"Welcome To The Madhouse, Batman!"
Perfect For Patient Gaming Pastors...
Patient Gaming and ministry go hand in hand. With personal time being such a gem for pastors, we make sure the games we play are worth our time. So it makes sense that we wait to see what games give us the best bang for our buck...and our time.
Rocksteady gaming created one of, if not the finest, collection of video games based on a comic book superhero. With many popular titles under its umbrella, the Arkham series remains to be one of the best superhero games even in 2021! And here’s why...
The Story Arc of Arkham is Like No Other
The Arkham series features one of the best superhero storylines you’ll find in gaming. The story spans across all the games, each standing on their own but offering a whole new level of excitement when played together.
Here’s a brief overview of the different games:
Batman: Arkham Asylum
At Arkham Asylum, Batman confronts the Clown Prince of Crime, who has seized control of the facility and turned the inmates against Batman. For the ultimate confrontation with the Joker, you have to employ a variety of tools, such as zip lines and swings, to knock out a variety of criminals and supervillains.
Boss battles in Arkham Asylum range from Poison Ivy to Bane. While Mark Hamill reprises his role as the Joker, he is joined by Kevin Conroy as Batman. The game was astounding on its own, but the original voice cast brings the game to a whole new level.
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City expands on the ideas of Arkham Asylum in a much larger and more open-world setting. Two-Face, the Penguin, and the Joker are engaged in a deadly turf war, and Batman and Catwoman are caught in the middle. As Batman and Catwoman, you get some super insane tools to help you fly from one rooftop to the next. No joke, you basically use your grappling hook to swing around like Spider-Man.
Because of its engaging story, free-roaming side activities, and improved combat, Arkham City is a near-perfect Batman experience that we all crave so much. You’ll also meet more villains along the way including Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Zsasz, and Deadshot.
Batman: Arkham Knight
The Batmobile makes its debut in
Batman: Arkham Knight. The series' third and final installment brings a whole new level of gameplay to the series. A vast open free-roaming environment and the inclusion of the Batmobile make Arkham Knight the most full Batman experience to date.
In this final installment, you get to zip around Gotham while trying to unravel several mysteries surrounding the Arkham Knight and his new partners in crime…
Batman: Arkham Origins
As a bonus, you could also pick up
Arkham: Origins which serves as an origin story to the Arkhamverse. This one is by far the most critiqued since it reuses a lot of Arkham City assets and was made by WB Montreal who was not involved in the main series. But if you want even more of the Arkham Bat, this is still a fun Christmas-themed origin adventure.
Batman: Return to Arkham
Finally, in 2016, the first two games were remastered for next-gen consoles. The graphics were significantly enhanced with all bonuses and DLC was included. While Return To Arkham includes only the first 2 games, you'll also find a digital bundle called,
Arkham Collection, available which includes Arkham: Knight (Arkham: Origins is not included since it was developed by a different studio)
My Personal Experience with the Arkham: Series
Not to sound wishy-washy, but the Arkham games got me through the pandemic.
I bought the Arkham Collection on sale for Black Friday in 2019. So naturally when the world halted...I had a lot more time on my hands.
The Arkham games got me through 2020. I enjoyed them so much, I even went onto eBay to buy Arkham: Origins for PS3...even though I didn't even have one at the time. I had to dig out my old console from my dad’s house so I could play it!
Today, the Arkham games serve as my “backup entertainment.” When my daughter and her friends are using the game room, I have my old Xbox in my bedroom with the Arkham games loaded so I can still chill and game for an evening.
And speaking of, the Arkham games are one of the most replayable games I’ve ever played. Knowing the fight mechanics and move-sets makes the earlier levels much more fun because I can take down baddies and progress in ways I didn’t know the first time around. Plus the riddler trophies are more fun to collect when you don’t have to worry about story progression.
Is The Arkham Series Worth Playing Beyond 2021?
Long answer: The Arkham series is the closest you’ll come to actually feeling like you’re Batman. You can use as many (or as few) gadgets in fights, with so many variations possible to complete a quest. And while stealth is a requirement for many missions, just
how stealthy you are is up to you.
On the flip side of Two-Face’s coin, your imagination is where the biggest potential downside of the game lies. If you treat the Arkham series like a “beat-em-up” adventure, you’ll get bored pretty quick. What makes the game so captivating and fun is utilizing Batman’s tool belt when necessary to make fights more diverse and fun. While the game does give you tutorials on each gadget, there’s very few reminders, so it’s easy to forget how to take down enemies in a multitude of ways. Origins and Knight help with a new achievement system, but it’s still easy to forget all the new tools you’re given as the games progress.
That said, just watch this video to see all that’s possible when you do utilize gadgets in fights…it’s insane!
Throughout the series, there are several things that could have been done better...any fan will tell you the Batmobile was fun at first but quickly becomes monotonous. But that’s only my personal opinion, a lot of players actually love the way it is. And compared to everything that’s good about this game, these are just minor tradeoffs I am willing to make.
Verdict
The Batman: Arkham series is a must-play. And with the newer “Return to Arkham” series available for newer-gen consoles and PC, you’ll enjoy it even more with enhanced graphics and DLC.
While you can get the games individually for the PS3/360 generation, my ratings below are based on the entire Arkham Collection:
At $20 or less: Batman: Arkham Collection is a must get (The lowest I've seen is $15 for all 3 games and their DLC)
Between $20-30: Still a great deal if you love Batman, the superhero genre, or beat-em-up games.
Over $30: Wait for a sale unless you’re extremely bored.
The whole Batman: Arkham Collection is available to buy on the Xbox, PlayStation, and Steam marketplaces. Now is the time to get into this series, if you haven’t already!
