Arkham City Review

Rocksteady surprised the gaming community with it's release of Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009. Ranked as the most "Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever" in the Guiness Book of World Records, the sequel obviously had high expectations to live up to. Now Rocksteady has released Batman: Arkham City for the world to play, and it's safe to say that it meets and exceeds those expectations.

Arkham City starts off with a great introduction and immediately opens up the open world environment for you to be Batman. With thugs, riddles, and beautiful scenery scattered around, the landscape never gets dull and brings a great depiction of Gotham to life. Not only is the environment eye-candy, there was no slowdown in gameplay or find it tedious to traverse. Really, the only "complaint" could be that its too easy to get distracted doing side-quests.

On the subject of distractions, Riddler trophies and challenges are back with authority this time around. With 400 of them to scattered around, Batman fans will easily be spending hours going after them. The absurd amount of fanservice shows through with almost each challenge or trophy unlocking a character model, concept art, interview tapes, or story biographies. If you are a Batman fan, this game will blow your mind with Bat-Knowledge.

Other than the extras, Rocksteady delivers another great story filled with surprises and epic moments. Catwoman makes an appearance as a playable character within the story, but only if you purchased the game new. Personally, I don't mind that sort of "online pass" to help the developer with consumers purchasing new copies, but her appearance is not something you will need to enjoy the game and get the full story. Just playing through as Batman and having a huge amount of villains will keep your mind preoccupied.

Dealing with the numerous villains can seem overwhelming but with the great talents of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, you'll be busy just enjoying the dialog. They deliver another great performance as Batman and Joker, with rumors surrounding if this will be Mark Hamill’s last performance as the latter. Hopefully that won't be true but if it is, it will add a little more to the experience of Arkham City.

Either while travelling through Arkham City or competing in the Riddler Combat Challenges, fans will be pleased that the simple but complex free-flowing combat system returns, allowing Batman to takedown a large group of enemies without breaking a sweat. It's a system I admire and have found frustrating at times when trying to build up a large score for the combat challenges, however it's rewarding when you pull off the different variations with the gadgets.

Speaking of gadgets, all the ones from the first game return with addition of a few more, keeping Batman's utility belt full at all times. All of the new gadgets can be upgraded by completing some of the story, side-missions, or from experience gained from combat. I'm personally glad they didn't strip you away from your gadgets and force you to earn them back slowly, a formula that's used for a lot of games.

Gadgets, riddles, combat and a compelling story will have you in front of the television for hours and enjoying it. Rocksteady delivers another masterpiece to the Batman franchise with Arkham City, upping the ante of its predecessor. Not only should any Batman fan have this game on their shelf, but any fan of great games should as well.

Final Score – 10