make their own cinematic universe based off a movie as polarizing as that was basically made it doomed from the start.) Because of those things, I have a hard time believing that this new cinematic universe will hit rock bottom as hard as the Snyderverse did but I still need more convincing to see if this will all work out in the end.

Despite my claims and speculations made throughout this article, I don’t think James Gunn and Peter Safran will do a bad job here. They clearly have a goal in mind that Warner Bros (despite not wanting to admit it publicly) has wanted for their DC properties for a long time. My main concern is of them trying to learn the wrong lessons of the past failings from WB. Giving themselves the notion of not to plan too far ahead but plan even more ahead even if that wasn’t really the fatal flaw last time out. Thinking you need to second guess what the audiences will react to each entry and the next one that they feel the need to change each movie or show from their previous intentions all together to make it more crowd pleasing or like Marvel. Trying to build a foundation that was basically doomed from the start because you never bother to keep it in check and see if your fans and audiences would have your back along the way. If Gunn and Safran are able to avoid these outcomes, then I can see this being WB’s true answer to Marvel. If not, then I imagine we will be right back where we started by 2027.

Regardless, let’s all hope for the best for our favorite DC superheroes. After all, we are all fans here.

Here’s a video of James Gunn explaining the new slate of DC movies.