Batman: Arkham Knight: Review round-up

Neon Knights

Warner Bros. must be feeling confident about Arkham Knight's chances because they decided to lift the review embargo for the game a whole 4 days prior to its release. Nowadays, the big publishers usually wait until the last minute before they release the hounds, but in rare cases --usually when they suspect a game's going to knock the journos out of the park-- they'll allow reviewers to post their opinions ahead of time.

It seems that confidence was well placed as Arkham Knight, the final game in the Rocksteady's Batman trilogy, seems to be striking a chord with the gaming media, earning amazing scores across the board. Well, almost.

To date, the game has received 4 perfect scores, with Polygon going so far as to call it "the best game of this console generation." Strong words, especially in a year that's already given us instant classics like Splatoon, Bloodborne and The Witcher 3. Ausgamers were equally effusive in their praise of the game, giving it the crown for best-looking game across all three next-gen platforms. Videogamer and God is a Geek also gave Batman's latest outing top marks, calling it "a masterpiece" and "one of the best comic-book games ever made" respectively.

So far, the main point of contention seems to be the Batmobile, with some reviewers claiming it adds another dimension to the game, wit others decrying its inclusion completely. The four-wheeled fantasicar's biggest detractor is Gamespot's Kevin Van Ord, who felt that the forced Batmobile sections hurt the game. "Arkham Knight is constantly trying to justify the Batmobile's presence, forcing it upon you at nearly every opportunity," he said, before going on to award the game a still-respectable score of 7 out of 10. 

While Gamespot felt the Batmobile to be a waste of time, Hobby Consolas called its integration "perfect", feeling it added some unique new touches to the Arkham formula. Likewise, IGN seemed to enjoy whipping around Gotham's thug-filled streets in the Batmobile, praising the new gameplay opportunities it brought to the table. 

Gamesradar also enjoyed the game overall, awarding it a 4 out of 5, but felt that a superior story, as well as less Batmobile, would have just pushed it over the edge and into must-have territory. 

So, all in all, it looks like the final chapter in the Arkham series is yet another must-have Rocksteady game. The mixed reactions to the Batmobile are interesting, to say the least - I know some people have been bemoaning its inclusion since day-one, but I'm determined to give it the benefit of the doubt. My review probably won't be here for a while, but I've got some Batman-related goodies on the way to tide you over in the meantime.