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Showing posts with label batman arkham city. Show all posts
Showing posts with label batman arkham city. Show all posts
It wasn't too long ago that comic book video games were...well awful. It wasn't until Rocksteady released Arkham Asylum (based off the Batman comic) and struck it rich. The result was a game that emerged players into the world of the Dark Knight and were given a mature themed game that perfectly captured Batman better than the recent Christopher Nolan movies did. Bringing back Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy to play the Joker and Batman from the successful 90s animated series. The game was also filled with a side mission to solve riddles and pick up trophies hidden by the Riddler. For the sequel, Rocksteady "stepped their game up" by going BIGGER, DEEPER and BETTER. However, it's recent release Arkham Origins goes the prequel route and telling the story of the Dark Knights first days. Can they recapture the fire they put into gamers' hearts with Arkham City?
Arkham City gave you the feel of being Batman
First to Arkham City. This game has appeared on multiple platforms and succeeded in every possible way (best selling AND award winning game). To put it in perspective, Arkham City came out the same year as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls. It's so addicting that many gamers played through it MULTIPLE TIMES and still can't get enough. The Arkham City map was immense and had plenty of nuances that weren't required by the developer. It not only reminded fans about the characters (as Arkham Asylum gave you bios on each character), but also caught you up with their stories. From the tales of Joker's demise and Black Mask's escape, to experiencing the Catwoman/Two-Face feud. The side missions weren't just Riddler trophies. They were Riddler deathtraps and it wasn't just the Riddler this time. From Random Acts of Violence to Deadshot, Bane, Hush and the MadHatter. The number of Easter Eggs in the game that only made the story deeper and better were so pleasing, you had to replay the game immediately. Every aspect of Arkham City brought you under Batman's cowl. It was perfect with very few blemishes. Once again, this beat out Skyward Sword as the Game of the Year by many critics. That's quite a complement.
Can Arkham Origins continue this breathtaking franchise?
Now with Arkham Origins due for release later this month, you really have to wonder if it can match the perfection of Arkham City. It also will not answer any questions left from the Arkham City game- like Hush's plan. That didn't work for Lost on TV- ya know NOT ANSWERING QUESTIONS. Instead, Rocksteady is going back to the Batman Begins Era, which is really not that compelling. Most superheroes have interesting origins, but Batman's story is more interesting where he's already established. You got to wonder if they have a segment where you get to figure out a stupid Bale-like Batman voice. Also Rocksteady must introduce these characters instead of simply creating a continuing story for them. It's sound less creative, but now they must shoehorn the stories together.
Arkham City won many awards and the hearts of gamers in 2011.
Stop me if you've heard this before: an iconic comic book franchise is rebooted for a new series to tap into new stories and reach new audiences. If you don't believe me, look no further than this summer when audiences shelled out millions of dollars to see Mark Webb's reboot of The Amazing Spider-Man and the record-breaking conclusion of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight saga. BOTH films were reboots of record breaking franchises, but now that Marvel pulled off The Avengers, DC will want to duplicate Marvel's business plan to make a Justice League movie. Now DC already has a reboot of Superman (the second try), Green Lantern's fate being mulled, a Flash script sold and a Wonder Woman movie in the works, only one question remains: What to do with Batman? Nolan and Christian Bale will not be involved so do they reboot this blockbuster franchise?
If so, DC doesn't need to look further than the one platform they have a clear edge over Marvel- video games. Arkham Asylum/City has captivated gamers for the last four years and was a runaway success last year. Based off their popular comics and using voice acting from the 90's TV series, developer RockSteady came up two Games of the Year. If this was to translate to the big screen, how could they do it?
Story:
Every Batman villain is in Arkham City, including Mr. Freeze.
The initial story of Arkham Asylum was the longest night in Batman's life. He brings the Joker back to Arkham, but the Joker surrendered too easily. At an opportune moment, the Joker springs himself loose and takes control of the Asylum where he sets free all of the Batman villains (Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Bane and Poison Ivy). As a result, Batman tries to quell the revolt while finding out that one of the doctors was in alliance with the Joker in an experiment called Titan. Titan was honing the Venom from Bane and would create more like him without the tubes regulating the Venom. The key point of the story happens at the end when the Joker injects himself with Titan and becomes a monster, but after Batman defeats him, complications arise that extend to Arkham City. In a secret room in the Warden's office, you see that the Warden has plans from Arkham City- an section of Gotham used to house the criminals.
Absent from Arkham Asylum, The Penguin makes a huge imprint in Arkham City.
In Arkham City, there's another villain to deal with: Hugo Strange. Strange creates Arkham City where Bruce Wayne is captured and Strange reveals that he knows Wayne is Batman. Wayne escapes from Strange's grasp and gets his Batman outfit sent to him. As he travels through Arkham City, Batman encounters all of his villains- and I mean all- as they fight for control of their territory in Arkham City. After hearing about Protocol 10 from Strange, Batman investigates, but is sidetracked by a dying Joker who injects Batman with some of his corrosive blood. Now Batman must solve the mystery of Protocol 10 as well as finding a cure for himself and the Joker. Batman encounters all the great villains this time around: Penguin (the grittiest version to date), Two-Face, Clayface, Ra's & Talia Al Guhl and Mr. Freeze. Batman ends up defeating Strange and learning of a conspiracy with another inmate and grabs the cure, but drops what's left of it when he is stabbed by the Joker. Without the remaining cure, the Joker surcomes to the disease and dies. There were also numerous other storylines in this game, but these were the key that drove the game.
Casting:
Who could play Batman now?
Well, who would you have play Batman now? Christian Bale was very good (not great with that stupid voice) and he was exactly what Batman should have been. Clooney and Kilmer had the look, but not the scripts and Keaton's performance cannot be overlooked. In the Arkham games, Kevin Conroy reprised the voice of Bruce Wayne from the 90's Batman: The Animated Series and finding a live version of the character painted here is essential. What current actor could play Batman/Bruce Wayne?
Hugo Strange is a villain that Batman has not faced on the big screen.
Then there's another matter: with all of the villains in this game, you'd have to consolidate them. Is the public Joker-ed out? You had Heath Ledger win an Oscar, Jack Nicholson be iconic and Mark Hamill draw rave reviews winning character of the year at the Video Game awards. Hamill would be the one person I'd love to see play the Joker for real. It would make you wonder if there are any other Batman villains. If Arkham City is adapted, you could make a full movie solely about Hugo Strange's plans. It would be a welcomed addition to the Batman villains that have been unused in the series. However, find a Strange would be much harder. Think of a cleaner Peter Stormare of Lockout and The Big Lebowski.
What's Already in Place:
Other than a character everyone knows, great villains, a ton of action and several different stories that kept gamers playing for hours... well, there's also a completely different take on Batman that movie goers saw since 2005. This Batman is great as Bruce AND Batman. Wayne is also more involved with other helpers like Oracle (Barbara Gordon in a wheel chair) and Alfred as an even more vocal guiding force that Nolan presented. In fact, Bruce Wayne would never have fired Alfred. Sorry, that's a fact. It also shows Batman having more gadgets than the Nolan series, which featured a ton of them. Aside from the Bat-darts used in Dark Knight Rises, Nolan's gadgets were practical. The Arkham series used the gadgets for purposes and not just to use for a moment. The Remote Electrical Charge and the Distruptor were fantastic weapons that made fans by itself, but the Line Launcher and Explosive Gel were neat.
The music and atmosphere is handled very well. Arkham Asylum/City immersed the gamer in Batman's world by including every nick-nack like stories about the Ratcatcher and Maxi Zeus. Every villain carved out their territory including Killer Croc and every villain was trying to expand their territory with Hugo Strange planning something more devious. The game amazed everyone (including this Marvel-over-DC-fan), but can it be flushed out.
Who Could Pull This Off:
In 2002, did anyone this that Christopher Nolan was the right choice coming off Insomnia and Memento? I did, but who knew of him outside film buffs? There were some that weren't sure about Nolan after Batman Begins, but now the mere mention of his name on IMDb is to among the greatest movies ever made. (Overrated in my opinion, but I'm still a fan of his.) How do you reboot that franchise? Make it something different. Now I'm not saying go the Schumacher route, but find a presentation closer to Arkham City or the 90's animated series. Perhaps a capable action movie director like the Bourne Identity's Doug Lyman or Taken's Luc Besson would work.
Bottom Line:
Aren't we "Joker-ed Out", but how do you tell this story without him?
The major problem with BOTH these games is the prominent villains are the Joker and Ra's Al Guhl, who were thoroughly covered by the Nolan Batmans. It's incredibly difficult to adapt these games without them both, even with strong side stories featuring TwoFace, the Penguin, Victor Zsaz, the Madhatter and even Hush. You can't cut out the Joker's or Guhl's story and get it to work. It is possible to minimize them, but will that hurt the story? Hard to say, but if Warner Bros wants to release a Justice League, they'll have to reboot Batman some how. This could be a good base if handled correctly.
In the genesis of the video games, music wasn't needed to soothe the savage beast. Pong didn't have music, neither did Asteroids or Missle Commander. Hell, even Donkey Kong and many early Nintendo games didn't have music except a bit in the beginning. However, as games evolved into bigger experiences with better storytelling, a great score was needed. Some of these games have scores that blockbuster films would envy and set the mood brilliantly. Sometimes it wrenched your guts and sometimes it keeps you going to the next level. The music of these games inspired the constantly sold out show "Video Games Live", where fans get to hear the music of games they loved.
Let's take a look at ten: (will not include Mass Effect, Halo or Dead Space for lack of experience with them and all Star Wars games are out since their music comes straight from the movies.)
Mega Man gave you a different
feel for every level.
Mega Man - The theme of different tones for different worlds and characters come up a lot and Mega Man was one of the first that used that tactic well. All of the worlds had a their own traits and their own music, but Dr. Wily's was always most ominous and frantic style. This would not be Capcom's only entry in this blog.
Ninja Gaiden's music was key for
the action as well as the cinema
scenes.
Ninja Gaiden (NES) - Probably the earliest game that used cinema cut scenes, but music drove the engine of Ninja Gaiden. Whether it was in the gameplay- where each stage had it's own identifiable music- or the cinema scenes that used the music to build the suspense during Ryu Hyabusa's search for his missing father. Throughout the game, Ryu encounters enemies, friends, counter-agents and even loss of those friends as they are captured or killed. The twists and turns of the story are all given extra juice by the score.
Arkham City put you in the
Dark Knight's skin.
Batman Arkham City - The Arkham games are the one place that DC Comics have conquered Marvel and it's music was a primary reason. Nick Arundel and Ron Fish create a score closer to the Danny-Elfman style, but it's used more like the Christopher Nolan movies that don't overpower the audience. During gameplay, the music stays in the background, but during fights or predator battles, the music leaps to the forefront as the panicking henchman desperately endure the Dark Knights tactics.
With a new techo-style, Metroid Prime
sparked gamer's adrenaline.
Metroid Prime - Metroid didn't use much music that would be memorable until it hit it's stride in Metroid Prime. With a more techno style by Kenjo Yamamoto, Metroid Prime created the style that made you listen to the game as well get your adrenaline pumping. Take the final fight of the first game against Metroid Prime or the battles with Dark Samus, you can't help but slide to the front of the couch as you attempt to destroy your nemesis. The series continued with great music in Metroid: The Other M and continues to reinvent itself all the time.
Resident Evil's score made you
live in a horror movie.
Resident Evil - The original installment relied on silence and mostly ominous tones, but hauntingly crept when the situation called for it. As the series progressed it used the music in the background effectively in a horror movie style. The music was appropriate; never overpowering and never letting you feel safe. Take the fights with Mr. X or Tyrant, where the music is absent and slowly builds to make you sweat. *Music by Akari Kaida, Makoto Tomozawa and Masami Ueda
The music in Street Fighter was
intricate for every stage.
Street Fighter II - The fighting game that spawned the craze. Sure Karate Champ was first, but this was separated from all others by it's music. Every character had their own home and their own theme highlighting the opponents personality. If you fought Zangief, the music would give you a more Russian flare. If you were in America, rock music would play and so on. Sure, some of these stories (PunchOut is also guilty of it) are comically racist, but that's not what we're talking about here.
Final Fantasy VII was an epic experience
with an epic score.
Final Fantasy VII - Probably the best example of music enhancing the storytelling. From the into of the game to the end, the Final Fantasy series used music better than most other franchises. The composers didn't treat this like a video game- more like an opera. All the characters had their own music. You could have been blind folded and still known when Sephiroth comes on screen. You felt Cloud's decent into madness, when danger came to the group, or even when the members of the group had romantic feelings for one another (by the way, even Barrett could fall for Cloud). Perhaps on of the best moments in gaming history was the Aeis' death (FFVII), which was largely without music, but when inserted beautifully, made many gamers weep. The epic 60 hour experience was full of great music and few were better than it. *Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Who didn't hum the Mario Bros theme?
Super Mario Brothers - Possibly the most famous of all video game music, but it stuck in many gamers heads when they were done popping quarters in the arcade or when they turned off their NES consoles in 1986. The game had different music for the different worlds you'd visit, different tasks you accomplished (like warping: wa, wa, wa) and especially when you grabbed a star. That sounded like to composer took some cocaine and just went nuts. The only thing Mario didn't have was different music for Luigi...but at that time no one cared. This is the first mention of Koji Kondo on the list, but won't be the last.
If Gear of War becomes a film,
it already has the perfect music.
Gears of War - Believe it or not, this series produced exceptional music throughout it's trilogy. Kevin Riepl's score made it feel like a blockbuster summer action movie. It made a fire fight with hordes of grubs engulfing and kept you fighting until it you heard that tone signaling the last locus had his head blown off. All that is good, but this series gave you fantastic music during it's cinematic scenes. Whether it was watching Kim get killed by General RAAM or the soul crushing scene of when Dom finds Maria in Gears of War 2, this series pulled you in with it's tone, heightening the peril, exciting you with the danger and even breaking your heart. The booming tones of the series echo in your brain hours after you shutdown the game. If you don't believe me, play the end of Gears of War 3 and try not to hum the theme in the end.
The Best of the Best when it comes to video game music.
The Legend of Zelda - The cream of the crop when it comes to video game music. Koji Kondo created the greatest of all video game themes and adjusted the music from game to game in a way that made every installment unique. In fact, the one time the music for the series was criticized was when they didn't include the famous Legend of Zelda theme in arguably their greatest game (Ocarina of Time). Still, every edition of this series has not just given fans good music- it's been great music. Every aspect of the music accentuated each main (and even most minor) characters, the story, the time of day, the mood and even broke you emotionally. Music has also been a weapon used by Link in every edition of this series. Whether it was saving Zelda, facing Ganon (or Ganondorf in later games) to surprise twists or that tone when you solved a mystery. Most people can tell you exactly what game it is from the first couple bars of the theme. It was so popular that Nintendo gave away a CD of the series popular themes. Most fans would agree that it was worth the extra money for the "special edition".
