I have to admit, I was really excited about Arkham Asylum when that came out in 2009. Predator challenges, the combat, Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy, I ate that it up like the nerd that I am. In a nut shell, I played the fuck out of that game. I sill play Sewer Bat Extreme occasionally. I'll admit I wanted to explore more than just Arkham Asylum (which was surprisingly large). I told my friends that if Rocksteady was going to make another Batman game I would only pray to every religious deity that Gotham would be the next playground. And then I saw the title for the next game. Arkham City. facepalm*
At the time, I was not loving the premise to this game. Even if I was a citizen of Gotham City, I would not agree to keeping every psychopath and super villain in a quartered off ghetto and hope for the best. (I also would not have voted for Quincy Sharp for Mayor.) But whatever, it's a video game about Batman. I'll bite.
I don't like spoilers and I know many of you on the internet feel the same way so I'll just get on with it. Arkham City is really cool. Rocksteady has made many adjustments to its game and most of it makes Batman even more of a badass ninja. The game starts you off with some familiar gadgets including the explosive gel and the batclaw. Rocksteady promised us cool new gadgets and they deliver it to you with smoke pellets and freezing bombs etc. Most of the gadgets that you pick up have combat shortcuts and some gadgets like the batclaw have an additional follow up combo to make the Batman beat his victims to an even bloodier pulp (metaphorical blood that is, Batman doesn't kill people dude). Including Batman's fearsome arsenal, Rocksteady has even changed up Batman's combat animation a little. Don't worry it's still really cool. (Arguably cooler.)
Predator missions are hit and miss with me. By which, I mean my ability to execute. The AI has definitely received a significant boost in intelligence including shooting gargoyles until they are destroyed. I remember complaining that Batman should be able to throw a batarang into a fire extinguisher and make a loud explosive noise. It seems like the Developers were thinking the same thing too. But even cooler is the fact that blowing up these fire extinguishers creates a momentary smokescreen for Batman to either escape or perform takedown maneuvers in the smoky confusion. My favorite gadget for these kind of situations is the disrupter. The disrupter makes up to two guns on an armed inmate jam up. It makes for some very interesting strategizing and some potentially epic lols. (I had a guy run away from in FEAR when his gun jammed. Extra satisfying.)
Moving around the city is surprisingly easy. Batman can now grapple in mid-air which is completely necessary sometimes. The biggest change allows Batman to dive bomb and pull up to increase flight time. Considering the size of Arkham City, it almost seems like everyone who wasn't a criminal gets to live outside of Arkham city. The place is HUGE. The game includes many notable structures including the Iceberg lounge, Solomon Wayne Courthouse and the GCPD building with the bat signal.
My only complaint with the look of the city is that the place is COVERED in Green question marks. It almost ruins the dark atmosphere of an open-air prison/ghetto and makes me feel like part of a game show. But these question marks aren't just for show, they're little mini puzzles that Batman has to use mostly his remote controlled batarang (which they made exponentially easier to control) to hit some switch to grab a riddler trophy. Yes, there are a lot of Riddler trophies and yes you have to once again scan some pictures/building/signs/etc to answer Riddler's really obvious riddles. It's almost insulting to my intelligence. If you can't find them all that's okay, The Riddler didn't draw you a map this time but you can hunt down his associates and interrogate them for several spots to help you complete your challenges. Being in the city also opens up side-missions. In a nutshell, more things for batman to do including a fun mini-game that involves tracking Mr. Zsasz through the phone.
There are many interface changes including an onscreen compass, being able to set a custom waypoint and the sheer number of upgrades from WayneTech this time around. (I enjoyed the comic book look a bit more) My one complaint is the lack of clarity in detective mode inmates will literally appear fuzzy in my sights until they get within a certain distance. I understand that it's designed to emulate the echolocation that was used in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight, its still annoying. (Might've helped if I played this game in November when the PC version came out.) Another interesting thing that Arkham City does, is let Batman listen in on casual conversations between lower level henchmen. Some conversations range from mildly humorous to enlightening talks about the attitude living in a prison/ghetto. (One conversation notes that Blackgate prison has been converted into a pleasurable shopping mall.)
The biggest and most important change to this Batman Franchise are boss fights. REAL BOSS FIGHTS. Not some bullshit almost fight with Killer Croc. Not some shine the light on the scarecrow horseradish in your eye stupidity. REAL Fights ,with the exception of maybe the 1st half of the Penguin fight. Arkham City is a superb game that surpasses its predecessor. Hopefully, it will do as well as Arkham Asylum when awards are being announced.
9.2/10
At the time, I was not loving the premise to this game. Even if I was a citizen of Gotham City, I would not agree to keeping every psychopath and super villain in a quartered off ghetto and hope for the best. (I also would not have voted for Quincy Sharp for Mayor.) But whatever, it's a video game about Batman. I'll bite.
I don't like spoilers and I know many of you on the internet feel the same way so I'll just get on with it. Arkham City is really cool. Rocksteady has made many adjustments to its game and most of it makes Batman even more of a badass ninja. The game starts you off with some familiar gadgets including the explosive gel and the batclaw. Rocksteady promised us cool new gadgets and they deliver it to you with smoke pellets and freezing bombs etc. Most of the gadgets that you pick up have combat shortcuts and some gadgets like the batclaw have an additional follow up combo to make the Batman beat his victims to an even bloodier pulp (metaphorical blood that is, Batman doesn't kill people dude). Including Batman's fearsome arsenal, Rocksteady has even changed up Batman's combat animation a little. Don't worry it's still really cool. (Arguably cooler.)
Predator missions are hit and miss with me. By which, I mean my ability to execute. The AI has definitely received a significant boost in intelligence including shooting gargoyles until they are destroyed. I remember complaining that Batman should be able to throw a batarang into a fire extinguisher and make a loud explosive noise. It seems like the Developers were thinking the same thing too. But even cooler is the fact that blowing up these fire extinguishers creates a momentary smokescreen for Batman to either escape or perform takedown maneuvers in the smoky confusion. My favorite gadget for these kind of situations is the disrupter. The disrupter makes up to two guns on an armed inmate jam up. It makes for some very interesting strategizing and some potentially epic lols. (I had a guy run away from in FEAR when his gun jammed. Extra satisfying.)
Moving around the city is surprisingly easy. Batman can now grapple in mid-air which is completely necessary sometimes. The biggest change allows Batman to dive bomb and pull up to increase flight time. Considering the size of Arkham City, it almost seems like everyone who wasn't a criminal gets to live outside of Arkham city. The place is HUGE. The game includes many notable structures including the Iceberg lounge, Solomon Wayne Courthouse and the GCPD building with the bat signal.
My only complaint with the look of the city is that the place is COVERED in Green question marks. It almost ruins the dark atmosphere of an open-air prison/ghetto and makes me feel like part of a game show. But these question marks aren't just for show, they're little mini puzzles that Batman has to use mostly his remote controlled batarang (which they made exponentially easier to control) to hit some switch to grab a riddler trophy. Yes, there are a lot of Riddler trophies and yes you have to once again scan some pictures/building/signs/etc to answer Riddler's really obvious riddles. It's almost insulting to my intelligence. If you can't find them all that's okay, The Riddler didn't draw you a map this time but you can hunt down his associates and interrogate them for several spots to help you complete your challenges. Being in the city also opens up side-missions. In a nutshell, more things for batman to do including a fun mini-game that involves tracking Mr. Zsasz through the phone.
There are many interface changes including an onscreen compass, being able to set a custom waypoint and the sheer number of upgrades from WayneTech this time around. (I enjoyed the comic book look a bit more) My one complaint is the lack of clarity in detective mode inmates will literally appear fuzzy in my sights until they get within a certain distance. I understand that it's designed to emulate the echolocation that was used in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight, its still annoying. (Might've helped if I played this game in November when the PC version came out.) Another interesting thing that Arkham City does, is let Batman listen in on casual conversations between lower level henchmen. Some conversations range from mildly humorous to enlightening talks about the attitude living in a prison/ghetto. (One conversation notes that Blackgate prison has been converted into a pleasurable shopping mall.)
The biggest and most important change to this Batman Franchise are boss fights. REAL BOSS FIGHTS. Not some bullshit almost fight with Killer Croc. Not some shine the light on the scarecrow horseradish in your eye stupidity. REAL Fights ,with the exception of maybe the 1st half of the Penguin fight. Arkham City is a superb game that surpasses its predecessor. Hopefully, it will do as well as Arkham Asylum when awards are being announced.
9.2/10
