Batman: Arkham Knight

Rating: 9.4

Happy Price: 59.99

Gameplay

Gadgets, hard hitting fists, and the Batmobile are the elements that make up the core mechanics of this iteration of Batman. The shift has gone from stealth in Arkham Asylum to the use of the Batmobile in this version. Most of your time will be spent driving around and in action packed battles

Combat

Different enemy types pose different problems for Batman, and force the player to make strategic decisions before going into battle. Most of the time you will be perched from above so you can make calculated decisions on who to attack, such as the bat would do in his world. Two men might be armed, one may have electric batons, and there may be a brute. Who to attack first, and what gadgets to be used will make the battle successful or a failure. Combat stays the same for the most part using the FreeFlow engine, but is definitely more difficult than previous games. The variety of ways to take down enemies and the use of the environment makes each encounter different and interesting. The pacing is great as well, as the fights become harder and harder as your skills also grow as a character and player of the game.

Batmobile

Gotham is plagued by an occupation that forces the evacuation of the city. There are tanks all over the streets and this must be countered by the batmobile which is equipped with a machine gun and a 60mm cannon. The car has a "battle mode" feature which allows guns to be shot and the vehicle can strafe allowing for evasive maneuvers while firing shots. Against enemies outside of vehicles, the batmobile shoots stun bullets due to Batman's policy of not killing. The transition between battle mode and car mode is smooth and its really fun to go full speed in car mode then quickly switch to battle mode, then switch back and take off. The controls are not tight so it does take some getting used to, but this isn't a racing sim. However you spend ample amounts of time in the batmobile and I wish they spent more time on the design of the city making driving around a little more fun. At times you move so fast in a compact, dark environment it forces you to always feel a step behind when turning around corners.

Story

The story is one of the best I've played in a video game. The two main villains in this game are the new character "Arkham Knight" and Scarecrow. There is a struggle between the two villains as Scarecrow wants Batman to suffer, while Arkham Knight is hellbent on revenge and wants Batman's head ASAP. Scarecrow seems like a disappointing character at first, but as the plot unfolds you begin to respect him and his abilities much more. The Joker definitely makes his presence, but not in a way you'd think. As the story progresses the Arkham Knight impresses with his knowledge of Batman and both you as a player and Batman become highly curious as to who this person is. The reveal is perfect when it happens.

Open world games struggle with integrating side quests into the narrative, but this game does it very well. As you are hunting down Riddler, Two-Face, Penguin, and others, the player is consistently reminded of what is going on in Gotham. Everyone is taking advantage of Scarecrow's new plan, and as you take down the villains one by one the player can feel the difference in the world. Side missions and quests gain significant amounts of XP so it becomes very fulfilling to do them.

Animation

Don't be fooled when the game begins, the animation seems really quick and its difficult to see what is going on during combat. It's as if the animation was done at 30fps but the game is running 60fps and its 2x as fast as it should be. Before you know it, Batman gets a new suit that allows you to hit harder and take more damage. After that, the animation settles down and looks normal. Since there is such a high focus on the story, the acting is very important. Rocksteady knew this, and did a great job with facial expressions and body language during cutscenes that drive the story. Many times in games animation can hurt the story, but in this instance it's pivotal in making it better. 

Conclusion

 There are many open world games out there right now. I would not say this is a must buy, but it is definitely worth 60 bucks. If you like Batman, you will enjoy this game. I think the Witcher 3 or GTAV offer more than this game, but don't provide the novelty of playing as Batman or such a good story. 

Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition

Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition

Rating: 9/10

Happy Price: Full Price on PC ($25 on Steam), $40 on PS4/XBO


Overall:
It's Devil May Cry 4, but with a couple extra cutscenes, 5 playable characters, a couple additional features and a new difficulty - Legendary Dark Knight. For a game that was released back in 2008, this sounds pretty underwhelming. Instead of outrage, I am absolutely hyped for everything they've done with this game. Along with Nero and 'Uncle Dante' comes the combination of Lady and Trish, as well as bringing Vergil back from the dead (or maybe they're just telling events that happened ages ago, it's honestly not clear).

The game is just as smooth, if not smoother than it was all those years ago. And though the bonus characters may seem strange at first, they all feel so good to play that it almost feels like cheating. Not to mention the bonus irony of finally getting to play as Lady and fight Dante, while also re-taking control of (a much faster/stronger) Vergil and once again laying down the law on Dante.

Standout points:
In this portion, I will actually talk about the new characters since their different abilities and how they play are rather significant.


-Lady/Trish

When I started playing as Lady, it was strange. Relying more so on guns than swords, since Lady's devil arms (non projectile) moveset is terribly limited. Didn't like it, but as I obtained more moves, I couldn't help constantly getting SSS stylish rankings. Her gameplay style is essentially easier than Nero, though some technical skill is necessary to beat the game. And then switching over to Trish, she's like Dante lite. Her moves are fast, the gunplay is limited, but the things she can do with physical combat are vast. Enemies too far away? Make Sparda snatch them towards you into a spinning bird kick-esque attack. Trap enemies in a Raikousen loop and then continue to wail on them with Sparda. It's easier to get into using techniques like jump cancelling for combos using Trish, but you can't be as overly creative as you can with Dante's multiple styles and weaponry. Overall leaving a lingering note for me wishing more of the characters, even though it was utterly satisfying once I got the hang of their movesets in respect to the rest of the cast.

-Vergil

Vergil's campaign is essentially only him. He has an interesting mix of Nero/Dante in his moveset and therefore is the most complex of the whole cast to play as. To start, vergil doesn't have guns, which means he can use projectiles while using his sword. While at first, his moveset can be overwhelming and easy to get a false sense of "Mash and win," you then have to come to grips that Vergil is a calculated combatant. Each move has to connect, no energy expended, you have to focus along with Vergil. Which brings us to his gimmick. Vergil has a focus meter, which builds on being close to an opponent as well as each connecting attack. If you whiff, get hit or spend time away from enemies, you lose meter. The meter determines how much damage Vergil deals to foes. So the closer and clean you are in your fighting, the easier time you'll have with Vergil, though you still have to be stylish - which is where challenge comes in. Plus since Vergil doesn't have guns, the traditional Devil May Cry "hovering in the air by gunfire" may give newer players a spot of trouble in certain parts of the game. He's the most technical and precise of the characters, since you're actively punished for whiffing attacks as opposed to Dante (even though Dante is probably actually the most technical of the cast.

Conclusion:
Would I buy it?
I love the Devil May Cry series, so...

Should you buy it?
YES!

Yes, the same problems from before exist where you're backtracking halfway through the game. That's why it's not perfect. It's an amazing introduction into the Devil May Cry experience and with so many characters to play as, it's definitely worth the price.

As far as playing through the game, I would say start playing as Nero up until they switch off to Dante. Then play as Lady and Trish, then Dante, then Vergil. That way you build up the use of utilizing tech, understanding of bosses and certain play-styles and then display an ultimate mastery of the game's mechanics.

Hatred

Rating For This Game: 4.5/10
Happy Price: $19.99 (On Steam)

This is the game that garnered so much controversy last year with all of its senseless violence, and it fits in perfectly with all of the stereotypes that the older generation dislikes about video games where it is destroying the youth. Ever wanted to know how it feels like to murder countless amounts of unarmed civilians, police officers, and military personnel? Ever wanted to know how it feels like to be an active shooter? Then this is the game for you!


Story:
The game doesn't really have an overall story. You are just one dude armed to the teeth just wanting to release all of his anger at the useless "sheep" in the world by depopulating it en-masse. Other than that there is not much else. The voice acting and scripting is nothing to really get excited about. It is just bland.

/*Insert generic speech about how I hate the world and everyone should die here*/

Gameplay:
The game plays as a top-down third person shooter. The player's goal is to kill as many people in the map as possible. The player can do this by throwing molotov cocktails, grenades, shooting up gas canisters, and by just shooting people. The early maps in the game are very destructible which can create some pretty hilarious moments when you unleash your destruction. The player does get damaged from explosions, civilians with guns, cops/military shooting the player. The only way the player gains health back is by executing people. This occurs when an NPC is wounded and the player walks up to them and does an execution with a button press. Later on in the game, the player gains body armor which provides a health boost as the player fights more military.

Overall:
Overall, the game itself is just pretty much bland and doesn't really add anything new to the genre. The destructible environments are fun to mess around with, but there is nothing much else. The gameplay is very repetitive and could get boring pretty quickly. Repetitive gameplay ranges from performing the same executions over and over again to let's just shoot everyone. There aren't any puzzles where you are supposed to stop and think. Also the AI in the game are pretty much dumb and just act casually when you are mowing down their fellow bots. In the end, for so much controversy this game has created during its marketing phase, I felt pretty let down with having just this bland top-down third person shooter.