Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City: Episode 10

I've said many times that Episode 9 was the equivalent of this Let's Play's midseason finale, so that means Episode 10 is the second half premiere - and it should be treated with all the excitement and fanfare that accompanies a premiere. Even though it wasn't published until nearly three years after the release of the Return to Arkham series. And even though this blog recap was delayed for more than a month because of the excitement surrounding the start of the baseball season. But just watch the episode yourself and tell me it wasn't worth the wait...



As is fitting with any premiere, this episode starts with a lengthy cutscene, which establishes our new primary objective: retrieve a blood sample from Ra's al Ghul, so that Mr. Freeze can use it to complete his cure. Also in this cutscene, we see one of Ra's's ninjas (or rather one of his daughter Talia's ninjas) escape from one of Penguin's glass display cases and scamper out of the museum, conveniently leaving a trail of blood for me to follow. After we regain control, the in-game music drops out so that we can concentrate while scanning the evidence and updating Oracle on our progress. However, since you, the viewers, don't need to concentrate on anything except being entertained, I cut in the Arkham City Main Theme here, since the second half premiere is as good an excuse as any to bring back the game's most recognizable piece of music. Then as the conversation turns to the family al-Ghul, I use the opening theme from their first dedicated Batman: The Animated Series episode, the two-parter "The Demon's Quest."

Speaking of the Animated Series, after finding said ninja and stealthily equipping her with a tracking device, we get a new gadget delivered by none other than our fourth-favorite sidekick, Robin (the Tim Drake version). This particular music choice is one of my favorite in this whole Let's Play because of how perfectly the track syncs up with the in-game action. There's no music during the cutscene where Robin hands over the Line Launcher and agrees to take a sample of your infected blood to help Gotham area hospitals prepare for the impending epidemic, so I put in a track from Robin's (i.e. Dick Grayson's) two-part origin story "Robin's Reckoning" (partial audio link). I basically picked the first track from that episode with a length that fit in the space between when the ninja chasing theme faded out and the gadget upgrade theme faded in, and it just happened to follow the dramatic action of the scene, right down to the climactic swell when Batman reassuringly tells Robin that he'll find a way to solve this mess. For more examples of how BTAS music fits well with Arkham cutscenes, check out my Let's Play of Arkham Knight, although you might want to wait a few weeks until I start re-uploading the episodes in glorious full HD.

Before following the tracker, I take a break to pick up a Riddler trophy and fight some random henchmen, which also gives me the opportunity to experiment with more multi-layer music tracks, this time from the Arkham City soundtrack. You might recall that the ambient explore theme "I Know What You Guys Are Thinking" is among my favorite tracks in the game, but this piece of music also has an additional unreleased layer with percussion accompaniment for combat sequences. I'd say to watch that sequence and listen closely to see if you can spot where the new layer comes in, but it's not really a mystery since I explain it in the commentary. Shortly after this, the ninja's tracker leads us into the sewer system, where I use a track from the Arkham Asylum soundtrack that plays while you explore the cave system connected to the auxiliary Batcave.

While underground, we get a surprise cameo by Batman's most famous sewer-dwelling enemy Killer Croc. (Shout out to anyone who thought I was going to say the Sewer King.) For this brief scene, where Croc's uncanny sense of smell picks up the subtle aroma of Batman's infected blood, I use the music that plays when Croc chases you out of his lair underneath Arkham Asylum in the first game in the series. Then after progressing further into the sewers, we get another reference to the reptile-man formerly known as Waylon Jones, as I stumble upon a room he used as his hideout. While scanning the shock collar with which he was fitted back in Asylum (thereby completing another Riddler challenge), I play the opening theme from Croc's first Animated Series episode "Vendetta" to give the situation some appropriate atmosphere.

In between these two Croc sightings, there's a combat sequence with some Joker thugs that normally plays without music. For this fight, and the henchmen banter leading-in to it, I use another dual-layer track from Arkham Asylum. On the official soundtrack, this piece is rather generically titled "Crackin' Heads," but in order for the music to properly follow the action, I had to mix in its component parts: from the ch3 Admin series in the game rip audio files. Thus ends one of the most musically intensive episodes of the whole Let's Play!

Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City: Episode 9

If this Let's Play series were a season of a television show split into two parts (in the style of The Walking Dead), this episode would serve as the midseason finale (or "midnale," to use a term I coined). I won't say any more for now, except that it ends with a rousing bit of action that also serves as a natural stopping point in the game's narrative. Go ahead, see what I mean by watching the embedded video.


But before we get to the exciting conclusion, we have to wrap up the business from the last episode: rescuing the undercover cops from Penguin in the museum. The predator challenge where we save a big group of them from some armed enemies happens with accompaniment of a driving, horns-based musical theme, known on the official soundtrack as "How Does It Feel, Pig?" However, if you listen closely to the music in this part of the game, it's clear that this track is actually the second layer of a musical theme we've heard earlier, called "Trophy Room." So that's why, after I took out all the henchmen and talked to the cops, I filled this usually music-less space with this same track. Additionally, during the trip from the Armory over to the Iceberg Lounge, I use a track that we've heard before from the extended soundtrack called "Entering Penguin's Turf."

We quickly discover that it's pointless to confront Penguin without first finding a way to disable the ice gun that he stole from Mr. Freeze, so we have to search the museum for everyone's favorite cryogenic scientist - and that's when the music gets interesting. For this section I inserted my favorite piece of music from Arkham Asylum: a dual-layer masterpiece that is not on the official soundtrack, but which can be found in the in-game audio files under such innocuous names as Batman and Combat. If you listen to those two tracks separately, you'll see that one contains just the strings, while the other features just the horns, but when you put them together, they form an extremely complex and evocative theme that perfectly embodies the feel of both the Arkham games and the Batman universe in general. What's more, for its use in this Let's Play, I mix the various layers in and out depending on the action in the game. For example, listen closely to the music during the search for Mr. Freeze (and again as we make our way back to the Freeze Suit in the Armory) and see if you can distinguish the different versions of the track.

But between those two segments, we actually have to find Mr. Freeze and get some information out of him. Since he is locked in a room with more of Penguin's character-specific display cases, I took that as a good opportunity to showcase some more music from Batman: The Animated Series. First and foremost, there's the opening theme from "Heart of Ice," when we first see Mr. Freeze (the zero-suit version, pictured above). But before that, we see the remains of Joker's famous hyenas, which make their first animated appearance in the episode "Joker's Favor." Then there's a case for Harley Quinn, under which I put the opening theme from the episode "Harley and Ivy." And for the Clown Prince of Crime himself, we get a theme that we've heard before, from "The Last Laugh," but it's such a perfect musical representation of the Joker, that I don't feel too bad about reusing it multiple times.

The last piece of personal music in this episode is probably the most outrageous one in the whole Let's Play, but it goes along with what's probably the most outrageous moment of the whole game. While traveling back across the thawing lake, Tiny the shark makes another appearance, this time jumping up to chomp down on our raft! Reacting quickly to this surprise attack, Batman executes a Beat Down maneuver (i.e. spamming the strike button) until it goes away. This is clearly a reference to the extra campy "Shark Repellant Bat Spray" sequence from the 1966 movie Batman, starring Adam West, which is why I punctuate this moment with a jazzy rendition of main theme from the soundtrack of the 1960s TV show.

Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City: Episode 8

I probably shouldn't admit this, but looking back on it, the entirety of Episode 7 could have been lifted out of the timeline without too many adverse effects. Sure, we got the first entrance into Penguin's museum, and the Zsasz backstory will be relevant later on, but the presence of those sensor jammers (even though they're technically part of the main story missions) doesn't have much of an impact on the plot. That said, Episode 8, on the other hand, is jam-packed with plot development, compelling twists and turns, and top notch gameplay action!



Despite all the above sensor jammer-bashing, we do have to deal with the aftermath of that "side" mission at the top of this episode, when Penguin broadcasts to his henchmen who failed to protect his devices, as we make our way back topside. For this little audio interlude, I used the opening theme of Penguin's third dedicated episode in Batman: the Animated Series, titled "Birds of a Feather". In this episode, Penguin convinces himself that he's reformed his villainous ways after a lengthy prison sentence, and attempts to join high society... with disastrous results. I thought the upbeat, operatic string section provided a nice juxtaposition to the brutality he was threatening to inflict on his workforce.

Once we finally get into the museum for real, we're presented with a sticky situation: three of Penguin's goons are torturing an undercover cop, who is part of a strike team sent in by Commissioner Gordon. While this happens, the in-game music starts off as a track from the extended soundtrack, appropriately titled "Trophy Room," since the scene takes place in the Trophy Room. However, once we're done beating down the enemies and we start talking to the cop - the strongly named Elvis Jones - all the music goes away. So I inserted a variant track that's very similar to "Trophy Room," except without the subtle driving percussion. This cue extends though a tour of the trophy room itself, including two separate display cabinets set up for Bruce Wayne and Batman... imagine Penguin's disappointment if he ever managed to catch our hero!

After a confrontation with the Penguin himself, he predictably resorts to throwing a bunch of henchmen at us, in a fight scored by the in-game track "It's Initiation Time." This fight also includes a TITAN-enhanced henchman, which was the inspiration for the next bit of personal music: the TITAN henchmen boss battle theme from Arkham Asylum. This plays while we're explaining the situation to the newest entry to tonight's support team, Oracle (a.k.a. Barbara Gordon), and continues while I explore the way forward. While I start with the full version of the music, as this sequence continues I also utilize the track's component parts: the strings and percussion and the horn section.


And that's it for personal music, excluding the track I used for the "last time on" recap (which was also from the last episode) and the brief moment where I returned to the Arkham Asylum main menu theme for selecting an upgrade. Tune in next time for what would be the mid-season finale, if this series was split in half, a-la the later seasons of The Walking Dead.

Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City: Episode 7

It might be hard to believe, but a full two-thirds of Episode 7 of my Batman: Return to Arkham City Let's Play is part of the main story missions. Watch the video below and see if you can which parts are mandatory, and which are side missions:



If you guessed that the first "act" was the one comprised of side missions, you'd be absolutely right. But it's understandable if you thought the rest of the episode wasn't particularly story-centric, since by the end of the episode, we're still not able to progress very far into Penguin's museum, which is the goal of our primary objective. But sometimes you have to go a long distance out of your way in order to come back a short distance correctly.

You see, Penguin had set up his base of operations inside the Cyrus Pinkney Natural History museum, which, as a municipal structure, I should have been able to hack my way inside using the Cryptographic Sequencer. But since Oswald Cobblepot has access to military grade equipment for some reason, he was able to block the signal back to the Batcave using communications jammers, which are inconveniently spread all across the map. So while destroying them is necessary for progressing through the main story, it's also a task that could be pretty easily isolated and lifted out if necessary.

But before getting to that in the episode, I tackle a pair of actual side missions: gliding through advanced augmented reality obstacle courses and chasing after a couple more of Victor Zsasz's ringing phones. This Zsasz element provides the only real opportunity to name this episode after a character, even though we were introduced to the self-scarred serial killer in the previous episode, and we won't complete his side mission until many episodes later. But since Calendar Man's only appearance was in the previous episode and we don't get our first real meeting with the Penguin until next time, I was left with precious few choices.

Meanwhile, the AR side missions provide the only real chance to insert any personal music - namely the Arkham Asylum Main Theme while I'm in the pause menu searching for the next mission. I know I said I wasn't going to highlight any future uses of this track, but it's basically the only one in this episode, so I'm making an exception. Oh, there is one other track I added: after destroying the third jammer, Batman does some VO commentary about how he's now able to get into the museum. This happens after the predator challenge music stings out, so I spiced this moment up with a track from the extended soundtrack (which we also heard earlier in this episode, upon entering the museum for the first time) called "Entering Penguin's Turf."

Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City - Episode 6

We're getting to the point in this playthrough where side missions will fill the majority of the next two episodes. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of fun and exciting developments, and we do keep the story going with at least one important plot point per episode. But this is what happens when the "network" extends your episode order from 14 to 21 from last season...



I know I said I wasn't going to detail every time I used the Arkham Asylum main theme to cover time spent in the pause menu, but this episode is significant because it marks the switch from the version of the song ripped from the game's audio files that I found on the internet, to the version on the official soundtrack album, titled "Enter the Asylum." If you'll recall, I don't just restart the track at the beginning each time I use it during a menu sequence; instead, I pick it up from where I left off last time. It just so happened that I reached the end of the track during the last episode, so I thought this would be a good time to showcase the two different versions.

After we rescue medic Adam Hamasaki from the first Riddler room, we're provided with a radio frequency that we have to plug into our Cryptographic Sequencer. After doing so, Edward Nigma tells us that we need to complete more Riddler challenges (i.e. collect trophies, solve riddles, achieve physical tasks, etc.) in order to proceed with the side mission - but he does so all while there is no music playing in the background, so I cut in some Riddler-related ambient music that's not on the game's official soundtrack. Actually, full disclosure, we got a similar radio frequency from Eddie Burlow, the first Riddler hostage in the courthouse, but I ended up cutting that part out of the previous episode. It just didn't seem necessary to have both the frequency AND the introduction of the riddle-solving box that we receive, but in hindsight, perhaps I should have maintained the integrity of the full gameplay experience.

Speaking of the courthouse, that's where we meet Calendar Man, this episode's "title character." He doesn't have anything to do with the main story, and his appearance qualifies as more of an easter egg than a side mission. (If you launch the game and visit him on every date that's circled on that calendar on the wall, he has a different thing to say each time.) But I had to save Victor Zsasz (another more impactful character who we meet in this episode) for Episode 7, since we're short on story-related characters in this section of the playthrough, which is focused on side missions and Riddler challenges.

Later in the episode, I get a little too preoccupied with solving some of these challenges, and take far too much time trying to pick up a trophy that involves piloting a Remote Controlled Batarang through a small tunnel to hit a switch at the end. Rather than trimming out all my unsuccessful attempts and making myself seem more competent than I actually am, I sped up the footage and set it to the ultimate comedic montage music, "Yakety Sax" by Boots Randolph and Spider Rich, as popularized in the Benny Hill Show.

And that's about it for the personal music... minus one more trip back to the Arkham Asylum main theme, but... NO NO PLEASE DON'T CLOSE THE WINDO--

Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City - Episode 5

Episode 5 starts out as though we're getting back on track with the game's primary objective, but very quickly devolves into more side mission nonsense. However, one of the missions introduced in this episode has some pretty significant stakes, since it involves... well, I won't spoil the surprise, why don't you go ahead and watch the full episode below:



Pretty wild stuff, eh? My favorite part was when I jumped over the... oh, wait. You didn't watch the full episode yet? That's OK, I'll wait...

...

The first piece of music that I cut into the episode technically happens during the "Last Time On" recap, but I'm not counting that as personal music because it's an extension of the first track that plays in the actual episode. On the official soundtrack, this one is called "I Know What You Guys Are Thinking," and it's my favorite "ambient/explore" theme in the entire Arkham universe - so much so that I set the climactic phrase as my ringtone back when this game first came out in 2011.

The first truly personal musical addition in this episode comes after we defeat Penguin's henchmen in the GCPD lab, while we learn how to use the cryptographic sequencer to hack security consoles. Since it's Penguin's fault that we're locked in here in the first place, I use a track from Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot's first appearance in the Animated Series called "I've Got Batman In My Basement." Since the music is basically the only redeeming quality of that episode, I won't say much more about it, but I do think this track fits amazingly well with this bit of gameplay (with a bit of music editing on my part).

Soon after exiting the GCPD, I get sidetracked by the first of two side missions that will occupy most of this episode. After pausing the game to check on my primary objective, my eye is drawn to a distress beacon on the roof of a nearby building. While I listen in to Hugo Strange discussing the situation with one of his TYGER guards, I pump in the intro of the nefarious psychiatrist's only Animated Series appearance, "The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne." This episode presents a much more dramatic and believable method of Strange discovering Batman's secret identity than the explanation given in the game - which you can hear in the Riddler interview tapes, one of the pieces of bonus content you get as a reward for solving the Riddler challenges throughout the game.

It turns out that distress beacon was placed by none other than Bane, the muscle-head from whom the TITAN formula was derived back in Arkham Asylum. The moment where we first enter the Krank Co. Toys factory and see the roided up villain happens without music, so I piped in the intro from Bane's only Animated Series episode, which shares his name. Although actually, since music from that episode doesn't appear on any of the official soundtrack albums, what you hear in the Let's Play is captured directly from the DVD. I probably shouldn't admit doing that on the internet, but... fair use, maybe?

After talking to Bane and unlocking his side mission "Fragile Alliance," I use some music from Arkham Asylum to fill in the space before heading back outside. This is one of the two layers that comprises Bane's boss music from the first game, which is also not on the official soundtrack, but which can be found by the super descriptive name "Boss Bane 02." The fully mixed version of this cue actually plays later in Arkham City, and appears on the extended soundtrack, but we'll save that for when it shows up.

The last piece of personal music happens after we unlock the second side mission in the episode: "Enigma Conundrum," named after Edward Nigma, aka the Riddler. You see, he has taken the doctors and guards from the church hostage, and is forcing Batman to solve his challenges in order to set them free. As part of this, we get to use the Enigma Machine - not the World War II code breaker, but rather a word-matching device to answer riddles. Only problem is, there's no music when we pause the game to use the device, so I cut in the second part of the theme from Riddler's first Animated Series episode, "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" You might remember this cue from when we first met Riddler in Episode 1, but if a piece of music is worth using, it's worth using twice!

Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City - Episode 4

I've fallen behind on these blog commentaries to accompany my Let's Play of Batman: Return to Arkham City, because... well, there are no excuses, I just didn't do them. But I'll make up for it with rapid fire posts about episodes 4 and 5, starting right now.



Jumping right into a breakdown of my personally added music, I once again cut in the main menu music from Arkham Asylum while I'm picking my next upgrade, which I believe is the fourth overall. Since there will be a lot more of these upgrades throughout the course of the game, with most (although not all) being accompanied by this music, I'm not going to note each one individually from here on out. The most interesting thing about this particular upgrade is that it is selected not by Batman, but by Catwoman, since they share experience points and can purchase upgrades for each other. Since you only play as Catwoman a handful of times during the game, it makes a lot more sense to always get the Batman ones, which is what I do here.

But even though we play as Catwoman for the majority of this episode, the character I would pick to represent Episode 4 is Poison Ivy. Even though she does significantly factor into the story later on down the line, this is the episode where she gets the most screen time, and it's the only one where we fight against her brainwashed henchmen. Notably, her role in Arkham City pales in comparison to both the preceding and subsequent games in the Arkham trilogy, so check out my Let's Plays of Return to Arkham Asylum and Arkham Knight for your Pamela Isley fix.

After we're done with the Catwoman segment, we get an in-game music-less cutscene when Batman talks to Joker using the smartphone our hero finds taped to his chest. For this key conversation, I use the same cue from the Animated Series episode "The Last Laugh" that we heard back in Episode 2, after scanning Joker's sniper rifle. I don't feel too bad about reusing it so soon, since it is bar none the best example of Joker's musical leitmotif in the series.

This chat is the last time that Batman uses the phone itself, since he knows the importance of using a good hands-free system while fighting crime. For the brief moment when Batman inserts the SIM card into his gauntlet-based Bat-bluetooth, I use the sting from the extended soundtrack cue "Meet Mr. Hammer," which we saw in the last episode.

Immediately after that, we call up Alfred to give him the latest update: Mr. Freeze has been working on a cure for Joker's (and my) infected blood. Since the topic of conversation is everyone's favorite cryogenic scientist, I use the introduction to Mr. Freeze's first Animated Series appearance, an episode titled "Heart of Ice."

The only other personal music in the episode is another brief instance of the track "Watcher in the Wings" from the extended soundtrack, to go over the second part of the side mission with the same name, and then one more use of the Arkham Asylum main theme for another upgrade... but I said I wouldn't talk about those individually anymore. Stay tuned for another blog recap coming real soon, and new episodes every Tuesday!

Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City - Episode 3

It's to talk about Episode 3 of Batman: Return to Arkham City, where we finally learn the primary conflict that will drive the rest of the game's action. Spoilers will follow, so be sure to watch the episode (either in its embedded form, or on YouTube proper) before reading on.



First let's get the discussion about the personal music I've added to this episode out of the way, since it'll be quite brief. The vast majority of the action is accompanied by the in-game soundtrack, so the only part I had to score was when I was picking an upgrade after a fight with some Joker henchmen caused me to level up. The most prominently featured piece of music from this episode is a track from the official Arkham City album called "Wham. Gotcha!" That title is a reference to a line of dialogue spoken by a henchman early in the Steel Mill exploration, but the bulk of the track plays during the predator challenge in the smelting chamber, where we have to rescue Dr. Stacy Baker. There is another piece of music that plays multiple times in this episode, most prominently when we fight the giant one-armed mini-boss towards the end, for whom the track is named on the unreleased extended soundtrack.

Since I wasn't able to personalize this episode much through the music, I'd like to talk about a couple of other personal touches I made. The first is the fairly silly way I started the episode, where I tried to liven up the various gadget tutorials by doing my best Alfred impression. I always wondered why there wasn't more open communication between Batman and his loyal butler during some of these exploration sequences, but luckily with my own commentary, I can make that happen!

The only other part really worth mentioning is at the very end of the episode, which concludes with two spoiler-ridden cutscenes back to back. When you play Return to Arkham City, these cutscenes are separated by a Catwoman segment, but I thought it would be more narratively interesting to end this (admittedly short) episode with the plot information imparted in that second cutscene than saving it for the beginning of the following episode after we've cut away to the B-Story. Don't worry, you'll be able to see the continuing adventures of Selina Kyle in next week's video.

That's it for this week! Fair warning, things go a little off the rails next time, as I get distracted by side missions more than I probably should. But what better way to show off the immersive nature of this game than to wander aimlessly around the wonderful world of Arkham City!

Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City, Episode 2

It's a new year, which means we're going to be inundated with firsts - first baby born in 2019, first official workday of 2019, first presidential tweetstorm of 2019... and also my first video of 2019! Here's episode 2 of my Let's Play of Batman: Return to Arkham City, the PS4 remaster of the 2011 masterpiece:



I've already explained the idea behind this project in my previous post (also my last post of 2018), so I'll stick to a quick recap get into an explanation of my personal music cues fairly quickly. First of all, it should become clear in this episode that I'm taking a pretty slow-paced, meandering approach to this playthrough - I'll frequently stop to listen to various bits of henchmen banter, tackle side missions as they come, and generally take my time to enjoy the sights and sounds of Arkham City. So, pretty much the opposite of a speedrun. But with a game as deep and detailed as Arkham City, there's plenty of interesting stuff to pay attention to no matter what speed you play.

Now let's move on to the personal music cues I've added to this episode. Again, there aren't many, since most of this early part of the game is scored. And again, the first one in this episode happens during a trip to the pause menu. As we discover right after the "last time on" tease (a feature that I'm pretty proud of, by the way - they'll get more complex as the series goes on), we find out that the events of Episode 1 earned me enough experience points to level up. While selecting my first upgrade (the Critical Strikes, naturally), I use the same music that I previously used for the pause menu: "Enter the Asylum" from the Arkham Asylum official soundtrack. However, attentive listeners will notice that I start the track where I left off in the last episode! Because why should you be forced to listen to the same thing twice?

After leaving Two-Face strung up in the courthouse, there's a mysterious figure watching from the rooftop where I picked up the first Riddler trophy. Approaching this guy causes him to vanish in a puff of smoke, leaving a strange symbol behind. Scanning this symbol with Detective Mode's Environmental Analysis feature triggers the "Watcher in the Wings" side mission and automatically brings you to the map screen, which is where my personal music comes in. What you hear is actually the official theme song of this mission (which appears on the Arkham City extended soundtrack), although it doesn't play in the game until you meet this guy several times.

This episode marks the first appearances of Harley Quinn and the Joker, although the latter only shows up on a tiny TV monitor with his face obscured. This happens after scanning the sniper rifle situated at the top of the church, which Joker was remotely controlling, and it triggers a speech from the clown prince of crime. This cutscene usually occurs without music, so I piped in Joker's musical motif from the Batman: The Animated Series episode "The Last Laugh." I was somewhat conflicted about putting this track here, since Mark Hamill's voice acting is more than enough to carry a scene without any musical accompaniment, but I couldn't resist the chance to put in some unique TAS flair.

Stay tuned next week for the next exciting episode!

Let's Play Batman: Return to Arkham City, Episode 1

As a Christmas gift to myself this year, I finally posted the first episode of a project I've been working on for (technically) more than two years: a Let's Play of the Batman: Return to Arkham collection. This remaster of the first two games in the Arkham trilogy came out in late 2016, but it took me a while to play through both games at a level with which I was satisfied, and then of course my unique postproduction approach adds a lot of time to the backend. It was not until early 2018 by the time I completed uploading videos for Return to Arkham Asylum, and while part of me wanted to wait until I had finished editing and exporting all the episodes of Return to Arkham City before posting to YouTube, that side obviously lost out in my internal debate. So without further ado, here's Episode 1:



First, a word about the video quality. I've learned a lot about exporting and encoding since my Let's Play of Arkham Knight from 2016, so this is my first Let's Play video in full HD (only 720p, but still, that's better than the alternative). You may have to view the video in YouTube to get the full benefit of that, since I'm not sure if the embedded video player allows you to change the size. Once I'm done with Return to Arkham City (RTAC for short), my plan is to re-upload all the videos from the other two games in the same format, but that's a story for the future.

Next, I want to address the commentary. I explain near the top of this first episode that the style I use is post commentary (as opposed to live commentary), but I also add another wrinkle to it by recording my commentary from the perspective of the game's main character, rather than as myself playing the game. Is this cheesy? Definitely. Does it make for a more unique and immersive experience for you, the viewers? I sure hope so. Is it more fun for me to record it this way? Without a doubt.

And finally, here's some info about the music in these videos. When I recorded footage for Arkham Knight, I turned the in-game music volume all the way down, mostly to make it easier to trim sections of the game and steal audio from elsewhere. The consequence of this was that I had to score the entire game myself, which I did mostly using music from the Arkham soundtrack albums, but I also brought in some tracks from other Batman-related media. Conversely, I left the in-game music volume turned up for my Return to Arkham Let's Plays, but there are still several points where the game has no music, and I do not shy away from adding in my own music to fill the void at these times. As a rule, I don't indicate when this is happening, except for some sporadic mentions in the commentary, but this is a heads-up to keep your ears open.

That's it from me! I'll be posting a new video each week (on Tuesdays), barring any unforeseen issues, so check back here and subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay up to date! Happy Batman-ing!

UPDATE: I've decided to use these blog posts to point out the personal music additions that I make in each episode in a director's commentary sort of way, since I didn't title them in the videos like I did with my Let's Play of Arkham Knight from 2016. There aren't a lot of moments where I had to supplement the in-game music with personal scoring, but I thought that Arkham purists and Batman music trivia buffs might enjoy checking out this information. I would also suggest not reading this part until having watched the episode, at least once, just for spoiler reasons.

The first bit of personal music comes in just about as soon as we take control of the game's main character, right after Hugo Strange leaves Bruce Wayne alone in the new inmate processing center. This short cue - it's just about 10 seconds long - goes with a joke that I'm pretty happy with: a variation of the classic *record scratch* *freeze frame* trope made popular in 80s movies. And since it also serves as the introduction of my commentary-as-Batman narrative device, I thought the first few bars of the opening sequence from Batman: The Animated Series would fit well here.

We don't hear another bit of personal music in this episode until we put on the batsuit for the first time and get access to the pause menu screen. Normally when a player pauses the game to look at the map, check the current objectives, read character bios, or choose new upgrades, the music cuts out until they unpause. However, I figured that there's no reason for you, the viewers, to have to sit through a prolonged dry spell while I navigated the various menus, so I spliced in the main menu music from Batman: Arkham Asylum, which appears on the official soundtrack album as "Enter the Asylum."

Soon after perusing the pause menus, I stumble on the first of many Riddler secrets that are scattered throughout Arkham City. Upon solving the puzzle and picking up the green glowing trophies, the game automatically brings you to a new menu screen and launches into a message from Edward Nygma himself. Since these menu sequences usually play without music, I had the opportunity to take a page from my previous Arkham Let's Plays and score this moment with music from Riddler's first appearance in Batman: The Animated series, an episode titled "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?"

So that's it, only three personal cues in this episode! The number will increase steadily later on, as we stray from the main story and get more into side missions, but for now, happy watching!

Batman's Journal: Harley Quinn's Revenge

It had been a few weeks since that whirlwind night when all the shit went down in Arkham City - and when I say all the shit, I mean ALL the shit... Seriously, if you could think of an insane, character-defining moment (short of finally breaking the sexual tension with Robin) it happened that night.  There were the exciting and potentially deadly battles with Two-Face, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Ra's al Ghul, Mad Hatter, Deadshot, and Clayface.  But to top it all off, Talia al Ghul - my beloved and one hope of a healthy and committed heterosexual relationship - murdered by the hand of the Joker, whose actions also led to his own untimely demise. To say that things haven't been the same since would be the understatement I've ever put in of my journals.

I had been back to Arkham City a few times since that night, mostly to tie up some loose ends related to Riddler and Hush, or for the thrill of beating up some random henchmen.  I might have punched a couple of thugs much harder than I had to, which I'm not proud of.  But I didn't have a real mission to complete in there until I heard from Commissioner Gordon about a group of his cops that Harley Quinn had kidnapped.  It seems that her grief over Joker has fueled her resolve to become a criminal mastermind in her own right, and she's pretty effectively organized the remainder of Joker's forces.  And she has no lost love for me, apparently holding me responsible for what happened to her "Puddin'".

I figured the best place to start looking for clues of the cops' whereabouts would be Joker's old Steel Mill - that is, what's left of it after the Protocol 10 strike that nearly took me out, were it not for Catwoman's timely assistance.  The main chimney was still spewing out smoke and the door by the cooling tunnels was locked shut, forcing me to access the facility a THIRD different way: through the gigantic hole Strange's missiles blew in the roof.  While making my way through Joker's old office, I saw something rather off-putting: a cradle, in which Joker's Scarface doll sat, littered with negative pregnancy tests.  These results contradicted one that I remembered seeing during my previous explorations, but perhaps the emotional burden of Joker's death was too much for her baby.

Looking down into the loading bay I could see a group of Harley's henchmen lining up for "Piñata Time" with a cop precariously dangling from the large motorized chain.  I had to act fast, because the thugs were fixing to find out what the cop's insides were made of - "And we'll be real disappointed if it's not candy" one of them shouted as he prepared to take the first swing.  It was no problem clearing the room, but the cop informed me that the rest of his crew were not being held in the Steel Mill.  I had to make my way back outside and find something to lead me to them.  Luckily one of the cops had dropped his radio out front, from which I could isolate a DNA trail.  It reminded me of tracking the League of Assassins across Arkham City, except with a lot less jumping over rooftops.  I tell you, no matter how many times I use it, this hyper-advanced forensic technology never gets old.

The trail led me to Harley Quinn's secret base, which was housed in the Sionis Industries Shipyard.  The security was surprisingly advanced, operating on a three-part code system, which was pretty sharp for Harley to come up with.  What wasn't too sharp was that she entrusted the code to three henchmen, who are notorious for telling me everything I want to know given a little... intimidation.  The first one was hanging out with some unarmed thugs, which meant I had to place my blows carefully during combat to avoid knocking him out before I got the information from him.  The second one had a gun and was patrolling an area with some more armed thugs - but a Freeze Blast on the one I was after allowed me to clear the rest of them without incident.  The third one was isolated on a high ledge, covered from all directions by snipers with high-powered rifles.  Taking out the snipers first allowed me easy access.

Once I got the code and headed inside, I found one of the cops held in the warehouse by a group of thugs, all equipped with sniper rifles.  They were patrolling around the rafters and it was a difficult task to get high enough to take one of them out without being spotted by the others.  But once I took out the majority of them and the last thug went down to ground level to check on the hostage, I unleashed the full fury of my Glide Kick Takedown.  I might have executed this move a little too close to the wall (see picture).... but he's not gonna bother those cops again, and that's the point.  I mean, it's not my fault that Sionis industries used subpar construction methods while building their shipyard, right?

After I cleared the room, who should emerge from a hidden door but Harley Quinn herself, surrounded by another group of thugs.  She didn't waste much time in conversation before pulling out an oversized novelty pistola and taking aim right at the cop next to me.  I had no choice but to dive in front of him and put my kevlar-reinforced armor to the test for the first time since Two-Face took a pot-shot at me in the courthouse.  I knew the armor would protect me, but the shock to my system was too much, and I went unconscious for a while...

Robin's Journal: Harley Quinn's Revenge

It had been about two weeks since Batman charged into the Arkham City facility and did his one-man wrecking crew routine, resulting in the deaths of the warden Hugo Strange, his beloved Talia al Ghul, and his arch-nemesis The Joker.  I knew it must have been one of his most challenging adventures, but I didn't understand the full scope of it until I read his extensive chronicles of the experience.  He sure went through a lot and accomplished an amazing amount of heroic feats in a single night!  But these journal entries help remind us that behind that gruff exterior and the molded plastic and kevlar costume, he's only human like the rest of us.

The emotional toll must have been pretty severe, cuz the big guy hasn't quite been himself since then.  Not that he ever really opens up and discusses his affairs with the rest of his superhero "family" - except for the occasional chat over one of Alfred's famous afternoon teas - but lately he's been brooding even more than usual, something I didn't think was possible.  I mean, this guy's devoted his entire existence to coping with the traumatic loss of two of the most important people in his life, and now to have it happen again?  I realize we're not talking about his parents, but who's to say that Joker and Talia don't mean as much to Batman as Thomas and Martha Wayne meant to young Bruce.

Needless to say, he's been taking this whole situation pretty hard.  So when all of a sudden he went missing without any sort of contact for two days, Oracle and I started getting worried.  We always had a hunch that Arkham City was involved in some way, but it wasn't until Barbara learned from her father that he had enlisted Batman's help to investigate a group of cops kidnapped by Harley Quinn that I decided to head in to check out her new base of operations at the Sionis Industries Shipyard.

She certainly had a full complement of armed thugs guarding the entrance, and all dressed up in new, Harley-specific garb.  I really like what she's done with the four-diamond motif, and of course you know I'm a fan of the red and black color scheme.  The makeup with the tears is a little much - I know she's in mourning and all, but couldn't all that time her henchmen spend in the makeup chair be used for something more productive, like training or planning?  I guess having a well-developed identity is just as important for a supervillain as having competent followers.  Plus it just makes them that much easier to take them out, as long as you don't count all the trouble it takes to wash the residual face paint off my gloves and cape.

Rather than deal with the armed thugs outside, I slipped silently in through a skylight and began a thorough search of the area.  I spotted Harley through a window claiming that she had some kind of plan for the kidnapped cops, which was perfect because it meant the cops would be kept alive long enough for me to search for Batman.  These supervillains' taste for the dramatic does help to keep the overall death toll down - a lesser criminal would probably have executed the cops on site - but it does force us heroes to use all our ingenuity to navigate their elaborate traps and schemes.

A large part of that ingenuity is our impressive complement of gadgets and equipment, all of which I had to employ to make my way through the twisting steel maze of the shipyard.  Of course I had some explosive gel (which I spray in the shape of a stylized "R" instead of the Bat-signal) and my Bullet Shield (an extension of my handy staff) was useful in getting past automated gun turrets and vents spewing molten hot steam, since I didn't have room in my utility belt for a Disruptor or some Freeze Blasts.  When I snuck up on some henchmen standing across a large body of still water, the only way I could traverse the distance was with my Zip Kick, which combines features of Batman's Batclaw and Line Launcher.  When I target a henchman with it, they remain stationary, while I fly through the air towards them, using my momentum to deliver a powerful attack.  Sometimes being a welterweight crimefighter has its benefits...

But before I took out that group, I stopped to listen into some of their idle conversation.  Seems like one of the henchmen had some aspirations to take over Harley's operation, but the others challenged his qualifications - not based on lack of skill or ruthlessness, but on the absence of a clear gimmick.  They made a good point: an effective supervillain not only needs the skill and intelligence to run the business aspect, but also the charisma to attract followers.  While I hate the guy, Penguin has a persona that I could see people joining up with - not so much "Turkey Man" who got his name by murdering his family on Thanksgiving because of an overcooked main course.

As I opened the door to the warehouse, I came upon a group of henchman standing over an object that I never expected to see in the hands of anyone but my boss: Batman's utility belt.  Although to be fair it wasn't in anyone's hands, since none of the henchmen had the nerve to touch the thing - it had apparently sent 50,000 volts through the unlucky sucker who removed it from the Caped Crusader.  While I was mercilessly pummeling the thugs, one question kept flooding through my mind: how did Batman end up without his belt?  I may never know.....

Arkham City Post #18: Showdown with Joker at Monarch Theater

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 17: Protocol 10 In Effect

Before I even had time to process the deaths of Hugo Strange and Ra's al Ghul, my principal antagonist and arch-enemy appeared on a screen in front of me, holding Talia hostage at gunpoint.  He revealed that he was keeping her at the Monarch Theater - who knows if it was just a coincidence, or if he somehow found out my chilling secret and chose that location because of its connection to that fateful night...?  But either way, my objective was clear, and it was a simple matter of dispatching the snipers Joker had placed on various rooftops to cover the theater entrance.

Joker and Talia were on the stage in front of the screen: Talia on her knees, and Joker standing with a gun behind her.  I knew the bastard's trigger finger was too quick to try a Reverse Batarang, so I resolved to calmly listen to what he had to say - which shocked me more than an electrified floor at Arkham Asylum's penitentiary wing: he demanded that I hand over Mr. Freeze's cure!  Why would he need the cure?  He had already taken it and was long on the road to recovery.  When I explained that I didn't have it, that I had gone through all this nonsense to retrieve it from him, Joker looked as shocked as I was... which gave Talia the opportunity to deftly escape and stab him through the back with her sword.

Now in addition to the trauma of seeing three of my most iconic foes die right before my eyes and my confusion about what was going on with the cure, I was puzzled by the question of why Joker didn't even bother to restrain or disarm his hostage before making demands... but then, to my immense relief, Talia produced the cure!  Apparently she had stolen it from Harley Quinn, which explains why I found her tied up in the steel mill.  But did she steal it after Joker had a chance to use it on himself?  Otherwise, how did he look and sound and act so healthy?  Unless...

Then it hit me.  It was something Joker said when we first met at the steel mill, when I was distracted by the decoy in the wheelchair without a pulse: "You fell for the old fake Joker gag..."  This whole business with Joker being cured was just a ruse, a double-blind set up both to confuse me and to flush out the real cure.  And now that the real, still sick Joker knew where the cure was, he had no need for the messenger... so before I had time to adequately warn Talia of the situation, he pulled the trigger from his hiding place in the second deck.  I seethed with rage and sadness as Talia's lifeless form slunk to the ground.  I wanted to ask her why she didn't suspect something when she saw a fully-healthy Joker parading around, since she had stolen the cure before he had a chance to use it... but I decided that wouldn't have been right for the situation.

Before I had time to get into it with the real Joker, the fake Joker suddenly came back to life (I'm sorry to say, but I took something like that in stride, at this point) and grabbed the cure, which had slipped gently from Talia's hand when she fell... but he grabbed it in the most peculiar way: his hand became a mass of fluid matter, and he absorbed it into himself!  That was when I began to realize: the impostor Joker was none other than Basil Karlo, Clayface, who had snuck IN to Arkham City just for the purpose of impersonating the world's greatest crime boss.  But now that the ruse was over, he unleashed the fury of his full power on me, turning the gutted theater into a battleground.

Luckily I had plenty of Freeze grenades on hand, which I could use to temporarily harden Clayface's outer shell, all while dodging his swinging blades, crushing hammers, masses of projectile clay, and his patented rolling-ball attacks.  When I had adequately frozen him, I grabbed Talia's sword, which was still embedded in his clayish mass, and hacked the sucker to bits.  Just as I was about to expose the precious precious cure, Joker pulled his final card from up his sleeve: he detonated explosives placed on the floor, which led us straight into Wonder City and the Lazarus Pit where I originally battled Ra's al Ghul.  Clayface was too injured to re-form himself, so he sent an army of man-sized clay soldiers after me, which I was easily able to keep at bay with Talia's sword while also using grenades to freeze Clayface's main mass until he was subdued enough to grab the cure from his tainted insides.

But Joker wasn't done yet: I don't know what he was planning on doing with the control panel high atop the Lazarus Pit, but I stopped him from doing whatever it was by hurling my sword directly at him, piercing the control box, and causing a massive explosion that at once sent Clayface into a boiling pit of lava and separated Joker from my line of sight.  The first order of business was to drink about half the cure, finally putting that saga to rest... but then Joker hit me with some hardcore philosophy.  As we all know, my one rule is that Batman must never take a life, EVER, not even Joker's, even after all the people of Gotham he's killed and all the drama and heartache he's put me through personally.  Would it be on the same level if I were to simply deny Joker the cure and let him die of Titan poisoning, the result of his own twisted scheme?  Surely the circumstances would allow me to bend the rules this one time.  Plus, nobody would have to know...

Just then, Joker jumped out of the shadows and jammed an icepick into my right shoulder.  Normally this type of thing wouldn't even cause me to bat an eye... but it had been a long night and I was in the middle of some deep conjecturing... so the shock caused me to lose my grip on the cure.  As the vial shattered on the ground, Joker tried to frantically lap up the remains - while I was thankful that my enemies are usually reckless enough to prevent me from having to make any of the real hard character-redefining choices.  But truth be told, I had already decided on a course of action, and told the Joker so before he took his final breath: even after all he's done, I would have saved him...

Arkham City Post #17: Protocol 10 In Effect

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 16: Confronting Joker in the Steel Mill

I didn't know it at the time (what with the being unconscious and all), but the collapsing train was actually caused by a missile fired by one of Hugo Strange's TYGER helicopters.  It seems he had put Protocol 10 into effect, which consisted of using heavy firepower to level everything in sight within the borders of Arkham City.  And here I was expecting some brilliant strategic masterstroke.  It's always the smartest of my enemies who disappoint me the most...

But before I found all this out, there was the little matter of being trapped under a huge mass of debris.  Joker had somehow avoided being crushed and was crouching over my incapacitated form, ready to cut my throat with a knife, when who should appear to save the day but Talia!  She offered herself up in a trade: if Joker would let me go, she would bestow upon Joker the secret of immortality!  I was obviously in no position to object, being helplessly pinned to the floor, so I only watched in horror as Talia surrendered her sword to Joker and led him out.  But my spirits were lifted slightly when she alerted my attention to a homing beacon she had attached to herself, allowing me to pick up her trail.

Before I could start out, I received a little help from Catwoman, who showed up in the nick of time and helped me escape from under the rubble.  She ran off to avoid the deadly air strikes while I immediately set out in search of Talia.  However, Alfred and Oracle had the NERVE to hinder my quest and provide me with a new main objective: they wanted me to apprehend Strange before they would help me rescue Talia.  After some harsh words regarding chain of command in this operation, I agreed to help save the inmates - although most deserved to be condemned by society, Batman couldn't let hundreds be slaughtered by Strange's attacks*.

*Never mind the many thousands more that would die if Joker was allowed to become immortal... not that I would ever kill him anyway...  But I knew in my heart that Talia would never deliver on this promise.  Which was one of the reasons I needed to get to her quickly: since Joker would clearly kill her the moment she refused his promised prize.

Before I could get into Strange's command center at the top of Wonder Tower, I had to search and scan a number of TYGER helicopters to find the control codes, which I could then input into my Cryptographic Sequencer.  After that, I had to make my way to the foundations of Wonder Tower (which were heavily guarded by TYGER guards), input the codes into the elevator, then scale the tower to access the control terminal.  Once at the top, more TYGER guards, heavily armed and equipped, were protecting Strange himself.  I felt bad about beating up on these operatives, many of whom started out as good cops who were influenced by Strange's hypnotic mind control techniques - and perhaps those of his mysterious "master" who he referenced over the radio during my trip through the TYGER processing center.  But it wasn't like I was planning on delivering any permanent damage to any of them.

Even after breaking through Strange's defenses and taking out some of my long built-up frustrations on his face, he remained optimistic about his long-term success.  He was going on and on about his view of himself as Gotham's savior, when his gloating was abruptly cut short as a razor-sharp blade passed through his chest from behind.  As the villain lay dying, his "master" was revealed - the only man in my rogue's gallery with enough power and resources to back such a nefarious scheme: Ra's al Ghul.  So the real mastermind behind the whole plot was just using Hugo Strange as a puppet.  And when Strange failed to live up to expectations, he was murdered in cold blood.  I only wanted to humiliate Strange by knocking his thugs around - I didn't know it would get the poor guy killed.  But in a disgusting, morally reprehensible way, Ra's's actions saved me thinking through a difficult conundrum.  Because let's get real: Strange knew my secret identity.  I couldn't very well have just turned him over to the proper authorities.  It wasn't like I could have staged some elaborate ruse involving Robin dressing up as Bruce Wayne in order to deflect attention and "prove" him wrong...

Anyway, as Ra's was wrapping up his "I want to take over the world" speech (which I had to sit through for the thousandth time, at least), Strange, with his dying breath, voice-activated Protocol 11.  As a five second countdown to an imminent explosion of the tower flashed up on the screen, I had no choice but to grab Ra's and crash us both through the window.  As we hurtled through the air - me latched onto Ra's like a parachute instructor to a first-timer - he made the worst decision of his criminal career so far: he stabbed HIMSELF through the chest, apparently hoping to catch me with the end of his blade as it passed through his ribcage.  Needless to say, I just let go, and the thrust ended too short to pierce my armored costume.  And then for good measure, Ra's continued to fall and was impaled on a sharp piece of stone.  I'm no expert on the capabilities of his Lazarus Pits, but this looked like a tough predicament for him to recover from.  So today marked the ignominious ends to two of my most formidable opponents...

Part 18: Showdown with Joker at the Monarch Theater

Arkham City Post #16: Confronting Joker in the Steel Mill

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 15: Pre-Steel Mill Adventures

Upon heading back into the Steel Mill, I was greeted by a video message from Joker.  He dropped hints in his chatter that this would definitely be our final confrontation, the most telling being a meta-reference to the disappointing ending of his favorite TV show that "all took place in a church."  Way to date the piece, Joker; I thought Gotham City was supposed to be timeless.  I didn't watch that particular show myself, but the knowledge that Joker was a fan just made me want to punch him in the face all the more.

All my new technology came in handy, especially the Freeze Grenade, which I needed to create ice rafts on the various water channels buried deep within the steel mill.  I also learned a new trick: throwing a Remote Control Batarang through an exposed electrical arc, imbuing the projectile with an electric charge.  This allowed me to power up various hard-to-reach fuse boxes in the area.  I surprised Dr. Stacy Baker, the doctor I had rescued in my first trip to the mill.  Apparently she had done a pretty good job staying out of sight, seeing as she hadn't been recaptured.  Her survival might have had something to do with the lead pipe she tried to take a swing at me with, before she saw who I really was.  I was glad she was able to curb her swing first, ask questions later instinct... cuz if she had connected with that pipe, I don't know if I would have been able to curb mine.

As I was crawling through a particularly isolated steam vent, I saw the strangest sight: Harley Quinn, bound and gagged without a soul in sight.  After some coaxing, she let on that there was some proprietary stolen Mr. Freeze technology hidden in the boiler room.  (This turned out to be a cluster grenade that could freeze multiple enemies to the ground at once.)  I didn't think twice about how she found herself in that particular predicament.  I chalked it up to one of the newly-revitalized Joker's famous mood swings.  Had I stopped to question her a bit more, I might have learned something that would help me later on.

Instead, I continued on to Joker's secret lair, where he was gazing at himself in a mirror.  Only when I saw his sickly, scarred, pockmarked, still clearly Titan-infected reflection, I was shocked: could the cure not have worked after all?  But when the actual villain turned to face me, it was the familiar, emaciated yet healthy figure of Joker himself.  He had the nerve to try and teach me some kind of moronic lesson about something or other... as if I had anything to learn from that sick clown.  Then, to my surprise, he jumped down off his platform and challenged me to fisticuffs, one-on-one style.

Well, this was a new streak of courage, which promised to make this final showdown all the more gratifying.  In these types of situations, my enemies usually resort to throwing wave after wave of henchmen at me.  Rarely am I afforded the opportunity to deliver a beatdown to the main crime boss himself (Penguin was clearly the exception).  But no matter how many times I tried to deliver a finishing blow, the fiend wriggled out of the way with near superhuman quickness.  Right as my gratification turned to frustration, the tried and true group of henchmen came.

These were not just your typical thugs with weapons - which ran from bats to knives to fire extinguishers to riot shields.  But the one-armed clown (whose other half I left beaten up at Penguin's headquarters) and a beefed-up Titan Henchman as well.  This Titan monster was more powerful than the ones I faced back at the Asylum - as he charged, he protected his face from a quick Batarang, removing one of the main ways I could incapacitate one of these brutes.  This left my arsenal with only my new move, the Ultra Stun, and it was hard to get in close enough to execute the "full attack action" (or, more colloquially, the triple button-press) it took to pull it off.  But it was all worth it, because when I did jump on its back to take control of it, I could independently execute each of its moves: the charge, the ground pound, and the regular punch.  That made it much easier to eventually take out the entire crowd.

Then, just as I was about to stand triumphant over Joker's debilitated form, wouldn't you know it a train falls on me.  That's right, a train.  And guess who goes unconscious (again).  Yerp, that would be me.

Part 17: Protocol 10 In Effect

Arkham City Post #15: Pre-Steel Mill Adventures

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!

Part 14: Down the Rabbit Hole

But Oracle was right: I should focus on my primary objective of confronting Joker in the Steel Mill and securing the cure for good.  I was hearing radio chatter from Joker and his thugs that was simultaneously encouraging and disheartening: Joker sounded fully healthy, which meant the cure had apparently worked.  That was good news for me, if I could ever get my hands on it... and provided he didn't drink it all himself.  He had to have saved some for me, right?  Sure we're arch-enemies, but there's no way he could let me die, right?  Unless I was taken down by his army of thugs, who seemed to be revitalized by their boss's sudden recovery.

Their revitalization might also be due to their advanced weaponry: thermal vision equipped sniper rifles, which essentially turned the whole city into one massive predator challenge!  In order to put off dealing with this irritating heightened security, I decided to try to cross some side missions off my list as opposed to adding more on.  The idea being that these would provide me with some welcome w00tz - and in one case, a cool gadget upgrade, allowing me to use the disruptor to detonate a nearby mine.  (This was courtesy of the undercover cops locked barricaded inside the Iceberg Lounge; good for them for staying industrious!)  Not only that, but it would be infinitely less satisfying to enter my final showdown with the Joker with so many loose ends.

Firstly I decided to tackle the Riddler's challenges, seeing as I had left those hostages in the lurch for quite some time now.  Nygma wouldn't give me the location of his next hostage unless I had solved a requisite amount of his riddles, but luckily I was pretty diligent about solving any that I came across during my travels.  Riddler had set up many elaborate death traps from which I had to rescue the hostages: electrified floors, rotating blades, a life-sized Three-card Monte-style gimmick with a hidden hostage substituted for the money card (I used my Detective Mode to thwart Nygma's attempt to cheat at that one).  My personal favorite was when I used my Line Launcher to snag a hostage, who was hanging over a deadly drop, then crashed through a window to safety.  But determining the location of Riddler himself required solving nearly all the riddles on the map, so I let that be till later.

Zsasz was next on my list: it wasn't hard to isolate the location of his hideout after having the Bat Computer trace the calls he was making to various payphones across the city.  The hardest part of that whole mission was resisting the urge to hang up on the bastard once I had found his phone.  You see, the time necessary for the computer to trace his calls necessitated listening to Zsasz's twisted ramblings on the other side of the phone.  But it was all worth it to sneak into where he thought he was be secure, knock his scarred ass out, and lock him in a cage where he belonged.

Deadshot would have been harder to track were it not for a series of stupid mistakes he made that led me right to him.  The evidence I was able to gather from both a tripod he left at one of the crime scenes and the impression his body made in the snow as he laid prone to take a shot led me to a PDA he left behind where he evidently thought it would be secure.  From that I was able to determine his next target's location and confront the assassin in the act.  It seemed almost too easy, and for a minute I was worried that he was setting a trap for me; but the ease in which I bested him in our one-on-one showdown put my fears to rest.

As for the Identity Thief and the Watcher in the Wings, it was just a matter of scouring the city and keeping my eyes open for sightings.  Analyzing the third victim of the chilling serial killer led me to his hideout, where the killer trapped me and revealed his identity: famed surgeon Tommy Elliot.  Rebranded as "Hush," Elliot had used pieces of the faces he had surgically removed to graft himself a new face: that of Bruce Wayne.  It still didn't explain the fingerprints though...  After meeting the mysterious figure three more times and scanning the symbol he left behind, I was able to overlay their locations onto a map of Arkham City, leading me to his final meeting place: the Church.  He revealed himself as Azrael, a member of the Sacred Order of St. Dumas.  He delivered a chilling prophecy of doom, the meaning of which remains unclear.  We'll just have to see how things play out: I wasn't about to alter my whole mission based on the arcane ramblings of a mysterious figure with a flair for the dramatic.

Now I was finally ready to enter the Steel Mill via the back door... when what should I come across but the last Titan container!  Now I had to go back and check on Bane, right?  As it happened, rather than destroy the Titan containers as he had promised to do, Bane had gathered them all to his hideout in the Krank Co. toys factory.  This attracted a squad of TYGER guards who were interested in confiscating the Titan for themselves.  Bane and I teamed up to take them all out, but it turns out that fighting alongside Bane is very similar to fighting against Bane, as you still have to dodge his blind charges and avoid his reckless swings and ground-pounds.  In the end, though, I ended up fighting against Bane as well, as he had never intended to destroy his share of the Titan containers anyway.  Turns out he just wanted to control the entire supply.  But I used my wits to trap him in a cage (which must have been much stronger than it looked to contain the muscly beast), after which I proceeded to take care of the Titan containers myself.  And now, with my side mission checklist truly complete, I was ready to press on.

Part 16: Confronting Joker in the Steel Mill