Remembering Arkham: Best Moments from the previous Arkham Editions

BUY BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS

In the year 2009, I wasn’t honestly exposed to frequent larger than life level designing and mature storytelling in games. So if something brilliantly mature would come my way, I’d go crazy. I was happy fighting zombies in Left 4 Dead, playing FIFA 08 or taking on life in Sims. Rocksteady changed the whole meaning of intriguing level designing and game esthetics by frequently allowing the gamer to take the fate of the protagonist by themselves. And I was blown apart. Banking on the worldwide success of Christopher Nolan’s  The Dark Knight, Eidos and WB published the game that defined the beginning of a new generation, with Batman: Arkham Asylum.

So what made me an Arkham series fan? What made me praise Rocksteady so much? I guess the answer lied in the man himself, Batman. At times, the whole world will collapse, will turn pale and meaningless, and the only sanity in this massively boring/insane reality will be your detour into DC’s best creation till date – Batman. Can you replicate the same comic book magic of Batman in any other form of media? I’d say yes, every time, if you can keep Batman as dark as he should be (Sorry Joel Schumacher, this isn’t for you!) and keep his enemies all mixed up and convoluted! From the engine to the gameplay to the plot to the side quests, the Arkham series took a huge leap in what games are supposed to mean, GOTYs were mere laurels to what they’ve changed for the times to come. Keeping at pace with Previously in Arkham and darting towards the 25^th of October, here goes some of my favourite moments from Arkham Asylum and Arkham City as the Dark Knight, and here’s looking forward to how it all began with Origins:

5. Asylum: The First Encounter with Joker:

Arkham Asylum didn’t take any time to build up or cast in characters in order to blow you up as a Batfan. In fact, it can boast of one of the proudest and loudest introductory scenes for a franchise, with the Batman driving his Batmobile, with the Joker tied up and ready to face the depths of the Arkham Asylum. It was year 2009, Heath Ledger had already set benchmarks for portraying the Joker, it was time for the all time Joker legend Mark Hamill to step it up. From being Luke Skywalker to the Joker, Hamill performed the role of a lifetime in those first few moments of Arkham Asylum. Of course it was a trap, of course the Joker was looking into it, and that’s how Asylum rolls out for a good 12 hours of gameplay. For Batman, it was not just another day of capturing the Joker and sending him back to the island, or was it ever like that?

Check out the video for the amazing Joker lines and the creepy Arkham Asylum feels:

4. City: Penguin’s Frozen Museum

One of the most brilliant fight scenes coupled with an extremely interesting subplot (to find Freeze’s gun and rescue Gordon’s men from the Penguin troupe) comes alive in this epic chapter from Arkham City. For the first time in my entire Batman reading life I think Cobblepot really made the bat suffer (at battle as well as choices). From entering the museum, to being totally scared by the T-Rex replica, to avoiding stepping on the fragile museum ice floor to facing a king size shark, it all happened inside this 20 minute sequence. Turns out to be one of the most crucial phases from the less thrilling Arkham sequence.

Check out the video and relive your days locked inside the museum with a bunch of Penguin’s thugs:

3. Asylum: The Scarecrow Show

For some reason, I have a high notion of Jonathan Crane in the DC Batman series. There are villains, there are super villains and there is Jonathan Crane, or the Scarecrow. The psychologist turned super villain uses a fear delivering drug to control the victim’s mind and take him down his deepest nightmares. And somehow, under the influence of the Joker and others, Scarecrow stands as perhaps the most underrated badass of all time. With Arkham Asylum, the Scarecrow returned in all his former glory and not once, not twice, this lunatic threatened the bat probably three or four times. In overlapping nightmares of the same propensity.

One of the most iconic nightmares deviced by the Scarecrow in Arkham Asylum was the one about the Waynes’ death. That plot had me scared and scarred for the rest of the remaining ten minutes. It was not about dodging the eyesight of the Scarecrow, it was not about the hide and seek, for the first time, Arkham series portrayed the fears of Bruce Wayne through this amazingly creepy level. Also boasting of one of the most mind blowing environments used (considering it’s the year 2009) in the level, the Scarecrow show still gives me chills.

Want to face your demons? Check out the level in detail:

2. City: Say Freeze!

I still remember I was chasing Victor Fries (or Mr. Freeze) for an hour or so inside Arkham City, measuring his heat signs and then completely losing track of them. It was painful and challenging like hell. He had a few answers about the Titan formula that was slowly killing Batman and the Joker, and I just had one idea – The Bat cannot die! Finally I found his heat signs inside the Police Department building, but I still had no idea how to enter it. All of Arkham games challenge you to think out of the box, and they will refrain from hinting you unless you die. This time I was challenged beyond the obvious, as the only door to the Police Department office seemed latched by something on top. Using my gadgets at random, I finally electrocuted it by fluke, and slid in screaming “Rachel!” in my mind.

Victor Fries is a big time unfortunate DC villain; most readers would get what I mean to say. His road to villainy is justified and categorically inspirational for anyone. While Batman lives in the past, Victor’s priceless wife’s deranged state keeps him avenging on the ones responsible in the present. He’s my man! On meeting Freeze, he didn’t seem warm, at all. One of the most challenging boss fights to have ever come across is this next one that I’m throwing at you, that stands for me as the most iconic sequences from Arkham City itself. He will send down drones, he will track your body heat and all you can do is hide and surprise him, if you can. Ladies and gentlemen, Say Freeze!

1.   Asylum: Welcome to the Swamp

Immediately after I was blown away by Mark Hamill’s performance as the Joker in the opening scene of Arkham Asylum, I witnessed something that will forever stay in my mind. A group of cops and Asylum delegates were dragging this huge monster into a pit that was especially designed for it, to keep it locked away from the rest of the residents. It was time for Killer Croc. Throughout Asylum I may have ruffled up some of the most deranged of all Asylum candidates – including Zsasz and Bane, but I was kind of expecting Killer Croc to ambush me any moment. I just knew it. But it never happened. Until Poison Ivy showed up with her love for predator flora and had the Asylum ripped apart by strange pink looking plantation everywhere I headed to. The antidote to her monster mother plant was a collection of saps that had to be contained from one of the sewage lines of Asylum.

Any guesses where was I leading to? Yep, to Killer Croc. You may have figured out that I look forward to beating exceptionally challenging boss modes rather than beating up someone to pulp as in the order of sequences that followed till now. And the Killer Croc mission simply sums up my definition of fun. Finding the anti dote was one creepy mission to begin with, and with Croc’s repeated ambushes, I was skipping heartbeats already. Suddenly Croc would break out from the water and start chasing me, suddenly the music will turn intense and I’d know something bad is on its way, it was THE DC moment for me.

Even though it’s more fun playing the Croc mission, check out the video for a secondhand heartattack:

Less than 24 hours to go to Arkham Origins. And even though the storytellers have changed from the legendary Arkham team to a completely WB driven team in Origins, I will keep my hopes high for Origins as I had for Arkham City. The missions always get me, the mechanics is pure personalized, and the story stems directly from the DC roots (with the likes of writer Paul Dini associated with the legacy). I’m pretty sure there will be some great moments from Origins as there were from Asylum and City. And if you have a personal favourite moment that I missed out on, send me a feedback on the comments section below.

Till then, let the Batsign glow bright on your rooftop tonight!