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Cro0ked Review – EVOLVE – Bring Friends. Get Eaten.

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Title: Evolve
Developer: Turtle Rock Studios
Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Publisher: 2K (Take-Two Interactive)
Reviewed on: PC

I first heard about Evolve last year, after my friend returned from PAX Prime and told me about this new multiplayer game that had been showcased at the convention. He said that he played a hulking, squid-faced monster, and had to eat wildlife to evolve into a bigger and better beastie so he could kill four of his friends in PvP play.

Come at me bro!

Come at me bro!

Wait. Four friends against you?

Hell yes! Play as the single ferocious monster, or one of four hunters determined to track it down. Evolve is the first one versus four game – a pioneer of a new, interesting take on multiplayer – developed by Turtle Rock Studios (the creators of Left 4 Dead) and published by 2K. The game boasts a myriad of options for you to choose from: as the single player, you get your choice between the beefy Goliath, the long-ranged Kraken, or the swift Wraith. Hunting monsters more your style? There are four Hunter classes to choose from for your four-man team: Assault, who deals the majority of damage; Support, who buffs the hunters; Medic, who heals the hunters; and Trapper, who traps the Monster. Each hunter class has a choice of 3 characters, with the first tier of characters available upon booting up the game. The other two tiers you have to unlock by “mastering” the previous one’s abilities, effectively making sure you’ve played each one enough times to understand how to use them.

Evolve is the first one versus four game – a pioneer of a new, interesting take on multiplayer

The game is currently played in two modes: Skirmish Hunt mode, in which the Hunters must track down and kill the Monster before it evolves to Stage 3 and kills them (or destroys the power relay); or Evacuation mode, which is played over a series of 5 matches – these matches are played over 4 different game modes and will all take place on a different map. Gameplay consists mostly of evading the Hunters and eating wildlife to evolve and acquire new skills as fast as possible when you’re the Monster, and running after tracks, corpses, or fallen trees to stay on your quarry’s trail as the Hunters…then shooting the beast to death once you find it.

Now is the time to PANIC!

Now is the time to PANIC!

The Cons

If you’ve heard of Evolve, you’ve likely heard of 2K’s questionable launch decisions. To start, there were confusing packages available for pre-purchasing the game, priced from $60-$120. For many of them, the content you paid for was not available on launch (and is still not available, but will be…soon™). Evolve was also released with day one DLC which sparked quite a bit of discontent from gamers who just dropped $60+ on the title. The biggest note about the DLC is this – it is currently cosmetic only. TRS has been very clear in stating that all future maps and modes will be made available to everyone free of charge, and that the only DLC that will be paid for are cosmetic weapon or monster skins or new characters.

The game was also plagued with bugs upon release. Hunters dying and dropping like stones through the floor, Monsters turning invisible and progress resets on Xbox One are just a few of the major bugs present in the game right now. There is an upcoming patch to fix these issues, but it’s been a month coming so far, with only the Xbox progression issue fixed to date. The game isn’t unplayable, but a few of these bugs definitely cause frustration for both Hunters and Monster players alike.

Speaking of matches, the matchmaking in the game is getting negative reactions from some players. The matchmaking system allows you to set a role preference, but it prioritizes a human player for the Monster over an AI, so even if you set the Monster as your least-preferred role you may be stuck with it anyway on occasion. Luckily there are no real penalties for leaving a lobby if you don’t want to play the role you’re assigned, just a one-minute timer before you can re-queue, but TRS has indicated this will change in the future due to abuse.

Some players have noted a lack of re-playability for the game, as the modes and maps are limited for now. This con is subjective – it depends on your preferences when you game. If you need badges to pop up every time you kill someone, or see your rank shoot up over everyone else, you may find the game dull after a week or two. For those gamers who look for improving their skills slowly and coordinating with a team, it may be much longer for you.

You really need a microphone. The game is frustrating at best if your team does not communicate, and due to the fast pace and constantly changing engagements, verbal communication is the most effective.

Evolve Monsters

You must always be able to predict what’s next and then have the flexibility to evolve.

The Pros:

This game is fun. It is the most fun I’ve had with a new release in quite some time. The adrenaline rush you get as the Monster is undeniable, and the thrill of chasing a hulking beast through an alien world – knowing it could jump out and kill you at any moment – is exhilarating. This game is even better when played with other people – either friends or randoms. The player community on PC is the only one I can really speak about, and I must say that this game has the least amount of flaming I have ever experienced in a PvP PC game. The community seems to embrace new players, teaching them the ropes and helping them to improve rather than telling them to (expletive) themselves with a (expletive).

You really need a microphone.

I also find that the unlocking system they have in place, though tedious, is essential to furthering your gameplay. It ensures that you have an understanding of each Hunter character before moving along the line to try the next one. This comes in especially handy during matchmaking, where you may not get the role you prefer. That way, when you enter the game you (hopefully) have a grasp of all the characters, not just your preferred class. This also makes sure you don’t select some of the more nuanced characters right away, whose role in a fight may differ slightly from the norm.

Another refreshing thing about this game is how engaged the developers are with the community. They are regularly haunting their forums and taking suggestions from the community seriously. Though a bit slow to get things out, they show their appreciation for the Evolve fanbase through community play events, even releasing their TRS developers signature gold Monster skins to the public for free this past weekend. The player community for this game is also thriving, even though the playerbase has dropped since launch due to the DLC fiasco and the buggy release. There are still active players in many forums, and the majority of them are very friendly and willing to teach new players.

All in all, if you are willing to spend the $60 on this title, Evolve is a ton of fun. It’s a unique experience with a rush you won’t quite get anywhere else. Though the release and marketing could have been more streamlined, the gameplay itself is well worth the cash for hours of hunting.

Notable Achievements:
Cockroach (Kill the Monster while incapacitated outside of the Tutorials) – 30G
12-Sided Die (Reach elite status on all Hunters) – 90G

-Cro0ked

What I’m Playing, Pipe-line Projects, and your News Fix

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As Assassin’s Creed IV – Black Flag warms up, and I’m loaded into the head office of Abstergo Entetainment, I’m happy to see the triangle logo is still in place. Curiously missing or at least less prominent in the last few Creed title, I was beginning to worry they had done away with the logo entirely. Worrisome, considering I do have the tattoo on my wrist.

Animus Unite

Animus Unite

Assassin’s Creed IV – Black Flag, not really considered a new release anymore. Can’t fault me for sticking to my slow methodical pace through some of the AAA titles on my shelf. Not that I don’t bang off a new title now and then, but it really needs to grab my attention. Or must stray from the default 3rd person Ubisoft Open World platform genres, FPS, or Racing title.

But when it comes to the Assassin Creed title, I’m usually always at least one generation behind.

I think the title’s annual similarities is the reason. They sometimes take months to complete, and the next edition then comes out later that year, and is just more of the same type of game play with tweaks to the story. At least when you consider Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, Revelations. III started the trend into the right direction, and then IV really is a breath of fresh air. Because you’re on a boat. Ha!

Assassin’s Creed IV is the current title under review, and as mentioned in an earlier post, I wrapped Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) in co-op, so expect a quick review of that. I’m also playing Sniper Elite III in co-op, and playing through Forza Horizons 2 Storm Island DLC. In the pipeline is Far Cry 4, and Shadow of Mordor.

Lastly, I’ll be providing my first impressions of EA and Visceral’s Battlefield Hardline with the early Access on March 12th. Cities: Skylines is also on the list for the next PC game I want, but I’ll need to upgrade my graphics card first. So close :(.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be posting a friend’s review of Evolve, as she’s been playing it on the PC, and has some thoughts. Very nice of her to provide that.

To increase game-time, gotta get news-time out of the way…

Uncharted 4 Delay

Naughty Dog’s highly anticipated release of the next Uncharted game, 4: A Thief’s End has been delayed until spring 2016. It’s not uncommon for Naughty Dog to delay games, as they do have an incredibly high standard for their products. The wait will be worth it, and it gives me the extra time to save up for a PS4.

GTA Online Heists Launch Issues

Tell me if you’ve this before…Rockstar’s long waited Online Heists DLC update has had a bumpy start, as players are experiencing problems connecting. After about 24 hours the service seems to be more stable. This news isn’t entirely surprising as the GTA Online mode had a rocky start to begin with, and there’s been a lot of hype for this DLC to boot, so obviously a lot of people would be trying to play it as soon as they could. Now I just need some friends to play it with. 😦

Titanfall DLC for Free – One Year Anniversary

Celebrating the one year anniversary of Titanfall, the 3 DLC packs have been made free. This includes nine new maps. No use to me, as I had already purchased the season pass on launch, but this does give me the motivation to jump back into the game. Unknown is how long the free season pass will be available for.

Check my review from Titanfall: Not Here, but Here

Remember Me 2 is “Ready to be Made”

Capcom’s Remember Me developer, Dontnot, has made a statement that the sequel is, technically, ready to be made.

“We know what we would do for Remember Me 2,” said Dontnod creative director, Jean-Maxime Moris. “The main story has been written, we know what we would add to the recipe. We know what we would fix. It’s a game that’s ready to be made, but that decision is Capcom’s to make.”

So development hasn’t been started. Better than no news I suppose. I have a lot of Reviews “ready to be made” too. They just have to be written first. :p

Check my review of the first game:  Remember Me

That’s all for now. Check out the Evolve review tomorrow.

Go Outside!

-iRogan

Day 4: iReview – DESTINY – Convoluted By Design

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Title:Destiny
Developer: Bungie
Platform: PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Publisher: Activision
Reviewed on: Xbox One

I love you Destiny, I love you not….

I started off a proponent for Bungie’s newest edition to their family. Sure, they were quick (10 years) to toss off their allegiances to the Microsoft family and their Halo children. It’s understandable. 343 was quick to pick up the reigns and break the Master Chief Collection.

I was, however, a little apprehensive when they signed a 10 year agreement with Activision as a publisher for their next game/dynasty. Activision publishes World of Warcraft, and spams us with Call of Duty games afterall. But Bungie is a company of bright people, so I had faith.

We are all slaves to Destiny

We are all slaves to Destiny

This new agreement turned into a new brand: Destiny. Destiny is to be something huge, something epic. Destiny is something to change the gaming landscape. And maybe, fingers crossed, become another household name, like Halo. What we have right now is a First Person Multiplayer Shooter, or “shared-world shooter”, with its gameplay not unlike its Halo predecessors, but with an online community to support it. What we got was, arguably, not a lot, but with the promise of more to come, and early talks of sequels already.

Bungie and Activision are promising a 10 year life cycle for Destiny, whatever it is, or will be. These partners have invested a lot of time and money and effort into this project and only time will tell if it truly pays off. Financially, it’s already paid off, but when you ask for people’s opinions of the game, you’ll find mixed responses. I’m not of negative opinions towards Destiny, I don’t intend to waste time saying off-putting things about games in general. I play games that I like, and I stop playing, and quickly forget about those I don’t like.

I could go into details about the shortcomings of Destiny’s story, its lack of any real narrative or backstory. How there’s maybe 3 cutscenes, and the rest is fed through unenthused voice-work and text on the screen while the game loads the upcoming mission.

This uncommitted, unwillingness resembles the first time you meet the Speaker, the Voice of the Traveler, Earth’s savior, and now deteriorating squatter. Wait…what? Ok, start over.

Destiny is to be something huge, something epic. Destiny is something to change the gaming landscape.

We play the game as a Guardian, with the choice of 1 of 3 races: Humans, Awoken, and Exo. We are also given the choice of 3 classes: Titan, Warlock, and Hunter. Who are these races? What’s their story? You’re guess is as good as mine.

What we DO know is that The Guardians are the last defenders of humanity, of the last safe city on Earth after the Collapse. Earth was, at one point, very prosperous and advanced. The humans were able to spread out and colonize planets in our Solar System. The Collapse came about and dissolved all of these efforts and nearly brought mankind to extinction. The only humans left were saved by the Traveler, a giant spherical celestial body, or ship, or entity, who had arrived centuries earlier, and who was responsible for Earth original prosperity. Mankind again strived for growth and repopulation of the Solar System, but the Traveler is dying, and there are threatening alien races occupying the System’s previously terra-formed planets. As a Guardian, we are tasked with investigating and eliminating the Darkness, that, which ails the Traveler, and destroying the encroaching alien threats before humanity is wiped out.

We are the three best friends

We are the three best friends

As intimated, we have 3 class choices, each having 2 sub-class traits. The Titan is the brute of the trio, relying more on armour, and melee abilities. The Titan’s Striker subclass allows the player to release a huge ground smash, killing anything within its range. The Titan’s Defender subclass can provide a protective spherical shield to the group. The Titan is equipped with a jetpack , allowing access to higher elevations which may lead to some truly epic ground smash moments – if one was so inclined.

Up next is the Warlock, which can be looked on as the tank/support of the three. Warlocks focus on regaining their health and shields quickly. The Warlocks Voidwalker subclass has the player throw a large Nova Bomb that detonates on impact. The Sunsinger subclass increases all the player’s abilities dramatically for a short time, and reduces all cool downs. When spec’d high enough, they can also revive themselves after death. Warlocks have the ability to glide for a short time to scope out an area or line up the Nova Bomb.

Finally, the Hunter is Destiny’s scout. Quick, and agile, and focused on a quicker combat style. The Hunter’s Golden Gun subclass provides the player with just that, a Golden Gun, for a short burst, and only 3 rounds. Hunters are also equipped with a throwing knife for melee, and the Bladedancer subclasses focuses on a charged blade. Bladedancers can also utilize an invisibility perk.

Destiny’s gameplay, as previously mentioned, is of the FPS genre, but with a Role-Playing MMO feel. We’re equipped with the basics: a primary, secondary, and heavy gun, grenades, and hover bike. We also have to manage 5 types of armour. Complying with RPG expectations, we have an inventory to store our guns and gear that we pickup, and each weapon and piece of armour has experience and perks. Our subclass of choice also levels up and unlocks new perks, and attribute tweaks as we progress. These perks and characteristics allow the player to adjust their Guardian to their preferred play-style.

So, the familiar Halo game mechanics are there.

The game’s features worlds on Earth, the Guardian Tower on Earth (Destiny‘s online hub), the Moon, Venus and Mars. Reportedly more planets to come with expansions and sequels, but these are what we have now. There are a handful of story missions, one or two Strike missions and a Patrol Mission, per planet. Strikes are like the boss missions, and Patrols give you access to the planet to do as you see fit, and maybe partake in a few fetch quests. The structure is thus: story missions can be played alone or in a Fireteam made up of 3 friends. These missions are also shared online, so you’ll see other Guardians running around killing the same enemy respawn groups you’re fighting. Certain portions of the mission get closed off to just your Guardian or Fireteam. These are essentially the dungeons of the game, with the promise of focused firefights and possible loot drops.

The Strike mission is dedicated to the Boss fights. They’re a lengthier mission, higher chances of pick-ups, and experience upon completion. These mission are mandatory 3 player excursions. Patrol is last, and essentially self-explanatory. Solo or in a group, you have free reign of the planet to mine for kills, loot, collectables, or partake in fetch quests. Again, it’s another “shared” mission, so you’ll see other Guardians running around.

So the familiar Halo game mechanics are there, there’s even a personal hover bike to get you around the large levels. The game is very pretty, and I believe this is where Bungie truly shines. Their world creation is nearly unmatched, and the attention to detail is literally seen on the moss covered walls, the sides of structures decayed after decades of wind, where the other face’s side is unblemished, or even the sand slowly floating off the dune tips on Mars. These planets showcase the civilizations that’ve been there, whether it be the remains of the past human colonies, or the recent alien inhabitants. The design shows age, decay, overgrowth and neglect. We’re not told what happened; only that something happened. We’re shown the remains of colonies past, but not encouraged to look any deeper, or ask questions, just look upon it and wonder and reflect. There are sights and vistas to marvel at, but save for the structures, there’s no history, no evidence of life. This is how fan fiction is written.

There's nothing I hate more than an alien with no respect for history...

There’s nothing I hate more than an alien with no respect for history…

Now, at this point, with maybe 8 to 10 hours invested, cracks in this game’s gorgeous exterior start to show. The leveling aspect and the dark role-playing grime start to show teeth. Your character’s max experience level is 20. You’ll reach this in 8 hours by just playing the story. Level 20 is when you get access to the Tower’s goodies. These goods are still kept out of reach, where the vendors that sell their armour and weapons all require you to meet certain requirements. These demands are met by endlessly playing the same story missions, and Strikes, and fetch quests, and multiplayer PvP matches, over and over. To level beyond 20, you must acquire newer armour with an attribute called Light. Found through drops if you’re lucky, but to buy the legendary gears will require time and perseverance.

Accessing the game’s first Raid requires a level 26 character. The time and patience to tolerate this tedium will not be for everyone, and the scope isn’t fully explained to begin with. The game at this point takes on a life of its own, and becomes something entirely different. “So you’ve beat the story missions? That’s great!”, it proclaims. “The darkness still loom”. Come back and play the same tired missions some more. There’s weekly and daily showcased Strikes. Come play with friends at the Heroic difficulty if you dare. You might get something cool. Or come and play for hours in the PvP arena to rake up enough experience and points to buy a gun or a helmet off this vendor. Some can tolerate this. Some might not have known what they were getting into when they purchased Destiny. Some might ask why the grinding is necessary and level 26 is a requirement to access the Raid.

Maybe the layered murkiness is there to confuse us, keep us returning, showing a little more at a time, until the next expansion is released. Maybe I’ll continue to play this game with friends, in the spirit of fun. I don’t anticipate reaching level 26 or accessing the Raid. Maybe the DLC will change things for those out there like me, behind the curve, looking for the Light. I won’t know. Why invest in two pricey expansions, further supporting a game that didn’t have the sufficient content to justify the initial buy-in?

For those who like Halo, and repetitious acts in futility.

Notable Achievements:
Change of Heart (Reverse a decision you made in an upgrade grid) – 20G
The Life Exotic (Obtain and equip a piece of exotic gear) – 20G

Day 3: iReview: TITANFALL

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The Titanfall we received in March, 2014 is not the same Titanfall we play today. Today’s Titanfall is what we should have received many months ago.

Taking a few steps back in time here, Titanfall is Jason West and Vince Zampella’s new baby, developed by their newly formed company Respawn Entertainment after a fall-out with Activision over Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. They had a nasty, public break-up. Look it up.

West and Zampella left / got fired, along with most of the key Infinity Ward staff, and created Respawn Entertainment, decided to make a game in the genre they helped mold, and signed a deal with EA and Microsoft to publish Titanfall, an online only FPS, with humans and mechs.

I am Titan's favourite sidearm.

I am Titan’s favourite sidearm.

Titanfall is, at its most basic, a 6 vs. 6 team based first person shooter.

We play as a Pilot, a free-running foot soldier. We’re equipped with a primary weapon, secondary weapon, and an anti-Titan weapon, along with some other offensive and defensive tools, and perks. We’re also equipped with a jet-pack that allows us to double-jump, wall run and scale walls, all very fluid-like.

As a Pilot, we also have a handy companion in the Titan, an agile mech-style exoskeleton. The Titans are deployed into the battlefield from the sky at the request of their Pilot. The deployment is timer based, and the timer can be reduced through the in-game actions of the Pilot through kills. As the Pilot, we also have the ability to ride on friendly Titans, or jump on the backs of enemy Titans and shoot away at their core components. The Pilot’s class and load-out is fully customizable before the match starts.

The Titans can be AI controlled, either through a “guard” or “follow” command, or they can be player controlled once the Pilot steps inside. Pilots can get out whenever they see fit. It’s all very quick and seamless. When piloting the Titan, however, if the Titan is doomed, the Pilot can eject 100’s of feet in the air to escape the blast, and live to continue the fight. The Titan’s are equipped with an anti-personnel weapon, and anti-Titan weapon, as well as some defensive tools and core power-ups. The Titans are not as fast as their Pilot counterpart, but they’re not sluggish either. There are 3 classes of Titan ranging in size, speed and armour, and their load-out is also fully customizable before the match starts.

The battlefield is also scattered with AI soldiers running around, designed as human player competition and support. En masse, they’re a distraction.

Striving to push the genre forward, Titanfall has a nifty feature in Burn Cards. As a Pilot, we earn these disposable game-changers through unlocked challenged and purchases through the in-game store, which, thankfully, does not support real currency. These Burn Cards can be equipped in 3’s and are used once per life, then they’re gone, hence the name. Some allow for added agility to the Pilot, offensive possibilities for the Titan and Pilot alike, such as modified or boosted weapons, unlimited grenades, and some allow for more defensive perks, like upgraded mini-map, unlimited invisibility, or x-ray vision.

The gameplay itself is very fast paced, and a blast to take part in. With the Pilot’s ability to combine wall-running, gliding along ziplines, scaling walls, and vaulting over obstacles, it’s easy to lose track of the team you were following. Add in the distraction of the AI soldiers with you, or against, and Titans strolling through, it can be a lot to take in. I repeat, it’s very fun.

That being said, going back to my introductory statement – only with the addition of the 3 DLC packs (9 maps) and the newly added Frontier Defence (Co-op Horde mode), is Titanfall feeling like a complete title.

Out of the box we got 15 maps, and 5 game modes. In Attrition, teams compete for the greatest kill count, bots included. Pilot Hunter is similar to Attrition, but only Pilot kills count. Hardpoint Domination is a Capture and Defend objective-based mode. Last Titan Standing has everyone begin the match in a Titan; the team with the last Titan standing wins the round. And Capture the Flag – self explanatory.

The game also has a “campaign”, if you can call it that. There are two factions, Militia and IMC, obviously at odds with each other. In the campaign, we choose a faction and play through a series of maps and gameplay modes. Still online, still 6 vs. 6. The only difference is that each match has a few single-player story elements, such as cinematic sequences, and some narrator dialogue. Some key characters carry over from mission to mission to supplement the story.

Mind, THAT campaign is as it was in March. Now with the DLC out, the campaign is an afterthought. Factions and maps are randomly chosen when you enter the mode.

Just Call of Duty with Mechs

Just Call of Duty with Mechs

Graphically the game holds its own as a first generation Xbox One title. It should be considered as launch title quality, albeit 5 months late. The game is a minor step up on the previous generation’s hardware; however, as it runs at a very quick pace, some forgiveness can be given. Standard game textures, and static lighting are its biggest detractors, along with static maps with no level of destruction. Like the team’s previous Call of Duty games, there’s a lot of artifacts and debris that flies around, but that’s only for aesthetics.

Following the release of the game, I had a lot more complaints that I do not still share today. To be honest, I don’t gravitate towards online multiplayer shooters. I prefer to stay content in the single-player package. This game strove to change me, to drive me out of the comfort zone. And for the most part it succeeded. I very much enjoy the Titanfall package available today with its DLC maps and additional game modes, and co-op element. Today the game feels like a complete package.

I would not consider Titanfall to be the “next big thing” that EA and Microsoft were selling, but it does invigorate the genre. Watching the Titan’s blast from space into the atmosphere and come crashing down to the Earth is, and will remain a thrill every time. The game is fresh and innovative in its parkour elements that recent shooters are only now mimicking.

The game is also exciting and very chaotic at times, especially when multiple Titans converge on one crossroad. The AI soldiers populating the map definitely give the game the feeling that a larger battle is happening, even though the AI themselves will slow you down no more than a bug does a bug-zapper.

Worthy of the praise, but it’s more a step forward, than a leap.

For those who like FPS’s, parkour, jet-packs, and getting stepped on by very large robots.
Also available on the XBox 360 (Ported by different Dev) and the PC.

Notable Achievements:

Death From above (Killed 5 enemies by dropping a Titan on them) – 15G
Look Around (Snapped the necks of 10 Pilots) 10G

Day 1 – iReview: Batman Arkham Origins

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After deciding to review 12 games before Christmas, I started listing off the games I actually played this year, and then narrowing it down to 12 worth mentioning. Do I start off with a negative review or a positive review? How do I pace these out.

Sooner or later I decided on Batman: Arkham Origins, which actually came out last year, but it’s the freshest game on my mind, as I’ve just wrapped it up. Plus it’s Christmas themed, coincidentally.

You should've known trying to kill me was a waste of your time.

You should’ve known trying to kill me was a waste of your time.

Batman Arkham Origin is a unique beast of a game. It’s part of a very successful and well-reviewed Arkham universe but it’s also more of an origin story. Warner Bros has a lot of expectations riding on this title. Warner Bros is the publisher and they handed the reins to their internal team while Rocksteady is hard at work on their next gen Batman sequel. Origin is built off what Rocksteady had already established, and using the engine and gameplay that’s already been perfected.

The story is Christmas Eve, Batman intervenes during a jailbreak led by Black Mask and we learn that Black Mask has hired a group of 8 assassins to compete for a $50 million bounty. That bounty is Batman’s head. Killer Croc is our first assassin, who actually spills the beans.

Continuing along the Black Mask trail, next up is Deathstroke and Electrocutioner.

As we start investigating more into Black Mask, it turns out to be Joker, who has captured Black Mask and assumed his identity and initiated this bounty. We’re introduced to and quickly dispose of Copperhead.

At this point the Joker is getting quite upset with his useless assassins, kills Electrocutioner and disbands the rest. Save for Bane. Knowing Batman will track down Joker in the near future, he decides to wait patiently.

The remaining assassins take it upon themselves to wreak havoc around the city. Firefly trying to blow up the bridge is really the only one of note. Shiva and Deadshot and Anarchy relegated to side missions and quests.

In the finale, we fight Bane. At this point we discover Joker’s devious plan. Bane is wired up to heart monitors, and Joker is sitting in an electric chair. Either we choose to kill Bane, or let him work on us enough that his heart rate monitor activates the electric chair, killing Joker. Will Batman make the sacrifice and kill someone?

The gameplay is identical to the previous games, the Batclaw and Batarang, all the Bat-tools return. The combat is near identical as well, if but a little dumbed down for the counter attacks, and limiting in the animations. I seem to recall the ability to counter gun wielding and shield wielding enemies in awesome ways, in Arkham City.

The grappling hook traversal also seems more constrained this time around, with less attainable buildings and fewer objects to swing to. Otherwise the city is very pretty, less dense, and the Christmas Eve theme is very pleasant, with the music and snowfall.

Technically the game is sound. The city’s vistas are stark and gloomy, in all the way’s Gotham is known for. Batman wears a very similar suit, with some additional padding. His suit does have an origin feel, bulkier, probably more cumbersome. But does it protect us against dogs?

Graphically the game is very good looking, utilizing the Unreal 3 engine to its full potential, on aging hardware. Again, it feels like Rocksteady handed over all the assets from Arkham City and told the team at Warner Bros to just add some polish and snow. Now into their 3rd generation, the Arkham titles have continued to outdo their predecessors. That being said, in my case, I was constantly on the look-out for Riddler (Enigma this time around) packages, and upcoming brawlers, so the majority of the game gets viewed through the detective vision, which is a shame. I am appreciative that certain sequences force you out of the detective view so that the game world can be appreciated.

I did come across a few clipping issues, and holes in the game world. I walked through a door at one point, three-quarters through the campaign. When crossing the threshold, the floor didn’t load and I fell through into the abyss. Normally not a huge issue, but in this case, it also instigated a checkpoint save. Attempting a restart from the last save point would spawn me under the world, only to fall endlessly or float around. Not to be deterred, I continually kept trying to reload the save, restart my Xbox, etcetera, until finally after about 10 minutes of futility, all of a sudden everything worked fine. Crisis averted.

I came upon a 2nd instance as well, in the final battle with Bane. He punched me clear across the room, clipping through the wall and game world, to find myself in the darkness once again. Good thing Batman prefers the night.

Granted, the feat itself was impressive and I applauded Bane, but I feared another checkpoint glitch happening, potentially ruining any chance of actually completing the campaign. Luckily my fears were unwarranted and I was able to continue the fight as normal.

Clipping aside, my only real complaint about the game was the story itself. It had its highs with the relationships between Batman and Alfred, where we see Batman’s eagerness to fix Gotham’s problems, his willingness to sacrifice everything, and Alfred’s hesitation and concerns for Bruce Wayne. He’d plead throughout the night for Bruce to come home, and let the GCPD do its job. Additionally, the conflicting relationship between Gotham’s Dark Knight and Captain James Gordon is unique to the series. It shows Gordon’s fears and lack of trust in this unwanted hero in his city.

The lows were in the whole assassins’ concept. Touted as this one long night where Batman would have 8 master assassins all fighting for a 50 million bounty and the seemingly impossible task of Batman surviving this evening soon becomes a non-issue. Luckily each boss fight in itself was unique, and a blast to play. Nevertheless, what is supposed to be 8 assassins turn out to be 5 during the campaign: Croc, Deathstroke, Copperhead, Firefly, and Bane. Electrocutioner is a non-fight, and the other baddies, Shiva, and Deadshot are relegated to side quests, along with some other additions, in Anarchy, Penguin, and Mad-Hatter.

It's not what I'm doing... It's what I've done.

It’s not what I’m doing… It’s what I’ve done.

For a lofty concept of 8 assassins vying for one prize, I was hoping for a little more anarchy in the city. More spontaneous clashes! Or even some team work among the assassins or internal conflict. Instead, other than the initial fight with Croc, Batman is actually the one tracking down the assassins. Comparatively, the epic trailer showcasing Batman and Deathstroke’s fight only lead to in-game disappointment when the advertised battle couldn’t match expectation. It was early in the campaign, and wasn’t even multi-tiered.

Overall, the game is a nice addition to the Arkham series, provided that it’s a placeholder while you wait for Rocksteady to complete the trilogy they started. The addition of more investigative case files, and playing Detective Batman was fun, but the disappointing realization that The Joker is, again, instigator of all headaches, was disheartening.

For gamers who like Batman, bats, fluid combat combos, and more Batman.

Also, unmentioned was the multiplayer element. This was intentional. I didn’t try it.

Notable Achievements:

Point Counter-Point (Defeat Deathstroke without failing a single counter) 10G
Thanks, old friend (Hear everything Alfred has to say) 10G