SUMMER KNIGHTS: BEST BAT VIDEO GAMES

By @hmsbeefnuts

 Lets face it, video games based on licensed properties are usually a big bag of dog vomit. There are exceptions of course, for every piece of shit like Superman 64, we have a Goldeneye 007. As we are knee deep in the glory that is AGTM’s Summer Knights, it falls to me to write about the greatest Batman video games of all time. Obviously there are two that I could not fail to mention, and don’t worry, they are included, but there are also 3 more on the list, so lets check them out immediately shall we?

BATMAN – NES

 

A  fun  little platformer that I can barely remember, except to say that it was mega fun to play. I never owned this game for some reason, but played it over a friends house a lot. OK so the graphics are nothing to write home about, but nothing looks good on the NES these days. Joker was the main bad guy to take down, and I seem to remember the game reminded me of Castlevania, which can not be a bad thing really, can it?

BATMAN RETURNS – SNES

 

The kind of beat em up that they just don’t make any more. The graphics were beautiful, and unbelievable at the time. The fighting which was fun, especially the grab two bad guys and smash their heads together, was spread out between fun mode 7 batmobile sections. Good use of the grapple gun as well. I don’t care for the movie, but the game is awesome, and I would play it all through right this instant.

LEGO BATMAN

 

You either love or hate the Lego games, as they are all pretty similar, no matter what property they are representing. Batman Lego drew me back to Lego Games after I had had enough of Star Wars Lego. They are basically collect em ups, sometimes are very frustrating, but for some reason, they are quite addictive. I’m currently playing through Lego Batman 2, and the added Justice League members have made it a little bit more exciting. At the very least, these games are dripping with Batman-ness.

BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM

 

The best Batman game released at the time, Arkham Asylum wasn’t just a great Batman Game, but a fantastic game in its own right. What Rocksteady managed to do was finally get Batman right. The combat was awesome, but they also got Batman’s brain. As the worlds greatest detective, Batman isn’t just a meat head who punches people, this game got it so right. Just bashing bad guys with fists won’t do you much good anyway, even Batman can be shot, or overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Luckily then that Arkham Asylum got the fear of Batman right, keep to the shadows, take out bad guys stealthily and sneak around being a stealthy ninja, and Arkham Asylum was simply the best Batman thing outside of comics, well until the sequel arrived.

BATMAN ARKHAM CITY

Arkham Asylum was great, I liked the fact it was kept in the sprawling grounds of the Asylum, but how to make it better? How about turning a large section of Gotham into an open prison? That’s a start. The open world of Gotham was stunning, there was so much freedom, yet things were kept tight by Rocksteady’s brilliant story telling ability, thanks Paul Dini. What the Arkham games have got so right is the mix of Batman elements that they used. The realism of Nolan, the voice cast of Batman: The Animated series, a whole host of villains and a story that escalates to brilliance. If you haven’t played this game, you must, you really must. It is the closet thing to being Batman, without having to have your parents killed, leaving you millions of pounds/dollars in order for you to disappear for a few years, learning to become the ultimate badass, and then swearing revenge on crime, dressed as a flying rodent. Probably easier you just play the game really.

Gaming for Girls: Part 4

 By Kirkie Chick 

SPOILER WARNING: If you not yet completed the game please be advised this article has some spoilers in it.

I have travelled from the depths of Arkham City to bring you this report of how I am getting on there. Readers may remember my encounter with a Dinosaur in the Museum, on my hunt for the Penguin, I managed to find him, only to be fired at with Mr Freeze’s gun which the Penguin stole. I had to go looking for a chip from Mr Freeze’s suit to jam the gun. I took great pleasure in fighting Penguin, only to have a fight with his pet. I got through that, and then I went looking for Mr Freeze again. I found him but he wasn’t able to help me straight away with a cure for the toxin from the Joker in my blood. It turned out that I would have to have a chase across roof tops for an assassin to sample the blood of an immortal man. An enzyme within the blood would help with finding the cure.

 After several attempts I was able to have it out with the assassin and got the sample. I met Robin. This was a pleasant surprise. Robin hadn’t appeared in Batman Arkham Asylum. He came to bring me a present, the Line Launcher gadget. I was able to give him the sample of blood to get analysed then I was on the hunt for the assassin’s hideout. I travelled across rooftops to the Subway. Once down in the Subway I did get stuck. Once again my boyfriend had to help me out. Turned out I could have worked it out for myself if I had been a bit more patient. After fighting some goons I managed to have it out with the leader of the assassins to get a sample of his blood. Ra’s al Ghul is his name and he tested me because he believes my destiny is to join them and become Immortal and be with his daughter, Talya al Ghul. I tricked him to get his blood and I fled again to take the sample back to Mr Freeze. I got a bit lost and I had travelled through the subway tunnel before as well.

 

Mr Freeze had made an antidote, but he turned on me and didn’t want to give it to me. I fought him. He was a tricky bugger but I defeated him. It turned out while we were fighting Harley Quinn had stolen the sample of the antidote to take back to the Joker. Who had also taken Mr Freeze’s wife Nora. As a side mission I was to rescue Nora, but for the time being I didn’t want to deter from my main mission, to go and infiltrate the Saw Mill where the Joker was hiding out to get the antidote sample back. I travelled to the Saw Mill; I got a little side tracked by rescuing a reporter who had been shot down in the City. After that I got back on track. The goons patrolling the perimeter of the Saw Mill were a little tricky but I was able to eventually get in. I had acquired a gadget from Mr Freeze so I could freeze burst pipes that had steam coming out of them.

 I travelled through the Saw Mill, killing goons, using sheets of ice to travel through tunnels of water and I found Harley Quinn, bound and gagged. She told me some information about weapons hidden by Joker. I had more important things to think about at the time. I continued to look for Joker. I found him and I fought him. He fought nasty, bringing in goons and two mean adversaries who packed a punch. I defeated them, but then Batman collapsed. The game then continues to go back to pick up the storyline with Catwoman and Poison Ivy. I’m currently trying to get into a weapons store for Poison Ivy. I have completed 26% of the overall game. 72% of that is the story mode. So I am getting there.

 

I have also been playing LA Noire. I haven’t played any Lost since starting it. In LA Noire, I managed to solve a couple of cases I was working on. I like the continuing storyline about the deaths of the girls being similar to the case of the Black Dahlia. The Dahlia Case is a true murder mystery which was never solved, from the 1940s, around the time and place of L.A. Noire. The Case involved the body of a woman, which was found battered and cut in half, with ghastly gashes cut on the victims face. Letters were sent to the police from the supposed murderer, but they never sent down anyone for the murder. At the moment I am currently going to have to restart a case because I think I took a wrong turn on questioning.

 

So until next time happy gaming!

Gaming for Girls: Part 3

By Kirkie Chick 

                Since I last had the pleasure of talking to you lovely people, I have travelled far (well North Wales for the SFX Weekender) and I went to the Cardiff Comic Con but now I am stuck on Arkham City. I was doing so well without hardly any help from a walkthrough. My downfall an electric charge and a giant hook attempting to smash a door in. It took me several attempts to realise that I had succeeded to smash the door. The angle was deceiving but I also bashed a giant grate to get a Riddler Trophy so my swinging the hook aimlessly a few times was not in vain.

I then encountered another problem. A one armed man with a giant hammer, Mr Hammer and goons to fight off. He was a tricky adversary and it took me about three attempts to defeat him. Then I fell into a trap as Joker pretended to be dying, only for Batman to be bashed over the head. I am now playing as Catwoman. Meowh! I have got stuck with her, trying to find her apartment to take some of her equipment. I got into fighting these goons then I couldn’t see where I was meant to be going after defeating them. I died in the fight in the first attempt. Not so good. My boyfriend played on the game and progressed me past the fight and got the equipment out of the apartment. You then meet up with Poison Ivy for a little chat. Then you revert back to playing as Batman. Who has been infected with the Titan virus. Apparently Mr Freeze has the antidote so I set about trying to find him only to discover he had been kidnapped by the Penguin. I think I am enjoying the story better on Arkham City than I did on Asylum. There seems more twists in different directions of the plot going on in Arkham City. I had to spend ages trying to find the coldest point in the City where Mr Freeze would be; the temperature gauge goes up and down as you move around. Then just as you are on the lookout for the Penguin you have to go smash up the signal blockers that are blocking out the signal for you to find him. I found the first two easy. Then the third one I kept flying around the same area and the distance tracker kept going up and down then I realised I had to go under the Subway where I found it. I have now travelled back to the Museum looking for the Penguin. I got surprised by a Dinosaur!

                To take a break from Arkham City I started to play the game version of Lost:  the television show. The game has started off slow. The plane crashed on the island and I am now wandering around trying to find other survivors. From first impressions the game is a mystery one, along the lines of LA Noire (which I will eventually complete!) When I did find a survivor this prompted a memory flashback. I had to take a picture; it was a bit tricky to get the hang of the controls. I am now following a dog to the crash site. I think it may take some time for this game to grow on me. I will keep you posted.

                That is it for now. Hopefully next time I will have played more Arkham City. I am now 6% complete. Plus I will have played more Lost and more LA Noire. Until next time, happy gaming to all!