Every year sees maybe one or two games that outshine all other releases to that point. This year that game is Batman: Arkham City. The fact that this is a sequel to the Game of the Year winning Arkham Asylum only makes the game more impressive. Rocksteady not only met, but exceeded all expectations with this highly anticipated sequel officially placing them in the AAA developer category. With superb voice acting, a story that is arguably one of the best Batman stories told across any medium, and a free flowing combat system that puts game like Assassin’s Creed to shame, Arkham City is a must have gaming experience.

Graphics:

Rocksteady has managed to pump every ounce of power from the Unreal Engine 3, leaving even Epic and their Gears of War franchise in the dust. Reportedly the game will look even better on the PC version with Nvidia’s Physx engine enabled. I can not overstate the importance of this. Arkham City as it stands right now is one of the best looking games my eyes have ever had the pleasure of feasting on. Imagining the game looking better only makes me want to drop thousands on upgrading my PC so that my eyes can bleed properly when the PC version releases.

Gameplay:

I would think that actually making players feel like a superhero, let alone one of the most iconic super heroes in pop culture, would be a daunting task. Rocksteady made it look easy with a free flowing combat system that can adapt to various styles of play. Gamers out there who just want to button mash their way through droves of thugs will find that this is easily accommodated. Those out there who love to add a bit of stratagem to their violence are not left out in the cold either thanks to an amazingly intuitive hotkey system, and the depth of the unlockable skill sets.

Either style of play will have Batman performing a ballet of pain as he faces off against multiple assailants with a fluidity that is rarely seen in video games, if at all. I can honestly say that I have never experienced a combat system that I enjoyed more than the one Rocksteady has built for this game.

Traversing the Arkham City landscape on the ground is fun for sure, but why stay ground based when you can easily rise above. Chasing across roof tops, gliding, dive bombing, and using the “Bat Cable” will have you moving across large chunks of the city in record time. It all feels very genuine and true to how we have seen the Batman portrayed in other mediums, well…as genuine as a man floating across 4 city block using his cape can be. There were times when I had a few frustrating moments with firing Batman’s cable as it isn’t always clear which ledge, or gargoyle would or could be targeted until you get within the guns range.

As in Arkham Asylum, no Batmobile this time around…ah well maybe next time.

Story:

Didn’t I say just a few paragraphs ago that “With superb voice acting, a story that is arguably one of the best Batman stories told across any medium”. So why only a 20 out of 25, because Rocksteady made the same mistake many developers make these days. Cutting out a piece of campaign content and selling it as day one DLC, even when said content is already on the disk you just payed $60 for. Of course I am referring to the Catwoman portion of the campaign. While not having access to Catwoman’s end of the story isn’t game breaking in any way, it does fill in a few gaps in the storyline that would have been nice to have without spending any extra money.

I love Rocksteady, but that is just dirty pool and points have been deducted accordingly.

The story revolves around Batman struggling to find a cure for a rapidly advancing disease he contracted from the Joker himself, while trying discover what Hugo Strange’s Protocol 10 is and stop it. Of course strange is not the true man behind the curtain, there is another member of Batman’s Rogue Gallery pulling the strings providing a twist toward the end of the game. It wasn’t totally unexpected, but still ended up being really cool.

In the end though, Arkham City and any Batman story for that matter, is really about the never ending struggle between Batman and the Joker. Rocksteady did a great job of nailing the relationship between these two. The only way to stop the Joker is to kill him, otherwise more people will suffer. Batman can not cross that line without becoming everything he swore to protect the citizens of Gotham from. The Joker realizes this and continues to commit increasingly heinous and brazen crimes in hopes of finally pushing Batman over the edge. Effectively he wants to commit suicide by super hero, because that is the only way to truly beat the bat.

The incredible voice acting by Kevin Conroy, and Mark Hamill only serves to add extra punch to an already superb setting and story. Unfortunately not long after Arkham City released, Mark Hamill announced that he was retiring from voicing the Joker. Here is hoping that this “retirement” is just a ruse to get a larger payday as Hamill has become the definitive Joker in many fans eyes, including mine. If not, make sure to watch the game’s credits as they may be the last time you hear this version of the Joker in any medium, and it’s a hell of a way to end Hamill’s run with the character.

Batman’s entire Rogue’s Gallery makes an appearance for the most part, some as enemies, others as tentative allies. Each has a bit of the story to tell, and obstacles for Batman to overcome. While usually my tolerance for side quests such as these goes only so far, I never felt like I was being led off the beaten path of the main story. Or that the length of the game was being artificially increased. It was great to see Talia Al Guhl make her first appearance in the series as I always preferred her relationship to Batman over Catwoman’s. This also gives a glimmer of hope that we might see Damian, Batman and Talia’s son and the new (best ever) Robin make an appearance in the future. Now that is some DLC I would pay for.

Replayability:

There is a lot of content in Arkham City that will have players coming back to complete second and third playthroughs. The main campaign will easily push past ten hours, with the multitude of side quest filling another five or more depending on how big a completionest you are. Not bad for a game that does not support a multiplayer component. Challenge modes not unlike the ones we saw in Arkham Asylum make a return adding even more content and replayability to an already robust game.

Conclusion:

No conclusion other than it’s an amazing game, one of the best. Now stop reading and go buy the Mother Fucker!