Gotta give this one a down vote. It's close but there are just too many frustrating parts to this game. If you enjoyed the other Arkham games, the game is on sale, and you really want to see what happened after Arkham City then go for it. Just be prepared for a few rage quits.

The Bad

The trick racing games... UGH!!! Fighting tanks and racing around after crooks is OK but the trick races are just exercises in frustration. Most are confined to dealing with the Riddler but I like the Riddler's other puzzles so the only way to see them is to go through the rage-quit-inducing races.

Checkpoint saves only. LET ME PICK WHEN TO SAVE!! At least this one isn’t as bad as Arkham Origins – this time they were smart enough to keep backup saves for you so, if something gets corrupted, you’ve got a backup you can go to instead of having to start the whole game over again.

Pointless upgrades. They added a lot of new upgrades you can spend points on but many of them seem useless. For instance, you can get an upgrade to throw your batarang at some enemies as you drop down on one. That’s nice. And then there’s another to shoot your grapple as you drop down on an enemy. And another to shoot your electric zapper as you drop down on an enemy. Why!?

The story. Everything is Batman’s fault! The bad guys blame Batman. Gordon blames Batman. Robin blames Batman. Most of all, Batman blames Batman. Hello? Don’t you think that just maybe Scarecrow deserves the lion’s share of that blame? What’s more, there were some big plot twists I didn’t like much.

The Good

The procedural combat system is still big fun… mostly. It gets pretty hard to target properly with the masses of people you fight plus Batman sometimes just decides to go off and whack some completely different thug from time to time. But it’s such a joy to watch!

It’s got a pretty complex combat system. The key combinations are actually starting to get a little bit like a fighting game! Once you get deeper into the game, you’ll find you really need to think about how you’ll be attacking some enemy strong points, too.

Good Riddler puzzles again! Though it would be nice if the game would tell you if you don’t have some gadget needed to solve a puzzle. Arkham City had the same problem.

The Joker is just great all around, same as in all the other Arkham games.

There’s a photo mode that’s pretty nice. Like most console games, it forces you to keep the main character in the frame but otherwise the camera is free. Be sure to check the options in there – you can turn off the game logo.

Performance

I didn't have an FPS counter up but framerate never got close to causing me a problem even with max settings. I've got a 1080 and 16GB so no big surprise there. A lot of other folks are having issues, though. The game has a performance test in it so check that first thing. If you can't get the performance up to snuff in the first hour, refund the game.


So overall I would give it about a 6.5 out of 10. If you haven't played Arkham Asylum or Arkham City yet, definitely play those first. Not only will the backstory help but they are both better games. Play this one if you liked those a lot and want some closure.

Gotta give this one a down vote. It's close but there are just too many frustrating parts to this game. If you enjoyed the other Arkham games, the game is on sale, and you really want to see what happened after Arkham City then go for it. Just be prepared for a few rage quits. [b]The Bad[/b] The trick racing games... UGH!!! Fighting tanks and racing around after crooks is OK but the trick races are just exercises in frustration. Most are confined to dealing with the Riddler but I like the Riddler's other puzzles so the only way to see them is to go through the rage-quit-inducing races. Checkpoint saves only. LET ME PICK WHEN TO SAVE!! At least this one isn’t as bad as Arkham Origins – this time they were smart enough to keep backup saves for you so, if something gets corrupted, you’ve got a backup you can go to instead of having to start the whole game over again. Pointless upgrades. They added a lot of new upgrades you can spend points on but many of them seem useless. For instance, you can get an upgrade to throw your batarang at some enemies as you drop down on one. That’s nice. And then there’s another to shoot your grapple as you drop down on an enemy. And another to shoot your electric zapper as you drop down on an enemy. Why!? The story. Everything is Batman’s fault! The bad guys blame Batman. Gordon blames Batman. Robin blames Batman. Most of all, Batman blames Batman. Hello? Don’t you think that just maybe Scarecrow deserves the lion’s share of that blame? What’s more, there were some big plot twists I didn’t like much. [b]The Good[/b] The procedural combat system is still big fun… mostly. It gets pretty hard to target properly with the masses of people you fight plus Batman sometimes just decides to go off and whack some completely different thug from time to time. But it’s such a joy to watch! It’s got a pretty complex combat system. The key combinations are actually starting to get a little bit like a fighting game! Once you get deeper into the game, you’ll find you really need to think about how you’ll be attacking some enemy strong points, too. Good Riddler puzzles again! Though it would be nice if the game would tell you if you don’t have some gadget needed to solve a puzzle. Arkham City had the same problem. The Joker is just great all around, same as in all the other Arkham games. There’s a photo mode that’s pretty nice. Like most console games, it forces you to keep the main character in the frame but otherwise the camera is free. Be sure to check the options in there – you can turn off the game logo. [b]Performance[/b] I didn't have an FPS counter up but framerate never got close to causing me a problem even with max settings. I've got a 1080 and 16GB so no big surprise there. A lot of other folks are having issues, though. The game has a performance test in it so check that first thing. If you can't get the performance up to snuff in the first hour, refund the game. So overall I would give it about a 6.5 out of 10. If you haven't played Arkham Asylum or Arkham City yet, definitely play those first. Not only will the backstory help but they are both better games. Play this one if you liked those a lot and want some closure.