“I’m Batman” – Me, October 2011
From its lowliest gutter to its highest rooftop, Batman: Arkham City is the next evolutionary step to make you truly feel like the Dark Knight. The more claustrophobic feel of Arkham Asylum is traded for an open experience, bringing Batman back to the streets and into the sky. There is nowhere Batman cannot go, nowhere for a criminal to hide, even inside their own prison. You see, a large section of Gotham has been evacuated and walled off to create Arkham City, an enormous open-air prison for the combined populations of the former Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison. Run by the villainous psychiatrist Hugo Strange, the inmates have free reign within the walls. Bruce Wayne/Batman believes this powder keg is about to explode and endeavors to shut it down from the inside.
Rocksteady Studios again proves its expertise in distilling the key essence of Batman into a tangible gaming experience. The gameplay elements brought to the table in Arkham Asylum were by no means broken so the name of the game here is refinement and expansion of what worked so well before. The free flow combat, stealth and gadgets – in particular the grapnel gun and gliding ability expanded to maximize Batman’s ability to move quickly around the gorgeous and incredibly detailed city. Little additions like smoke pellets and being able to call swarms of bats to your aid just add to the Batman authenticity. It all functions to make you feel like a one man wrecking crew, the way Batman should feel.
Aside from the main storyline, there is an amazing amount of extra content in Arkham City that keeps you very much occupied as you zip around, almost to the point of distraction. Interesting sidequests that breathe further life into the Batman mythos are everywhere and those Riddler trophies are almost impossible to ignore. Arkham City embraces DLC much more than Asylum, including a Catwoman side story seamlessly integrated into the main plot of the game as well as a plethora of character skins for post-game and challenge rooms, serving to enrich the universe created here by Rocksteady.
Batman: Arkham City has everything a sequel should be – bigger environments, broader scope, a fresh yet familiar experience while fleshing out a grander overall story. When you’re grappling from rooftop to rooftop, change directions mid-glide in order to swoop down toward a thug and kick him square right in the freaking face, yeah you better believe you’ll actually feel like THE GODDAMN BATMAN.
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