Batman: Arkham City thoughts

Rurikredwolf · Oct 22, 2011 5:52 AM

I beat the game last night and did a small review on it:

Spoiler Free: This game completely overpowers the first one, and while some dialogue and scenes seem forced or cliche, it's *bleep* good and you should pick it up.

Long version:

Oh...oh man. I JUST beat the game and am listening to the credits as we speak. This does have some spoilers, but I'll try to keep them to a minimal.

This game takes place I think a year after Arkham Asylum and the Asylum is completely gone, with Arkham City taking its place and being run by Hugo Strange. It takes a great deal of Gotham and is very large and expansive, making you actually feel like you are in a living, breathing, crime-filled city. Although the environment is destructable only in certain areas, it really is life-like.

Another force in the City is the Joker, who is ill from the effects of something he used in the first game. You can really see the physical decay of the Joker and how fatal the condition is if he does not get the cure that Mr. Freeze was working on for him. Without giving away too much, Batman is also infected and has to get the cure as well. And so Arkham City spreads its cape and glides to the story.

The story itself is really well written, but a tad cliche in how Batman speaks ("It's over, Strange!") and certain scenes seem while not forced, just didn't have the punch that was supposed to be there. Like the great reveal of Joker at the end I felt was rushed and I didn't know that was the end until...well...the end came up. It was building up so much and while it wasn't a let down, it stubbled a little but still presented with a surprisingly DEPRESSING ending. Especially what happens during the credits when you hear something; it made me think how dark it really was and I actually felt bad for the character saying it.

The combat is amazing and fast paced, but there are a few VERY MINOR bugs with it. Like I flipped over an enemy and instead of hitting his back, Batman turned to a wall and decided to punch it instead as a guy shoots me in the head because he picked the gun back up. Another thing is that the guys REALLY overwhelm you before you can do anything to the armored thugs/guards or the guys shooting at you. In a way, its kind of cool as well. But with my limited reflexes, I had some issues.

In addition, you can use your gadgets in combat which I really didn't do and I probably should have more often. When I did use them, they really did help a lot and it was fun to see people explode from the gel.

One thing I noted in the gameplay that happened once and never again was that it froze towards the beginning. I remember I was heading to the Museum and I approached a car that had a Riddler trophy under it (collectibles through the game). I approached it and I froze. I had to reset, but it was fine after that.

The cast is varied, but I felt that not all the villains got the appropriate screentime. Two-Face, for example, only appears at the beginning unless you have the Catwoman DLC, which I have. Poison Ivy only appears in the Catwoman stuff as well. Harley was nudged to the side halfway through and never seen again until the ned. Mr. Freeze, while easily having the best boss battle in the game, was kind of underdeveloped yet the most developed of the villains. They tried to recreate the Scarecrow levels from Asylum, but were a bit thrown in and failed to capture the essence. However, this is just a nitpick and doesn't really effect the game too much.

Another thing I wanna bring up is the end. At the end, someone gets shot and presumably dies. However, we never see the body nor what happened to it and this was a very important character. Its like Batman just forgot about the character.

Again, that's just minor nitpicks. I give the game a 9.5/10 for the freezing, nitpicks, and something else I cannot spoil. So yes, I recomend this game, but I would first play Arkham Asylum.

Latias fan · Oct 22, 2011 12:28 PM

I thought you were dead dood.

Anyway, I'm thinking about getting it. Looks pretty cool and it got a 10/10 from Gameinformer(I never see them giving out 10s before) That and Clock-la wants me too.

Clock-la · Oct 22, 2011 1:04 PM

got it.

love it.

get lost

letisfurry get Arkham asylum first.

now hush.

EDIT:::: soo heres my lil say ((story spoiler free wink ))

SOOOOO Tara strong as Harley Quinn....I LOVe xD she's not as good as the Original Harley quinn voice actress (arleen sorkin) but she's still doing a neat job.
Im enjoying how detailed the world is, and I have only just started. also Catwomans mega fun to be tongue

Swaffy · Oct 23, 2011 6:15 AM

Latias fan wrote:

... Clock-la wants me.

Fixed. [Sarcasm]

Clock-la · Oct 23, 2011 8:53 AM

Swaffy wrote:

Latias fan wrote:
... Swaffy wants me.
Fixed. [Sarcasm]

well...thats ok guys im open minded...you are who you are.

#1 Oct 22, 2011 5:52 AM

Batman: Arkham City thoughts

#2 Oct 22, 2011 12:28 PM

Re: Batman: Arkham City thoughts

#3 Oct 22, 2011 1:04 PM

Re: Batman: Arkham City thoughts

#4 Oct 23, 2011 6:15 AM

Re: Batman: Arkham City thoughts

#5 Oct 23, 2011 8:53 AM

Re: Batman: Arkham City thoughts

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