10 Video Game Abilities Developers Always Get Wrong

3. Batman's Gadgets

The Dark Knight has only been done right in a select few titles, and about two-thirds of them fall under the Arkham umbrella. Rocksteady (and later Warner Bros. Montreal) fashioned a compelling formula for their superhero game that empowered players as the Batman. It could occasionally yield mixed results, but there aren't many action-adventure titles that can match Batman: Arkham in terms of detail or enjoyability.

For all that Rocksteady nailed the way the Caped Crusader fights crooks and traverses Gotham, though, their approach has left much to be desired in other areas. Stealth has always seemed underdeveloped in the Arkham titles, while Arkham Knight's Batmobile proved to be a divisive addition to the series in 2015. Potentially an even more overlooked criticism of the Arkham franchise however is its approach to gadgetry, and how the tools in Batman's arsenal can almost seem contrived when deployed in the field, sort of like how it was in the sixties show, only without the knowing wink.

The usual suspects are all there in Batman's utility belt - batarangs and grapples the two most obvious inclusions - but things just get a little weird from then on in. Arkham City's Remote Electrical Charge is a good example, as the Dark Knight fashions an electric rifle out of what can only be bits of scrap, wire and tweed, and proceeds to turn it against the environmental oddities of Arkham City.

There's nothing wrong with introducing gadgets on the fly - in fact some could argue it embodies Batman's ingenuity pretty well - but they're almost too convenient. When will players have to think outside the box to navigate a particular puzzle with the tools they already have at their disposal? Why can't they choose their loadout before they head out just like the Batman of the comics? It would only make those games better if they could.