Batman: Arkham City Review

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Written by Sm1tty Sm1t

Inevitably you’ve already seen details about Batman: Arkham City.  The story, characters, collectibles, and gadgets pull the game together to provide players with dozens of hours of playtime and rarely does it get repetitive or boring.  Set in a dark, cordoned off section of Gotham, Batman is thrust into a physical and mental struggle against some of the Dark Knight’s most fearsome enemies.  Despite combat that can simply consist of “push attack, push attack,” it delivers players an opportunity to make the most, or least of their time in Arkham City.

The story is simple enough: as Bruce Wayne you’re captured and forced into a section of Gotham that has been isolated and turned into, essentially, a “free roam asylum”.  After the devastation wrought during Batman’s last trek through Arkham Asylum in 2009, Dr. Hugo Strange is placed in charge of the facility and inmates after Mayor Sharp decides that the best course of action is to simply give them a portion of the city.  The bridge into this section of the city is destroyed, and TYGER surveys the inmates via patrolling choppers and strategically placed cameras.

Despite the illusion of order, Arkham City is truly under the control of familiar villains.  The Joker, Penguin, Two Face, and others have established factions within the facility and countless henchmen have flocked to them to declare allegiance, creating inner rivalries between the different groups.  Uniting each of them, however, is their deep hatred of Batman, who must punch, kick, and glide his way through the city and henchmen in order to uncover the corruption at its core.

Rocksteady has captured the essence of Gotham perfectly with the art style and audible ambience.  Gotham is a familiar setting, as Batman has been written about for 60+ years and Arkham City is exactly what you’d expect from a landscape dominated by villains.  Destroyed buildings, fires, and wrecked cars riddle the landscape to give the player a taste of what can be expected throughout all of Gotham should Batman fail.

A nice touch to the basic audio that typically accompanies action/adventure games is the inclusion of random conversations that Batman overhears throughout his voyage.  While it can be distracting or simply unneeded in certain situations, Batman must rely on these queues in order to pinpoint political prisoners that need his help – indeed, not everyone in Arkham City is deserving of Batman’s wrath.  Further, as Batman soars across the horizon, zips through alleyways, or uses any of the other upgradeable gadgets, noticeable and surprisingly unique sound bites are provided.

Finally, an aspect that needs to be outlined is the combat.  Whether using Batman or, if you purchased the game new, Catwoman, the free flow combat is easy to learn, but surprisingly difficult to master.  Indeed, a player can simply use the attack and counter buttons to work their way through the game.  However, to maximize the experience, quick-attacks are provided for nearly each of Batman’s tools.  As the player earns experience to upgrade equipment or unlock special takedowns, it’s quickly realized how deep and rewarding combat truly is.  In multiple instances Batman faces groups of eight or ten thugs, some armed with assault rifles.  But this is Batman.  Batarangs, explosive foam, smoke pellets, and even freeze grenades quickly even the field and soon only Batman is left standing.

Overall, Batman: Arkham City makes a case for Game of the Year.  A solid story, fantastic gameplay, and a larger area to patrol, Rocksteady has improved their formula from Arkham Asylum to provide an experience unlike any we’ve seen starring a superhero.  After the initial storyline is complete and you’ve sunk 15 to 20 hours into the game, you’re still only 35% done.  Dozens of challenges, 400+ Riddler trophies, and side quests that continue your goal of eliminating evil from the inside using both Batman and Catwoman are available and just as solid as the initial gameplay.

Suggestion:  Buy this Game.