Article by Samuele Zaboi
Video games and superheroes are an ancient combination, two elements that have always gone hand in hand with more or less convincing results over the years. Rocksteady, in this sense, has marked a new beginning, has crossed a path that, we believe at least in the short term, it is difficult for anyone to decide to ride again. With the arrival of Batman Arkham (and of the entire trilogy developed by the software house) the videogame genre has found a new standard for titles dedicated to superheroes that perhaps, in this future, can be rewritten by the new Spider-Man of Insomniac Games . But this is certainly not the time to talk about the new Spider-Man game but to Batman: Return to Arkham, collection that includes within it Batman: Arkham Asylum e Batman: Arkham City, the first two chapters dedicated to the Bat Man. Released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the titles now arrive on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in new guises. Gotham needs you once again.
From Arkham to Arkham
This is not the first time (and it won't be the last) that we have been dealing with remastered editions for next generation consoles. This is the turn of the dark knight with a collection initially expected for the summer of this year but which, after a postponement, debuted more precisely on 21 October. As already mentioned in the presentation, Return to Arkham it is in fact a bundle that allows you to access, in a single solution, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City (Arkham Origins is missing, which was not developed by Rocksteady instead). Sorry, to be fair, that the collection does not offer the entire trilogy, with the most recent Arkham Knight: the product would have been undoubtedly more complete but it must be remembered that the final title of the Arkham series was only released a year ago. and therefore its repetition could have created discontent among users.
Without going too far into the contents of the two games, already known, we remember that these chapters, the first published in 2009 while the second in 2011, see Batman facing his historical nemesis, Joker with the epic concluded by Arkham City which has garnered criticism and consents. The trilogy ends, however, for the record, with Arkham Knight, a title that Rocksteady and Warner Bros. released last year (here you can find our review).
Shines bat shines
Like any self-respecting remaster, this collection will also allow you to get your hands not only on an improved version of the two games but also on all the DLCs already published in recent years. All at a price of just under € 50: considering that with this amount you buy not one but two titles, already appreciated years ago, the offer is undoubtedly important. Beyond what may be the assessments on the price of Batman: Return to Arkham, let's see the response on this collection. The first big news concerns the graphics sector: this new edition sees the debut, for the two titles, of the Unreal Engine 4 graphics engine while originally the third version of the engine signed by Epic Games was used. The differences with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions are evident, with a better realization not only of all Gotham City but also of some details, such as costumes and character textures. If this, for obvious reasons, has advantages, on the other hand it also presents some uncertainties, especially as regards the frame rate. During our test we recorded some drops with performances that, surprisingly, are sometimes even lower than the original version. This fact is at least curious and a bit sorry given the excellent graphic level achieved. The combat system, which has made school in the world of video games (Shadow of Mordor, ed) is still fluid and enjoyable, confirming the good work done by the Virtuos developer team.
Final comments
Batman: Return to Arkham is undoubtedly a good collection that, with a competitive price, offers you two excellent games, which had already performed well on the consoles of the past generation. The switch to the Unreal Engine 4 graphics engine naturally takes graphics to a new level, marking a clear difference with old-gen products. Those who have never played Rocksteady's Arkham titles can take this opportunity to recover these titles but also those who have already faced Arkham Asylum and City can still insert the two games in their collection, thanks to a competitive price.
