Spent two days finishing this awesome game…
Like its predecessor, “Batman: Arkham City” is a 3rd person action adventure game, with some (easy) puzzles. The game follows in the wake of the events of “Batman: Arkham Asylum”, but does everything that one did right, and some more stuff…
The game has a nice story (although I think it becomes a bit contrived closer to the end), good boss fights, amazing visuals and animation (specially the animation) and small touches that bring a smile to my face.
The most important difference between this one and the last is the fact that the player is no longer confined to small areas… In Arkham City, you can navigate a city-sized area at will, finding side quests and collectables in large quantities. You can play at your own pace, spreading your attention between the side quests and the main storyline, although at the end you can continue playing after the main story has finished, to get those extra collectibles, get some more tidbits of Gotham history or just finishing the side-quests.
Side-quests are very interesting, giving some depth to some lesser known villains in the Batman lore, like Zsasz or Deadshot. It’s nice investigating things and looking around, although I think the game could have used some more of these (and less of the Riddler things).
Animation is the definite highlight of the game, in my opinion, with the flow-form combat system (already present in the previous title) just polished up and with more options… Combat feels very visceral and never feels “too easy”… You can just have defeated Bane or some other big boss, and get your ass kicked by 4 or 5 roaming guys in the streets, if you don’t pay attention and drop your guard, which makes everything feel more Batman-y… After all, he doesn’t have any super-powers, he just has his iron will, right?
All the expected gadgets are present, along with some new (and mainly pointless ones)… The RPG-kind of system where you upgrade your skills and gear is silly (in my opinion, of course), with no real options opening up… Most of the combos are hard enough to do without needing to “level up” to get them… seems silly and out of place in an action based game like this one, and I wish developers stopped using this gimmick to give the player a sense of progress…
The environment feel very Batman, with the dark and scummy side of Gotham taking the lead in the visual presentation… The city feels alive and large, but not boring.
Special mention to the fact that, as the night progresses, Batman’s suit becomes more damaged… it’s like the beatings he’s taking, etc, are really taking its toll, which is awesome… “Arkham Asylum” already had this features, and it really helps sell the concept…
“Batman: Arkham City” is must have in any game collection, in my opinion… it’s probably the best super-hero game ever done, and it has enough to keep most players busy for some days. Rocksteady have really excelled, taking the good parts of “Batman: Arkham Asylum” and just polishing them up until they’re even better, without adding excessive fluff! 10/10