Arkham Knight’s release is drawing ever closer. With it grows the excitement of Batman lovers and just overall video game lovers. The Arkham series has proven to be one the best over the past decade, up there with names like Halo and Assassins Creed. Tons of information has been revealed and leaked over the past couple of months. Everyone and their brother knows that the Batmobile will be drivable-something fans went crazy over-and villains Scarecrow, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, the Arkham Knight and Penguin will be in the game. Downloadable Content for Red Hood and Harley Quinn’s origin stories will be available, as will a Scarecrow spinoff.
Yet, even with all this information, there is plenty of speculation to be made as to what will happen in the game. If the last three Arkham games are any indication, we know hardly anything that will happen in the game. So lets point out exactly what we’re hoping for in the game.
| 1) The Joker Stays Dead |
For this game at least. It has been rumored that the Joker will stay buried in this game, but with Rocksteady you never know. Keeping Joker dead will allow for other villains to step downstage and into the big lights. For a series that has used Joker as the pinnacle villain for all of their games, his death will allow for a refreshing storyline. Now Rocksteady can further develop the likes of Two Face, Penguin and Scarecrow, elevating them from bosses to arch villains with a storyline, something the
other games haven’t done.
It looks for now that Scarecrow will be the main villain and that the Arkham Knight will prove for the main mystery. Bringing the Joker back for other Arkham games, if they do indeed make anymore, could be good if done right, just not for this game. And please don’t have the Arkham Knight just be Joker in a cool suite. For now, lets leave Joker dead with Harley to mourn and Batman depressed. Speaking of that…
| 2) Emotional Toil for Mr. Bruce Wayne |
Batman’s alter ego is usually forgotten. Wayne hasn’t been a focal point of many stories since Tim Burton’s masterpieces a couple of decades ago (if you haven’t, go and watch them, they’re great). The Arkham series has not changed the status quo. Arkham Origins, much like Dark Knight Rises, had minor avenues into Bruce Wayne’s needs and wants-think Alfred yelling at Batman telling him he would not let him sacrifice his life-and a look into Wayne’s emotional state would give the game a lot more plot tension.
If the rumors are true, we will get some of this. The Joker is said to be a part of the game in flashbacks of Batman’s. Will this be Batman’s flashbacks with themes of failure, lack of passion, or feeling missionless? Or, will it be the man, Bruce Wayne, doubting whether or not he should continue his crime fighting ways? It is hard to tell, but having the emotions of Bruce Wayne entering the game, along with all the Batman complexities, would add to the chaos of Gotham and it’s caped crusader.
Don’t forget, Bruce Wayne is also coming off the loss of his love, Talia al Ghul. Joker shot her in Arkham City and so the man will be going through some hard times, as shown in the DLCs of Arkham City. Though we’re not sure how far into the future Arkham Knight is, Wayne could still be recovering from his loss.
| 3) Horror in Gotham |
Since the ’70s Batman has had an edge of horror in his stories. Now, with Scarecrow playing a D. Hugo Strange role in this game, hopefully this can be the case. With Scarecrow’s fear inducing toxin, players can probably expect some more mind altering levels with unreal bosses. The toxic gas is always fun to play through, but one would hope that the theme of fear and
horror will play through the game as the trailer suggests.
As a character, Scarecrow has the most horror film qualities about him other than the Joker. Hopefully Rocksteady can bring back the heartbanging moments they instilled in Arkham Asylum. Remember the crazy azylum inmates breaking out of corridors and attacking Batman zombie style? Remember the fear filling your heart while you violently hit the right stick to turn Batman around as Killer Croc ran you down? Yeah, lets get that back into the game.
| 4) Harley Quinn to be BA |
The fanboy crush of the Arkham games, Harley Quinn has been mostly used as a sexy, vulnerable, girl, who happens to back a punch, but is mostly there to set up great Jokers scenes and for guys to pause the game and oggle (think Arkham Asylum where Batman tied her up and the user could remove or replace the tape on her mouth). Arkham City had the great DLC “Harley Quinn’s Revenge” where she captured Batman and Robin had to go rescue him. In that DLC she showed a stronger, less dependent, although still obsessed with Joker, side.
With Joker dead there are a couple of directions Rocksteady could choose to go with her as a character. Quinn could still be hellbent on destroying our favorite “Bats.” She could be on a one-woman mission to kill the Dark Knight, or be in control of Jokers massive guild of fighters. She could also team up with other villains like Poison Ivy, as she did in Batman: The Animated Series, Two-Face, Riddler, etc. Though we’ve haven’t heard or seen anything in regards to the other female villains, it is possible they all team up to take down Batman.
Harley could even be used as an anti-hero in this game, helping Batman through his various obstacles. With a lot less history than any of the other main Arkham villains-she was invented for Batman: The Animated Series, Rocksteady has a lot more leeway with her than they do with say, Catwoman, or Mr. Freeze. Quinn could even become Batman’s next love interest, now that he’s lost Talia, and Quinn the Joker.
With such a popular character among fans, especially gaming girls, it would be nice to see a strong character in Harley Quinn, not just a blubbering mourning dependent one.
| 5) More Oracle |
Speaking of having strong female characters in the Arkham series, it would be great to see more of the Oracle Scenes from some of the trailers have shown the Batman in close proximity to Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. the Oracle. While we’ve heard Batman speaking to her, as she’s been used as the informational output for gamers. Now we might actually get some storyline with Oracle, much like we did with Alfred in Arkham Origins.
Barbara Gordon is, of course, also Batgirl. In the comics she’s been healed from her paralyzed state and gone back to being Batgirl. While we have no idea if Rocksteady will stick to these parameters of her character, it is not to far fetched to think we might see her in this game as Batgirl. That could be in the form of flashbacks, or in the present as either a video (like Robin in Arkham City) or as a playable character, trying to save Batman.
Another thing to think about with the Commissioner Gordon’s daughter is that we haven’t seen her origins of being Oracle yet. There is room for another game, even if Arkham Knight ends up being the end of Batman, with Gordon being Batgirl and getting shot by the Joker. Who knows if that will happen, but the capability is there.
Here’s to more Oracle.
| 6) Less Minor Characters and More Focus on Main Villains |
Though the deadshot, weird teleporting man from City, and Zsasz like mini sidetracks have been fun, they also take some space that could be used for some more character development and serious gameplay. While I’m sure there will still be the minor
characters to battle against (we haven’t seen Croc since Asylum, and it would be could to see Sandman again), the game should really focus on the main villains.
The reason for this is that while the mini challenges are fun, the main story line is much more compelling. If the mini challenges with minor characters like Mad Hatter, can find a way to fit in with the main plot, then by all means have them. But if they are random, lets do away with them this time.
| 7) More Complex Riddler |
The word on the street is that the Riddler will play a bigger part in this next game. The Riddler challenges have been a really
nice addition to all the games, and one hopes they don’t get removed from Arkham Knight, but the Riddler himself has been a rather one dimensional character. Lets hope that by making him a more integral part of the game that they hit it on the nail with his character as they have done with everyone else.
The Arkham games have done a great job so far with the feeling surrounding the storyline, gameplay and characters. With the Riddler they’ve gotten this wonderful mysterious science geek vibe going. Translate that into a villain who is actually creating real levels and bosses for the Dark Knight to face should add a refreshing take to the gameplay. Riddler’s levels have already been enjoyable to play, now imagine if that complexity was added to the main plotline, or even a major side plot. Should prove for some even more entertaining play.
| 8) An Interesting Red Hood Story |
Red Hood has been a very strange character in Batman history. He’s been used for many different things. In the comics Red Hood was a bank robber, a cold blooded killer with a gun, but ultimately somewhat of a minor character at first. It was later revealed that the Joker was Red Hood, something that was hinted at in Arkham Origins with the Jokers little story he told Harley Quinn after being captured. Hopefully in this case, Red Hood is not the Joker.
Red Hood also has been the name for the second Robin, turned villain. (Spoilers if you haven’t watched the movie). Robin is just a name and a suit in the comics, and is donned by three people. In Arkham City we saw through DLC and the actual game that Dick Grayson, the original Robin, has already become Nightwing. The third Robin, Tim Drake, is the one you see helping Batman in main gameplay in City. This leaves Jason Todd, the second Robin, completely untouched (again, there is more room for a game between Origins and Asylum). In the comics and movies, Todd is killed by the Joker. He comes back to life though and become the villain, Red Hood.
It is very possible that this will be the storyline for Red Hood in Arkham Knight. Red Hood has been confirmed for this game, and there is a DLC for his origins, announced along with Harley Quinn’s. It is my guess that Red Hood and Arkham Knight are the same character in this game, but I could end up eating my words.
| 9) Arkham Knight Joins the Cannon of Villains for Batman |
Harley Quinn was invented for a TV show and since has been an important villain for Batman. The hope here is that ArkhamKnight is so awesome that the mystery villain, the Arkham Knight, becomes a character that continues on for decades. If Arkham Knight is as amazing as it looks, it is possible that a new arch villain has been invented for Batman. This will require an incredible storyline and a villain that doesn’t step on the toes of the other arch villains, finding a niche that works for him or her.
| 10) This is not the end of the Arkham Series |
This very well may be the death of Batman, as speculation has eluded to. Even if that does happen, as I’ve explained, there is
room for other Arkham games, as storylines of the original Robin, Batgirl, Jason Todd and countless other Batman storylines haven’t been touched upon yet. Still with the death of Joker, this may just be the end of Batman as well, we’ll have to see.
We could also see the video game industry taking a leaf out of the movie industries notebook and start to build a huge franchise out of this. There have been rumors that Superman might make an appearance, or that the notion of a Justice League may be mentioned in this video game. DC might even think of linking Arkham games to the Injustice games, or launch their own Justice League games out of the Arkham series.
Let’s all hope they don’t end the Arkham games here though.
