Batman: Arkham City: Review: One Month After

Nov 17, 2011 by Richie    2 Comments    Posted under: Gaming, Reviews

Richie provides us with his review of Batman: Arkham City one month after it’s release. This is mainly for those who haven’t played it and are wondering if they should, as there were games released on a weekly basis from the start of October and continuing into December what should you get for Christmas?

Holy Cow Batman!!!

Yes that’s right. It really is Burt Ward in the background you hear, proclaiming just how great a game Arkham City is.

Let’s not beat around the bush though. Arkham City will not be to everyone’s taste, and that’s fair enough. But it is a sad fact that this game will also go unplayed by so many, simply because it has no MP attachment. A seemingly now necessary facet to any big release, not in my eyes though, but that argument remains for another day.

Arkham City is a game though that really pushes boundaries. I remember discovering Arkham Asylum one night on a friend’s PS3, and being completely blown away by it. Well with Arkham City I was blown away, and then some. It’s a rare thing these days when a sequel truly betters the original in every way, but that is exactly what AC (how I shall refer to it from now) manages to do.

Picking up from the end of Arkham Asylum, we find the home to all the scum of Gotham is now a sectioned off portion of the city. And what a beautiful city it is. Rocksteady have really gone to town on creating what is effectively now a slum, split into areas controlled by the super-villains who used to occupy only a cell back in the days of Arkham Asylum. The ability to swoop around this city is breathtaking, and there are a number of ways it can be done. My personal favourite was grappling up to a helicopter and being flown around as you sat on the rails. However grappling from rooftop to rooftop is hugely enjoyable, as is gliding (once you master it), and it is possible to glide the entire city in one swoop should you choose to do so. The other thing i loved was from the get-go you could explore the whole city. There was never any part that was locked out till you progressed so far into the game. Naturally some of the buildings crucial to the story where inaccessible, but this was to be expected. You could just roam around to your heart’s content if you chose to do so.

Onto the story and once again the game delivers as Arkham Asylum did. I won’t spoil it for anyone, but it really was a terrific campaign, with a brilliant shock ending which I never saw coming. Some parts where a little tongue in cheek, and in one moment it did just about jump the shark (I can’t think of a clever way here to mention the Fonz for Schro, so I’ll just say it instead!), but to hell with little niggles like that. It’s a comic book story after all, and I cannot wait for the next one to see where they take it. Alongside the campaign there are also side missions that you can complete in any order you wish, and at any time. These side missions vary, and involve villains that don’t have any part in the main campaign. This is a nice touch really, as you don’t feel you have missed the opportunity to interact with some of the main characters in Batman’s world. Alongside these side missions, you also have the customary return of the Riddler’s puzzles and trophies. Personally I wasn’t that fussed about solving/collecting all these, but I know for some it provides extra enjoyment, and many of the puzzles did actually require some serious thought. Not for the dumbed down gamer that’s for sure!

Depending on the version you bought there are also some great bits of DLC to participate in. The most noteworthy of these being the Catwoman episodes, these are integrated into the main campaign at selected points. I did actually find the episodes quite short, however it was a nice touch to switch characters every now and then, and the Catwoman model they created for the part was outstanding. I also was fortunate enough to have the Robin DLC, and this gave me the opportunity to play as Robin in some of the Riddler campaign games (which are in the main menu and separate from the main story, but still good fun). They involved having to fight off an ever increasing number of goons on selected main story levels, and having to clear a room as quickly and stealthily as possible. Your results can then be compared to the rest of the Xbox communities efforts, and this is as close to anything MP that you’re going to get. To date I have completed several of the challenges, but doubt I will get through them all, as some are notoriously difficult.

Now to the most important aspect – Gameplay. First and foremost, this is not a button masher. I have read numerous posts about this on the net, and the bottom line is if you find yourself mashing buttons, then you are not playing the game correctly. Okay yes it is possible to button-mash your way through the bad guys, but it soon becomes tedious doing this constantly, and it’s not the way the game was designed. There are far more interesting and challenging ways to progress. Even when just in a straight up fight however, the timing of the buttons and direction you choose can change the fight dramatically. Also the way the game utilises the environment during your fights is fantastic. Throw a guy through a wall, into a lampost, off a ledge, through a window, bang heads together, grab an opponent’s weapon and use it against it them – it’s all here. My personal favourite though is when Batman grabs an iron bar off an opponent, and proceeds to bend it Superman style, before tossing it away casually.  As you progress and take enemies out, you also unlock (through experience points) greater abilities, and more devastating and deadly manoeuvres to use on your enemy. However the greatest fun to be had is when you use the gadgets at your disposal to take down the opposition. Again I don’t want to spoil it too much for people, but jamming an opponent’s gun before tackling him head on and watching the panic set in on his face as he tries to work out why it has jammed, is the stuff of brilliance. Also freezing the enemies’ feet with an ice grenade and watching him to struggle to move as you glide past him is another highlight. Catwoman also has her own set of moves and counters – as well as gadgets – and fighting with her is a totally different experience than using Batman. A highlight to the game that is most welcome and unexpected. She has a completely different move-set and animations, and for an additional character with not a great deal to do, it really shows some effort on the developer’s behalf.

However confronting an enemy and even letting them see you could be deemed by some a failure. It is possible to progress through large parts of the game without being seen, exactly as you would expect from the Batman. Positioning yourself correctly too can make for some great takedown moves, and leave the rest of the enemies confused and panicked. Such is the brilliant programming of the game, these opponents then become erratic and behave less or more deadly than they perhaps would have previously. There is nothing quite like hanging inverted, like a bat, and swooping down on an enemy who passes you below. Drop a smoke grenade straight after and grapple away elsewhere, and you will not be seen at all. As the game progresses though, enemies become wiser and harder to take down silently. Playing the game on the hardest level, I also found myself having to repeat clearing rooms on occasion, and each time things would happen differently to throw you off. The enemy also equips itself better, using such things as thermal scanners and proximity mines, so you really have to plan out your attack without just wading in. The challenge is there for those who want it, and again it is provided for so well by Rocksteady. The game also wouldn’t be complete without those boss showdowns. And they don’t disappoint. Each one is different, and the highlight for me was the showdown with Mr. Freeze. Without spoiling it, it reminded me a little of Metal Gear Solid, and some thought had clearly gone into this one when they made it.

To say that AC is an outstanding achievement really isn’t doing it justice at all. It is a truly fantastic game, one that captures itself perfectly. What I mean by that is as the Dark Knight is considered by some to be the perfect superhero movie; I think this is the perfect superhero game. Where they go with it from here I really don’t know, but I’m glad they’ve gone where they have, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this review! It’s often easy to praise and put down games, but this truly deserves praise for the sheer effort that has gone into it, and for managing to surpass an original game that was already one of the outstanding releases on the Xbox360. The visuals are stunning – the character models are better than they were in Arkham Asylum, and those were held in the highest regard already. The sound is and audio spot on, and the most important aspect being the gameplay, for me personally is perfection.  It is an irresistible blend of action and stealth; a mixture so often not found in other games. I wouldn’t only say this is the best game I have ever played on the 360 – I would go as far as to say it is simply one of the best games I have ever played, period. And quite comfortably my GOTY thus far.

My final review score…..

A Holy 10/10!!!

Bottom Line: Play this game!!

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• Gears of War 3: Review: One Month After
• Assassins Creed: Revelations: Review

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