Superheros were not really a thing of my childhood. I preferred GI Joe, Wrestling, and other things more grounded in reality. It's impossible to not be aware of the cultural significance superheros had. For me the comics were mainly a tool for me to learn to read. Having pictures to go with words really was a boost to my reading. That transition for reading happened quickly enough for me to not read very many comics. What i did pick up was just a mish mash of what looked cool on a spindle near a checkout register. I didn't seek much out except for the early transformer comics. Today I have dozens of digital comics from humble bundles and i can't focus for more than 2 or 3 minutes. Comics are full of cliche lines and just corny dialogue. I've always said that the Spiderman and Marvel films are for 11 year olds. Not worthy of my critique.
The best and only superhero movie I care about is Unbreakable. Split and Glass get honorable mentions because they are of the same vein. Superhero movies that open to $100 Million weekends really don't tackle the importance of a superhero to citizen. Those movies just hit a new angle and are like Mega Man a madlibs version of writing. It's quite boring. After writing off superheros in my early youth the Michael Keaton Batman movies got me in a very young and impressionably social time and brought me back. I made room for Batman and no others.
Through the years I have seen all the superhero movies. I can justify this hypocrisy because much like videogames the movies tracked film production technology so you were always seeing state-of-the-art each time you watched a new film. We reached our zenith with those live-action movies and Spiderverse might actually be the best superhero movie, that just so happens to be a cartoon. For me it was the first full length feature cartoon superhero movie (don't say the Incredibles.. that's just disney squatting ideas) that made no bones about superhero movies being for kids.
Superheros arent going anywhere. There's a chance that Black Adam starring the Rock could be bigger than Superman. New generations of people are quick to dismiss the media and ideas of their fore-bearers at such a clip that it's possible. Despite any feelings you have about the world in 2020 america just know that a certain percentage of people saw all the same movies you did and enjoyed the same media, yet came to different conclusions. So before you vaunt your love for a franchise realize that someone is doing the same for the complete opposite platform. My solution is to absolutely check out.
The Robert Pattison batman film has no business being a part of my life. I actually relish the fact that there are so many other distractions in the world saying that i did not watch the latest batman doesnt come off as so psychotic or out of touch. Of course someone will slip the blu-ray in my hands as a christmas gift or a partner will pledge their allegiance to the message. For me The Joker film with not River Phoenix just existed. I enjoy a good period piece and that was just that for me. That movie will be someone's rallying cry for some inane concept or woven conspiracy. If i can just extricate myself from the few seconds it takes to read another screed i actually contribute to my life in a meaningful way. So other people's work bad and mine good? No, that's not the read at all. I played a lot of games over quarantine and writing about them was more cathartic than ever contorting a controller to play them. If the comics are pedantic it would be contradictory to say that the games wouldn't be.
Arkham Knight is a fun game. I felt pretty bad ass jumping in and out of the bat mobile. The traversal was very cool and and the combat made sense by the time I was done with the game but is a chore to pick back up again. The Riddler trophies were somewhat exciting when they came naturally but I was not about the struggle.
I oftentimes feel guilty when I get too much enjoyment for very little cost. If i get a compete collection game for $10 and put 20+ hours into it then I win. I beat this game and enjoyed it the whole way through. It took me about 4 years to get to it, despite owning it for the longest time. What is my responsibility? Do i have to advocate for the game? Should i buy another one of the developer's games? Should I pre-order their next game at full price? Or, do i just write a fair to middling review that just kind of exists?
The battank is brilliant. People just enjoyed bashing it. But if you enjoy bashing the city you will have a great time. I know spiderman is supposed to be this juggernaut of a game franchise. The batmobile/batman traversal combo is better than anything i experienced in Spiderman. The environment is readily destroyed by tank. Some of the puzzles with the tank are pretty cool. I am sick of climbing puzzles and box movement puzzles forever. I dont know why games feel compelled to slow me down. Is there some bachelor's of puzzledom at some for-profit college that these people get funneled into? End the puzzles. Maybe watching all the solutions to the riddler puzzles on YouTube might make me feel better about myself.
TLDR
The batmobile rules enough for me to never touch Arkham City or Asylum. The best superhero videogame. I couldn't explain combat to you and somehow i rolled credits.
4/5 Stars
7.1 out of 10