Category Archives: Nightwing
[REVIEW] Batman: Arkham City Nightwing DLC
He is not just a skin put over Batman or Catwoman’s model; he is his own flesh and bone character with his own one of a kind moves, gadgets, and play style. The first thing you notice when you start a challenge map with Nightwing is he has this big grin on his face and that gives you a big hint on what he’s like when you play as him. When he walks around the challenge arena, he has this peppy walk. He may not speak in this DLC pack, but from his body language he gives off this cocky attitude and that’s what I love. It is a big jump from Batman, this big, strong serious type, to Nightwing, this young, cocky, and arrogant allure.
Saying all of this, I wish the DLC gave us a little story you can play through because they have this great robust character with personality and spunk that they could have made something great for. When you look at the character model, it looks stunning and you can tell that the Rocksteady team took their time on it. Also with a little fan service, they threw in the Animated Series skin and I have to say it looks great. It’s cel-shaded, but doesn’t look silly or out of place. It fits right in with the environment.
One big, key difference between Nightwing and Batman is that Nightwing has no cape, so he can’t glide around the map like Batman can. Nightwing has this pounce attack to counteract that, so when he’s up on a statue and you see a symbol over an enemy’s head, press the button and Nightwing will leap across the map to kick the enemy in the face. Nightwing also feels a lot faster and agile. You can definitely tell he comes from a family of experienced acrobats.
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| Look at my shiny, new toys! |
Nightwing is definitely not going to battle empty handed, so he’s got a couple gadgets up his sleeve. He’s got a couple of Batman’s gadgets, like the famous Batclaw which allows you to hook on to statues and ledges while being able to pull enemies towards you. If you’re creative enough, you can even pull enemies off ledges. Another shared gadget is the Line Launcher which is like a zip line that lets you fly across the map and knock down enemies. The last gadget you share with the Dark Knight is the disruptor, which you can use to jam enemies’ guns so that they are unable to shoot at you.
Now, down to the good stuff. One of the new gadgets that Nightwing uses, and plays a big part in his playing style, is the Escrima Sticks. Basically these are two electrical batons that you use to fight as your primary weapon. Nightwing uses them to shock enemies and to parry foes’ attacks, but he can also throw them at enemies to knock them out. He can also use them to emit an electrical blast. This involves Nightwing being on a higher surface. He jumps down, slamming the Escrima Sticks on the ground and sending a shock-wave towards your foe.
Another one of the Nightwing exclusive gadgets is the Wrist Dart. With the Wrist Dart you have three shots per challenge arena where you can aim, zoom in, and fire at enemies to knock them out. But there’s always a catch. If you get a head shot, you knock them out. If you hit them in the body, you just stun them and as we all know from experience, you will have to go in and manually knock them out.
The last exclusive gadget is the Wing Ding. It is similar to the Batarang, but shaped differently. It can do all the same things from distracting a foe to knocking them out if you hit them in the right spot. All of Nightwing’s gadgets are fun to use and there was never a time I felt frustrated using any of them as they could all come in handy at any moment in time. It doesn’t matter if you’re sneaking around or fighting waves of enemies, there are always ways to incorporate these new gadgets. They feel different from Batman’s and that gives the player something a little different and new.
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| Who’s ready for a Nightwing sandwich? |
Now, the two exclusive maps that come with this DLC are Wayne Manor Main Hall and Wayne Manor Armory. Wayne Manor Main Hall is a Predator Map where your objective is to sneak around and take out all the enemies as fast as you can. The map is stunning. The little, fine detail from the books on the shelf to the papers on the floor is amazing. I kept wishing the whole time that I could just go around the map with no care in the world because I wanted to explore it. I kept thinking that there was more for me to see and as a Batman fan I wanted to see all the little Easter Eggs Rocksteady had for me.
The second map is Wayne Manor Armory and is a Combat Map. A combat map, for those of you that have not had the privilege to play Arkham City or its prequel, has four rounds in which you fight waves and waves of increasingly harder enemies. You get more points by incorporating as many gadgets as you can, tying together endless combos, and not getting touched by enemies. This map is smaller than the last, but saying that it is still very detailed and breathtaking. I found myself getting hit a lot because I wanted to stop and look at the environment. Both of these maps are great and another plus is you can use every character on them, so if you’re sick of Nightwing, use Batman instead. These maps would make the great Bob Kane proud.
Now what’s left to say about the Nightwing DLC pack? It is amazing that the character design is perfect and fits with the world accordingly. All the gadgets are different and feel awesome every time you use them. The levels are filled with great detail that wille make you want to come back and explore it a little more. The price point is a little high though and I would have liked to see Rocksteady include a little more gadgets. But overall this DLC is great. It feels fresh and I know it will keep this game in your Must-Play pile for a long time. I have to say that any Batman fan must pick this up and if you’re thinking about buying the game, this DLC is a must. The Batman must have trained Nightwing right because we got one hell of a character for DLC.
GameSparked 