Batman: Arkham City - Reviews

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21.10.2011

With the huge success and popularity of Arkham Asylum, I'd got my hopes set to the highest standard for this game. Does it deliver? It most certainly does! Everything is bigger, better and done with much more precision.-------------------------------------------------------Story-------------------------------------------------------Set after the events of the first game, Gotham's criminals have been moved into the new super prison called Arkham City. Inside this fortress, various criminal overlords aim to take control. Straight from the off we're introduced to Penguin and Hugo Strange and many fan faviourites such as the Joker, Two-Face,The Riddler and Mr.Freeze appear so you know that Rocksteady wanted to pull out all the stops.This game begins with a terrific opening and a great way to introduce the world of Arkham City. You begin the game as Bruce Wayne but you know that the moment you don on the infamous Batsuit, the game REALLY begins. One of the main aims of this game is to explore Arkham City and discover what's happening and who's in charge which is a great way to come face-to-face with old villains and meet familiar faces along the way. Plus, Hugo Strange knows something about the Batman and it's a race against time to prevent him from revealing it. Overall, a solid, action-packed and terrific storyline.-------------------------------------------------------Graphics-------------------------------------------------------If you've played the previous game, Arkham Asylum, you'll know that the look and feel of the game was dark, and the theme was almost gothic. Outside areas were dimly lit and had a eerie, creepy feel to them. Well, Arkham City does this again but the outside world of the city is much better presented, what with snow falling steadily from the sky, the batman symbol lighting up the sky and the brilliant lights issuing from the various landscape buildings. It really captivates the moment and makes you feel as if you're really there.Rocksteady haven't done much to improve the graphics but this isn't a bad thing as they were never "bad" in the first place. You'll notice how much the two games look alike and how the developers have tried to copy the image and feel of the first game, only make it better. They succeeded in doing this and we're presented with a dark, gloomy and tense world that just screams for the Batman.Character models really remain true to the individual and this only adds to the game. The thugs that litter the streets of the city often look generic but the more pivotal characters throughout the game such as the Joker, Penguin and Mr. Freeze look awesome. Looks like Rocksteady wanted to capture each villain and their tratis and bring them into the game and I think they succeeded.-------------------------------------------------------Gameplay-------------------------------------------------------Gamers who played the first game will know how this game works. Now that Arkham City is a free-roaming city to explore, we're given the ability to swing from buildings, grapple and glide silently over the dark sky. Underneath this, however, remains the solid gameplay that made the first so good, which brings me onto my first point in this section - the combat.In most scenarios, you'll be up against multiple opponents and the combat system of Batman: Arkham City is so simple, yet it works so well. You can get stuck in and bring the hurt upon the many goons you'll come up against and counter their moves with precision and ease. Do well in combat and you're rewarded with combat multipliers and bonuses! This encourages players to fight tactically as opposed to mashing the square/x button to fight, but the game won't punish you if you want to do this. It's your choice! As per the last game you collect experience to level up and when you do, you have access to new and flashy upgrades. You've seen it before in countless other games but the gadgets and abilities here really make you feel like the Batman. Seeing as how you've got access to Arkham City and it's many wonders, it pays off to go exploring and discover new things!The voice acting is fantastic, with most actors being in the first game you know what to expect. However, the new characters like Catwoman and Hugo Strange really go into their character and make it feel more authentic. It's a shame that the goons who wander the streets of Arkham City all sound the same (there's about four or so actors providing the voices for the hundreds of enemies) but that's only a small complaint. It was like that in Arkham Asylum but it didn't detract from the thrill of gliding down and laying the hurt on them.The map itself isn't as big as you'd expect at first glance. However, you need to remember that Arkham City has interior levels as well. Whilst you're free to roam and terrorize the streets, a lot of the levels/scenes will take place indoors, adding more to the game. Just don't get worried when you load the game up and see the map screen! It's bigger than you think. Whilst on the subject of the map, a couple of helicopters fly around the map and try to find you. It's actually quite fun to avoid them but it also adds a sense of dread when you hear it approaching. Whether you play the game stealthy or go in fists-blazing, those helicopters are fun to play cat and mouse with! You can also grapple onto them for a free ride!Also, as you roam the city and progress in the main story you begin to unlock side missions. Now, you've seen side missions in countless other games but in Batman: Arkham City, these missions have actual depth and are a fantastic addition to the already brilliant story. For example, one mission sees you talking to a prisoner atop a rooftop and then suddenly, he's shot dead by a mysterious assassin. It then becomes your job to scan the crime-scene and identify anything suspicious. In this case, you track the bullet trajectory and track it back it to the shooter. These quests are so involving and are actually FUN to do! Other games, such as Infamous 2, feature a lot of side-quests but many of them are repetitive and you will eventually begin to tire of them. This won't happen in Arkham City as each side mission feels like a smaller, compacted storyline. If you can tear yourself away from the brilliant storyline then these side missions are a welcome addition to this brilliant game.On top of all this, the Riddler challenges make a welcomed return! Now that Batman can roam the streets and rooftops of Arkham City, the Riddler has devised new, clever and often challenging tests for you to solve. These challenges are extremely enjoyable and the riddles that you can choose to solve will often make you scratch your head! Players of the first game will welcome these and although optional, I recommend searching them out and solving them. To top it off, there are over four times the amount of Riddler challenges compared to the first game! Finding and solving them all will take some time but you'll enjoy it on the way, trust me!Overall, I am extremely pleased with Arkham City. It delivers on everything I'd hoped and manages to do it without sacrificing anything that made it so great to begin with. A lot of sequels don't usually become better than their original but this is not the case for Batman. This sequel has a great storyline, fantastic settings and addictive gameplay. If you played the first game, you'll know what you're getting into here! If you didn't play the original you may want to pick it up to see what all the fuss is about but regardless of what you do, Arkham City is a great game to play through. Batman fans you will not be disappointed.PROS+ Brilliant storyline+ You feel like the Batman+ Engaging combat+ Fantastic voice acting+ The hub world encourages explorationCONS- Generic enemies- Some villians don't get enough screen-time

1.11.2011

There is only one reason I would not announce this as my GOTY already, and that is the stiff competition being released in the remaining weeks before Christmas (personally I'm referring to Skyrim and Uncharted 3). However, if I had to pick a game of the year so far then Arkham City would definitely claim first prize, with the collectors edition coming in a close second. I really can't talk highly enough of it, but that's not going to stop me from trying...If you have played Arkham Asylum (and if not, why not?) then you will know that the mix of stealth, combat and puzzle solving gameplay was about the best way to experience what being Batman would actually be like,short of becoming a billionaire industrialist and fighting crime on your days off. Well, with Arkham City (AC) Rocksteady have managed to out do themselves. After the brutal opening sequence which introduces the main baddie of the piece, namely one Dr Huge Strange, the game launches you straight in to the action. It has you gliding down to a bunch of unsuspecting goons outside the courthouse to dispatch them using the brilliant, easy to use/hard to master combat system. What's apparent at first is that little has changed in the mechanics of the melee combat, which is good because you don't fix what isn't broken. Square to strike, triangle to counter, circle and triangle for a special takedown etc... But what have been improved and refreshed are the animations, which are now environment specific, for example, perform a counter near a low wall and Batman will smash the opponents forehead into it. These add a new edge of realism to the combat that makes you feel that little bit more superhuman, which is always a good thing. New enemy types, such as the body armoured ones that are immune to all but special attacks, provide a new challenge, and will force players to adapt their tactics mid fight. New enemies, however, are countered by new moves and combos, such as the ability to takedown an enemy and destroy any weapon they were carrying so no one else can pick it up.Not long after the courthouse rumble comes the first chance to refresh your stealth skills. Using detective mode you track a sniper shot to the spire of the nearby church. Inside, however, you are left surrounded by armed thugs by none other then Harley Quinn. A quick smoke pellet later and you are up in the rafters of the church, on one of the ever present vantage points (armed with most of the gadgets you will be familiar with from AA) scanning the room to look for takedown opportunities and tracking your opponents movements. The new takedowns available (the ability to pull someone through a window or weak wall for example) and the new gadgets unlocked throughout the game make the experience of taking down a room of enemies without being spotted more rewarding as ever. The enemies are cleverer now though, some will scan shadows with thermal imaging and others will actually destroy the vantage points if they spot you, which can make the task of wiping them all out that bit more difficult.Finally, the puzzle solving, which at time felt slightly tagged on in AA, makes a triumphant return in AC in the form of 400 (440 with the catwoman DLC) Riddler challenges scattered all over the city. This may seem overwhelming at first, but their locations can be discovered by finding and interrogating the Riddler's informants, who have infiltrated most of the warring gangs within AC. The challenges take the form of combat and movement challenges, destructible objects (like the joker teeth from AA), riddles (that you scan to solve) and, of course, trophies. It's the latter that add the biggest challenge to the game, some are easy to find and are just laying around waiting to be collected, whilst others are locked in cages, opened by fiendishly complicated contraptions that require considerable lateral thinking to solve. Solving these will involve interacting in the correct way with switches in the form of large glowing question marks or pressure pads, gliding, using gadgets or just common sense. No two are the same and the very complicated ones are amazingly satisfying to complete. The Riddler missions don't stop just there; as you rack up the challenges you are given the locations of hostages who are locked in jigsaw-esque puzzle rooms and need saving, and if you collect them all you are given the chance to face Edward Nigma himself.The good points of the game don't stop with the gameplay either. Graphically not much has changed from AA, but again, not much needed changing, so no complaints there. The designers have brilliantly captured the glorious steampunk atmosphere of Gotham City in the architecture on display, massive Gothic buildings tower above the streets whilst up to date touches such as the roads and street lights add the modern aspect. The character roster is huge and fans of the Batman comics will be delighted by the addition of fairly obscure and old foes for Batman to tackle. The voice acting for the main characters is top-rate, Mark Hamill puts in another stellar performance as the Joker, but the star of the show is Corey Burton as Hugo Strange, giving a perfect, sinister, Christopher Lee like performance. Also, the game has massive replay value; apart from the main mission, there are a collection of different side missions which are activated a various times throughout the game and can be completed whenever you want. Outside of the main game, we see the return of the combat and stealth challenges, which can be tackled alone or in groups of three, in what are called the "Riddler's Revenge Campaigns", and now can be completed with up to three playable characters. On the subject of extra characters, I got the Robin addition of the game, which came with the Catwoman content as well. Robin is only available for the challenges, but he brings his own unique gadgets and moves, as well as two new maps, and is a nice distraction. Catwoman, on the other hand, is usable in the main story; she has 4 special chapters that tell of her mission to steal an unspecified item from Hugo Strange, but she can also be switched to at several locations across the city at any time, and she has her own set of Riddler trophies to collect, so this is worth doing.There are a few downsides to the game, but the are very minor and do not in anyway detract from the good points. The voice acting, whilst good for the main characters, is a bit limited for the goons, meaning you hear the same 4-5 actors saying that same lines across the whole city. Also, the city is not as big as it first appears, and although you are free to terrorise the villains on the streets as and when you see fit, most of the actual story takes place in more linear areas. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but do not convince yourself that this is a sandbox game, because it's not. Finally, some of the boss fights are a bit dull, as much as I hate to admit it. With the exception of one outstanding encounter that forces you to use all of your gadgets available at the time, the bosses primarily have one weakness, and the fights can sometimes devolve into dodge-dodge-attack-dodge-rinse-repeat affairs. However, I must restate that these bad points are so massively outweighed by the good, that you will hardly notice.In summary then, a brilliant near perfect game, with a lot more to offer then it's already excellent predecessor. Fans of that game will love more of the same, fans of Batman will love the detail and fans of videogames will just love the experience. A few VERY MINOR bad points make this 98%, so that's 5 stars because I round up. Game of the Year? Very possibly, it's your move now, Bethesda...

17.11.2011

Arkham City is the big, big sequel to the big, surprise hit Batman game of 2009 Arkham Asylum (which was big). The action this time around takes place in an expanded play area and Batman has a whole section of Arkham City to run, fly and...um...grapple around in.The basic plot this time around is that Arkham Asylum is so full of nut jobs and menaces that it has to be expanded and so is transferred lock, stock and (mental) barrels into a fenced off section of Gotham City. Bruce Wayne is publically opposed to this and the start of the game sees him making a speech warning of the potential dangers and basically what a (bat) crazy idea this whole Arkham City plan is.During his speech he's attacked and kidnapped by Dr Strange's hired goons and wakes up later on inside the new asylum.This is where the player (um...you) comes in and takes control of the action. It's kind of fun and quite interesting to be Bruce Wayne for a bit, beating up thugs etc. There quickly follows a short, sharp tutorial section where Wayne must fight for survival against a bunch (or flock) of the Penguin's goons. This brings players familiar with the original game and new gamers alike up to speed with the various attacks, dodges and counter moves and re-introduces the `free flow' fighting system (basically just tapping buttons quickly, for the most part). After making short work of the goons and `shorter' work of the Penguin (because, um... he's short), Wayne radios Alfred (his trusty butler) and requests that his Bat suit is dropped off by the Bat Jet...or whatever the hell it's called.There then follows `another' tutorial type thing teaching the player how to jump, climb etc, as Wayne makes his way up to the roof of one of the abandoned buildings to retrieve his Bat suit from the dropped off Bat-Pod thing. From here on you can wander around the city, which is actually fairly small play area after all the hype and fuss leading up to the game's release about being able to explore a whole section of Gotham city! Getting around will be familiar to anyone who has played the first game (which is probably most people with X-Boxes...and thumbs). The climbing, running and grapple controls allow Batsy to get around the environments swiftly and with relative ease and you don't really have to grapple (or Batarang) with the controls for too long before you get the hang of them, either, which is just as well, as one thing Batman isn't is clumsy (when he's not being played by Adam West, at least).The first thing to do after `suiting up' is to free Catwoman from the scabby clutches of Two-Face and `his' goons (every major villain has their own gang in this game), after a brief but epic battle, Two-face is stopped and Catwoman is freed, although you get the feeling she didn't really need Batman's help at all. While the two of them do their usual awkward, costumed flirting, Joker takes a shot at Catwoman with a rifle! This time she does need Batman's help and he pulls her out of the way of the blast just in time in true comic book style!Batman then scans and searches the `crime scene' in `detective mode', which returns from the first game and (after yet another tutorial) follows the trajectory of the bullet up to the cathedral Joker fired from. After a brief encounter with Harley Quinn and a bit of hostage rescue, Batman is infected with the same disease Joker is suffering from and spends the rest of the game searching for the cure, which is somewhere in Arkham City, getting sicker and weaker in a race against time! Phew!Let's get something straight from this point on...this is `not' as good as the original game. It may seem (Dr) strange to say it, seeing as this is bigger, with more villains, gadgets, side missions and riddles to solve, but it just doesn't play as well as Arkham Asylum for a number of reasons. Firstly, the combat gets repetitive very quickly! In Arkham Asylum the fights were more spread out and sporadic, so they felt exciting and fresh each time. In this game you're fighting thugs and super villains around every seedy, run-down corner, and it just gets a little dull. Secondly, there are simply too many gadgets this time round, most of which aren't used much, they just seem to clutter up your inventory (plus there's no way he could fit all of that Bat crap in his Bat belt).Also, there's a dream like/ hallucination section fighting Ras Al Ghul (or whatever the hell he's called) which is a poor, misguided attempt to replicate the far superior Scarecrow sections of the first game. This whole bit felt massively out of place and didn't help the game at all. I just wanted to get through it as quickly as possible and back to the action of the main story (beating up thugs an' that).The first game felt more structured, with a tighter more interesting main storyline, whereas this one seems too cluttered up with baddies, as if the developers got over excited and just wanted to cram everything to do with Batman into one place! There were a number of additional villains in Arkham Asylum, but they were just brief diversions to the man Joker storyline, whereas in Arkham City it just seems like there's too much going on at once and too many random plots merging together.It's not all bad, though. The interpretations of Batman's classic villains are fresh and decidedly dark in this game world: Two Face is a burned up, scabby wreck, Penguin has the bottom of a glass bottle rammed into his eye in place of a monocle and Catwoman has vicious looking claws and a killer cleavage! The main story is long and fairly entertaining and you (as Batman) get to travel around the city to various different locations (museum, docks, police station etc). Also, the side missions are many and varied; from rescuing `political' prisoners from thugs, to solving riddles, to tracking down a couple of vicious killers, etc!Overall then, this is still a very good game, which is definitely a worthy sequel and worth a purchase, it just isn't quite as good a game as the original, but then again, I suppose it was never really likely to be.Overall score: 4 Belts full of Bat-crap out of 5

5.11.2012

Several months have passed since Batman defeated the Joker's attempt to take over Arkham Asylum. Unfortunately, the asylum was almost overrun by Poison Ivy's out-of-control plants in the process, rendering it useless. To replace it, a section of Gotham City's run-down docklands has been sealed off and converted into a new prison and asylum, with most of the city's most dangerous criminals incarcerated there. Appalled, Bruce Wayne enters politics in an attempt to shut down the facility, only to find himself arrested and thrown into the prison. He has to survive, find a way of resuming his Batman persona and bring down both those running the prison and defeat its array of inmates at the same time.Arkham City is the direct sequel and follow-up to 2009's Arkham Asylum.Arkham Asylum was the game that, after dozens of failed attempts, finally 'got' the Dark Knight and made him into a credible computer game character. It did this by giving Batman a strong, dark storyline to follow, an array of gadgets to use (both in investigations and combat) and welding together the 'gritty' approach favoured by Christopher Nolan's movies with the more colourful and bizarre world of the Batman comics. It also had a great combat system and some solid stealth mechanics.The follow-up is, inevitably, bigger and more epic. Arkham City sprawls across a much vaster area than the old asylum and is open to exploration from the very start (the asylum unlocked section-by-section as you went through the game and was more linear). The game is also divided neatly into both the main storyline and a series of side-missions, some of which are quite lengthy and involved in themselves. The main storyline involves Batman having to face (and, in some cases, work alongside) villains such as the Joker, Two-Face, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze and Ra's Al Ghul before taking on the director of the prison, the sinister Hugo Strange. However, a ton of other villains show up in the side-missions, including Deadshot, Zasz, Killer Croc (though only in a brief cameo), the Mad Hatter and Bane. Rather than feeling over-saturated, like almost any superhero movie with more than two villains, this gives the game the feeling of existing in an already-extant world, with a large amount of optional information available (via the Batcomputer) to fill players less-versed in the DC Universe on who these people are.As with Arkham Asylum, the game involves tracking down clues to solve mysteries and beating a quite staggering number of thugs into unconsciousness. The game's setting also allows you to spend quite a lot of time perched precariously on building corners, gazing broodily into the night before spotting some passing thugs beating up a civilian and swooping down to deliver some vengeance. The setting allows you to 'be' Batman even more completely than Arkham Asylum, which is highly satisfying.That said, the open world environment does offer some problems as well as some improvements over the first game. The first game benefited highly from its focused, linear structure that gradually opened up the asylum as you progressed (and allowing you to backtrack and reach previously-inaccessible areas with later-acquired gadgets). This second game sprawls flabbily in its opening sections, with the game taking a while to give you some sense of what you are trying to do. Once it does and you're alternating the main storyline with optional sub-missions the game kicks into a higher gear, but it's a slight disappointment that Arkham City isn't on fire from its opening moments the same way its predecessor managed.The biggest surprise from the game is that the bigger setting doesn't necessarily translate into a notably different experience from the first game. There's about half again as much content (I completed Arkham Asylum in 11 hours and City in about 17) and a few more major locations, but the game's bigger canvas often translates in you taking three minutes of rooftop-swinging to move between locations rather than a minute of running as in in Arkham Asylum. The game - surprisingly - reuses the same locations several times over missions just as Asylum did in a clear cost-saving move, and after a while you realise that more than 90% of the buildings in the city cannot be entered or interacted with other than swinging from their rooftops. The much bigger location certainly gives rise to some new gameplay experiences, such as chasing down a serial killer on a time limit before he strikes his next victim, but it's not as transformative to the gaming experience as you might expect. In fact, after a while I was regretting the fact that we didn't have a full Gotham City game, with you being able to explore the city of Gotham as a whole and using vehicles to help complete missions as well as Batman's gadgets (which, a few minor additions aside, are pretty much the same as in the first game).Still, if Arkham City is less of Grand Theft Gotham and more Arkham Asylum Redux, that's no bad thing. Combat is still physical and rugged, undertaken with impressive animations and combos. There's a greater variety of moves and opponents which makes the combat varied without becoming over-complex. The stealth mechanic is still enjoyable, with the game being at its best when you can take out a whole room of enemies with no-one realising where you are. The investigation side of things is still somewhat lightweight, but at least nods at Batman's detective origins. The story is decent and the voice-acting is as superb as its forebear, with Mark Hamill again taking top prizes for his gleefully deranged role as the Joker in what is his swansong appearance as the character. The scene where the Joker is taunting Batman only to get side-tracked into a puzzled analysis of the final episode of Lost is definitely the game's comic highlight. The game is, overall, a ridiculous amount of fun once you get over the slight hiccup of the start.

19.4.2015

When I heard that this game was being released I was jumping with joy. The first instalment (Arkham Asylum) was spectacular the way that they made a Batman game where you play as the Dark Knight himself. I’m a huge Batman fan so to see a game made where you play as him and also fight all his villains made me a happy bunny but when they announced Arkham City I was excited but at the same time worried that they would ruin the game because of how good Asylum was. Luckily Rocksteady didn’t disappoint. The game is brilliant and they blew it out of proportion with a lot more villains and a lot more kick-ass Batman action.StoryBatman Arkham City sets place after Arkham Asylum where all the villainsof Gotham have been moved into this new prison like location where they roam free in a small city that is confined by a wall. Bruce Wayne is kidnapped by Hugo Strange at the beginning of the game and finds himself inside Arkham City. He manages to break free and then from that point on you play as the legendary Dark Knight. Batman then has to fight for his life and solve problems and mysteries that are going down inside the city. During the story you meet Batman’s most iconic villains and companies to basically make a game this is utterly brilliant.GameplayThe gameplay in the Batman games is similar to each other but in the new game they have added some new features to make the game a lot more enjoyable and harder for the player. The enemies in the game are a lot harder to defeat and also the thugs that are roaming around are better equipped and more aware of Batman’s presence. The reason I love the Batman games so much is the game makes you play as the Dark Knight. It makes you tackle each challenge and task as if you were the Bat himself. Throughout the game you get to upgrade Batman skills and abilities to make him the iconic character that you see in the comic books and the modern day films. The combat is good, even though it is just mashing button the on screen experience is enjoyable and amazing to watch. You also get to explore the whole of Arkham City which is really fun because it’s a lot bigger than Asylum’s map and there is a lot more to do. There are a lot of optional missions and objectives that you can complete in the game which makes the game have hours of playable content, also with Arkham City they brought in the feature that you can play as Robin and Catwoman but you had to purchase the DLC for it or the collectors edition of the game which is quite disappointing but on the other hand it opens up a whole new experience to the player. Gameplay changes the way you go about doing objectives and tasks in Arkham city due to the characters abilities.Graphics/Feel of the GameThe graphics are brilliant in the Arkham City game, good use of lighting in the environment and also the way that all the characters look and are animated. The map is dark in places where it needs to be, but not too dark that you struggle to see what is going on in the area. The environment has been made to make it look as if the city is being run by villains, so windows and vehicles are broken and parts of buildings are on fire. It gives you that feel that you are in a dangerous place and the people who are in the place aren’t going to invite you in for tea and biscuits unless they were going to beat you up afterwards.The way the game runs is point to point. So you do a mission and then once you have done that mission you go to another mission that is on the other side of the map or just down the street. There is a point as well where Batman is fighting for his life and you have to do a few missions back to back because he is dying, so it makes you go down certain routes for a part of the game but other than that you don’t have to do missions straight away you can go explore the map and find collectibles. The Riddler puzzles are still in the game too so for people that enjoyed them in Arkham Asylum will love them in this because there are more and they are a lot harder.Voice ActorsOne of the best features about this game by far is the voice actors. They got the voice actors from the animated series to play some of the characters. The ones that clearly stand out are Batman played by Kevin Conroy and The Joker by Mark Hamill because the game has these two actors playing the main two characters it make the experience for any true Batman fan a very mind blowing and amazing game to play.The Positives and Negatives+All the iconic characters and villains are present in the game+ The environment suits the game very well+ The storyline is full of twists and keeps players engaged right until the end-You have to purchase DLC to play as Robin and Catwoman (Unless you purchase a brand new copy)-There are a lot of side missions that don’t really add to the story but are still enjoyable to play-Combat kind of gets repetitive towards the end due to mashing buttonsThe ScoreIn all fairness to the game there is hardly anything I can fault with it. It flows brilliantly, the character voicing and animation is outstanding and the whole game makes you feel as if you were Batman and you were part of the DC Universe. For these reasons this game gets a well deserved score.

6.1.2012

Like a lot of people I would imagine, I was pleasantly surprised by what a brilliant game Batman Arkham Asylum turned out to be. I was consequently vey excited when I heard about this sequel!I won't ruin the storyline but in essence, the asylum has been replaced with a large area of Gotham City cordoned off and used as a massive prison where the inmates have free rein to kill eachother as long as they don't try to escape. Bruce Wayne is chucked in there for publically opposing it and so starts the game.As with my other reviews, I tend to split my views into pros and cons so here goes:Pros:1. The overall scale of the game is very impressive, the city is apparently 5 times larger than the asylum and it shows!There are distinct areas of the city controlled by different criminals and you can tell this by graffiti etc on the buildings and other visual clues.2. Mobility has been greatly enhanced, allowing you to use the grapple gun and glide to cover large distances without touching the ground. This is great fun and really shows off the graphics of the city.3. The combat has been enhanced as well, allowing for greater use of gadgets during fights and also various techniques and bonuses after racking up a suitably long combo streak. This not only adds variety but also adds a larger element of strategy e.g. you can't just wade in to a fist fight without checking what enemy types are present or you'll get thrashed (guns, shields, knives etc).4. Gadgets are now used much more in solving puzzles for the riddler, rather than just for mobility as in the previous game.5. The story is great, the developers have found a way of introducing basically every Batman villian you can think of either by reference or by direct contact and it doesn't feel like a stretch either!6. The voice acting is superb, especially for the Penguin, the Joker (to be expected) and Mr Freeze7. You get to play as Catwoman for a portion of the story, while she's similar to Batman in controls, she is different enough to enjoy playing as.8. The fact that the game is now open world makes a lot of difference. You could go anywhere in the previous game but you were still on a very linear path. This game leaves it completely up to you as to what you want to do and when and there is a hell of a lot to do! Whether you want to complete side missions, perform Augmented Reality training, collect riddler trophies, complete main missions or just wander around beating up the minions, it's all there to do! The best part is, none of the non-main missions/activities feel tacked on to make the game longer, they all feel part of the experience as there is so much happening within the city.9. You can no longer go through the entire game using detective mode. In the first game I spent a lot of time in detective mode to spot secrets etc but this ruined it slightly because I was never playing the game in normal mode and seeing the great graphics. Detective mode is still necessary in Arkham City to spot secrets and to analyse enemies for weapons etc but you need to come out of it to navigate so the game forces you to use it only when necessary.10. The game is now much more of a challenge, especially in combat. In the previous game there would be maybe one or two enemies in a pack with guns or stun rods, all you had to do was take them out then the rest were relatively easy. Now, there is a good mix of enemies at once: common thugs, gun toting baddies, guys with shields, guys with knives etc. When they are all coming at you at once it's no longer just a case of hitting punch repeatedly with the odd counter thrown in. Now you need to use specific counters/attacks against knife or shield weilding thugs, normal counters against unarmed guys, all the while using ranged gadgets to keep the gun toting guys off balance combined with normal attacks to survive fights with large groups.11. You now need to unlock riddler secrets on the map by interrogating his minions. These are identified using detective mode in a group and you need to leave them till last to interrogate. This adds even more strategy, especially when the group contains different enemy types.12. The game is very long, I've been playing if for hours at a time since I got it at Christmas and I'm not even 30% of the way through yet (including all of the side missions, trophies etc)!Cons:1. There is so much to do at first, it can be a little overwhelming to decide where to go.2. When you unlock the riddler secrets by interrogating thugs, you can locate them on your map but there is no clue as to what they are. You end up trying to scan everything in the area in case it's the solution to a riddle, without knowing what the riddle is in the first place.3. Some of the riddler trophies are very complicated to find but I suppose that adds to the challenge!That's about it! In a game this huge, 12 pros and only 3 cons (one of which is barely a con) is pretty good! I only didn't give this game 5 stars because no game is perfect.Overall, if you liked the first game you will absolutely love Batman Arkham City. A very strong contender for game of the year (I bought Uncharted 3 today so we'll see if it can topple Batman).

24.10.2011

Upon writing this review I have just read that Arkham City has doubles the début sales of Arkham Asylum in the UK. Since I'm mentally stuck in the mid-Victorian era where Britain ruled the world. I like to think that the British are capable of knowing a good thing when they see one (bar the unthinking masses that watch awful television such as "Big Brother" and "The Only way is Essex", but I digress). This act of materialism proves it. Arkham City is a good game. Not quite the game I would show off as the pinnacle of computer game evolution but defiantly the strongest contender for Game of the Year so far and with my other eagerly awaited sequel being pushed back to 2012 (Mass Effect 3 for those of you who care to read)it's looking like it's going to be a one horse race.Arkham City takes what we loved from the Arkham Asylum and give us more of it. More Villains, More Heroes, More Gadgets, More Challenges, More cape "whoosh" noises. The biggest difference is that Arkham City gives us just that, a whole city in which to play with. Although the names Arkham Town or District Arkham would have been more appropriate given the size of the map but I guess they didn't go down well with the focus group. Still, it's bigger than what we had to play with back on Arkham Island.With a whole "city" to play about with, Batman turns into a Sandbox game, meaning Individuo's rule of Sanbox is valid. A sandbox game no matter how good the story will fall flat on it's face if it is tedious and boring in getting from point A to point B. To show this I have 2 examples, 1st off the blocks, Mafia. As stories go I've not seen many if any gangster-based games top it but driving from point to point in what felt like a cardboard box tied to a sloth kind of killed it. My second example, InFamous, on the other hand had a story that was ok, nothing outstanding, but gliding along electrical wires and rail tracks to get between objectives was as fun as a barrel of chimps. Rocksteady looks like they copied their notes from Sucker Punch in this module and it shows in the way Batman travels around the city. Gliding around Arkham City is probably one of the things I found most fun about the game. Ducking and diving around obstacles, making that "Whoosh" sound. Almost makes you feel like a real super hero.Did someone mention the story? No? Ok, but now that we are on the subject. I found the story to be very schizophrenic. At times it can be deep and drag you in like chocolate lesbian wrestling (especially around the end). Then other times (the first half in particular) it feels frantic and rushed as if the game is moving me on so I can meet as many characters in the Batman mythos as possible before time runs out. This is not surprising then given my biggest niggle about the game. It's short. I played it for only 2-3hrs on the Friday, then played it again for another 3-4 hrs and found I had completed the game. I wasn't even speed playing either, I was doing my best to mess around, try out some of the side quests, pick up a few Riddler trophies and solve a few of his riddles (I had roughly 120 of them when I finished the game). The story is compressed and concentrated as opposed to Heavy Rain which its more drawn out. Heavy Rain is more of a standard coffee while Arkham City is an espresso. Heavy Rain you casually sip at it, take your time and take in the flavour, while Arkham City, you drink it down in one go and let the caffeine go nuts on your brain.Luckily for me my flat mate who bought the game bought the collectors edition so I've also had a play around with the Catwomen missions. I wasn't expecting a whole alot from the missions when going into them because it's release date DLC. I was right to do so because I didn't get alot from the missions either. The story is very weak at best. Kitty's stash has been taken and she wants it back. She's horrible in combat, since she can only get a fraction of upgrades compared to Batman. Although her wall climb and ceiling crawl is very useful for not being seen, and when she walks her hips have an amazing wiggle.Overall I really enjoyed Arkham City, which should be obvious enough since I did say that it was front runner for Game of the Year. Although I do wish it was bulked out a little more so I could enjoy the show that little longer, then again in the words of that child loving Nazi sympathiser Walt Disney "Always leave them wanting more". I didn't read any of the comic books before play Arkham Asylum or afterwards, but Arkham City has actually made me more interested in the mythos of the Batman universe. I find myself looking up less known characters on the internet such as Deadshot and The Mad Hatter, to learn more about them.So where does the future lead for the franchise? Given the main story and how it ended, it doesn't leave anything open for a direct sequel or even any sort of sequel at all, but in one of the side mission Batman is warned about "A coming darkness". So I don't know. I hear rumours that Rocksteady are interested in making a Superman game. Maybe this way I can learn more about Superman's enemies, because currently I get to Lex Luthor then I'm stumped.

17.9.2014

S T O R YA few years have passed since the events of Arkham Asylum. Arkham City has emerged to house the criminally insane. The dark knight is suited and booted, learning of an operation codenamed Protocol 10 being led by Hugo Strange. Joker is never far from trouble either, walled up with the other loonies of Arkham City. Batman seriously has his work out out for him in order to unveil Hugo Strange’s ultimate plan.Arkham City doesn’t do a great job at handling all of the characters, where as Arkham Asylum kept a tight focus on the Joker. There’s a lack of continuity and flow to the story at times, in the end it makes sense,but its structure could do with some balancing.G R A P H I C S & S O U N DArkham City is the playground that Batman maniacs have been crying out for - being able to glide across shadowy rooftops, swoop down onto its rotting streets and wander into some of its abandoned establishments. The map does have plenty of variety when it comes to locations, the courthouse is decayed and criminally infested, the steelworks are grand in design and claustrophobic upon entry, then we have the large cathedral, emphasising gothic architecture and excellent vantage points. The lighting is spectacular throughout Arkham City; the moon bursts through the clouds to light up the environments.Batman’s character model looks even more polished than the previous game. displaying the detailed damage that signifies his descent into hell. There are many other characters that showcase exemplary design. The soundtrack excels yet again, matching the mood of Batman‘s journey and his desperate struggle for survival. The voice acting is superb; Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy outdo themselves as the Joker and Batman, respectively.The graphics haven’t been overhauled since the previous title, though this constraint can easily be '. down to the expansive nature of Arkham City’s map. The street thugs and other petty criminals seem l to have very few voice actors, a recurring issue that was also present in Arkham Asylum.G A M E P L A YLearning to navigate Arkham City will become a very crucial way as to how you can get about with ease and efficiency. Whilst gliding you can dive at high speed and pull back up to give yourself greater air and continue your glide for a longer period. The grapnel gun is still as handy as ever, getting you to those hard to reach places and giving you a quick vertical boost if things get too confrontational. One of the best features in the game is combining the grapnel gun and the glide ability together, if you’re losing altitude then find a higher grapnel point and boost up towards it in an instant. it’s a fantastic way to keep you moving and not compromise any speed. Detective mode (DM) makes a welcome return; keeping Batman aware of his surroundings and helping him track down the baddies. The use of DM seems to have been toned down in this game, and for what it’s worth, it’s the right step taken by Rocksteady DM is more focused in its use and doesn’t outstay its welcome.The combat systems feels tighter than ever, every hit feels powerful, countering is smooth and responsive, moving from enemy to enemy is seamless and beautiful in motion. Batman has a few new tricks up his sleeve too, there are plenty of bone-crunching attacks to deploy, which easily keep the combo counter on the rise and makes it a joy to take on waves of enemies. Enemies have received upgrades of their own too; equipped with battle armour and wielding deadlier weapons. A majority of gadgets from Arkham Asylum make a welcome return, but there are also some useful additions. The smoke bomb is a great way of avoiding mass confrontation and getting out of sticky situations, the electronic gun jammer renders enemy weapons useless and the electromagnetic gun helps stun enemies in a flash. These are some of the gadgets you‘ll utilise, but there are plenty more to unlock through the upgrade system.The side missions are varied and there are plenty to " come across. You may think they are a distraction, Catch! but if you want to build upon Batman’s skills then they are worth doing. The side missions allow you to sway away from the story missions, but they are a great way of improving your skills and helping you get the best out of your desired tactics. Lastly, the Riddler is back to taunt us with more cryptic riddles.I believe the overall game length is slightly disappointing, the story is oozing with content, but I feel as if so much of it does not translate into gameplay. The boss battles are disappointing, I found a couple of them challenging, but as a whole they lacked that ‘wow’ factor.O V E R A L LRocksteady’s second outing of the caped crusader is another triumph. An open-world approach combined with Batman is a wet dream come true. The story could do with a tighter focus as it involves many heavy-handed plot elements, but it’s still an enjoyable romp while it lasts. Visually, Arkham City is beautiful and an engrossing spectacle. This is the playground that all Batman fans have wanted. Batman Arkham City holds its own as a quality experience.

26.10.2011

Batman: Arkham Asylam was game of the year just a couple of years ago, and so with that kind of billing to live up to its easy to worry that any sequel will not be as good in some area of other. I need not have worried as Batman: Arkham City just takes everything good from the first game and then builds on it. If you are one of those readers that only likes to read the first paragraph of a review then let me say BUY THiS GAME! It's going to be in the running for game of the year much like its predecessor. If however you like a bit more detail then read on.WIthout trying to give away to much of the story, the premise is that Arkham Asylum has been closed down and an area of the city has been basically turned into a free for all criminal population.Basically think Escape from New York (kurt russell film) and you'd be getting the right idea. Bruce Wayne is campaigning to have this idea stopped as soon as possible when he is arrested with no real charge and instantly dumped in through the gates into the dark streets of Arkham City. And this is what is a big improvement over the first game, as while you may spend time fighting inside buildings, sewers or warehouses etc you can take hours exploring the city, or even days/weeks if you try to do everything there is in the game to do. The exploration of the city is made simple and fun by using a combination of glides and dives or using your grapple gun. I'd recomend doing one of the bonus side quests on diving and gliding as youc an get the boosted version of this, which helps even more.Graphically Arkham City is dark, gritty and foreboding just as you'd expect from a Dark Knight graphic novel or game, and while the landmarks are ones from Gotham City I got a feel to it that made me think more of Bludhaven, which is Nightwings stomping ground (Dick Grayson/Orginal Robin before parting ways with Batman), as its far more dark and dangerous than Gotham normally is due to the complete lack of any law inside the walls.The story line is excellent with Hugo Strange being the one pulling most of the strings to start with, and while focusing on only two or three of Batmans other worthy foes from the comics you will find many others springing up in several of the optional side quests that you can pick up while exploring around the dark streets of Arkham City. Certainly you will be seeing such faces as Joker, Two Face, Haley Quinn, Freeze, Riddler, Deadshot and many others, and I will also say that the ending of the main story line is quite a surprise, even shocking to some prehaps.One note on the storyline is that you can play as Catwoman at parts of the story, or more after you have finished the game for the first time. You will however need to buy the game new to get this option as you get the code with the game and if someone else has used it because you bought it second hand you would need to pay about 800MSP to be able to play her as DLC. This isn't a huge deal, though maybe should have been part of the main game regardless. Maybe there way of making sure more people bought it new.Combat in the game is very much like from Arkham Asylum, though they have changed counter attacks so that now more than one person maybe attacking you, and so you may have to counter attacks from between one to three people in some cases. Add in that there are more gadgets this time that you can use in combat and you can have some excellet fights that are really fun to do and satisfying as hell when you put together some sick 100+ combo beatdowns using all the tools at hand. Catwomans combat is similar to Batmans, but as she has whip and different gadgets then the style is different and so makes a nice change when fighting with her.Gameplay length. This will vary on what you look to do in the game. You can finish the main storyline fairly easy within a couple of days and all the side quests in a few more. However, if you wish to complete all the Riddlers challenges I would expect most people to be at this a few weeks. Riddlers challenges vary from collecting trophys, solving riddles, combat challenges and many other things like camera or balloons destruction which can be found in various places around the streets. Certainly some of the puzzles are easy, and some a lot tougher. Like you may have to do something like stand on a switch fire off a quick batarang to turn off one switch followed by using back to back remote controlled batarangs to turn off two more before metal doors close off the routes to them. They are fun to puzzle out for sure, but will take you heaps of time if you hope to get them all done. There are also added bonus things you can do like playing combat games or campaign maps with challenges to do on them once you've completed the game through and opened these up.Overall as I said this is a potential game of the year in my eyes, and though its going to be up against stuff like Modern Warfare 3, battlefield 3 and likely a few others I think it will have a shot for sure. I'd give this a solid 9/10 and a must buy suggestion for any gamer that enjoys Batman in general or just this type of game.

7.11.2011

Arkham Asylum sits proudly in my top ten games due to its brilliant gameplay and engaging story. So understand how good Arkham City has to be for me to say its better in every way.The story is full of developments and revelations from start to finish (though less so for Batman fans) so I'll keep the description vague. After the events of the first game, Arkham's warden becomes mayor and erects a super prison in Gotham, Arkham City. Seeing the potential danger in letting criminals run riot in their own city and seeing another power behind the mayor, Batman sets out to investigate only to become trapped in the prison himself. The main goal is to decipher the true nature of the prison before "Protocol 10" can be activated,but on your way you will encounter numerous super villains and their plans, from Penguin's takeover bid to the joker's last laugh. The set-up starts quite vague, essentially throwing you into a bigger more open version of Arkham Asylum, but as the story progresses it gathers momentum leading to a fantastic ending. Arkham Asylum's design was more linear, taking you in a very clear direction, a design choice that resulted in never knowing who, or what lay round the next corner and helped maintain the atmosphere brilliantly. Whilst this more open format detracts from that unknowing feeling somewhat the writing more than makes up for it. It's very well written and delivered, giving a constant sense of urgency and threat. As well as the main story there are numerous side-missions to indulge in throughout the city. These are well worth playing for the unique gameplay, stories and new characters like Bane, Zsasz and the Riddler, though the best scenarios are in the main campaign.Gameplay is also better than before. The bulk of it still lies in combat, either straight up fisticuffs or stealthy "predator" sections where you sneakily takeout well-armed enemies. Both have been made grander by making the scenarios more varied and larger and increasing enemy numbers and weaponry. Whilst doing this in Arkham Asylum may have been punishing, your increased move set and equipment makes it as enjoyable as ever but more spectacular. The moves are still as intuitive and lethal as ever but with added combos, gadgets and upgrades it allows more diverse scenarios to develop. The thing I love most about this is how easy it is for a newcomer to pick up and still be awesome whilst still rewarding skill and use of more complex combos. Detective mode returns, allowing you to analyse the environment in a different way, along with multiple gadgets and moves that can be improved upon and expanded using the XP earned from fights, solving riddles and progressing the story. Speaking of which, the Riddler is back with 400 new trophies, riddles and breakable objects to find, solve and smash. They are more devilish than before requiring a balance of skill and logic to solve. There is now more emphasis on platforming particularly in the Riddler's side-missions. It's still pretty simple but the improvements have allowed larger sections to be based around it as well as it making traversing the city-scape easier and more fun. The larger open world really works, enemies respawn after you have left the area for long enough, so you can find more combat whenever you want or you can just fly to your heart's content.First-hand copies contain free Catwoman DLC that adds 4 sections to the campaign where you play as her. She handles similarly enough so that it's still intuitive but differently enough to make it worth switching to her every now and then. Whilst she is fun don't feel that it's essential if you don't have an internet connection or first-hand copy; it has no bearing on the main story, it's just a nice addition.Challenges return in the form of straight up fights and predator sections as well as `campaigns' where you have to do multiple different scenarios in a row. They're a nice, but non-essential, addition adds more to do if you finish everything in the campaign. There's also a story plus mode that allows you to replay the story with new enemy behaviour and a higher difficulty if you feel up to it.If I had to criticise I would say that the larger fighting areas mean that sometimes you end up punching the air as no-one is close enough to hit, Batman's movement can feel a bit tanky when performing the riddles that need real precision and it is very occasionally not clear in what you have to do, one specific batarang moment may cause some frustration. Other than this because you're so good at fighting, a straight up one-to-one with the villains isn't really possible. As such they tend to be more based around dodging and performing a specific mechanic. Don't get me wrong they're still great fun, just maybe a little easy.The Final Word: Any fan of Batman, Arkham Asylum, the recent films or just really, really good games should buy this.

10.10.2012

I had heard a lot of good reviews about this game and only just around to buying it as i already had a back catalog of games to work through and i am really impressed.The couple of bad points that do spring to mind are mainly down to not enough explanation of certain aspects.e.g. The concept of the riddles you have to solve for The Riddler is not well explained.I figured out the location of my first riddle but then had no idea what to do. I spent a long time inspecting the area for further clues or something to interact with until i gave up and looked online to find out i simply had to 'take a picture' of it.i.e. you have to get the required part of the environment on your screen and use the inspect environment button (hold down L2).I found no explanation of this anywhere.Another point that i had to figure out was how you regained health. When you get xp you gain health but this wasn't explained and i would notice my health had gone up after a fight which i guessed was to do with xp but due to being in the middle of action and generally not having the time to stare constantly at my health bar to see exactly when it restored i wasn't sure but luckily my girlfriend was able to watch it and confirm that for me.Saying that though, in general the game breaks you in quite well with some early hand holding to teach you how to do things and then leaves you to do as you please.This is born out in the combat system in particular where the first couple of fights you get prompts of what buttons to press and then they stop and you are left to fight as you wish. One of the beauties of the game is the combat system which is easy to learn and you probably could muster through with some general button bashing but there is a lot of options to use and if you take time to learn them and master the system properly.e.g. timing your hits, using all the tools at your disposal, then you can play in a greatly varied, interesting and flexible way. You also get rewarded for fighting better also so it's not just added fluff.In general i think the ability to customize the hand holding throughout the game is a great aspect which opens it up to all manor of players. The hints can be turned on or off at any time for example, many of the more complicated combat maneuvers can have prompts turned on it you desire so you can play the game to suit you.Are you more of the stealthy, plan your every move and take out a whole room without being spotted? Then you have plenty of tools to take that approach. Do you prefer jumping in to a group of bad guys and taking them out in a mass action packed brawl? Then you have plenty of tools to do that also.The map/way point/guidance system could have been better. The map is great in general but with one minor flaw in that you could do with a mini map also.This is probably most prominent when your flying around the city where you can fly endlessly using your grapnel boost and cape but the big problem comes (at least at the start of the game) in the fashion of a large restricted zone you cannot enter, which almost cuts off one side of the map from the other so if your objective is on the other side of the map it is likely you will have to go around that zone and when your boosting along, especially in time restricted missions you often find yourself going headlong into a dead end (the edge of the restricted zone) or you can follow the map but that requires going repeatedly into the map screen and breaking the whole flow of the experience.In the open city you have a compass with your destination marked to follow but once inside you don't have that anymore? So every few steps you need to check your map so you don't get disorientated.The compass also disappears when you go into detective mode which is useful to use when aiming to land on a rooftop or even just bouncing off rooftops as you fly along as it allows you to see any potential threat before you get there. As it stands you have the choice of having a compass with a way point so you know where your going but the potential to encounter a rooftop with multiple armed guards who will shoot you to pieces when you land/fly past or turn on detective mode so you can avoid potential dangers but don't know where your going.A mini map would have solved all these issues and greatly improved the flow of much of the game.My only other type of complaint would be an inability to cut the beginnings of missions.i.e. cut scenes. Some missions require some working out (if you turn off the hints) and thus a few attempts to figure out exactly how to defeat that encounter and repeatedly hearing the same cut scene/speech etc many times start to grate a little.The augmented reality training in particular can be particularly annoying in this aspect.In the grand scheme of the game though any issues are very minor flaws in an otherwise perfect game.

28.10.2011

When "Batman: Arkham Asylum" debuted in 2009, most gamers expected another mediocre experience like most Batman games. But "Arkham Asylum" swooped in like a Batarang and captured the hearts of gamers everywhere.The announcement of a sequel, "Batman: Arkham City," put high hopes in Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros. to deliver on the promise of another blockbuster title. "Arkham City" launched on Oct. 18 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 with a PC release slated for November 18.The game starts out about a year after the first game and "Arkham Asylum" is gone. A portion of the city has been quarantined and has become a prison dubbed "Arkham City." The opening shows Bruce Wayne holding a press conference to express his concerns with the new prison and that he plans to shut it down.However, the villains of Gotham City, led by Hugo Strange, foil his plans and he finds himself a prisoner.After a brawl or two, Wayne's faithful butler, Alfred, sends him the famous bat suit. The Dark Knight takes to the streets on a mission to stop Strange from revealing the Bat's true identity and to stop the mysterious "Protocol 10." Two-Face, The Joker, Penguin and Mr. Freeze also play major roles in the game, as well as quite a few surprise characters.With a little help from the unlikely partner of Catwoman, who is usually a foe of the Bat in black armor, Batman ensues on an adventure like no other.For those who have played "Arkham Asylum," most of the gameplay will be familiar. The combat is largely the same, aside from the addition of some new moves and gadgets. Perhaps the best new gadget comes courtesy of Mr. Freeze. The freeze blast is especially helpful with some of the harder enemies in the game, as it allows players to freeze enemies before taking them down.To navigate the open-world prison city, Batman uses his famous grappling hook as well as his ability to glide. The Riddler trophies are back this time around, as well, and are more challenging to collect.All of the World's Greatest Detective's investigation tools are back, including detective mode, though Rocksteady has thrown in some new elements to make enemies a little wiser to Batman's tricks. Rocksteady did a great job of keeping the player immersed in the experience, so much so that sometimes it can be difficult to remember it's just a video game."Batman: Arkham City" has an amazing story full of twists and turns, tons of action and surprise villains and allies, some of which are in the main story and others in the side missions. The ending is a huge shocker as well and definitely shouldn't be easily predicted. The main game lasts approximately eight to 10 hours with additional content adding at least another six to eight hours to the game."Batman: Arkham City" isn't without its flaws though. The map can be confusing and frustrating at times, as it can be unclear where the player is supposed to go next. The GPS system doesn't help much either.The graphics are stunning for the most part, and like the first game, Batman's suit becomes worn out throughout the game. The reversal button used for combat can be unresponsive at times as it must be pressed at precisely the right time and players can expect to die a lot during combat because of failed response from the game when countering enemy attacks.Enemy bullets sometimes feel unbalanced as well. The gliding can be clunky to control and the artificial intelligence is sometimes too smart, but at other times no smarter than the average fifth grader.Despite its flaws, the game's pros far outweigh the cons. It would have been nice to see the game play a little more polished though.In addition to the main single player game, there is a "new game plus" mode which is the single player game, but with harder enemies and no combat reversal prompts. There are a ton of unlockables, challenges, and Rocksteady has a plethora of DLC which will be available for download in the coming months.All of this will keep players coming back to "Arkham City" for a long time.In the end, when the sun sets on Gotham City and Batman finally gets to take a nap after a long night of villain-beating mayhem, "Batman: Arkham City" is certainly one of the best games ever made.Warner Bros. and Rocksteady have created a formula for success and hopefully for gamers and Batman fans alike, this is a series that continues to deliver justice for a long time.

12.6.2014

100 times better than Arkham Asylum and 1,000,000 times better than Arkham Origins, Batman Arkham City is an excellent game to any gamer and a love letter to fans of Batman! The single player is flawless, with an unparalleled main story that both plays exceptionally and tells a strong and engaging story with plenty of unexpected twists. There is much variety in both gameplay and locations throughout, and all of these locations are filled with easter eggs and references to hundreds of Batman characters from the TV series and films to the comic books. The main gameplay is divided into two forms: stealth and fighting, much like in it's predecessor. You don't generally get to choose which of this two options you pick in situations,but there are so many ways that you can take out your enemies, that it makes you feel as if your options are limitless (especially in stealth). As for fighting, a lot has been added from Batman Arkham Asylum. Your hits feel precise and the flow of combat is immersive and, while it's simplistic, it can be as complicated as you want it to be. Throughout the game you gain experience that you can use to upgrade your health, gadgets or ability to use new combat techniques. On top of that, other forms of gameplay are also extremely enjoyable. The boss battles in this game are better here than in most other games I've played within the past decade, requiring different strategies each time. I don't want to spoil anything, but you'll be fighting against some very well-known characters from the Batman franchise. Furthermore, this is also an open world game. From the second you put on the bat-suit, you are free to explore Arkham City - a closed off section of Gotham containing some of the most evil villains in Batman, from the Joker, to Penguin, to Raas Al Ghul and so much more. Flying feels fun and getting around the city is great. Every time you fly around from one location to the next you'll be faced with various optional side activities, from the ringing phones featuring Victor Zaaz, to random acts of violence to civilians in which you can choose whether or not to interject. My only criticism, though, is that one part of the map - Wonder Tower and Wonder City - is difficult to get to. While it's fun to travel there, coming across many stealth missions along the way in the main game, it gets pretty repetitive having to use the same old sewers to get there after the story is completed. The main story took me just over 12 hours to complete, but there's tonnes of extra stuff to do during or after that! The side missions consumed just under 8 hours of my time, and that's not even counting the insanely extensive Riddler Challenges. How long it will take you to do them depends on how good you are at solving Riddler puzzles and finding trophies, but it'll likely be well-over 5 hours of your time. There are also DLC story missions available: Catwoman DLC and Harley Quinn's Revenge. Put together these amount to about 3 hours of added gameplay, but are still worth getting. For hardcore gamers looking for a challenge, or people wanting an opportunity to try to find some of the riddler trophies they can now get in old locations with their new gadgets, New Story Plus exists which takes less than 8 hours to complete in the second play through of the main story (around 12 hours if you re-do the side missions, too). Finally, the campaigns and challenge maps (while maybe being the less enjoyable part of the game) add a lot of extra game time to your experience. Completing them as Batman took me 4 hours, but completing the DLC's (which also allows you to play as Catwoman, Nightwing and Robin) took me 20 hours! In conclusion, Batman's main story is one of the closest I've ever seen to a perfect experience. There is a lot of extra content included for when you're done with the story which you'll mostly love, especially if you're a Batman fan. If your looking for no more than 40 hours of gameplay, get the standard copy of this game, but if you're looking for around 60+ hours of gameplay and some more main story missions (in which you can play in the map as Robin and Catwoman), seek out the game of the year edition. I recommend this game to everyone!

11.2.2012

I loved the first Batman game - Arkham Asylum and was eagerly awaiting this new game and I couldn't be happier!!! Where to start?... If you loved the Joker, you are gonna enjoy this as he is great, and there are new villains.The combat system is basically the same as the original, you can build up a combat multiplier which when you reach certain amounts e.g. 8 hits, you can perform special moves such as destroying an enemies weapon, an instant knockout attack or knockout multiply enemies who are lying on the ground. There are Batman weapons from the first game such as Batarang, Line Launcher, Sonic Batarang, etc... and there are new gadgets that can be gained as the story progresses.There are combat moves that can be bought as you gain experience from taking out enemies, finding Riddler Trophies and solving Riddles, there is also armour that be bought to help protect against physical and firearms damage and special attacks. There is also the Catwoman DLC included which adds to the and you can also use your experience points to increase her resistance to attack or buy special moves. There have been comments about the length of the game, it being too short and to be honest if you just follow the story-line it can be completed quite fast but that is if you miss out all the side quests which add to the main story-line and also indicate what could be included in another Batman game. You will also miss out on gadgets if you miss the side quests. Once you have completed the game you can continue playing to finish off any side quests you couldn't do in time or to collect/solve the 400 Riddler trophies/puzzles which add to gaining 100% completion. There is also the "Game Plus" that can be started after completion which restarts the game with all your experience and upgrades but is increased difficulty and lets you wear the Batman skins.I have finally completed the game and am having fun finding the things I missed and wearing the different skins each time I play.There are also the challenge rooms like in the original, where you face off against "waves" of enemies and they get tougher each time and increased numbers, and you can compare your score with friends who have also done that challenge. There is also a new "campaign challenge" which entails you having to perform a series of three events gaining medals for each of the challenges you complete in each event. For example, a campaign can consist of three combat trials with you having to reach a certain score to obtain three medals for each trial and so gaining nine medals to complete it fully. Another could be three predator trials and you need to perform three actions in each trial e.g. one predator trial = silent takedown, perform a takedown through a window and perform a takedown through a vent. There is also a mixture of combat and predator trials to make a "campaign" These can be very challenging as they increase in difficulty and you need to collect Riddler Trophies to unlock these and the combat challenge rooms, they are not all available from the start of the game. There are also Catwoman combat challenges and campaigns to complete if you so wish.*sorry if that last section sounds like I am repeating myself a lot, I found it hard to explain for those who haven't played the first Batman**You can also download a free Batman Skin off of PSN!*There is also Robin, Nightwing and Batman Skins DLC available off of PSN:Robin includes: Boy Wonder and is playable in the game's challenge modes including new skins. The Robin skins are: Red Robin, 1960s Robin, and Robin from Batman: The Animated SeriesNightwing includes: Nightwing, a.k.a Dick Grayson, with his own unique gameplay and amazing new gadgets. Nightwing is playable in all challenge maps in the gameSkins Pack includes: seven skins for Batman and include: 70's Batsuit, Batman: Year One, The Dark Night Returns, Batman: Earth One, Batman Beyond, Sinestro Corps., and The Animated SeriesThese can be bought separately or can be bought all together for a good price of £11.99, so if you missed the pre-order Batman you can get the benefits!

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