Its been a solid month since Batman Arkham Knight launched. The last Rocksteady game was an absolute masterpiece, the bastard child of the Dark Knight and all the best bits from the Fast And The Furious franchise thanks to the inclusion of the Batmobile.
Some folks weren’t fans of the focus on the Batmobile, wishing for the simpler, more focused days of Arkham Asylum where players had less in their bat-belt and more emphasis on finishing a solid story instead.
In many ways, Batgirl: A Matter of Family is an idea that pays homage to the first Rocksteady Batman game, by stripping the players of the Batmobile and giving them a smaller arena within which to work. And it’s not a bad idea at all. It’s just a pity that by the time A Matter of Family gets interesting, it’s already over.
Stuck on a theme-park oil rig that has been rigged up by persistent bat-villain the Joker, it’s up to Batgirl and Robin to partner up and save the day. And a few hostages, such as Batgirl’s father Commissioner Gordon. Sh** just got personal yo. It’s a decent setup, and having more of Mark Hammil’s Joker is never a bad thing.
Likewise with the focus on Batgirl, as players get to trade punches with a Bat-vigilante who may not deal as much damage as the regular caped crusader, but makes up for that with blistering speed and the Swiss-army knife of hacking tools.
That’s the key to Batgirl here, as her enhanced remote hacking device takes several of Batman’s trademark tools and condenses them into one device that can be used to distract or incapacitate enemies.
Other than that, it’s the standard Batman formula at play. Predator, punisher and a bit of detective work, all rolled into one heir to the cowl. But like I said, it’s over by the time things get interesting.
The Seagate Amusement Park is actually a damn fine environment to explore, filled with nods to the Batman past, mini-games, thugs and collectibles. It’s a great location, that allows players to fool around with Batgirl’s hacking skills.
The linear format is a welcome return to anyone wanting more of a focused Batman game, but the story quickly splutters and fizzles out after the final confrontation, a Dual-Team fight that ends with a whimper instead of a bang. An hour to complete the story, and not much more than that to grab the extras. That’s it.
Compared to Warner Bros. Montreal superb work on the Initiation and Cold, Cold Heart DLC stories for Batman: Arkham Origins (No for reals, they’re actually damn good), it feels like a step backwards for anyone that dropped some substantial cash on the season pass. It’s competent, but barely interesting. And that’s the killing joke right there.
Last Updated: July 24, 2015
Batman: Arkham Knight - Batgirl: A Matter of Family | |
What had the potential to be a great piece of DLC, is instead an all-too brief episode of missed opportunities and squandered potential starring a great heroine who deserves far better.
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Batman: Arkham Knight - Batgirl: A Matter of Family was reviewed on Xbox One | |
62 /
100
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Lord Chaos
July 24, 2015 at 14:34
You played it on PC?
Worked till 10 last night but got to leave 3 hours early today.
Matthew Holliday
July 24, 2015 at 15:29
“Batman: Arkham Knight – Batgirl: A Matter of Family was reviewed by Darryn Bonthuys on a Xbox One”
Lord Chaos
July 24, 2015 at 15:37
Sorry, due to the low score…
Dutch Matrix
July 24, 2015 at 14:36
This kinda breaks my heart. I would have loved to get myself a proper outing as Batgirl. Alas…
Lord Chaos
July 24, 2015 at 14:38
You could always put on some latex and go running around the neighbourhood…
Or would that be your normal Friday night? 😛
Dutch Matrix
July 24, 2015 at 14:54
No. Tonight I run around the hood in my soiled undies yelling “Ice Cream Cookies!” at everyone…
Lord Chaos
July 24, 2015 at 14:58
O_O
*Get’s a 6 pack and lawn chair ready outside.
Hammersteyn
July 24, 2015 at 14:39
Wait……..joker is in Arkham Knight????? NOOOOO!
hairyknees
July 24, 2015 at 16:09
This DLC is set before Arkham Knight (before all the games even) if I’m not mistaken 🙂
Hammersteyn
July 24, 2015 at 16:12
Stahp!
Lollies the Laughing Lollipop
July 24, 2015 at 14:52
Swiggity Swooty I’m coming for that Batgirl Booty
Matthew Holliday
July 24, 2015 at 15:28
you expected a batman DLC to be good?
oh the hilarity.
arkham citys catwoman DLC was devoid of any real content.
arkham origins DLC was all crappy challenge maps, with its one story DLC being uninteresting and mediocre at best.
arkham knights harley DLC was “disappointing” and red hood, well, who knows, because it was a gamestop exclusive.
following that train of thought, how did you expect this to live up to the hype?
i made the mistake of getting the seasons pass for origins, even when it was on special, no way i was going to drop the full price on the seasons pass for arkham knight.
HvR
July 24, 2015 at 15:32
No bat nipples?