Some Batman Talk

I played Arkham Asylum a couple of years back, and thought it was the greatest Batman game I'd ever played.  I finished Arkham City a month back, and thought that was the greatest Batman game I've ever played.  Today, I've finally put some thought into why these games are the greatest Batman games I've ever played.

When I had called Arkham Asylum great, it was because I'd never before played a game where I felt like I was Batman, and putting aside all the fanservice the game had, that feeling of "being" Batman made Asylum the default "greatest Batman game ever."  But with City, I had already experienced "being" Batman, and that alone would no longer be enough, there had to be more to the game than just that, or at least, that's what I had thought.  But Arkham City was basically just that, that feeling of "being" Batman, only taken even further.  It fixed what didn't work in Asylum, namely the boss fights, added even more fanservice and easter eggs, plus made two of my favourite villains of the Batman gallery primary villains who played rather large parts in the story.  (one is Hugo Strange, who was the best part of "The Batman" series that nobody watched, the other is the final boss of the game, who was a legitimate surprise that I won't ruin for anyone who hasn't played the game themselves)

I could go more indepth about why the games "feel" so good, but I won't because the important part to take away from all this is that these games just feel good to play, and that's the key to what makes both of them great.  If you're still confused, then as an example, think about how, if you look at Mario games, there's not much about the characters or the world they inhabit that's all that special or great, but pick up and play the games and it's surprising how much fun can be had while playing them, because the games simply feel good to play.  That's what makes Mario games some of the greatest games ever made, and that's what makes these two Batman games the best Batman games ever made.


If you're wondering what got me talking Batman games and where I'm going with this, then you can go over and read Film Crit Hulk's musings about Batman right about now, because that's what got me on this line of thought in the first place, and also in thinking about how the games failed even while they succeeded.

The reason I haven't brought up the story as being great in either game till now is simple: the story in both games is a vehicle for fanservice, and little more.  Go ahead and think about the themes both games present.  Having a hard time thinking about it?  That's cause there isn't really a theme to the narrative.  It's a framing device, a tool used to set objectives and direct you to the next encounter.  Story in both games is an almost tangible thing the developers used to give you things to do in the game while you were busy being Batman.

The same goes for the characters, or as I like to call them, liberal helpings of fanservice.  Tell a Batman fan that the Mad Hatter is in Arkham City, and they'll be giddy with excitement to find him and beat him up.  When asked by a Batman fan what the Mad Hatter's role in Arkham City is, and it'll boil down to finding him and beating him up.  Same goes for everybody else. 



Penguin, for example, is not a fallen billionaire who's also had his parents murdered, and the way he dealt with their deaths with his life choices were the opposite of those Bruce Wayne chose, thus making him a twisted reflection of Batman who wishes to spread crime and chaos instead of stop it.  No, Penguin is a guy in Arkham City who leads a gang of thugs that you must beat up before you can reach him and beat him up.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Oh, don't get me wrong, the struggle to get to Penguin to beat him up is hugely enjoyable; avoiding the traps he's set, saving the police he's holding hostage, beating up the thugs he's hired, dealing with the surprises he throws at you and finding a way around the freeze gun he's stolen from Mr. Freeze is a very nerve-wrecking, tense, exciting and FUN experience.  But it's not all that deep.

I recognized this in the first game, and I was still able to enjoy the game because it simply felt so good to play.  I don't mind that the story was merely leading me from one bad guy fight to another, like a roller coaster.  If I wanted a deeper experience, the Burton and Nolan and Timm versions of Batman are still there for me to watch anytime I wanted.  I'm perfectly fine with Rocksteady's Batman games being little more than fanservice fests where you can face off against a dozen super-villains in a single night and still win the day.  Because that's what it feels like being Batman.  And that is fun as hell.