Your experiences with Video Games: Ant Dahl

This week I'm back with another interview about experiences with video games!, I'm really happy with how this is going so far and have been pleased with the amount of people who wish to be involved. One of the first to ask to be included was Ant Dahl who is one of the hosts of one of my favourite podcasts The Fortuna Podcast. I think I first started speaking to Ant shortly after letting him know that I enjoyed the podcast that he and Marshall put together and from there we discovered we were both in to the same sort of things as well as big fans of flannel shirts.

Shortly after Ant and Marshall were kind enough to invite me on their podcast which I really enjoyed even if it does require me to be up pretty late/early. I've been on since which you can check out here!
I actually got the opportunity to meet them both when I went to California to attend Gamedays 2015 in Anaheim and we had a blast even if we didn't get to hang out for as long as I'd hoped it was just nice to meet someone you admire and shoot the shit a bit. 

Ant and Marshall both speak in depth about video games amongst other things on their podcast so I'm really pleased to be talking to one of the Yankee-doodle double threat this week and I hope you enjoy the interview!

What were your first experiences with video games?
Some of my first experiences with video games came from playing games with my Dad as a kid. It's odd really because I remember having both a Nintendo and a Super Nintendo at that age, but my memories come from the times I played games like Donkey Kong Country with my Dad. We used to sink a lot of time playing the Super Mario Bros All Star Pack for Super Nintendo as well. But I also have these memories of playing this weird coloring game for the NES, where you colored pictures of Dinosaurs. It was terrible but I used to spend so much time with it. I have a bunch of memories that I can’t place in the right spots.

When do you feel you got in to video games as a hobby?
You know, I'm not entirely sure. It probably stems from getting Pokemon Red and Blue for the Gameboy. So this was somewhere around 1998 I believe. I had never been so sucked into a video game at that point in my life. As an 8 year old I was constantly trying to figure how to finish things quicker than normal so I could soak more time into them. I started waking up for school an hour earlier so I could get ready and have an extra hour to try and catch a Pidgey or some bullshit. 

I played the playstation 2 all throughout Middle School (6^th- 8^th grade in the states). I fell out of video games throughout high school until I got a Wii my senior year specifically for Smash Bros Brawl. But other than that, I probably didn't start looking at games as a hobby until I got the Xbox 360 when I graduated high school. But Pokemon was definitely the jumping off point for me. 

What are some of your favourite games and why?
Two of my favourites really stand out to me because of their cinematic qualities. I absolutely love film and if a game has a cinematic quality, I can easily be drawn into it.

I'm a huge fan of the Metal Gear Solid series. Those games are brought up in every day discussions with me. They're just so dense with information and things to question that if I have a moment to talk to somebody about metal gear in depth, then I'm stoked. I think my favorite out of the series is Snake Eater. That was really the peak of the story for me, I think about the writing and the story constantly and how genius it was. Especially since it was a PS2 game.

The original Bioshock was one of the most immersive experiences I've ever had with a video game. I had never felt like I was so apart of a world before. There was so much to explore and the way it unfolded stories of characters that weren’t central to the plot really struck a chord for me. It helped that it incorporated a lot of horror elements into the game. I'm such a sucker for horror games even though I'm easily scared.

Another important favorite of mine is Pokemon Red and Blue. I got them as a gift from my grandmother very shortly before she passed away and they have always been some of the most sentimental games to me. Like I said earlier, I changed my life to revolve around those games and now whenever a new instalment comes out, I take the day off just to play it. When Pokemon X and Y came out, I put 12 hours into it on the day it came out.

Just to name a few other favorites Donkey Kong Country, Super Smash Bros, Red Dead Redemption, Hotline Miami, A Link Between Worlds, Bloodborne, and Mega Man X. I think some favorites that will surprise some people are Tony Hawks Undergound 2, and Parappa The Rapper. This by far was the most difficult question, because my favorites change so often. 

What game has the best soundtrack to you and why, do you feel music is important in a game? 
Hotline Miami had a soundtrack for a video game that changed the way I look at video game soundtracks. The Phantom Pain has an incredible collection of music in the game. The Tony Hawk series has always had a great soundtrack. Except the most recent one that one was shit in every way.

Most vivid video game memory?
I was in first grade when this happened. My dad once called a Necky in Donkey Kong Country a “fucking prick” and I asked him what that meant and his response was “that thing”. So I went to catholic school the next day and called some kid that annoyed me a “prick” and got in a ton of trouble over it. My dad and I still laugh about to this day.

What are you playing currently?
I generally try to play one game at a time because I absolutely hate starting a game and never finishing it. I kind of look at it like not finishing a movie or not finishing a book. Once I start something I have to finish it. But I'm in between semesters right now so I'm playing way too many games. 

I'm mostly focusing on Dark Souls II: Scholars of the First Sin, but I’m also playing Yoshi's Woolly World, Black Ops 2, Amplitude, and I'm slowly burning through Until Dawn.

What is the most obscure game or rarest game you own?
In terms of most obscure, I have this game called Incredible Crisis for the first PlayStation. I think its original name is Todemo Crisis. It's this super weird collection of these super difficult mini-games. Any time I bring it up to someone, the usual response is that they've never heard of it. It's a ton of fun though and it’s really funny. 

As far as rarest games, I don't have many, but I have a few. A while back I scored a copy of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for 20 bucks. I have a sealed copy of Super Empire Strikes Back. I don't think that game is rare by any means, but I've never taken it out of the box. I have an original copy of Manhunt before it was pulled from shelves and given an AO rating. 

Unfortunately I went through a period of my life where I sold a good portions of my games off, so I don't have a lot of the games that I used to own that would be considered rare and being a college student constantly leaves me broke. When I do have money, I often choose to put it towards traveling to meet up with friends or check out newer games.

What about video game memorabilia
I need to stop buying Amiibos.

Physical or digital?
Physical all the way. I can't believe there's actually debate about this. Even if I buy a game digitally I will make it an effort to get a physical copy down the road. I think with the most recent Konami scandal with P.T. it should showcase the risk of buying a digital copy of anything. You can own it one day and it could disappear the next. 

Was there ever a genre or series of games you were adamant you would not get in to but ended up enjoying?
I’m not entirely sure it’s a genre, but the “Souls” series was something that I thought would be the dumbest series of games, but I cant stop playing them. I’m not a huge fan of RPGs to begin with and the attitude that people carry about these games can be super annoying. But as of late, they are some of the most fulfilling games I’ve played.

What was the best co op experience you had?
Portal 2 had a co-op mode that was co-op in the truest sense of the word. I spend most of my time playing single player games so I haven’t played many co-op games. I played The Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures on my own and I’ve even played through most of Triforce Heroes on my own.

If you were to have kids would you want them to be in to video games and what would you have them start with?
I thought about this question before and I’m never sure of the answer. I think I’d like to take the approach that my dad did with me. We played so many great games together when we were younger and that was a stepping-stone for me to explore new games. But now a ton of games don’t include split screen co-op because games have become so technically advanced since the Super Nintendo. I think it would be super cool to have those bonding moments.

But on the other hand I’d want my kid to hate video games. I’m not trying to raise a loser or anything.

Do you feel you'll always be playing games in some form?
Unfortunately.

What's a game series you feel is under appreciated? 
Garrett Hunter from Mega64 talks about The Legacy of Kain series every so often and its always met with strange looks or it illicit the response of “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” Soul Reaver and Blood Omen were such phenomenal games for the PS1 and PS2. I actually wish they would bring back that series. Soul Reaver 2 was also the first game that I played that had a long cut scene in the beginning of the game that I couldn’t skip and it sort of taught me that video games can be a great platform to tell stories.

Has there ever been a spin off of a series you've enjoyed more than the original series?
Technically Rock Band, but Metal Gear Rising takes the cake for sure on this one. It is so infuriating listening to people drone on about how much they hate Metal Gear Rising because “it ruined metal gear solid” or how “its not a stealth game this is bullshit”. All of that because they couldn’t read the games title to see that it wasn’t a Metal Gear Solid game. Of course its okay to dislike the game for valid reasons, but dismissing it for not being a “solid” game is bullshit. I don’t necessarily like Rising better than Solid, but that game is incredibly gratifying.

Now I know you're a big fan of Movies, Video Game movies have a bad wrap so is there any video game movie you actually enjoy, has there ever been a movie tie-in game you've enjoyed?
I actually have this really sick morbid curiosity when it comes to movie tie in games. Because I know those games have to be complete shit, but that cant be completely broken. I’ve actually had an idea for a series of videos based on movie tie in games that I eventually want to work on.

But to answer the question, there are tons of movie licensed in games and a ton of TV licensed games that I love. I think a lot of them come from the SNES era, but there are still some great ones. Toy Story 1 and 2 both have incredible games to accompany those films. There’s a Pagemaster game that I think is a ton of fun as well. You know, the movie where Macaulay Culkin gets sucked into a book by a wizard? The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie game was so much fun as well. Star Wars has several great games. I think movie tie in games have a bad reputation, but there are some solid ones there. 

What series are you connected with the most?
This is a weird split, but Metal Gear Solid (series) and Pokemon. Pokemon for the reasons I’ve already stated, but Metal Gear for how in depth those games are. Metal Gear Solid just hits me hard with the story and its game play. These games have actually taught me to be extremely patient in video games. I mean, certainly the story of the series has had its ups and downs, but I think the thread of MGS has always been there. The fact that I’m able to carry on hour-long conversations about different theories of what’s happening in these games, should say a lot about how connected I am with these games.

How do rhythm games fare since their resurgence?  
Rhythm games are one of my favorite genres of games. If you’re making a rhythm game, chances are you have to have a dope soundtrack, your game play requires you to think fast and put your hand to eye coordination to the test. Amplitude was just “rereleased” for the PS4 and that alone should show people that rhythm games don’t have to be clones of Rock Band. I love Rock Band, but in that whole 5-year span where everyone had their hand in the “plastic guitar rock music” pot, it became super saturated and boring. 

Now there are games like Crypt of the Necrodancer, Amplitude, Elite Beat Agents, Bit Trip, and even Guitar Hero has understood that these games need a drastic change or need to be drastically different from their competitors to stand alone. Rock Band really tapped into best of the genre and now others need to figure out how to make it their own.

I hope that now that they’re returning that it’s a regular genre of games. Playstation is testing waters to see if people have an interest in Parappa the Rapper by releasing the sequel for the PS4 (which I hope spawns a third game). I hope rhythm games are here to stay. I think they have a shot. Even some of the Tony Hawk games have felt like rhythm games to me at times.

I feel like you secretly knew I had an undying love for rhythm games, and that’s why this question is here. I like this question.

Are there any areas or stories you wish were explored more in games
Dark Souls and Bloodborne have such vast worlds to explore in games that I know I’ll never get to all of those areas. I wish I had more time to go back through Bloodborne and explore more of Cainhurst Castle or the Upper Cathedral Ward, maybe even some of the chalice dungeons. I just don’t have that much time to devote to completing games. Once I’m done with a story, I like to move on to the next.

What game are you most excited for in 2016
Dark Souls 3 for sure. That is hands down the most anticipated games for me this year. But I’m also really excited for The Legend of Zelda Wii U, Ratchet and Clank, hopefully Rise of the Tomb Raider hits PS4 this year, Yooka-Laylee, The Last Guardian, and I’m sure there will be a few more down the road.

How do you feel about video games currently?
I think we’re in a fine state of video games. I think a lot of people get wrapped up in the politics of games a bit too much. Some I find to be incredibly understandable, but then there’s shit like Gamergate where I’m ready to check out. There just seems to be such an incredible sense of entitlement to people who use the word “gamer” to describe themselves that just straight up grosses me out. And that falls on both ends of the spectrum as well. I totally understand and support people that want better things in their games, such as portrayal of women and minority characters. Certainly not all of that is done properly or the way that I would go about discussing it, but I would rather support that than support a group of man-children calling in death threats because a woman spoke ill of the a game they probably mildly like.

Games can be complete shit and handle things poorly, but those things get recognized for being piss poor and eventually get weeded out. At the end of the day the video games I’m playing are fucking fun as hell and if that has indication of the state of games, then I suppose that means we’re doing something right.

Where do you feel video games will go in the future?
I’m excited to see what people do with the VR that isn’t virtual porn games. I think since I’ve been playing video games since I was around 3 or 4 years old that games have only gotten better, that they can only get better. I think we’re on the right track to make that happen. I hope video games become more accessible to more people and that they become learning tools teach kids moral and life lessons. I hope that they become more cinematic and really showcase how powerful a story telling medium it can be, more so than it already has. I hope they become more inclusive to women and minorities. Other wise they belong in the trash. 

 

I just wanted to thank Ant for this in depth interview and also for his and Marshall's work in putting together a really entertaining podcast that you should totally check out! Fortuna podcast returns on Wednesday the 26th with episodes generally coming out every Wednesday, be sure to follow their Tumblr linked above for updates or Ant on Twitter.

Your experiences with Video Games: Liam Gardner

This week I wanted to continue with the focus on experiences with video games as I had a lot of fun writing up that fucking essay of a post last time, however I thought about getting others involved in it so that I could get not only a more varied look at other peoples beginnings with video games but also to see how similar they may be to my own and who better to start with than my best friend and forever Co-op partner Liam (who some of you may have met at Gamedays last year!).

I think Liam has been my longest friend ever since we were around 13 years old in high school, I think we first started talking about video games and Dragonball when we met so we were probably a good match from the get go, I was more in to single player games at the time but he convinced me to get an Xbox 360 with Halo 3 and from there we'd play most multiplayer games together.

That's kind of died down a little now as we're both busier with work and things and I've began to focus more on the PS4 and single player games again but we always make time for Halo at the very least, he's probably more in to games than me currently but let's see why that is!

What were your first experiences with video games?

The first time I ever played a game was Alex Kidd in Miracle World on the master system, my memories of it are very vague other than I remember playing it, the first game I remember vividly enjoying and playing was Super Mario All Stars on the SNES the sounds the colours it was all so engrossing to me as a child, I didn't know it then but video games were going to become a major part of my life and I will always have Super Mario on SNES to thank/blame for that.

When do you feel you got in to video games as a hobby?

The cliché answer people seem to always give is that I was playing the game with my parents and it was a bonding experience that stuck with me for life. Its not a bad answer because it was playing games with my Father and Brother that really got me hooked on them, I'd say it was around about the time I got my very own Gameboy Color (lime green is best colour) along with a copy of Pokemon Blue (best version) the hours I spent on that game could no doubt have been used for something 'more productive' but to me as a 7 year old the best use of my time was Pokemon, you could go outside and climb a tree or spend your time recruiting weird new creatures and going on an adventure unmet with what I could achieve in reality.

My brother had a copy of Red which only increased the appeal this sibling competition continues to this day, from the Gameboy colour to the new generation and is a major component of why video games have stuck with me for so long.

What are some of your favourite games and why?

My all time favourite games is something that changes so frequently its hard to pin down.

I'll go ahead and make a list of the top 3 and give my reasons why.

1 : Ocarina of Time - About 10% nostalgia but this game is often labelled as one of if not the greatest of all time and with good reason, playing it again on 3ds  only solidified this choice, the sense of adventure is grand, the characters are all charming and unique and oh god that music, especially that of The Lost Woods.

2: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The perfect spy game

The perfect James Bond game

The perfect Metal Gear game

Have you ever eaten a tree frog?

3 : Halo 3

Two words, Custom Games.The reasons for why I love Halo 3 are covered in depth in Lewis' article on the Halo series so click here to find out my reasons in a lot more detail.

What game has the best soundtrack to you and why, do you feel music is important in a game? 

A special soundtrack to me will always be games like Ocarina or Mario 64, listening to the music fills me with a flood of nostalgia I mean how many other games have such great music at their file select screen?

Another song I really enjoy is Saria's song from Ocarina of Time, this song in particular is one track that no matter when I hear it makes me smile because its just such an upbeat track and I feel like Darunia every time I hear it.

Of course my love for Halo is obvious and the music is a huge reason for that the main theme for Halo is up there as one of the most iconic tracks in all of video games that Gregorian chant, the heavy thudding bass, the string section and the ever climbing urgency presented makes it a masterpiece.

Without music in games would people enjoy them as much? no its as simple as that, a good soundtrack doesn't so much as enhance a game it is a core integral part of that games identity 

Would Super Mario Bros be as fondly remembered without Koji Kondo's genius? probably not, you ask anyone to hum the Mario theme and chances are they can and that is proof itself of how important music is to the video game experience.

Most vivid video game memory?

Oh man I can't choose one, I've played too many games and have so many moments its impossible to choose any single occurrence. Some stand out moments for me include finding the hidden stages in Super Mario World, Becoming Adult Link in OoT, The ending D of NieR,Getting the vidmaster achievements with friends in Halo 3, Beating my brother with a single kick in Tekken (He never enjoyed fighters after this) or just the entirety of MGS1 which was a whirlwind of a game both story and game play wise, there are just too many moments to list here.

What are you playing currently?

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Halo 5

Senran Kagura Burst

They couldn't be 3 more different games...

What is the most obscure game or rarest game you own? 

Most obscure is probably the Japanese version of Lost Odyssey I had imported because its a beaut. The rarest game I own is either the boxed copy of Pokemon Stadium 2 or my signed copy of Super Mario 64 by Charles Martinet and MGS HD Collection signed by Hideo Kojima.

What about video game memorabilia

A full scale golden retro lancer from Gears of War 3

a jewel in my memorabilia collection...

Are you as in to video games as you once were ?

There was a period where I was kind of annoyed with the politics surrounding video games

I just wanted to enjoy the worlds people created, the adventures and wonders I could delve into but for a while the focus was on whether or not game X represented community Y appropriately 

I mean look at this shit!

Why focus on this tripe politics and dilute why we even play games in the first place.

Thankfully I tuned out the click-baiting social justice crowd and focused on what actually matters to me, the game.

Favourite game you never beat?

Probably The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past. I'm on the 3rd to last? dungeon of that game and I really need to revisit it.

Physical or digital? 

If it is available then I will always go physical but if I don't have any other option I'll get the digital version if only to support the franchises I enjoy, Such as the Ace Attorney franchise on the DS/3DS.

Was there ever a genre or series of games you were adamant you would not get in to but ended up enjoying?

For me it was Visual Novels. I had Never played a single one until the Nintendo DS and now I love the genre, the Hotel Dusk series is fantastic as is the Zero Escape series. The genre has such rich storytelling and phenomenal characters but are often overlooked by the mainstream which is a shame because they'll never experience the thrill of finding a paperclip...

How do you feel about video games currently?

I'm loving them at the moment, the games I've enjoyed the past year are going back to what made me love them to begin with, they're focusing on the game play and how to wow the player again. Of course there are still the soulless vessels that were once great like the Assassins Creed series to make a point but in general gaming has gotten much better at least for me personally.

Where do you feel video games will go in the future? 

Anywhere but away...

If you'd like to be interviewed for next time be sure to message me on Facebook or Twitter @ScatmanBegins 

Batman: Arkham Knight (Xbox One, PC, PS4: 2015)

This week I'm finally going to put up my thoughts on the closure to the Arkham series, It was one of my most anticipated games for a hell of a long time and the torture of having it continuously pushed back only intensified my need to play it! But would this game truly live up to the hype surrounding it for so long? would it really show that Rocksteady used the extra time given to it by the Origins development team to their advantage?

As I mentioned in my Assault on Arkham review a few weeks ago, the Arkham series got me back into Batman and comics in general, before then I had just kind of seen a few films here and there and grew up with the various cartoons that were on the likes of Fox Kids. But this series truly introduced the mythos of the character to me on a whole new level and allowed me to find and read a large number of stories centred around that mythos.

I've definitely found enjoyment in every game released in the series with Asylum being a great start, it seemed to take place within or after the animated series' universe to a degree and while mostly using confined spaces in creepy buildings it really made you feel like Batman but more in the worlds greatest detective sense, I will admit I pretty much had the detective mode on all the time during that game as there were so many hidden easter eggs or riddles that would pop up every now and then.

Then City came along and we were finally allowed to run around in..well... the city, sort of. I felt City was a step in the right direction to expand upon the series and take it out of the confines of just a small area, truly you were allowed to feel more like Batman all around, you could do your detective work but you could leap from roof to roof and drop down in the middle of some thugs and beat the shit out of them. While this was a step in the right direction I felt the story was not as good as Asylum and the city did feel a bit desolate and lacking almost as if some areas were a copy/paste job.

After City we knew Rocksteady would be working on another title, but they needed more time, so WB stepped in and made their own title set before Asylum, titled Origins. Now I think this game gets shit on a lot and I can see why it does, a lot of people wanted to see the conclusion to the series and wrote it off because it was not a Rocksteady game, a lot of people got really mad that The Joker was again the main enemy of the game (but honestly what did you expect?).

However while I feel like this was more an expansion pack to City due to it literally having the same level layout. I felt the story was really well done, the atmosphere of it being on Xmas and having the snow everywhere was a nice change and the overall concept of the Villains going after Batman one by one due to a bounty on his head was great. Oh and the electro gloves were a always great to use, I'm surprised they were absent from Knight to be honest.

I also found the detective mode in this title to be one of the most in depth uses of it, tracing bullet trajectories and all sorts of stuff just so you can figure out what went down, all this was done during story missions too rather than on side missions like the other titles. Origins is really underrated if you ask me, but I feel the most underrated is Origins: Blackgate, a game created at the same time as the former but for handhelds (and later released on consoles).

Blackgate was set just after Origins and felt a lot more like Asylum in it's setting of a prison, but this game was really different to the other titles, it was actually set out more like a Metroid game with you being on a 2.5D plain rather than having the freedom to go anywhere, I felt this was a nice change of pace although the story was not fantastic and was honestly pretty forgettable, however I did like that there were multiple endings that you could get depending on what order you defeated people.

And with that we move on to Knight, the end all of the series that is meant to be the ultimate Batman experience, the story is meant to be amazing, the city has had a total redesign and the inclusion of the Batmobile is used all to make the player truly feel like Batman, but how does it fare?

I think I'm the only person I know who actually enjoyed the Batmobile, I really liked how it looked, kind of like a mix between the Tumbler from The Dark Knight and your typical Batmobile design. I enjoyed the Tank mode for what it was but felt battles heavily relied on it, like there was no real way to fight back as just the car. I did find myself just speeding through the city into people constantly for ages at a time though, it doesn't get old. Yet fighting against waves of armoured vehicles does, I preferred when you would have to actually chase other cars and shoot missiles.

I quite enjoyed having some sections where you hop from room to roof in the car but there really weren't enough of them, or enough sections where you would use tools like the winch in order to get to new locations. I've been playing the challenge maps a lot lately due to the latest DLC and I find them to be quite fun, while they are pretty dumb as a concept in terms of race tracks it's pretty fun if you just want a good time driving the car around and drifting like some Initial D shit.

I thought it was interesting that they tried to do a 'multi character' aspect to the game where you could play as other characters while you help out Batman but overall I felt it was not executed well. The trailers for it gave the impression of side stories and missions where you could play or even free roam as these characters but all you can really do is fight as them briefly or have them included in double team take downs. This is fine and it was fun for a time but I just felt it could have been expanded upon, but maybe they are saving future DLC for this sort of thing.

I enjoyed the use of the gadgets about as much as I did in any of the Arkham games but this time around I did feel items like the remote Batarang were not actually necessary as much as they were in previous titles. One of the new gadgets was the voice synthesizer which is interesting in theory with the ability to trick enemies into going to a certain area or doing a certain thing like locking a door however I felt as though it was only really necessary to use when you entered the airship area.

I don't think I felt compelled to use most of these items in areas like predator challenges because the AI was not as smart as it was before, I always took out most enemies just by doing silenced take downs, sometimes in front of other enemies and having them not even bat an eye. I felt the use of  predator take downs were fucking rad though, just in the way Batman moves between the enemies and lays the smack-down instantly, I think it's just satisfying to hear the enemies slam against the ground so hard.

 

While in every game they feel the need to include the Joker as the main adversary this time around with him being dead a lot of fans were worried they would pull some bullshit that showed he never really died, but right off the bat you see him cremated and confirmed dead. But did this mean he was absent from the game? No. This time around The Joker was a hallucination of Bruce's due to his encounter in City, I felt this was quite a neat way to include the Joker without having him actually be alive.

It also made for some humorous conversations, as the Joker knew everything about Bruce because he was in his own head, so you'd have him commenting on his identity, his relationships with people and at times on how he was really feeling during certain scenes. The Joker was the chaos inside Bruce and perfectly encapsulated that hidden side to him during the game.

I have to admit I saw Jason Todd being the Arkham Knight coming a mile off... Although the twist on the Red Hood story was quite nice, having him still technically be the Red Hood but not taking up that identity until just after the games main story closes. I did feel however that the design of the knight was fucking great though even if it did look a little Kingdom Hearts...

As much as I enjoyed that after the defeat of the Arkham Knight there was another character brought in to bridge the militia side missions together, I loved even more that it was Deathstroke because he was one of if not the best part of Arkam Origins and generally has a cool ascetic to him. However I feel like Rocksteady really fucked up a chance for a decent side mission boss. Throughout the game once Deathstroke is introduced he constantly reminds you of Origins and how he will get his revenge against you.

It really hypes you up and makes you want to have a proper CQC battle against him, yet his actual boss fight is literally a copy paste of a former battle against the Knight in his dumb ass 360 vision tank. I honestly though 'ok this might just be phase one' but no it's literally the entire boss fight. You easily defeat him, they tease you again by getting him out of his tank to fight you, then Batman just smacks him once and taking him to the GCPD. Absolute wasted potential if you ask me... Although it's pretty funny to see him sitting in a cell with the likes of Penguin and co, who he could easily snap the necks of in seconds.

Like most of the Arkham games the voice acting was really well done, every time you think Kevin Conroy is getting too old to continue on he knocks it out of the park and has not changed at all since his days doing the animated series, you can really tell he enjoys what he does when he plays Batman.  This time around Mark Hamill did return to voice The Joker after his absence from Origins and as you can imagine he did a fantastic job, I actually thought it was still Troy Baker voicing him this time around however, which explains why I thought Troy had truly become comfortable in the role!

I think another great example of voice acting this time around was John Noble as Scarecrow, I'm familiar with Nobles work as I used to watch Fringe every now and then but I eventually dropped it, I did however think that Noble was the best part of the show. As the Scarecrow while his voice is pretty much his normal voice he just brings an air of sinisterness to it and sounds pretty creepy at times, which is how you would hope Scarecrow would sound right?

I felt the rest of the cast was also pretty good, specifically Ashley Greene as Barbara Gorden/Batgirl. I felt she perfectly captured the cute dorky side kick character of Oracle without being too serious like she has been presented in older titles. I felt she did best when playing Batgirl in the DLC story however, especially her banter with Robin.

As much as I love the Arkham series for use of somewhat decent side missions I felt like the initial set up of Hush in the previous game ultimately wasted by the time we got around to seeing him in this title. While in the previous title it was a case of finding mutilated bodies across the city and ultimately finding out that Hush was the killer who has now taken on the guise of Bruce Wayne, this time around you don't deal with him over time but in one totally separate mission which is over in just a few minutes.

This really annoyed me as I really enjoy the Hush story line and would recommend reading it if you haven't already, I feel like Hush really could have been utilised better in this title perhaps early on by having the people of Gotham believe he was Bruce while Batman is stuck fighting against Scarecrow. I will admit however that I was quite surprised that the game made you feel as though you were actually playing as Bruce entering Wayne Tower and then shocking you by showing what appears to be Bruce taking Lucius hostage.

Overall I felt the side missions in this game were pretty good, however the militia segments became the most repetitive, I feel this is because they were so much longer than the other missions and they all revolved around the same enemy rather than relating to a specific super villain like the others did, I feel the Militia missions could have been consolidated into one long mission segment and then the space they took up could be used for one or two more different missions featuring different enemies like Bane or Deadshot.

This time around the stakes felt higher, it seemed whatever you did actually mattered to the character and Gotham itself, I mean you know Batman will come out on top at the end and all but to actually have characters die was really shocking in some cases. Then again you could say the same with the Joker dying in the previous game. The game really did present itself well during its more 'tense' moments like when Batman is attempting to stop a huge bomb go off by struggling to take it apart piece by piece while Alfred begs him to get away from the vicinity.

The most powerful scene though has to be when Batman under the effects of the fear toxin believes he sees Barbara shoot herself in the head. At the time you as the player believe it is Barbara who is under the effects of the toxin and is being manipulated into killing herself, you as the player do not even find out until near the end of the game that she is actually alive and well. But to see Batman so defeated in that moment really works, this is a man who had already 'lost' one Robin (which the game constantly reminds him off) and now he believes he has lost another member of his 'family'.

I feel like now that I have finished the game and know what happens with Bruce and his ultimate reveal to the world that he is Batman that it was at this point in the games story that Bruce knew he would have to drop the cowl after he has defeated the threats to the city. The game constantly reminds you that Batman can and has failed at times to prevent a death, especially Jason Todd. The Arkham Knight is proof of his failures and how they will eventually catch up to him, while it is left ambiguous what happens to Jason during the end of the main story the Red Hood DLC does seem to suggest he has become more of an anti-hero, however he still remains a stain on Batmans past.

Surprisingly I did not see Batman having his identity revealed to the world coming and I actually commend Rocksteady for going in that direction as it gives the series a nice point to be wrapped up while still leaving enough mystery as to what happens with Bruce in the future. It is actually really interesting to play the game after beating the main story as you're at a point where everyone knows who you are.

Just hearing some of the dialogue between NPC's discussing your identity is hilarious, some now feel you are no threat and some are more frightened that someone like Bruce Wayne could take out such a huge amount of people. I think my favourite example however is when the Riddler decides that there is no possible way Bruce is Batman as it would be too obvious, he believes this to be a clever ruse set up by Batman and Bruce in order to trick him, but of course he's too smart for that right.

At this point we're a month or so into the season pass and while I got it for free I do not think it is worth it so far, however the addition of the 1989 Movie Batmobile is fantastic and I cannot get enough of it, it's the only time I have actually cared about playing challenge maps in any of these games, It's a shame it can only be used in challenge maps at this time though, but it does bring with it exclusive maps based around the film and it's sequel.

While this may be the end of Rocksteady developing Batman games I'm sure Warner Bros won't let this cash cow die just yet, I mean if they did something like Origins but actually polished it up before releasing it it might be alright, if anything they should do a Batman Beyond game,it could be different enough while retaining the same core gameplay at least.

So is this game the best of the series? Overall I would say so, the experience in general was a great one, while it has short comings in a lot of areas I feel like story wise it was fantastic and gameplay wise it gives you a pretty much complete Batman experience, you not only get all these gadgets, you get to fight with your allies, you get a whole city to explore around and you get to use the Batmobile to a pretty great extent.

I would say this game is one of, if not the best comic book genre game out there at the moment, it actually makes me sad that there probably won't be another Batman game like it for quite some time. But if the rumours are true Rocksteady may be working on a Superman title in the near future, while I don't really like Superman too much I feel like they could do for him what they have done for Batman and finally make a game that gives you a decent Superman experience.

So would I recommend this game to you? Yes, I'd say if you have never played the Arkham series then you should really try out Asylum first of all and see how you go from there but if you've played them and started to become tired of them due to their repetitive nature during fight sequences and such then seriously give this game a shot if only for the story itself, like I said the story this time around is expertly crafted and really feels like something from one of the movies or more well known comics and is definitely worth your time.

Thanks for checking my review out, it's taken a while and I've been super busy lately but it means a lot that people actually take the time to check these out, let me know what you thought of Arkham Knight and the Arkham series in general!