Batman: Arkham Knight Let's Play #15 - Bruce Wayne

Batman: Arkham Knight, Let's Play Archive!

As I was going through the long and arduous process of re-uploading my Batman: Arkham Knight Let's Play videos in glorious HD and then updating the corresponding blog recaps, I realized that I had never written one for the finale! Perhaps I simply forgot; or perhaps I just didn't want the adventure to end... and in a sense, it hasn't yet! So here's an in-depth look at the thrilling conclusion of my own personalized version of Batman: Arkham Knight:

Episode 14 ended with the revelation that Robin (i.e. Tim Drake) had been abducted from the movie studios by Scarecrow, forcing us to deal with the game's main villain on his terms. In an interesting behind-the-scenes tidbit, even though I featured the completion of the Riddler side mission in the previous episode, that actually would not be possible when playing the game itself - the image of Robin's defaced and empty quarantine cell is one of the Riddler challenges you have to scan in order to gain access to his final boss fight. But I rearranged the order so as not to interrupt the flow of the story heading into the final installment. Incidentally, this episode was also where I first got the inspiration to record my voice-over commentary from the perspective of the game's playable character, although I wouldn't explore this concept fully until my Let's Play of Batman: Return to Arkham Asylum (which will hopefully be getting its own HD re-upload in the near future).

After surrendering to Scarecrow and getting into the back of a truck, we are launched into a fear-toxin hallucination where the truck crashes right into Crime Alley - the murder scene of young Bruce Wayne's parents - and we're forced to fight an endless stream of Jokers. I scored this sequence with a track from the Official Arkham Asylum soundtrack called "Playful Joker." This cue originally goes with the downloadable content where you play AS Joker, but I found it just as compelling to use it here in combat AGAINST Joker.

Speaking of music from Arkham Asylum, I use the music from the first game's opening sequence as we return to the actual Arkham Asylum, where Scarecrow has somewhat predictably set up shop for his endgame. I've noted several times throughout this playthrough that I've been pleasantly amazed at how perfectly the music from either one of the previous Arkham games or Batman: The Animated Series fits perfectly with many segments in Arkham Knight, and the part where Scarecrow unmasks Batman is a prime example. The music here is actually from the sequence in Asylum where Joker murders his Arkham guard escort and escapes from his comically flimsy restraints, but check out how it builds perfectly to Scarecrow's cameras revealing Batman's identity for all the world to see. I had to quickly fade in another track from Asylum for when Batman is administered with a quadruple dose of concentrated fear toxin (it's the part where Harley Quinn sends the secure elevator crashing down), but some editing work is to expected to make every moment land.

Speaking of editing work, this next segment is definitely one of the top three music edits I'm most proud of in the whole series. Batman's next hallucination features a group of villains crowded around our unconscious captive hero... who is revealed to be the Joker! (The implication here being that Batman's infected Joker blood has taken hold, and his transformation into his arch nemesis is complete.) For this bit of villains vs. villain banter, I used Stuart Balcomb's theme from the Animated Series episode "Almost Got 'Im." The comparison is appropriate, because here too, the contingent of rogue's gallery members ALMOST gets their man... before the Batmobile crashes through the wall, crushing Killer Croc, and drawing the attention of the army of henchmen. This one took some effort - the music track didn't line up perfectly like it did in the above example - but I think we can all agree I made it work pretty well.

At this point in the game, we take control of Joker as he slaughters dozens of henchmen with the "Jokermobile" and massacres the remaining supervillains, accompanied by the first licensed external music in the game since the opening sequence: "Only You" by The Platters. Later on in the hallucination, after the part where Batman shuts off the lights in an effort to regain control of his own psyche, I did some significant internal cutting to streamline the action here. In order to get past this part in the game, you have to do a lot of quiet, aimless, first-person wandering through the crypt-like halls of Batman's mind palace, which makes for some tense and creepy gameplay. But since my goal of these videos was to have as little empty space as possible to fill with commentary, I basically picked the best parts of Joker's inner monologue, and then trimmed the game action to fit the audio. Also, just to pat myself on the back once again, I have to say that the choice of the game show music from the Animated Series episode "Christmas With the Joker" to go under the Good Evening Gotham segment was particularly inspired.

But the number one top best music moment of this entire Let's Play follows soon after this, during the moment where Batman reveals that he knows Joker's greatest fear, and thus how to defeat him once and for all: "You're afraid of being ashes. You're afraid of being forgotten. And you will be forgotten, Joker... because of me." At this point, we regain control of Batman - immediately after he utters one of his most famous catchphrases ("I am vengeance. I am the night. I AM BATMAN!") - so that we can give the Joker one final beating and lock him away inside the dungeons of our mind. The above mentioned catchphrase comes from the Animated Series episode "Nothing to Fear," so it only makes sense that I would use music from that episode to punctuate this moment in the game... but the funny thing is that the music that (once again) just HAPPENS to fit perfectly here* is from a different part of that same episode!

* Since we're not talking about a cutscene, the perfect fit is partly dependent on how I happened to play at this point, and even then it required a bit of a trim in the editing process.

After Batman regains control of his senses, he is freed from his shackles by none other than Jason Todd, who has abandoned the Arkham Knight moniker to become the Red Hood, and injects Scarecrow with a taste of his own medicine. The resulting scene of Dr. Jonathan Crane being scared shirtless when confronted with Batman's toxin-enhanced visage, is a direct lift from the oft-referenced "Nothing to Fear" episode, and the music from that sequence once again works well here, even continuing into the denouement with Commissioner Gordon. (In the show, this part of the music goes under Bruce Wayne visiting his parents' grave, after he talked himself out of the toxin-induced belief that they would see him as a failure.)

The game then concludes with a series of cutscenes, interrupted briefly when we have to activate the Knightfall Protocol by making our way up to the Bat Signal on top of GCPD. This plan involves the shocking demolition of Wayne Manor, with Batman and Alfred seemingly inside at the time! I don't think anyone seriously believed that Bruce Wayne would commit suicide, or even less so that he would take his loyal butler down with him, and the idea that Batman isn't really gone is confirmed in a special 100% completion post-credits scene, where a seemingly fear-toxin wielding Batman terrorizes some criminals in an alley. I speculate on three possible interpretations of this scene in the last moments of my commentary on the video: 1) Bruce Wayne returned because he couldn't stay away, 2) Jason Todd gave up his Red Hood and took on the Bat-mantle, or (most controversially) 3) Scarecrow himself became Batman, succumbing to his greatest fear. There are several other possibilities - Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, even Azrael, whose side missions I left out of the Let's Play (maybe I'll include them in a bonus episode sometime down the line?) - but the use of fear toxin imagery leads me to believe it's one of the top three.

What did you all think of the ending of Batman: Arkham Knight? I'd love to hear your takes in the comments of this post, or the video itself. And of course stay tuned to this blog and the ryskmonger42 channel for more Baseball, Batman, and Video Game related content!

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: Arkham Knight, Let’s Play #14 - Catwoman

Batman: Arkham Knight, Let's Play Archive!

UPDATE: While the video has been updated, none of the commentary below (from 2016) has! Please consider this a re-post!

The first two acts of Catwoman's title episode, just like the last act of the last episode, focus solely on the Riddler's Revenge side mission, where criminal genius Edward Nygma has captured cat burglar with a heart of gold Selina Kyle. Batman then has to go through a series of tasks to free her, each more head-scratchingly challenging than the last. The reason this particular aspect of the game gets so much time and attention so close to the finale is because this is a video game playthrough at heart, and I wanted to stay true to the fact that this is technically the last mission you're able to complete before embarking on the end of the game's story mode. There's a more cinematic way to handle this storyline, which I'll go over after running through which Riddler Challenges I've decided to show in this playthrough.

The introduction to the Riddler's plot, which appears at the end of Episode 4, is necessary to complete the main story. The first optional challenge is technically available to players even before that point - I skipped a tutorial style section of gameplay, which would have taken place in Episode 2, where we are introduced to the Mission Select Subscreen. One of these missions is the first of three Batmobile races, called Mental Blocked, but I chose to leave even this early option until after we receive our new Batmobile because, frankly, every other mission objective in the game seemed more pressing (no offense to Catwoman). This physics-defying track introduces a fourth element to the classic gas+brake+steer driving dynamic: the ability to interact with obstacles on the track, either removing barricades or creating roadways. It's the type of adventure that goes great on a computer screen, but that would be far too campy and/or expensive to produce in a real-life adaptation.

Upon completion of this race, we're shown that Catwoman has to unlock her exploding collar with nine separate keys (one for each life of a cat), which again would provide a video gamer with hours of entertainment, but which would bore a viewer to tears after a few go-rounds. Which is why I decided to skip all the way to the final two challenges, starting with Advanced Deathtraps. As this puzzle involves each character walking on foot through an electrified floor maze, it isn't all that visually dynamic. But it acts as a perfect bed for Joker to spout some backstory about Batman's failed relationship with Talia Al-Ghul, the love of our hero's life, who was murdered by Joker near the end of Arkham City. This gives a little bit of insight into where poor Bruce Wayne stands romantically, while exploring a connection with Catwoman.

Image Credit: The Workprint Arkham Knight Review

Since we've already seen a Batmobile race, the next bit is technically more of the same, but the Condamned racetrack gets so much dramatic fanfare as the final challenge (plus it's just a brilliantly-designed and difficult course), I felt it was only right and proper to give it a place of honor as the Episode 14 opener. It also allowed me to explore a connection between two of my favorite video games: notably how Batman's ability to summon the Batmobile from anywhere in Gotham is strikingly similar to Link's ability to summon his faithful horse Epona from anywhere in the land of Hyrule. And with that connection made, it was only natural to layer in the music that accompanies Epona's dramatic race from Ocarina of Time.

Speaking of layering in music, I scored the FINAL final challenge (the aptly named Final Exam) with Selina Kyle's theme from The Dark Knight Rises. I have to say that while I will not hesitate to point out the flaws in TDKR, the depiction of the Catwoman character to be spot on (at least her personality and backstory, if not her motivation, and despite the absence of the name Catwoman in the script). A big reason the character was successful for me was the effectiveness of Hans Zimmer's musical motif, which is why I put it on display here next to Shirley Walker's theme from The Animated Series (Episodes 4 and 13) and (later) Danny Elfman's theme from Batman Returns.

After jumping through the supposed last hoop, Riddler shows off his giant mech-suit, but then refuses to unlock the full boss fight until you spend a significant amount of time trawling the game's world for literally hundreds of hidden items. This might seem like an obvious place to pull up even more time than I already did (i.e. why not just remove the whole Riddler Trophy scavenger hunt aspect from the Let's Play plot entirely?), but like Lucius Fox in Batman Begins, "I just wanted you to know how hard it was." Plus, playing both endings, Lord of the Rings style, allows for two separate "sexual tension between Batman and Catwoman" cutscenes. Anyway, after discovering all 243 easter eggs and fighting through three more grueling waves of Riddler Robots, we are finally at the end of this mission, where the Bat and the Cat share one last passionate smooch before taking Nygma on a long awaited trip back to the GCPD.

Now, that's all well and good, but if I wanted to wrap this business up as quickly as possible and greatly reduce the Riddler's influence on this game, here's how I would have cut it. Everything in Episode 4 continues until about 25:30, after Batman and Catwoman defeat the first round of Robots. After that, Riddler would say something like, "Well, that's it, you're done! Feel free to head on outside..." Then we can cut to the audio from Episode 14 at 9:03, completely removing the references to the exploding collar and further challenges. Then we'd continue all the way through the introduction of the Riddler Mech until 11:15, the end of the first wave in Batman and Catwoman's dual-team combat. Cut from there to 17:35, once it's already reestablished that Batman and Catwoman are working together against the Mech, then all the way through the end of the mission. Although in this case, you'd probably want to use the less emotional ending at 11:45 instead of the extra-brooding, "Batman's last night" scene at 19:03...

I did the math and making these trims would cut out a whopping 27 minutes and 47 seconds, or almost an entire episode's worth of content. But while this change would definitely streamline the storytelling aspect, it would also for sure take something away from the "OCDelightful" completionist nature of the Riddler's role in the Arkham Universe. But at least I know I have this other configuration as an option in case a prospective network refuses to order more than 14 episodes for a high-budget limited series such as this one would be. In any event, the next blog recap I write will be for my favorite of all the episodes: the half-hour chunk that would constitute the finale no matter how many episodes are in play.

Batman: Arkham Knight, Let’s Play #13 - Jim Gordon

Batman: Arkham Knight, Let's Play Archive!

UPDATE: While the video has been updated, none of the commentary below (from 2016) has! Please consider this a re-post!

I had all but given up on these Arkham Knight blog recaps right before the MLB All-Star Break, because this site is supposed to be Thoughts about BASEBALL and Batman, and cutting these episodes of Batman has taken up most of the previous year. So let's pick it right up at the beginning of Episode 13, which recaps the dramatic victory in the boss fight against the Arkham Knight himself, in which the title villain is revealed to be the not-dead Jason Todd. This reveal all but completes my hypothetical Arkham Knight movie casting, negating the smokescreen I threw up in Episode 8 positing Norman Reedus  as a battered and tortured Jason Todd. I would still love to see the Walking Dead star in the Arkham Universe, but as the underused villain Deathstroke, maybe in an Arkham Origins spinoff "special event" TV movie. No, I still think my top choice for the role is Chris Pratt, to see how he handles Jason Todd's character arc that goes from babyface (in pro-wrestling terms), to heel, then back to face - albeit with his face covered by a red helmet.

Jason Todd completes his turn when Batman uses his Persuasion skill to convince his former ally to give up his quest for vengeance. But no sooner do we radio Alfred to deliver the news about "Master Todd," the former Robin does a very Batman-esque move and disappears while our head is turned. But before we have some time with the title character of this episode, I'd like to say a word about using the character Bane's musical theme from The Dark Knight Rises (called "Gotham's Reckoning") while the Joker talks about the Arkham Knight. When you think about it, the character of the Arkham Knight has similar goals as Christopher Nolan's version of Bane (which is markedly unlike any other version of that character I've ever seen, but that's a story for another time). They both cover their faces and disguise their voices, but more importantly, they're both portrayed as military commanders who have the means and the motive to take over Gotham. I think it's more compelling to watch the Arkham Knight take on this endeavor, freeing up Bane to play his usual hulked-up brute role like in Arkham Asylum. The 5/4 rhythm of Hans Zimmer's track also just happens to perfectly lead into the 7/8 time signature of Nick Arundel's track "Founders' Island."

Here's what Chris Pratt would look like as Arkham Knight/Jason Todd

Jim Gordon earns the title character honor, even though he only appears in the first act of Episode 13, because he gets some early character development. Such as acknowledging both the fear-toxin induced suicide of his daughter, and the fact that he now knows the secret identity of the caped crusader to be someone the Commissioner knew since he was very young and who he had influenced heavily. But that's not the even the most emotional reveal of the episode, as Scarecrow shows us that not only is Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Oracle, still alive, but her father knew about it, in order to be used as bait to lure Batman into the Arkham Knight's HQ!

I found this plot twist equal parts relieving and predictable, especially after just wrapping up a storyline in which one presumed-dead sidekick returns from the imagined grave. But whether we could see this coming or not, it's a bad spot for Commissioner Gordon to be in, forcing him to make the choice between betraying one of his oldest allies or watching his daughter get killed (for real this toime) by an evil supervillain. Turns out Jim gets both, as he turns and delivers a sucker-punch-type shot with his police-issued revolver, right in the center of Batman's chestplate, knocking him from the roof, only to have Scarecrow wheel Barbara right over the same edge anyway! Luckily, as we recall from last episode, that's the strongest part of Batman's armor, meaning that our hero probably only had to deal with a bad contusion and a couple of cracked ribs as he bravely leapt to Oracle's rescue, using his cape to glide them safely to the ground, much like how the Dark Knight rescues Rachel Dawes in the film bearing that name.

However not even the strongest titanium tri-weave could protect Batman from the army of tanks that just rolled up to the party, making it necessary for the game to throw (get this) A SPARE BATMOBILE at you in order to satiate its lust for cramming a critical mass of these stupid tank battles into this game. Honestly, if I were adapting Arkham Knight for the screen, I would completely rewrite this sequence the following way (new additions in yellow highlights):

[Oracle looks up to see the transport helicopter carrying away Gordon and Scarecrow.]

ORACLE
There! Where are they taking him?

[But before they can surmise anything, a barrage of tanks enters and attacks our heroes.]

{! NEW PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Protect Oracle}

ORACLE
Where's the Batmobile?

BATMAN
Destroyed.

ORACLE
What?!

Alfred
Don't worry, sir. Batwing's on its way.

[Batman's impressive jet swoops in with an enormous roar, Alfred in remote control. The squadron of tanks stops firing, then slowly/nervously turn their guns to face the aircraft, hovering in place thanks to Harrier-style retro rockets. We see from a POV of the plane, every single tank getting targeted by the computer, which then lets loose one giant missile barrage to take care of them all.]

MILITIA COMMANDER
Drone unit in Otisburg destroyed!

[The jet softly touches down on extendable landing struts in the middle of the wreckage. A compartment opens in the lower fuselage, lowering two back-to-back seats to the ground. Batman picks up Oracle and walks towards their transportation.]

ORACLE
Scarecrow's going to kill him, isn't he?

BATMAN
Now while he can use him to get to me.

JOKER
Oh, how chivalrous! Remember the time you carried me like that? I don't, because I was dead.

BATMAN
Strap yourself in. We're following that helicopter!

[Batman places Oracle in the co-pilot's seat, then leaps into his own seat as the apparatus retracts and the plane lifts off. But just then, a message from Scarecrow comes on the computer screen.]

SCARECROW
Gallant police force of Gotham. I have a message for you. You are not safe. You are not protected. Batman will not save you.

[Video feed shows more tanks than ever before converging on the GCPD building.]

ORACLE
We've got to get over there, Batman!

BATMAN
No, we have to rescue your father... 

ORACLE
He wouldn't want us going after him if it means letting his fellow officers die! Plus, my dad can take care of himself.

[Batman takes one last look at the helicopter, then sets his course for the Cauldron.

{! NEW PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Stop the assault on GCPD}

[Batman and Oracle do several fly-by strikes, contending with not just regular tanks, but also heat-seeking Mambas, flying Dragons and Serpents, and even a pair of long-range missile launchers that serve as the perfect boss fight against a flying player. After they save the day, Batman sets Oracle up at the precinct to try and locate Commissioner Gordon, but then he gets a buzz from the Riddler, forcing him to focus on the Riddler's Revenge side mission...]


See, this change in the content would replace one of the most over-used and least interesting parts of the gameplay with something new and different - I'm thinking along the lines of StarFox 64, except with the Batwing instead of an Arwing in All-Range Mode. This would also mean that we would have to either move the Batmobile race Riddler Challenges up in the timeline, or replace/eliminate them altogether, which wouldn't be a disaster, because there's still plenty of opportunity to explore the Batman/Riddler/Catwoman dynamic even without them, as you'll see in the next episode.

Batman: Arkham Knight, Let's Play #11 - Nightwing

Batman: Arkham Knight, Let's Play Archive!

UPDATE: While the video has been updated, none of the commentary below (from 2016) has! Please consider this a re-post!

We ended the last episode by handily destroying a squadron of attack drones in Divinity Churchyard, but then almost immediately being destroyed by a group of Cobra tanks on Bleake Island. But I guess we can chalk up that embarrassing defeat to the lingering effects of Scarecrow's fear toxin pumping through my system, because we're back in the saddle with another chance to take out the Arkham Knight's Cloudburst tank in this episode.

As much as I ranted about the many problems with the Batmobile battle mode sequences in last episode's recap, I do appreciate how the slower and quieter Cobra challenges allow a good opportunity for some dialogue to explore the relationship between villains. For example, it's apparent that Scarecrow has a very businesslike approach to his plan, while the Arkham Knight appears to take things very personal. In fact, if it weren't for the Knight's bravado and desire to face off against Batman, there's no way we would be able to get close enough to eventually destroy the Cloudburst. But as it happens, we're able to withstand the relentless assault of a tank that's stronger than the Batmobile in every way and emerge victorious, pulling the Arkham Knight out of the twisted burning wreckage just in time.

But just when it appears that we'll finally have some face time with the game's eponymous villain (i.e. punch his lights out), the Arkham Knight's masked face suddenly morphs into that of the Joker, which is a direct copy of what happens in Arkham City after defeating Mr. Freeze. Not only is it unoriginal, but it's a totally unsatisfying ending to an extremely challenging boss fight. At least that's how it felt while playing it. Maybe it was more fun to watch in a purely cinematic atmosphere where I was able to cut around a lot of the slow and frustrating parts.

LEFT: Mr. Freeze, Arkham City / RIGHT: Arkham Knight, Arkham Knight

Anyway, with the Cloudburst gone, Poison Ivy should be able to use her three giant plants to neutralize the remaining fear toxin in the atmosphere. But upon returning to her base of operations in the Botanical Gardens, we find that the toxin has already severely weakened both the plants and Ivy herself. With one final heroic gesture, Ivy shares her life energy with her plants, giving them the power to absorb the toxin and save the city. However, clearing the toxin took every ounce of vitality she had left, and after her task is done, Poison Ivy dissipates into a cloud of pollen and floats through the city she once terrorized, a symbol of her ultimate selfless sacrifice. Although in this version of the story, Poison Ivy is technically a human/plant hybrid, so part of me wonders if her genetic material somehow survived in seed form, waiting to be replanted in the right soil, so to speak.

With the toxin gone and no concrete leads to Scarecrow, Alfred has the bright idea to check some side missions off my list. And since Nightwing was convinced that Penguin must have had several more weapons caches hidden throughout the city, I made Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot my next target. Nightwing had in fact located another truck, which led us to another hideout, but upon jumping into the fray, we suspiciously don't receive any help from Dick Grayson like we did the first time. And then after destroying the cache itself, we're greeted by a video message of Penguin threatening a captive Nightwing! This is not a good night for my allies: first Oracle, then Robin, then Lucius, and now Nightwing have found themselves in the clutches of nefarious villains at one point or another throughout this story.

The ensuing rescue mission of Nightwing has some of the best banter in the game, where Dick Grayson cockily taunts his captors while they administer a beating. Or, as Nightwing infuriatingly puts it: "Oh, so this is a beating? I wish you would've said something. Do you guys want me to act like I'm hurt?" It's this lighthearted attitude that made the lighthearted Dick Grayson the perfect match to pair with the somber Bruce Wayne back when they were Batman and Robin together. And the smattering of comic relief he provides is one of the reasons I would love to see Bradley Cooper play this role in a live action version of Batman: Arkham Knight.

Once Batman finally rescues Nightwing, it's a pretty straightforward task for the two of them to team up and clear the room of henchmen, but it's what happens after the dual-team combat that really puts the exclamation point on this side mission. Penguin himself somehow manages to get the drop on Nightwing while Batman was priming the weapons cache to explode, and now Batman has to watch as yet another one of his allies is held at gunpoint! But Dick Grayson is a trained crimefighter in his own right and isn't so easily bested: with a well-placed elbow to the Penguin's ample gut, the former Robin knocks the diminutive crime boss off balance, then flips him to Batman for a tag team power bomb! Even though this part of the aforementioned live action movie would have to be performed by a stunt player, I would still love to see the incomparable Stuart Pankin portray the Penguin for all the dialogue-centric scenes.

Batman: Arkham Knight, Let's Play #10 - Poison Ivy

Batman: Arkham Knight, Let's Play Archive!

UPDATE: While the video has been updated, none of the commentary below (from 2016) has! Please consider this a re-post!

In the end of the last episode, we used the newly acquired sonar attachment for the Batmobile to locate and free the long-buried roots of one of Gotham's oldest plants on Miagani Island, so that Poison Ivy could use it to help manufacture her anti-fear toxin spore. However, because giant plants erupting out of the ground tend to attract a lot of attention, the Arkham Knight immediately dispatched a squad of rocket launcher-wielding militia soldiers onto a nearby rooftop to bring it down. We pick things up in this episode with Batman making short work of these glorified henchmen.

But the Arkham Knight's assault didn't end there: the next stage involves an army of 25 drone tanks (Rattlers, Twin Rattlers, and Diamondbacks) trying to attack the other plant at the Botanical Gardens, only this time Poison Ivy's ready to fight back. Now, in case you were thinking that adding the ability for Ivy to destroy the odd tank here and there with her plant roots in any way redeems the frustratingly repetitive monotony of these Batmobile tank battles, it doesn't. It might not seem too bad to viewers of this video series, because this is the first full fledged tank battle I've shown you guys since Episode 5, but keep in mind there are at least five big ones that I didn't show you. And that's not even counting the near endless supply of optional tank battle side missions that I had to slog through in order to get the precious XP that allows me to get all those cool gadget upgrades. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of including the Batmobile in this game, but the sheer volume of the tank gameplay left a bad taste in my mouth.

And as if the regular drone tanks weren't bad enough, after we're done with this challenge, we immediately have to face a squadron of much larger and tougher Cobra tanks. These are too well armed and well armored to attack head-on, so you have to sneak around them from behind and use an X-Wing-style targeting computer to hit it with a precision strike right in the exhaust port. Basically, if drone tank battles are to the Batmobile as Combat challenges are to Batman, then Cobra challenges are the Batmobile equivalent of Predator challenges. What I find the most frustrating and illogical about this whole situation is that if there were just one or two of these Cobra tanks included in the swarm of regular drones from before, it would be basically impossible for the Batmobile to defeat them both together. It seems like a blatant excuse to shoehorn some variety into the gameplay while completely ignoring the logic of the game's world.

But the game's world is about to befall much worse than some nonsensical tank deployment strategies, because Scarecrow is finally ready to launch his long-awaited fear toxin attack! Using the Cloudburst, a chemical weapon dispersal device developed by Stagg Enterprises, Scarecrow is able to engulf the entire city in a cloud of gas that causes anyone exposed to completely lose it. Fans of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy might notice some similarities between this part of the game and the climactic sequence in Batman Begins where Scarecrow uses a similar device to vaporize Gotham's fear toxin-infected water supply, causing mass hysteria throughout the city. The difference here is that the Cloudburst also fried the Batmobile's power cell, meaning we'll have to find a way to fix the car before we can destroy the device.

But skipping back a bit, at the moment when Scarecrow detonated the Cloudburst, we were checking on Poison Ivy after the drone tank assault on her plant at the Botanical Gardens, which is the only scene in the episode named after Poison Ivy where we actually see her in person. So this is as good a chance as any to make a casting suggestion for who I would like to see play the role in a major motion picture adaptation of the game: Lena Headey. I must admit, I'm not familiar with much of Headey's work outside of Game of Thrones, but her extremely compelling performance as Cersei Lannister exhibits many of the attributes associated with Pamela Isley: a mix of cunning, charm, ruthlessness, and strength of convictions. Plus, she wouldn't even need to cover up her arm tattoos!

After a fairly uneventful trip back to Simon Stagg's airships (including a Legend of Zelda reference when Batman finds the means to repair the Batmobile) and a journey underground (including a fairly hilarious goof on my part when Batman attempts a daring stunt jump in the Batmobile), we're faced with our biggest tank battle yet, again with the goal of defending another one of Ivy's plants. We all know how I feel about these tank battles at this point, but I hopefully made this one more fun (or at least tolerable) to watch by drawing some comparisons to another one of my favorite video games: F-Zero X. What first got me thinking about the futuristic racing game for the N64 was how the tank battle music track in Arkham Knight sounded a lot like the Port Town music from F-Zero X. But then I had the epiphany that the voice modulator used by the Arkham Knight makes his voice sound pretty much exactly like the synthesized announcer's voice in F-Zero X! I haven't been able to look at either game the same way since making this discovery.