Psykoboy2
10-31-2011, 08:30 AM
Batman Arkham City Review
Title: Batman Arkham City
Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Developer: Rocksteady Studios (http://www.rocksteadyltd.com/)
Publisher: WB Interactive Entertainment (http://www.wbie.com/)
ESRB Rating: Teen
MSRP: $59.99 360 (http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Arkham-City-Xbox-360/dp/B002I0JAVK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319900550&sr=8-1), PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Arkham-City-Playstation-3/dp/B002I0F5M8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319900550&sr=8-2), PC (11/15 Release) (http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Arkham-City-Pc/dp/B004H80TUC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1319900550&sr=8-4)
Editor: Scott "Psykoboy2" Benton
What's Hot: More to explore. More to fight. More gadgets. More villains. More riddles. More Batman. Remember what you hoped to get from a sequel while you played Arkham Asylum? You're getting that...a whole lot of that in Arkham City.
What's Not: There's very little for me to complain about here. Catwoman should NOT be DLC is something, I suppose. But for the most part there's hardly a flaw in this game. The spoken dialogue from the common thugs can sometimes overlap while moving through the city and maybe there's a bit too much Riddler all over the place, but overall those complaints just feel nit-picky.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6054/6291920342_5979382d80_z.jpg
I can remember back in 2009 on episodes of In-Game Chat (http://www.ingamechat.net/) where we would talk about the upcoming Batman game. It looked great from everything we’d seen and while we were excited for it, we weren’t exactly confident in it. We had our doubts, as well we should. At the time, about the only game that had gotten a super hero right was Spider-Man 2 from 2004 or maybe City Of Heroes. Regardless, Batman was a character no one wanted Rocksteady to get wrong, but weren’t so sure they could get it right.
Apparently, getting it right is what Rocksteady does. They proved it once with Arkham Asylum and have proven so again in Arkham City. I can remember, when playing Asylum, all the talk of what a sequel should be. People wanted an open world, new villains, and overall just more to see and more to do. You get that with Arkham City. In spades.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5078/5811928305_ba72fe6bed_z.jpg
My first time in Arkham City actually gave me a bad feeling. Here I was, as Batman, standing on top a building with what looked like miles of city to play around in and I didn’t know the first thing as to what I should do. I was told what I should do, but this was free roam, this was open world...where do I start? That feeling initially overwhelmed me in a sense of thinking that maybe this was too big. Maybe the guys went overboard with all the comments of people wanting an open world Batman game and actually filled our cup too full. After about two hours or so, I was drinking happily from that overflowing cup of Batman goodness, enthralled that I had so much to do, so much opportunity to be Batman in a number of ways.
Indeed, the number of ways to be Batman in this game are outstanding. Really...take your pick. Brood from a viewpoint location and listen to the thugs below talk about what’s going on (and boy do they talk), glide across the city while every so often swooping down to buzz by some thugs and scare the hell out of them, take a shot at nabbing some of the 400 or so Riddler trophies scattered around Arkham City, or maybe take on any one of the 12 different side missions available to you at different points in the game? The choice is yours. How do you want to be Batman?
Depending on how you decide to play Batman the main campaign will take you anywhere from about 10 to 15 hours to complete. But I’m just spit balling there since I play Batman a lot slower than most people. And while I am 100% finished with the main story, I’m only about 52% complete with the whole game. The main campaign probably took me 20 to 25 hours to complete. This was due to really listening in on those conversations the street thugs would have, checking out the different radio frequencies at your disposal after every major event (they comment on what they think is taking place in Arkham City), getting distracted by Riddler trophies and other side quests, the Catwoman DLC, if you have it, will add maybe an hour to the game, and just taking a moment out of the story to beat up random street thugs to hone my combat skills a bit better.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/5071212669_dfb4a66727_z.jpg
Speaking of combat, it’s the best it has ever been, not only in the Batman games, but I’d go so far as to say in any games at all. There is something about this combat that feels simple, complex, and most of all...satisfying. There are a lot of things in Arkham City that make you feel like Batman, but it’s the combat, I think, that really sells that point. From counter moves to grabbing a thrown object and tossing it back to your opponent to the number of gadgets you are able to to use while fighting, nothing says Batman like the hand to hand combat in the game, and Rocksteady made sure of it giving you more guys to fight than ever before. In the Asylum, you maybe ran into a group of 6 thugs or so, but in the city, you are usually confronted by no less than 10 guys at any one time, more so as the game progresses and with variables like riot shields, protective armor, blades, and stun batons. Then there’s the guys with guns.
Batman isn’t a fan of guns and this game really shows you why. Guns kill Batman quicker than anything else in the game. Even with your protective armor against guns maxed out, you don’t last long. Before, back in the Asylum, we rarely had to deal with guns in the open parts of the game. Mainly those were set aside for the predator rooms where you could take them out one by one from above or below. But in the City, you don’t always have that luxury. This goes even further to make you feel like Batman. Taking out an armed enemy silently only to retreat and watch the others get more and more scared of what they can’t see is a real treat. But don’t worry...should you get caught in a gun fight Batman can lay down smoke and evade the fight or take out the guns as quickly as possible. Again, you feel like Batman.
So we wanted an open world and we got it. It feels huge at first but the more time you put into it, the city actually becomes rather small. That’s not really a complaint though since the whole place is populated with SO much to do (even “crime alley” is in there and it’s a wonderful moment if you can find it). Something else we wanted after the first game were more characters from Batman’s rogues’ gallery. While we got bios and cell locations for most of the group in Arkham Asylum, we get the actual characters themselves in Arkham City. You know most of the players from Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, and Hugo Strange. But within the city, as either cameos or full on side missions, are a number of others. I think it’s actually very generous the amount of Batman Rocksteady have put into this game. In fact, if you have the game or could be planning to pick it up after reading this review (trust me, I don’t think that highly of my powers of persuasion to make you do that, but...it could happen), you might want to visit the courthouse basement since today (10/31) is a special day that comes but once a year. Even still, it all goes to that feeling of being Batman and making a game that could really do that term justice. And I haven’t even mentioned the story.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/5071211315_c9bf123749_z.jpg
The story in Arkham City is another well crafted tale given to us from Asylum’s writer and overall Bat lover, Paul Dini. This guy is good at what he does. So good that many of his stories from The Animated Series were actually retconned into the main Batman mythos. And while I do have a few nagging questions to certain events in the story, I’m overall happy with it. There’s two stories being told in Arkham City and it’s the one NOT highlighted in the trailers that I am most happy with. It’s actually amazing since it’s this second storyline that I feel they wanted to tell, but they needed the first storyline to craft the world they could tell the second one in. That may sound a bit confusing, even if you have played it, but just understand that I’m happy with the story regardless. The ending is nothing like what I could have ever expected and came about in a way that thoroughly surprised me. I shit you not, I said the word “bravo” as the screen faded to black just before the credits rolled.
This is a game worth your money. And it’s worth your money right now. But if you have chosen to wait on it, I implore you, do not seek out spoilers. Do not think that you’ll get to this game later and the spoilers won’t matter - they will. They will matter and they will stick with you so much that you’ll remember them when you eventually play the game. The ending and the lead up to it are things that should be experienced as fresh as can be, so don’t ruin this for yourself if you have ANY intention to play this game, and if you’re a fan of the first game or Batman in general, you should have EVERY intention of playing this game. Sooner rather than later.
Score: 5 out of 5 CoGs
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG5.png
http://colonyofgamers.com/images/sitegfx/editorschoice.jpg
Scott says, "Arkham Asylum and now Arkham City have become the standard at which we'll measure super hero games from now on. Likely to the point Rocksteady releases another Batman game. It's hard to imagine where they will go from here, but for now Arkham City stands as not only one of the best Batman games out there (Asylum being the other one), but one of the best games period. It's that good. Buy it."
*Note - Review based upon a purchased retail copy of the PS3 version
Title: Batman Arkham City
Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Developer: Rocksteady Studios (http://www.rocksteadyltd.com/)
Publisher: WB Interactive Entertainment (http://www.wbie.com/)
ESRB Rating: Teen
MSRP: $59.99 360 (http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Arkham-City-Xbox-360/dp/B002I0JAVK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319900550&sr=8-1), PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Arkham-City-Playstation-3/dp/B002I0F5M8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319900550&sr=8-2), PC (11/15 Release) (http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Arkham-City-Pc/dp/B004H80TUC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1319900550&sr=8-4)
Editor: Scott "Psykoboy2" Benton
What's Hot: More to explore. More to fight. More gadgets. More villains. More riddles. More Batman. Remember what you hoped to get from a sequel while you played Arkham Asylum? You're getting that...a whole lot of that in Arkham City.
What's Not: There's very little for me to complain about here. Catwoman should NOT be DLC is something, I suppose. But for the most part there's hardly a flaw in this game. The spoken dialogue from the common thugs can sometimes overlap while moving through the city and maybe there's a bit too much Riddler all over the place, but overall those complaints just feel nit-picky.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6054/6291920342_5979382d80_z.jpg
I can remember back in 2009 on episodes of In-Game Chat (http://www.ingamechat.net/) where we would talk about the upcoming Batman game. It looked great from everything we’d seen and while we were excited for it, we weren’t exactly confident in it. We had our doubts, as well we should. At the time, about the only game that had gotten a super hero right was Spider-Man 2 from 2004 or maybe City Of Heroes. Regardless, Batman was a character no one wanted Rocksteady to get wrong, but weren’t so sure they could get it right.
Apparently, getting it right is what Rocksteady does. They proved it once with Arkham Asylum and have proven so again in Arkham City. I can remember, when playing Asylum, all the talk of what a sequel should be. People wanted an open world, new villains, and overall just more to see and more to do. You get that with Arkham City. In spades.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5078/5811928305_ba72fe6bed_z.jpg
My first time in Arkham City actually gave me a bad feeling. Here I was, as Batman, standing on top a building with what looked like miles of city to play around in and I didn’t know the first thing as to what I should do. I was told what I should do, but this was free roam, this was open world...where do I start? That feeling initially overwhelmed me in a sense of thinking that maybe this was too big. Maybe the guys went overboard with all the comments of people wanting an open world Batman game and actually filled our cup too full. After about two hours or so, I was drinking happily from that overflowing cup of Batman goodness, enthralled that I had so much to do, so much opportunity to be Batman in a number of ways.
Indeed, the number of ways to be Batman in this game are outstanding. Really...take your pick. Brood from a viewpoint location and listen to the thugs below talk about what’s going on (and boy do they talk), glide across the city while every so often swooping down to buzz by some thugs and scare the hell out of them, take a shot at nabbing some of the 400 or so Riddler trophies scattered around Arkham City, or maybe take on any one of the 12 different side missions available to you at different points in the game? The choice is yours. How do you want to be Batman?
Depending on how you decide to play Batman the main campaign will take you anywhere from about 10 to 15 hours to complete. But I’m just spit balling there since I play Batman a lot slower than most people. And while I am 100% finished with the main story, I’m only about 52% complete with the whole game. The main campaign probably took me 20 to 25 hours to complete. This was due to really listening in on those conversations the street thugs would have, checking out the different radio frequencies at your disposal after every major event (they comment on what they think is taking place in Arkham City), getting distracted by Riddler trophies and other side quests, the Catwoman DLC, if you have it, will add maybe an hour to the game, and just taking a moment out of the story to beat up random street thugs to hone my combat skills a bit better.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/5071212669_dfb4a66727_z.jpg
Speaking of combat, it’s the best it has ever been, not only in the Batman games, but I’d go so far as to say in any games at all. There is something about this combat that feels simple, complex, and most of all...satisfying. There are a lot of things in Arkham City that make you feel like Batman, but it’s the combat, I think, that really sells that point. From counter moves to grabbing a thrown object and tossing it back to your opponent to the number of gadgets you are able to to use while fighting, nothing says Batman like the hand to hand combat in the game, and Rocksteady made sure of it giving you more guys to fight than ever before. In the Asylum, you maybe ran into a group of 6 thugs or so, but in the city, you are usually confronted by no less than 10 guys at any one time, more so as the game progresses and with variables like riot shields, protective armor, blades, and stun batons. Then there’s the guys with guns.
Batman isn’t a fan of guns and this game really shows you why. Guns kill Batman quicker than anything else in the game. Even with your protective armor against guns maxed out, you don’t last long. Before, back in the Asylum, we rarely had to deal with guns in the open parts of the game. Mainly those were set aside for the predator rooms where you could take them out one by one from above or below. But in the City, you don’t always have that luxury. This goes even further to make you feel like Batman. Taking out an armed enemy silently only to retreat and watch the others get more and more scared of what they can’t see is a real treat. But don’t worry...should you get caught in a gun fight Batman can lay down smoke and evade the fight or take out the guns as quickly as possible. Again, you feel like Batman.
So we wanted an open world and we got it. It feels huge at first but the more time you put into it, the city actually becomes rather small. That’s not really a complaint though since the whole place is populated with SO much to do (even “crime alley” is in there and it’s a wonderful moment if you can find it). Something else we wanted after the first game were more characters from Batman’s rogues’ gallery. While we got bios and cell locations for most of the group in Arkham Asylum, we get the actual characters themselves in Arkham City. You know most of the players from Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, and Hugo Strange. But within the city, as either cameos or full on side missions, are a number of others. I think it’s actually very generous the amount of Batman Rocksteady have put into this game. In fact, if you have the game or could be planning to pick it up after reading this review (trust me, I don’t think that highly of my powers of persuasion to make you do that, but...it could happen), you might want to visit the courthouse basement since today (10/31) is a special day that comes but once a year. Even still, it all goes to that feeling of being Batman and making a game that could really do that term justice. And I haven’t even mentioned the story.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/5071211315_c9bf123749_z.jpg
The story in Arkham City is another well crafted tale given to us from Asylum’s writer and overall Bat lover, Paul Dini. This guy is good at what he does. So good that many of his stories from The Animated Series were actually retconned into the main Batman mythos. And while I do have a few nagging questions to certain events in the story, I’m overall happy with it. There’s two stories being told in Arkham City and it’s the one NOT highlighted in the trailers that I am most happy with. It’s actually amazing since it’s this second storyline that I feel they wanted to tell, but they needed the first storyline to craft the world they could tell the second one in. That may sound a bit confusing, even if you have played it, but just understand that I’m happy with the story regardless. The ending is nothing like what I could have ever expected and came about in a way that thoroughly surprised me. I shit you not, I said the word “bravo” as the screen faded to black just before the credits rolled.
This is a game worth your money. And it’s worth your money right now. But if you have chosen to wait on it, I implore you, do not seek out spoilers. Do not think that you’ll get to this game later and the spoilers won’t matter - they will. They will matter and they will stick with you so much that you’ll remember them when you eventually play the game. The ending and the lead up to it are things that should be experienced as fresh as can be, so don’t ruin this for yourself if you have ANY intention to play this game, and if you’re a fan of the first game or Batman in general, you should have EVERY intention of playing this game. Sooner rather than later.
Score: 5 out of 5 CoGs
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG5.png
http://colonyofgamers.com/images/sitegfx/editorschoice.jpg
Scott says, "Arkham Asylum and now Arkham City have become the standard at which we'll measure super hero games from now on. Likely to the point Rocksteady releases another Batman game. It's hard to imagine where they will go from here, but for now Arkham City stands as not only one of the best Batman games out there (Asylum being the other one), but one of the best games period. It's that good. Buy it."
*Note - Review based upon a purchased retail copy of the PS3 version