It’s been three years since Batman put on his suit to beat crazy people up at the Arkham Asylum and it gave us a good time like no other Batman game ever accomplished. Earlier this October, Batman finds himself once again surrounded by crazy inmates. They haven’t forgotten their demise by the Bat, but is Batman up for the challenge?
The story is quite unique and fits perfectly into the whole Batman world. In the heart of Gotham City, there’s an area that’s surrounded by big walls, barbed wire and tower defenses namely Arkham City. Arkham City is Super-prison led by Hugo Strange, where all the scum and dangerous foes from the Arkham Asylum and the Blackgate Prison are being put, to ensure the “ safety ” of Gotham City . Bruce Wayne doesn’t approve this “city” because it’s gotten out of control and so he starts up a campaign to close Arkham City for good. Hugo Strange doesn’t tolerate his campaign and captures Bruce Wayne to put him in Arkham City. Bruce Wayne finds himself in Arkham City where all his BFF’s like the Joker, Mr. Freeze, Mr. Penguin, … and many more give him a big Home Welcome ! It’s time for the Dark Knight to rise and figure out what on earth is going on in the Arkham City…
The gameplay of Batman: Arkham City is very similar to Batman: Arkham Asylum. You beat down villains which gives you experience to level up and achieve better updates for your gadgets, combat skills or stealth. Combat in Arkham city is very fun and yet challenging. The whole combat system suits Batman very well. You are a bad-ass fighter who can counter enemy attacks and finish them off using a heroic move. But the game reminds you that you are vulnerable. You will always have to look out for special opponents that can easily get through your defenses. Different opponents mean different strategies. You have opponents that will use stun batons, guns, broken bottles, shields,… and you can’t just run towards them, you’ll have to think about which approach you’ll use to defeat these villains. There’s also a combo counter that gives you the opportunity to use special moves. You also have different kind of gadgets to your disposal that can help you to immobilize villains or to solve puzzles. The fun thing about combat in Arkham city, is the way you can handle a certain situation. Will you sneak up an enemy to kill him silently or will you just jump out there and kick some butt? Still, there are situations in which the game forces you to choose a certain approach, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It gives you a chance to play the game differently.
There’s also another person who gets on stage in Arkham city and that is… you’ve guessed it Catwoman. Catwoman has her own story throughout the game and she has other abilities than Batman which gives her the ability to get to other places where Batman can’t go. You’ll also be confronted with other villains as her story progresses.
The graphics of the game look great. The physics engine they use is the Unreal Engine that gives a splendid results but I do have to say that in my last hours of the game, there were a couple of texture pop-ins and there were also places in Arkham city that needed to load for a minute. This doesn’t affect the game that much, but i think it was a something to mention. There’s also a chance to play the game in 3D. The voices are also truly amazing, the different voices suits the characters very well.
At first, I didn’t think that Arkham City was going to take long to play the whole game through but I’m glad to say that I’m surprised , how much content this game has. Batman didn’t make a lot of good friends back in his days and he has quite a lot of stories that made him the bat that he is now. In this game, you’ll see a lot of characters that had a connection with Batman, the good and the bad. These different characters gives the game 2 good things. First of all, it gives the game a very strong story that will amuse a lot of players out there who want to play a good action game, but second, it gives Batman fans so much more. There are plot twists and Easter eggs in the game that Batman fans will certainly be pleased with.
But aside from this great story, there’s a lot of replay ability and content that will keep players busy for hours. After you have beaten the game, you can just go back to Arkham city and try to complete every single riddle, side mission and find all of the riddler trophies (which unlocks art work, character trophies, challenging maps,…) or you can play an unlocked mode that gives you the chance to play the game again but with all your achieved upgrades. This gives you an advantage but you’ll need it because the enemies will be tougher and you will no longer spot the “Counter” icon. So it will be all about instinct to counter the attacks of enemies. There’s also a challenged mode where try to defeat different enemies within a certain time limit and that lets you compare your scores with other people.
I have to say that I’ve enjoyed playing Arkham City. This game is like reliving my childhood because I’ve always watched the Batman series, movies… and I always thought of him as the greatest human hero of all time. When I was young, I never had the chance to be the Dark Night and this game gives you the feeling that you’re “THE” Batman with all his gadgets and abilities. This game is full of content, story and lots of fun! It’s really worth its money and I hope there’s more to come in the near future! TO THE BATCAVE!
