[Timgt5]

Batman Arkham City
Review by Timgt5

One of the great blights on the history of videogames has been the treatment of classic icons of the comic book world. Over the years the number of subpar comic book based games has far exceeded the number of good ones. In 2009 we were all very pleasantly surprised when a little known developer called Rocksteady brought us Batman, Arkham Asylum. In one fell swoop Arkham Asylum showed us a developer who actually understood the source material and treated it with great respect. In my best games wrap up I posted for 2009 I said that Rocksteady that was going to do great things, have I been proven right? Read on…

Batman Arkham City:
Release Date 10/18/2011
Platforms: PS3, Xbox360, PC, and at some point in the future Wii-U
Type: Single Player, action/adventure
Genre: Science Fiction/Comic Book based
ESRB Rating T (teen)

Highs: Excellent Graphics, Well crafted plot, fluid combat, top notch voice cast, wonderful sound score and loads of game play

Lows: Steep learning curve on secondary gadgets, occasional movement glitches

The Plot: Sometime after the events depicted in Arkham Asylum, Quincy Sharpe, who ran Arkham Asylum manages to take credit for stopping the Joker (although it was Batman who did all the work). He parlays this into a successful campaign to become mayor of Gotham City. He then uses his position to create “Arkham City” a gigantic open air “super-max” prison facility that consumes several slum districts of the city. Into Arkham city he dumps regular criminals from Blackgate prison and the freakish super villains from Arkham Asylum. The facility is being run by psychiatrist Hugo Strange, and there is more going on than meets the eye.

Billionaire Bruce Wayne (Batman’s Alter Ego) has become openly critical of the facility and is lobbying the city council to have it closed down. Wayne along with anyone else who publicly opposed the facility is suddenly arrested and locked up in Arkham City. Disturbingly periodic announcements of “Protocol 10” are made and sound very ominous. Wayne escapes internment and has Alfred (his loyal butler and jack of many trades), air drop the “Batsuit” and Batman’s assorted gadgetry and Mr. Wayne suits up for a long and difficult night ala “Snake Pliskin” (there had to be at least one “Escape from New York” reference in this review).

Hugo Strange for the most part lets the inmates run wild inside Arkham City. He keeps the place locked down with a mercenary army called Tyger Corp. As expected the various super-villains, Two-Face, Joker and Penguin set up bases and gather the lesser thugs to assist them in enforcing their respective territories. Joker and Penguin are embroiled in turf war and Batman gets caught in the middle.

The narrative is pinned by veteran Batman writer, Paul Dini, who gives us an outstanding and gripping story that has Batman coming face to face with many of his greatest enemies including Mr. Freeze, the Joker, Bane, Clayface, Penguin, Ra’s Al Ghul and the Riddler among others.

Definite “A” material, Batman fans I believe would thoroughly enjoy.

The Game Play: Batman Arkham City is an action adventure game set in an open world environment. The primary missions are driven by story’s narrative with a lot of various optional side missions, to add length and substance to the game. The player primarily plays as Batman, but for those who purchase new copies there is a code which unlocks Catwoman as a playable character, whose adventures parallel Batman’s narrative.

The actual mechanics combine level navigation, combat (mostly hand to hand) platforming, puzzle solving and a bit of detective work. Batman does not have access to his vehicles but can cover ground on foot or use the roof tops. Batman’s cape allows him to glide great distances and his trusty grappling hook can be used to reach high structures very quickly. The mechanics are outstanding and it is a lot of fun to tool around Arkham City this way.

A particular standout in this game is the combat, which is incredibly fluid and brilliantly represents Batman’s martial arts expertise. The controls are simple to learn and combos are easy to execute. As the game goes on Batman faces more and more difficult enemies and the player most use smart tactics to defeat them. Boss battles emphasize this even more, although the last one was a bit too simple.

Batman would not be Batman, without his trusty utility belt of useful tools, many of them making a return from Arkham Asylum. There is there ever ubiquitous Bat Claw giving Batman a means to open hatchways. Then there is the “Spray on” C-4 which allows Batman to enter areas where the structure has become unstable. My favorite is the line shooter, this allows Batman to make his own zip line. Some of the gadgets are tricky to use and take some practice; fortunately Arkham City has a tutorial section to help out the player master them.

Also returning from Arkham Asylum is “Detective Mode” This allows Batman to scan the area in infrared. In this mode he can see enemies through walls and also find a means of entering dangerous areas that are hidden to the naked eye. This works very well and is critical to complete some missions.

Sights and Sounds: Arkham City has wonderful visuals. The atmosphere is a bizarre but beautiful mix of Victorian and Industrial areas. The area itself is expansive and sports awesome sightlines that do a great job of conveying scale. The structures are highly detailed with excellent textures and coloring. Particle effects are first rate, and animations are very sharp. The character models are highly detailed, with well rendered facial expressions and “right on the money” lip synching. One particularly nice touch is that Batman’s costume shows greater and greater wear as the game progresses, and you have to love a developer that really sweats the details that way. The character animations are superb, especially the combat finishes.

The sound effects are also first rate. From machinery, ambient noises, to the even the fluttering of Batman’s cape as he takes those big leaps are all well done here, with my favorite being the authoritative “thunk” that happens when Batman puts someone’s lights out.

The game’s voice cast is outstanding. Both Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill (yes “Luke Skywalker” is a prolific voiceover actor) play the Batman and the Joker respectively. These guys also work together on animated Batman Series so they play off each other very well. Other casts include the ever wonderful Nolan North as the Penguin (a 180 degree turn from playing the dashing Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series) and Tara Strong (a fantastic voice over actress who is in far too many cartoons and games to list) as the villainous Harley Quinn (Joker’s twisted woman). Hugo Strange is played by Corey Burton whose voice bares an eerie resemblance to the baritone of actor James Earl Jones. Equally impressive is the music score, well composed and pitch perfect.

Kids Corner: Batman Arkham City is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB. I see it as the equivalent of a PG-13 film. There is some violence, but Batman himself avoids actually killing his enemies, preferring to restrain them or knock them out. There is little blood depicted here. Some younger players may fine the somewhat dark storyline less than appealing and some of the villains have a grotesque appearance. A couple of the female characters wear mildly titillating clothes, but there are no nude or sexual scenes in the game. Curse words are used very sparingly and where appropriate. I do not see a problem with teens or more mature preteens playing this game. Again I leave it up to the parents reading this review to judge base on their own child’s development and personality.

In Summary: Rocksteady got itself off to an excellent start with Batman, Arkham Asylum and continues to impress with Batman, Arkham City. Arkham City brilliantly captures the essence of the Batman character and his universe. There is a lot of content to keep players busy (up 40 hours plus in this one counting all the Riddler challenges and side missions). The bottom line is that Batman Arkham City is the best comic book based videogame ever produced.

For those of you who are long time fans of this comic book, this game will be an absolute treat to play through and even if you are not a devotee of the “Dark Knight” there is a lot here to enjoy all the same.

I highly recommend this title

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