In every person there is a breaking point, at that point do you think you can handle the responsibility to deal with villains that just want to watch the world burn? If not then step aside because there are heroes out there that would walk into hell and smack the devil on the face making sure they know who they are dealing with. The world of Batman has grown; when it was just an asylum, but now he has to deal with a City that has gone completely insane. This is Batman Arkham City and your new enemy is Hugo Strange who has put you in the pit with many deadly adversaries, if you have the courage put on the cape and cowl to join the fight for justice!
The main story is Dr. Hugo Strange has built up a great force and has taking over a section of Gotham making it Arkham City and at the same time captured Bruce Wayne because he believes that he is Batman. In all honesty he is right but you are playing as Batman and your job is to prove him wrong by your awesome skills that you do. The story takes an even deeper turn when you realize that you are in a lion’s den with all the villains from The Joker to Two Face. However you are not alone you have some allies like Robin and at times Catwoman. In this open world of darkness it is up to you to bring order and put a stop to these events by any means necessary. There are some situations as in finding a cure, but I am not going to give up any other information as in the how and who did it!
The gameplay is just as good as the first game and since the first one in terms of combat was not flawed, I am glad that they did not change too much of it. Instead of change they just added more features to make you a better Batman, for example more combo enhancers, smoke pellets that can be thrown and a combo amplifier which makes you react faster and hit harder. There are also new weapon take-downs in terms of dealing with the knife wielding enemies and not just using your cape. There is one thing I want to say about the new cape feature which gives you a cap stun combo that knocks down smaller enemies and stuns bigger enemies this time around, great job!
It all comes down to the gadgets and being the ultimate detective. As Batman you will have many ways to take on opponents and use superior tech to analyze your surroundings. The detective mode has not changed much, but it didn’t need any improvements in the first place. The leveling up system is pretty much the same but there are now four sections each with a lot of rows to upgrade, including Catwoman which you can do while playing as Batman.
The game is a massive open world nightmare but in a good way. The fact that the world is big and still maintaining all these impressive graphics is outstanding and when I called it an open world nightmare; it is in terms that this place is literally a living nightmare with goons, ghouls and super baddies all around you. It came down to the point where I just stood there on the roof and watching the whole city alive, listening to the radio chatter, screams of people and then doing a dive kicking an enemy on the face. I then zipped line up to glide around the city enjoying the scene of random environments each having something going on alive. That is a great game for Batman, even though you can’t use the Batmobile. I am impressed so far by so much we can do when we play this game and yes I am already assuming you are going to get this game after my review! With so many side missions to do and don’t forget you can always replay as Catwoman alone; plus the challenges to take on. This is a treasure island of replay ability to the max and soon there will be DLC for Robin and Nightwing, but the best part is whatever you have accomplished/unlocked you can use over on a harder difficulty!
The downside of Arhham City would be my own fault like when I get lost. At times I found it frustrating trying to figure out where the heck I was going. At times I realized that I was doing a side mission by accident, until I determined this game causes you to go into “A.D.H.OOOOOOOOOOOOOO SHINY!” mode because the world is amazing. The final verdict as if you have not known already is a SUPER BUY! It simple terms that means you go get it right now or go to a friend’s house for the weekend and play this game to the fullest. This is a sequel that works well with great animation, great voice acting and an amazing environment that will force you to be on your toes at all times. Batman Arkham City will have you playing for days and that alone makes this a superior super hero game. This game will make you feel like Batman and dammit that is great in my book! I do hope you enjoyed this review and please check out Batman Arkham City out now for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC for $59.99 or if you are rich the special edition with the Batman statue for $99.99. Thanks again for stopping by and as always stay frosty!
