Batman: Arkham City, A Review
I just finished up a run with the wonderfully pleasurable Batman: Arkham City. As a fan of the Bat, he was in a close tie with Spideman as my favorite costumed freak throughout my childhood, I was extremely pleased to see the mythos was once again expertly handled by the game studio Rocksteady.
Rocksteady first took the reigns with Batman’s video game identity a couple years back with Batman: Arkham Asylum, which along with proving that a good Batman game was possible, the game was also a contender for “Game of the Year” on most of the video game media’s lists. There isn’t as much surprise this time around, but there’s certainly a lot more game. Spanning just about every murderous fruit in the Batman villain catalogue, along with a heaping part of the Gotham City real estate, Arkham City is one of those few games that earn your cash with content as oppose to a hastily tacked on multiplayer component.
Carrying over the story from the first game, which you’ll do no disservice to yourself by playing first, along with most of the earned (“Where does he get those wonderful,”) toys needed to progress through the varied environment, Arkham City is essentially a prison break movie…that’s a game…with Batman. The evil warden here is none other than Hugo Strange. Most of you might remember Hugo Strange from that one issue you never read but your delinquent best friend told you about in a pot-induced haze a few years ago. Hugo Strange doesn’t hold the villainous limelight quite as well as the Joker, or Two-Face, or even the lowly Mad Hatter, but he fairs well enough as the biggest pain in Mr Wayne’s balls for much of the game. Perhaps one day, Marvel will sink into the publishing afterlife, and the fine folks at DC can call him Dr. Strange as they obviously wanted to from the get go. Nevertheless, Strange has taken control over a large chunk of Gotham City, deemed it Arkham City, and filled it with all the scum the Dark Knight’s city has to offer. Shitty city. As you can imagine, things quickly break down to which super-villain has the biggest piece, resulting in a melting pot ready to spill over across Gotham. Cue the Batman. Somewhere in there is about two hundred thousand thugs to beat up and a finale that might just put you off (in the best way possible).
The controls are very tight, and as its been said before, the game makes you feel like Batman. That is, till you realize you’re a grown adult in your shorts hunting a digital midget named after a bird. Nevertheless, much of Batman’s repertoire is accounted for, and sorting through the dense grit of Arkham City is a joy, even when you don’t know where you’re going all of the time. There is some hunting and pecking required for the progress of certain side-missions, but then again it’s nice not having a game lead me with a big straight line from A to B.
My first play-through took about six hours or so, though I rushed a bit, in order unlock the “New Game Plus” feature, which allows you to carry over all of your unlocked equipment, unfinished side missions, collected Riddler trophies, and alters the enemies stacked against you to adhere to a more seasoned player in a “new” game. For those of you excited of the promise of different Bat-suits to play dress up with, be warned that none of those are accessible in the main game until you’ve completed it at least once. No fear, this is a game that begs to be replayed.
In the end, which is what this is, Batman: Arkham City does what it’s suppose to. It transcends your hold on reality and pulls you close enough to enjoy the stink of Batman’s cowl. Sure its sweaty from a billionaires funk, but I’d recommend it to anyone, Bat fan or not, who enjoys fine tuned action.
7 Notes