Zero Punctuation: Batman: Arkham Knight - Being Rich Is a Super Power

Yahtzee Croshaw

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Batman: Arkham Knight - Being Rich Is a Super Power

This week, Zero Punctuation reviews Batman: Arkham Knight.

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Multiverseman

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Are there any major spoilers in this? Because if so, this is probably going to be the first ZP video that I'll have to skip until I actually play the game.

Edit: Took the time to actually watch it. S'all good, nothing spoilery beyond a few mission numbers.
 

WhiteNachos

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Multiverseman said:
Are there any major spoilers in this? Because if so, this is probably going to be the first ZP video that I'll have to skip until I actually play the game.
I haven't played Arkham Knight, but it didn't feel like he spoiled anything so no.
 

PunkRex

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Funny, you'd think that with Scarecrow as a villain they could go nuts with the whole thing and have it occur in Batman's mind, like some deep Psychonauts shenanigans. Perfect excuse to bring the Joker back and have some genuinely dark scenes, Arkham Mind.

The new PC-Gaming master race pic seems adequate given Steam's current condition.

And congrats on the new game, can't wait for all the spoof ZP reviews of it.
 

WhiteNachos

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"you know what forget I said anything"

Then why bring it up? Perhaps it's because I've never played an Arkham game but that just seemed like a wishy washy point.
 

Zydrate

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WhiteNachos said:
"you know what forget I said anything"

Then why bring it up? Perhaps it's because I've never played an Arkham game but that just seemed like a wishy washy point.
Because even he's getting a bit tired of it. A fear years late compared to the rest of us, but hey.
 

Erttheking

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Zydrate said:
WhiteNachos said:
"you know what forget I said anything"

Then why bring it up? Perhaps it's because I've never played an Arkham game but that just seemed like a wishy washy point.
Because even he's getting a bit tired of it. A fear years late compared to the rest of us, but hey.
Just a question, an honest question. What games have recently been accused of being sexist to any major degree recently? And my to any major degree I mean more than a couple of youtubers/bloggers/forum commenters. Because I'm drawing a blank. I just have the nagging feeling that despite people still shouting about it, the arguments have gone kinda meta and are about the concept more than any actual solid examples.

OT: Pretty funny, though I was reminded to a certain degree of a recent Critical Miss. Also, the entire city is overrun now? I'm surprised America doesn't just give up on Gotham. I mean they did it in one of the comics didn't they?
 

THM

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erttheking said:
OT: Pretty funny, though I was reminded to a certain degree of a recent Critical Miss. Also, the entire city is overrun now? I'm surprised America doesn't just give up on Gotham. I mean they did it in one of the comics didn't they?
They certainly did - "No Man's Land", it was called. Batman (as you'd expect) refused to let the abdication of responsibility stick.

Oddly enough, that also had Ivy acting in a vaguely good manner as well. Well, good for her, anyway.

OT: The more I read and see about AK, the more I'm getting the impression it's best to skip it.
 

Aiddon_v1legacy

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The plots to the Arkham games have always been pretty weak, which is a shame considering how Batman has given TONS of the greatest comic book stories of all time (as well as the best adaptations) and yet the games stumble left and right trying to keep our attention, luckily saved by the top-notch gameplay. It's like they copy the best of Batman, but also forget the nuance and also how to make things feel connected and fluid. And also they forget that making things "mature" does not mean "let's make everything as morose and as mean-spirited as possible." In that case it's like they're copying Nolan's film adaptations of Batman, but forget why those films are mature and are highly praised.

Again, they're luckily saved by top-notch gameplay but now it's clear that the team is running out of ideas and need to wrap things up before they're stumbling for eternity like, say, Assassin's Creed is.
 

Casual Shinji

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Apart from Scarecrow's hencemen, I was equally if not more so puzzled by Penguin and Two-Face remaining in Gotham Peninsula. They obviously know what Scarecrow's up to since he keeps yucking it up over a loud speaker that can be heard across the city -- You'd think they'd have more qualms with the guy drenching Gotham (including both their crime syndicates) in fear toxin.

And yes, Scarecrow was ruined in Knight for reasons that completely escape me, when they nailed him so perfectly in Asylum.
 

jamail77

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Casual Shinji said:
And yes, Scarecrow was ruined in Knight for reasons that completely escape me, when they nailed him so perfectly in Asylum.
Eh. His voice nails his new role and he is still very much Scarecrow, scarier sometimes even. It's rated M this time around for a reason. Then again, I haven't finished the game and unlike Knight's true identity I don't know it beforehand.
 

Casual Shinji

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jamail77 said:
Casual Shinji said:
And yes, Scarecrow was ruined in Knight for reasons that completely escape me, when they nailed him so perfectly in Asylum.
Eh. His voice nails his new role and he is still very much Scarecrow, scarier sometimes even. It's rated M this time around for a reason. Then again, I haven't finished the game and unlike Knight's true identity I don't know it beforehand.
What's scarier though, or scary about him in general? He's just Hugo Strange with a hoodie now. I can barely even remember any of the scenes he was in, much like Strange in City. In Asylum he felt like a proper boogie man who got his kicks from scaring the shit out of everyone, in Knight he's just a random monologing villain talking down at you from his jumbotron.
 

Thanatos2k

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erttheking said:
Zydrate said:
WhiteNachos said:
"you know what forget I said anything"

Then why bring it up? Perhaps it's because I've never played an Arkham game but that just seemed like a wishy washy point.
Because even he's getting a bit tired of it. A fear years late compared to the rest of us, but hey.
Just a question, an honest question. What games have recently been accused of being sexist to any major degree recently? And my to any major degree I mean more than a couple of youtubers/bloggers/forum commenters. Because I'm drawing a blank. I just have the nagging feeling that despite people still shouting about it, the arguments have gone kinda meta and are about the concept more than any actual solid examples.
Witcher 3.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2015/05/31/why-feminist-frequency-is-dead-wrong-about-the-witcher-3/

Oddly, haven't seen the same whining about Batman. Kind of odd, isn't it?
 

C117

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Have to say, I've never been very fond of the Arkham games. The gameplay is servicable at best and the stories are not the most stellar (the exploration is fun though). They're not bad games, I just don't like them as much as everyone else seems to.
 

Tohuvabohu

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jamail77 said:
Casual Shinji said:
And yes, Scarecrow was ruined in Knight for reasons that completely escape me, when they nailed him so perfectly in Asylum.
Eh. His voice nails his new role and he is still very much Scarecrow, scarier sometimes even.
Pretty much how I feel about it. Scarecrow segments in Asylum were excellent. But very brief.

But in hindsight, Scarecrow himself was closer to a jibbering circus sideshow annoyance than a capable supervillain. Much closer to 'camp' than 'menacing'. He giggled, he cackled, his over exaggerated mannerisms made his brief appearances quite entertaining. He sure 'acted'.


But personally, I don't think that kind of behavior would have made him an effective villain. Scarecrow as he is in Arkham Knight is actually menacing and genuinely scary. His personality in Knight, coupled with his plans, work incredibly well. And given the gallery of villains that exist in Knight, he fits in very well among them.

OT: This ZP episode leaves a lot out for the sake of the story. Which is understandable, since speaking from the basis of narrative, I found this to be the strongest Arkham game to date. The game has it's problems, but I found the story to be addicting from almost the beginning, all the way to the very end.

Not that I don't have my gripes with it (Seriously, the fucking tank wars), but I think Rocksteady did their finest job with this game's story.

Now, Rocksteady, how about that Superman game?
 

Darth_Payn

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To me, Scarecrow doesn't sound that much like a top-tier villain, but The Joker's dead, so we can't use him, same for Dr. Strange, but the League of Assassins should still be kicking around. I think Ra's al-Ghul and Talia are too dead for the Lazarus pit to work on now, but they could have another leader.
 

Evonisia

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It feels like everything I hear about Arkham Knight I want less and less to play it. Fitting, I suppose, given that I played the games less and less each sequel.

After City I can't really muster up for hate for the plothole about the evacuation, only disappointment at the fact that adding civilians in could have made for interesting gameplay (can't just indiscriminately blast away at those drones at that point).
 

Silentpony_v1legacy

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I never understood the need for any game past Asylum. I mean City was decent...I guess. Wasn't nearly as good as Asylum, but was worth 1 play-through.
Origins was absolute dog shit and Knight it turns out would have been very pretty dog shit, but they fucked it up, so its just low-res barely 30FPS dog shit.

Also what is it with bad Batman writers and thinking that if a game is darker, it is more Batman? Batman is allowed to have unqualified victories you know. This isn't Sin City and he isn't Marv! You can have a perfectly good Batman story without dying a very unnecessary "Oh SO Batman!" style death.