Can Bruce survive Arkham Asylum?
THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE PAST AND CURRENT EPISODES
Episode 3 of Telltale’s Batman series ended with a shocking twist as it was revealed that Lady Arkham, leader of the Children of Arkham is actually Vicki Vale and had Bruce injected with the virus that made Harvey crazy and caused Officer Montoya to shoot Carmine Falcone dead. Bruce ascended the stage outside Wayne Enterprises to knock seven bells out of Oswald Cobblepot and Harvey had him shoved in Arkham Asylum for insanity.
We pick up shortly afterwards, as Bruce is shown a good old fashioned welcome in the order of a corrupt guard taking a bribe to walk away and let inmates attack him. But then to our surprise, a new challenger enters the fray…none other than a younger Joker (or John Doe as he is called in the episode) to defend Bruce. Not only that, he even offers to help Bruce escape Arkham if he can fulfil a promise when he is released, something I can see coming back to bite Bruce in the backside…but getting out was top priority so I chose to accept his help and with a quick call to Gordon, got released into Alfred’s care.
Inside the Asylum were other classic inmates like Victor Zsasz, but it was the young Joker who stole the show and I hope we see him in some form for the season finale. We don’t spend too long in the asylum, but it was interesting nonetheless. When Bruce is released, he finds Selina leaving Wayne Manor…running in fear of what Harvey will do next, while Batman tries to track down Lady Arkham by visiting the family home of the Vales, only to find a blood-bath and a scared boy hiding under the stairs, who was the Vales’ adopted son.
A sweep of the crime scene shows the brutal scene in which Vicki kills her own parents so she can obtain a Vale factory for storing the virus, while a drone controlled by Penguin comes in and attacks Batman. After defeating it, Batman discovers that Penguin has hacked his tech and it’s only a matter of time before it all falls under his control, even the Batmobile and Batcomputer.
It’s at this point where Harvey Dent gives a press release, seizing the Wayne Estate and after rescuing Gordon from a hired hit from corrupt cops, either must choose to storm Wayne Enterprises and stop Penguin from taking over the tech, or attempt to stop Dent from taking over the Manor. I chose the tech, but did so at the cost of the Manor…which was engulfed in flames afterwards. Thanks Harvey.
So the stage is set for a thrilling conclusion, which is out later this week. The episode is a bit shorter than past entries and isn’t quite as deep, but Joker’s sudden appearance was superb and even though it wasn’t voiced by Mark Hamill, was still just as crazy and believable. There were a few sound-sync issues with the action, but I’m sure it’ll be patched.
The Verdict
Guardian of Gotham puts the final pieces on the chessboard, all ready for the finale this week. It introduces a young Joker and leaves a lasting impression, Telltale’s penultimate episode may lack in length and depth, but there’s no denying it being just as memorable. Roll on the finale!