The Walking Dead (Game) Episode 2 Review

Here we are a month later than it was originally planned to be released and the second episode of The Walking Dead game from Telltale was well worth the wait. Right off the bat Telltale completely throws expectations out the window in only the second episode of the eventual five. The Walking Dead may be synonymous with zombies but as any fan of the popular comic book and television show will tell you the zombies are the least of the problems. The emphasis in this episode is on tough moral decisions, granted this isn't anything new in videogames. Plenty of games have implemented some sort of moral/ karmic system, but I stress and please do not take this lightly, The Walking Dead has some of the most intense, gut-wrenching and outright polarizing moral dilemmas in any game. When one of the most stressful moments in the game is how are you going to ration the food the developers must be doing something right.

Telltale continues to build upon the last games fantastic story and character development, the characters in particular are (no exaggeration) some of the best in any videogame. This episode focuses on the survivors left in a world gone to hell, zombies take a backseat this time out. The game as it makes clear in the intro unfolds based on the choices you make, again nothing new for videogames but the consequence are much more grounded and quite honestly are emotionally draining. As Lee Everett you'll have to chose sides which will gain you support or disdain in later scenarios, the threat in this games doesn't come from zombies but from the consequences of a world with a shattered moral compass. Dramatic things will happen depending on how you chose to handle any given situation and the game is great at intensifying the stakes and forcing you to stick with your choices, with a countdown and a healthy use of auto-saves. You will live with the consequence of your decision and I love that. Most games don't take it to such extremes and when you have a world that is so raw and grounded like the one in The Walking Dead it makes it all the more engrossing and terrifying. Unfortunately you do have to play the game and clunky animation, rough cutscene transitions, and slightly off lip-syncing pull you out of an otherwise riveting story. Word of caution, this game is not for the squeamish, the opening scene of the game is one of the most violent scenes in any videogame, it's not the action so much as the emotion behind it all. The screams and camera shots are used brilliantly. Telltale should be greatly applauded for their efforts to stay true to the source material, you won't be head shooting zombies, instead you will be fighting to defend your morals or talking someone down from doing something heinous.

The Walking Dead is only in its second of five episodes and it has already clawed its way to being the best adventure game series of the past several years. I griped my chair in suspense as I investigated the suspicious new survivors, I gasped when a character saw through my lies and ended a life, and I immensely regretted previous choices when certain people were put in grave danger. Telltale masters something most games fail miserably at in this episode and that's suspense. The entire episode slowly builds to a crescendo something most games never take the time to do and as scenes unfurl and decisions begin to stack up you will undoubtedly find yourself with an internal struggle over every single choice. The game is intense and by the time the credits had finally rolled I let out my first breath since the game began. I was so caught up in the moments I honestly forgot I was actually in control. Kudos to Telltale who masterfully crafts an experience that will have you second guessing yourself and the way you would react in any one of the events within the game. There is some pretty crazy shit in only the second episode of the series and so I await with bated breath for the next episode to follow these characters and see where my choices lead me next. 

(5 out of 5)

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Review

Traveler's Tale has got making their Lego games down to a science. Each year they release a new game, sometimes two each based on another popular license Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman and a myriad of others. But Lego Batman 2 is a first in two categories for Traveler's Tale, firstly talking characters no more grunts and wild gesticulation, each character is wonderfully voiced and with those voices comes even funnier jokes and gags. Secondly is a big open world with random scattered villians and the ever dependable but always tedious collectibles but most impressively a fully realized and traversable Gotham City. Make no mistake this is still a Lego game and while you can explore Gotham City at your leisure each mission in the game transports you to a more traditional linear puzzle filled Lego level. There are a total of 15 story missions and after that the world is yours to do as you wish, problem is there isn't much to do.

While at a glance Lego Batman 2 might appear to be chock full of activities and missions it is in fact quite the opposite. Other than the main story missions there are no other real structural objectives to speak of, sure there are collectibles but there isn't really a reason to get everything other than to be a completionist. But while the lack of much to do in the wonderfully realized Gotham City is a pretty big disappointment there is still a great underlying Lego game. For better or worse the Lego games have changed very little since they're rise in popularity, and while playing all of them might wear you down, one Lego game every few years is a fun refreshing change of pace. The humor has always been their strong suit and now talking characters make it even better, the games story missions are structured with a Vicky Vale news segment at the outset and upon completion, it is here where the game becomes very self aware poking fun at classic villains like Killer Moth and Captain Boomerang. There are even some clever jabs at the Batman Arkham games that I thought were particularly inspired. The back and worth between Batman and Robin as well as the ever present Superman make the character dynamics adorable and fun to watch, Robin fawning over Superman is particularly great.

Lego Batman 2 is one of the biggest leaps forward for Traveler's Tale and it paid off in spades, some holdover mechanics are becoming less forgivable as the years go on, particularly the obscure oftentimes obtuse puzzles within the story missions. These games always put a smile on my face and take me back to a time when games were less demanding and simply strived to be fun. I would had liked more actual missions in the open world to have an excuse to spend more time in Gotham City but I guess finding all the gold bricks will have to be it for now. And while Batman may have his name on the box the entire DC roster shows up at intervals, from Green Lantern to Cyborg from The Flash to Hawkman, Lego Batman 2 is probably the best game to feature any of these characters. Traveler's Tale has turned making seemingly child centric Lego games into an art form, there are some issues I hope they finally get around to working out, and the open world ends up being superfluous but evens till this is still a great funny game that's a ton of fun to play.

(4 out of 5)

The Newsroom Pilot Review

Aaron Sorkin returns to TV after a screenwriting stint with academy award nominated/winning films The Social Network, Charlie Wilson's War and Moneyball. And Sorkin's witty fast paced dialogue returns in full force alongside his strongly opinionated view on the world. The Newsroom may very well end up being the perfect Sorkin show, by centering around an affable failing news anchor Sorkin or more appropriately his characters can voice their opinions and tear down all forms of politics, business, education, and society in general. This show is trying to say something and its being as loud as possible, hoping to enlighten viewers on the social political climate. I don't have any aspirations for hard news reporting but I have always had strong opinions on the various goings on in the world and journalism always seemed like this fantastic avenue to inform people. Unfortunately modern news is FULL OF SHIT. It is the worst non-informed slanted garbage ever exposed to the public. Modern news journalist should be ashamed of the shit they throw at the screen its repulsive and does nothing but obfuscate real and hard news. Journalism should be about showing and explaining to viewers whats happening around them, holding people accountable and exposing the shit covered lies governments, business and even the media throws up. The Newsroom is my kind of show it refuses to accept any one truth, constantly questioning and poking and prodding refusing to simply accept any one answer without a hundred follow up questions.

Jeff Daniels in the role of his career plays Will McAvoy a struggling news anchor who after a college assembly meltdown in which he gives a rousing if sanctimonious speech on why America is not the greatest country in the world returns to an empty newsroom and few employees. After this the president of the fictitious ACN played by the always reliable Sam Waterston takes this opportunity to create a news program that reports on the news the way it ought to be reported. The show is pretty full of itself making long winded diatribes that come of as very self-indulgent, people argue whilst passionately against nothing because Sorkin always makes the arguments one sided. Hopefully the pilot is simply trying to make the biggest impression, I would really like to see Sorkin challenge his own point of view and then have real intelligent conversations amid those arguments. What is left is a fine sophisticated show that has a lot of promise. The show is set in 2010 giving itself room to take real world events to shape its stories, for example the very first episode focuses on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Everything is in place for this show to be both highly entertaining and eye opening, I just hope it gets less self aggrandizing.

The opening interview steals the show, Will McAvoy berating the United States of America while also making a plea for its improvement is fantastic. It sets a tone that I hope the show will get to explore deeper and more intellectually in future episodes. There is a great cast with memorable supporting characters and as usual they all shine the brighter thanks to Sorkin's rhythmic witty banter. Sorkin has the chance to really say something here about the media and its modern behavior, a call to arms if you will, but the show needs to stop taking time to boast about its superiority. Everything the show has to say is right and I could not agree more which is why I have such high hopes, it just needs to challenge itself with differing opinions to justify its postion.

(4 out of 5)

Lollipop Chainsaw Review

I don't even know where to begin. Is this game degrading? Is it empowering? Who came up with this idea and why? If you were to look at the marketing for this game it would offended any intelligent human being, focusing on the main character, cheerleader Juliet Starling's sex appeal instead of any actual game mechanics. But even though the games marketing strategy is kind of gross and the game itself is bland and repetitive there are enough zany, hilarious and random tangents that spruce up an otherwise unremarkable game. Lollipop Chainsaw follows Juliet and her recently decapitated yet still lively boyfriend Nick. Why is a decapitated head talking and hanging from Juliet's skirt, *shrugs shoulders* just cause. It's that unapologetic wackiness that makes this game shine and really stand out amongst the plethora of drab shooters.

It's Juliet's 18th birthday when the game starts and some "super bummer loser" has decided to tear a hole through our world into the Rotten World forcing the bad-juju to turn people into zombies. Luckily Juliet and her family are zombie hunters and so equipped with a chainsaw Juliet gets to work ridding the world of the recently infected. Lollipop Chainsaw is a combo heavy action game. Juliet has four basic abilities, low swings and high swings with her chainsaw, pom-pon stun attack which only dazes enemies making them easier to kill, and a dodge. You earn coins for killing zombies and you can use those same coins to purchase upgrades for Juliet making her faster stronger and more resilient or you can purchase new combos, increasing the versatility of the combat. The combat is pretty clunky, Juliet is strangely slow and cumbersome and you find yourself sometimes swinging your chainsaw wildly hoping to hit something. The one thing I did like was the coin bonuses for being better at the combat, the more efficient and varied you can kill zombies the more coins you get which in turn rewards you with mp3 from the games incredible library of songs, or outfits for pleasing any pervy sensibilities you may have. The games bosses should also be commended as they are all distinct and offer their own brand of insanity and laughs.

Lollipop Chainsaw wears its insanity on its sleeves. It doesn't even attempt to hid the weird sexual connotations of the main character nor does it seem to even remotely censor itself with lines such as "I'm gonna fist my ass with your head". And while the games stays interesting with its crude humor, over the top violence and cheeky sexual overtones, its all surface level. The game itself isn't very well made, button prompts refuse to appear, the character and her interactions with the environment are cumbersome, and the gameplay is repetitive never offering in real change outside of goofy mini-games. Lollipop Chainsaw is all about style over substance, great music, shocking yet hilarious dialogue, and a story that only gets progressively more insane. Unfortunately you can judge this book by its cover and what you see is what you get.

(3 out of 5)

Binary Domain Review

In this summer drought of games, I decided to pick up a game that came out earlier in the year. Binary Domain wasn't particularly well reviewed nor was it a successful game actually responsible for Sega coming in under their quarterly projections. But some love for the game existed in the deep corners of the internet and so it sat in my Amazon Wish List for months. I finally pulled the trigger and bought it and I'm damn glad I did. Binary Domain tells the story of a international group of soldiers tagged 'Rust Crews' who are dispatched to investigate and destroy hostile robots. Because you see, its the future and governments and corporations have the same corrupt self interests in mind, and so the two major robotics corporations are in bed with the military as well as fighting each other for patent and legislative control. But don't worry about that, you're just a soldier going in to clean up the mess, but its those details in the story that raise this game above a simple third-person shooter. 

You enter Japan with Dan and his partner Big Bo and while the gameplay mechanics are as uninspired as any shooter these days, it immediately makes an impression with your squads karma system as well as their specific characters. To gloss over the less interesting things, the gameplay is generic but generally fun, the game introduces new wrinkles in the combat often enough to keep the shooting fresh. Enemies change often, levels provide new obstacles and boss battles are massive and take patience. There isn't anything new here but it plays well apart from the animation priority present in all Japanese developed games that slows the action down and generally feels clunky. But back to the actually amazing stuff, there are about 7 characters that you meet throughout the game that join your squad for a time or permanently. Each of them are incredibly well developed more so than any typical shooter ever even attempts and its the interactions and relationships with these characters that make the game truly standout. The writing is strong, characters have strengths and flaws that define them. Sure cheesy lines are uttered and over the top shouting and emoting are on full display her but there is still a believability that most games lack that makes Binary Domain surprisingly engaging on a story and character level. 

The story has great twists and reacts to choices you make and interactions you have with the end result being an intense and engaging story. The gameplay is nothing special but it's functional and the boss fights are fun if obvious (shoot the glowing part). But man those characters, I was speechless in the last hour of the game, characters were switching alligences defending or berating my actions, and it all felt in line with what had been established. I was truly invested by the time this game drew to a close and I haven't been able to say that with a shooter these last few years. Don't let the name Big Bo and his wisecracking "Tell ya mama I love-a" put you off there is a legitimately well written and developed character under there.  

(4 out of 5)

Indie Game: The Movie Review

I think people have a terrible perspective on videogames, on all side people are incredibly misinformed. Those who view videogames as a waste of time or simply for children and even those who buy games and play for hours don't understand what goes into making these extraordinary feats of artistic design and boundless passion. In my eyes videogames are the pinnacle of artistry. They encompass all forms of art, there are beautiful visuals that bring the hand made worlds to life, creative and innovative music, the absolute height of architectural design, wonderfully written stories that build worlds and characters you want to interact with, emotionally stirring performances from characters we can invest in. Videogames take the best of all other art forms and crafts experiences that can't be had in any other medium. Indie Game: The Movie is a documentary that attempts to inform what exactly goes into making a videogame the sweat, blood and tears and the eventual euphoric feeling of actually having people play and enjoy the finished product.

The movie follows three games each with their own distinct story. There is Jonathan Blow and his game Braid who is the success story, the man who did what others thought was impossible, make an independent game hugely successful. Then there is the Team Meat duo, Tommy Refenes and Edmund McMillen and their game Super Meat Boy which at the time of this documentary was in the late stages of development and nearing its release date. And finally Phil Fish and his game Fez, which falls into the category of tortured artist who is never satisfied with his work. Each of these stories are radically different from one and other, and yet they all have very tentative similarities that show all their dedication, passion, and struggle to communicate through their game to a world which seems to overlook or misunderstand them. The movie does an impeccable job chronicling each of their journeys. This isn't played up for the cameras this isn't edited to make certain people look better or worse, this is as raw a look into indie game development as we are ever likely to get.

To quickly touch on some of the peripheral elements of the film, mainly the music and camera work. The music mainly comprises of chip-tunes which should be familiar with anyone who has every played a game or computer from the late 80's or early 90's. All of the music is fantastic and is never distracting and fits the movie so well it begins to stir your emotions subconsciously, I found it incredible. As for the directing its minimalistic never drawing attention to itself, but always capturing those little moment where the people being filmed let their guard down and are most vulnerable. The film itself should be heralded as one of the only true glimpses into how videogames are made, like I said at the start of this write up people seem to think games just come out, as if you just wake up boot up the Xbox and "Oh look that looks cool", click download, and play. This documentary will hopefully spread like wildfire because people should know what goes into making these games, and to further extrapolate what goes into all games, even those we disregard. Documentaries are fantastic at bringing to light cultural atrocities, government and corporate cover-ups, or simply exploring an interesting person or time in history, but few so well follow the lives of its subjects on a very personal level and so perfectly encapsulating the passion they all put into their life's work.

Indie Game: The Movie is hands down, bar none the greatest documentary I have ever seen. This is a movie I recommend to anyone whether you have an interest in videogames or not. These are people who love what they do so much and seeing this unfiltered and uncompromised is immensely rewarding. There is something very satisfying knowing how each of these stories turned out. Being an avid (would be putting it lightly) videogame player I have played and come to love each of the games featured in this movie and I know without a shadow of a doubt when I return to those games I will see them in an entirely new light with an immense appreciation for the more than work but entire lives that went into making them. The movie may be hard to track down but its unquestionably worth it.

(5 out of 5)

Prometheus Review

There was a time when you could walk into a theatre and be genuinely thrilled, movies could transport you to any point in history or take you on a intergalactic crusade to rid the universe of the dark side. But there was a turning point when movies started to iterate, sequels were being fast tracked as movies made millions within days. Grand scale ambition was replaced with safe recycled tropes. There were detractors of course, people who refused to fall into the mold and those movies were greatly revered and beloved by those who had had enough of the same tripe shit year after year. Now here we are in 2012 with most movies following the same predictable audience pleasing pattern, but a savior has come, or so people have positioned him as; Ridley Scott was finally returning to the science fiction genre he helped define with entries such as Alien and Blade Runner. But can Prometheus capture the same magic and ignite the same sense of wonder and subsequent dread. Short answers yes and no, Prometheus is full of grand ideas and thought provoking questions, it has a sort of magic that coupled with is masterful direction make for an immersive and unique film. But its also hindered by a sub-par script and falls back on genre tropes a few too many times.

Prometheus is a film that should be if at all possible seen without any prior knowledge, trailers show too much and set expectations for an entirely different movie. Prometheus has a lot to say and its best to hear it straight from the mouth of the prophet and not his underlings. The movie begins with the biggest question of all, where did we come from? As an intro sequence quickly explains, aliens of course and from here on out the questions without answers begin to flow freely. Cut to the year 2093 and two archaeologist make a discovery which leads them on a trek to a distant planet where they believe contains the origin of human kind. A ship full of wild caricature introductions later and we are plopped down on LV-223 the aforementioned planet. The ship is filled with characters most not getting screen time and others not even attempted to be develop. Charlize Theron and Idris Elba have interesting characters and give decent performances but aren't given the time to develop. There are two characters amid the 15 plus crew and they are the most thought out and well written. Elizabeth Shaw the archaeologist with aspirations to meet her makers played by Noomi Rapace and David the android with boundless curiosity played by Michael Fassbender. The performances by both of these actors is astounding its just a shame they are the only characters in the movie that are even remotely fleshed out.

The film begins to fall apart just as it gets going, characters make irreverently stupid decisions the script introduces and teases more things than it has any intention of paying off and the movie also falls back on familiar genre tropes when the monsters start to come out. Having said all that, I was floored by this movie, I haven't been whisked off my feet and immersed so deeply in a movie in such a long time. The film is masterfully shot the special effects are beautiful in both design and detail as are the strange alien vistas and ship interiors. The epic scope matches the overarching existential questions perfectly and the constant battle of attrition between faith and skepticism is but one of the themes in the film, along with what it means to be human and the value we place on having the answer to humanity's greatest questions. The film crumbles under the weight of several things not least of which is a simply poor script, its lofty ambitions and serving to many masters. The film is described as a non-linear prequel to the Alien franchise, which if you have to come up with a term to describe your film you clearly aren't confident. The film sets about exploring something entirely new but then remembers it belongs within another franchises history and begins planting seeds and teasing the audience with references to the revered Alien franchise.

This film will undoubtedly and has already been greatly analyzed and debated, the implications of the discoveries made in this film are massive in terms of the Alien franchise as well as simply being fascinating talking points. While I adore this film more than any film since possibly the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which if you knew me you would understand how monumental that statement is, I can still understand people having mixed feelings or feeling outright baffled at an admittedly convoluted and bloated script. A script that is also filled with underdeveloped characters and questionable motives. And while I freely admit the film is riddled with plot holes and unanswered questions, what caused frustration and eventual disappointment for some movie-goers, instead filled me with such excitement and wonder at the prospects of exploring this universe further and possibly getting the answers I so desperately want. It's no surprise then that this film was written by Damon Lindelof one of the minds behind Lost, and the similarities are abundant, tantalizing secrets and red herrings a plenty. This movie is more interested in asking questions then answering and audiences will either love it or hate it.

On to the nitty gritty, quite literally, this film is not for the squeamish as body horror is the focus of its scares and tension. Its unfortunate that once the movie chooses to go down the horror route it make all the rookie mistakes, stupid character decision and predictable outcomes. You'll role your eyes when the biologist meets the first living organism on the planet and proceeds to hold out his hand and edge it on "hey little buddy". The revelations in the film are nill, mostly interested in keeping audiences guessing and introducing new threatening situations. While some people may become frustrated I genuinely think we are not supposed to know what is going on, because in reality it's inconsequential its purposely vague so you have something to discuss and debate, there is no clear cut answer.

Prometheus is a heavily flawed film, that still manages to shine with some fascinating implications on the origin of human life. There was never a chance in hell Prometheus was going to live up to the monumental expectations people have heap upon Ridley Scotts return to science fiction. But even with a less then stellar script, filled with underdeveloped characters terribly predictable horror movie cliches and boundless questions without answers I still loved this movie. Characters while underdeveloped are memorable, performances are strong, visuals are breathtakingly striking, the violence is fist clenchingly intense and the suspense made a grown man behind me squeal. Movies just aren't made like this anymore, with a real sense of wonder and excitement, the question are there to be debated, the movie doesn't suffer from those unanswered questions it simply weeds out those with little patience or simple mindedness. I am hoping with all my heart the movie is a success and they quickly get to work on the sequels that are so clearly set up because I want need to return to this gorgeously haunting world.

(4 out of 5)

Snow White and the Huntsman Review

Snow White and the Huntsman is one of the first in the new Hollywood trend of dark and edgy fairy tale reimaginings. What started with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland making a $1 billion quickly had studios checking their filing cabinets for any fairy tale related scripts. Producers stormed into meetings waving a used bar napkin with the next big money maker scribbled on it. Now fairy tales are all the rage with Once Upon a Time and Grimm on TV, and no less than 20 fairy tale related films in various stages of production with different takes on classic stories; Jack the Giant Killer (Jack and the Beanstalk), Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Maleficent (villainous side of Sleeping Beauty) and many many more. There was even a Snow White adaptation just two months previous to this films opening called Mirror, Mirror which bombed horribly. So it begs the question, does the fairy tale genre deserve this new found fervor or is it a fad that will pass just as quickly as it sprang up.

Snow White and the Huntsman has a lot stacked against it, a script which had been sitting stagnant for 10 years, the questionable casting of vacuum of emotion Kristen Stewart as Snow White, and its the directorial debut for Rupert Sanders whose only previous work was a live action Halo ODST short film. Given all that, it's amazing Snow White turned out even remotely as good as it did, unfortunately it falls short in a few to many categories for it to be the runaway success Universal so desperately wanted it to be. Snow White is neither the fantastical heroic epic it strives to be nor is it the eye opening villainous perspective the trailers have led people to believe. Instead it falls somewhat in the middle with Snow White herself the central focus along with a drunkard Huntsman who is along for the ride while he comes to term with his wife's death. The movie is very uneven, there are erratic prolonged moments of characters meandering with no real direction making the film bog down randomly throughout its run-time, performances are likewise erratic with no one giving a consistent effort.

The films aesthetic is easily the best thing about it, the dark fantasy lends itself well to this story as Snow White is forced to traverse through a dark forest that is littered with hallucinogenic plants that make the forest seem even more terrifying than it already is. There is even an idyllic forest with all manner of wildlife and even faeries that flock to Snow White as she is destined to bring life back through the darkness. The dwarves are very unlike their traditional interpretations as well, they are not named after emotions instead these are pilfering and vile small warriors that only after meeting Snow White do they begin to see a brighter future. The special effects used to make non-little people actors into these pint sized scoundrels is spectacular, which allows some great character actors to shine through the unfortunately minimal screen time the dwarves get; the likes of Ian McShane, Nick Frost, Bob Hoskins and Ray Winstone make a huge impression with their dirty jokes and great costumes and hairstyles.

The performances in this movie are all over the place, and while Kristen Stewart is light-years better in this film than in the Twilight series showing more confidence and generally having a more compelling nature, there are still moments where her constant mouth breathing becomes distracting. She does give a rousing speech towards the films climax that is probably the best performance she has ever given. Chris Hemsworth is also uneven as he doesn't seem to have his heart in this as much as he appears to have when he is playing Thor. Finally Charlize Theron has gotten a lot of praise for her role here but I have to say it seems undeserved as her character is very underdeveloped and bordering on obnoxious as she scream through more than half of her scenes. Though all of this may be the fault of the script which seems to be missing large chunks of detail as it sets up certain plot points only to never return or delve any deeper into them. This is also a film that is exposition heavy and it's all in the first half of the film, making it feel like a tedious power point presentation as we watch a fast moving story unfold just to set all the pieces on the board all within the first 15-20 minutes.

Snow White and the Huntsman is a decent effort in the dark-n-edgy-ification of classic fairy tales. There is even an interesting twist on the poison apple and awakening kiss that I found incredibly ingenious. The world the filmmakers craft for this movie is immensely impressive with gorgeous vistas, creatures and set design, with the dwarf special effects being the real standout. Unfortunately the movie is incredibly uneven in its performances, pacing and script. But when Snow White donned battle armor and rode fiercely towards the evil queens castle I was enthralled, and that has to count for something especially with Kristen Stewart being the one to lead this army into battle.

(3 out of 5)

Batman Arkham City: Harley's Revenge DLC Review

Arkham City was one of the very best games of 2011 and it's taken almost a year for Rocksteady to put out the first bit of single-player dlc. Sure there have been challenge arenas and costume packs, but anyone who has played the two Batman games from Rocksteady know that they excel at storytelling and so it was with great excitement I downloaded Harley's Revenge. Harley's Revenge takes place after the main story, and since you can access at anytime from the main menu it is highly suggested you complete Arkham City before reading this review or playing the aforementioned dlc. *Major Spoilers Below*

Harley's Revenge is a sort of epilogue to Arkham City. With the Joker and Talia dead Batman has gone into hiding and all his closest friends are worried. But Batman is forced to return to Arkham City when Harley kidnaps some police officers and taunts Batman into confronting her. What is interesting about this dlc is that for the majority of its run time you actually play as Robin with Batman having been successfully captured by Harley. Robin plays very similarly to Batman but his bo staff and a few unique items make him different enough to force a slight change in strategy. The main problem with this dlc is threefold its short, its linear and its $10. Put those three things together and its pretty hard to recommend this to anyone who isn't a hardcore fan. The dlc took me about 2 hours to complete and even though the time spent was fun and engaging thanks to the combat system and an interesting story premise, its that $10 hurdle that's tough to overlook.

Harley's Revenge should have been one in a myriad of Arkham City single-player dlc. Unfortunately it looks to be the first and last. Though the epilogue is fitting and maintains the high-bar set by Rocksteady in the main game its simply too short to have any impact. Harley's voice actress really steals the show with her grieving madness with the loss of Mr. J and made me forget about her typical shrilling voice. Playing as Robin is pretty cool, his character specific gadgets are a fun addition to the already fantastic combat but he is unfortunately restricted to a confined series of linear rooms (no open world for him). This dlc is just not enough for the asking price its as simply as that, the story extension is neat and the Robin segments are a nice change of pace, but overall this dlc is too little to late.

(3 out of 5)