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The original Arkham game was an intimate affair. One night, one location, one man standing against his nemesis in a battle that was as much about wits as it was about brute strength. It teased the world outside the walls Amadeus Arkham built, but we never got to go there. The graphic novel from which the game took its name, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by Grant Morrison, is a thoughtful, claustrophobic comic heavy on symbolism, psychological horror, and hard to read lettering. A couple of games on, however, and Arkham Knight feels more like the popular Jeph Loeb comic arc Hush; a flashy, Michael Bay-like explosion of set-pieces, secret identities, and a lengthy all-star line-up of both allies and antagonists. Bigger doesn't always equate to better, but this kind of build-up is unavoidable where a series of this magnitude is concerned, especially since key mechanics like the combat were pretty much nailed the first time around.Franchise staple Scarecrow and the eponymous Arkham Knight, who may or may not be a character we already know, are certainly the game's central antagonists, but Warner Bros. and Rocksteady were keen to let us know during a recent hands-on of the game that the other villains in Batman's rogues gallery present a serious threat to Batman and Gotham too. Even more so now that they're putting on a united front under Scarecrow's leadership, a feat that wouldn't have been possible during Joker's chaotic regime in Arkham City. Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Riddler - Rocksteady's getting the band back together for one last night on the town.
So while the Arkham Knight assembles a formidable military force and the other villains collaborate in their efforts to take Gotham for themselves, Batman calls upon his extended Bat-family for back-up. The ever-loyal and long-suffering Alfred, along with Oracle and Lucius Fox provide support off the field, but Nightwing, Robin, Catwoman, and holy warrior Azrael join Batman on the streets. Nightwing, Robin and Catwoman at least can also be called upon during combat in a new feature known as Dual-Play, which allows you tag in as other fighters besides Batman in main story missions.
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