The His Review

Superhero needed. Unique and lively waterfront location, neighbours are a hoot, Mayor seeks guidance, active behavioural management of peers required and there’s something rotten in the pipes. Welcome to Arkham City.

With three rival & villainous gangs patrolling Arkham’s streets, devotees of Penguin, Two Face or Joker make the city a pretty perilous place for our little bats. There are thugs aplenty, thugs with bats, with armour, guns and shields that all warrant a different tactical approach to ensure their erasure, but they’re no match for the Bat who with a glorious sense of satisfaction with the “beat down” method, unleashes fifteen uber quick combo punches delivered straight to the midriff in a little over 2 seconds before a Matrix style finishing move.

The characters you encounter are full, rich and authentic to the world. Enemies are full of menace, licking Batman with their humorous barbs and taunts and this is supplemented by the incredible voice acting and consistent characterisation in the vocal performances throughout the game. The narrative design and Mr B’s complex relationship to his frenemies and allies make this particular aspect of the game absolutely compelling. For me the stand out character is Mr Freeze with his melancholic tones, heartbreaking storyline and his pivotal role in the game. I say Freeze for Mayor.

Alongside the thorough character development, the audio design enhances the experience and adds valuable layers to the world that has been created. There’s audio interception from the cryptograph that’s crackling over the airwaves where you partially hear stories and titbits of information from criminal gangs which adds detail to the back story. Combine this with a rasping score and accompanying rock soundtrack and you’ve got a sweet sonic experience.

With a multiplicity of well designed side quests, sub plots including tracking evidence trails, chasing ringing phones across the city and as well as an absolute stellar cast of enemies from the entire back catalogue of Batman then you’ve got the foundations of a high quality gaming experience.

However, I think the game sings loudest with its exquisite pacing. Flowing through the night sky, gliding, swooping and soaring not only enables swift progression from GCHQ to the museum, but offers time to absorb the environment and the love that has been poured into making this cultural offering. There is the combination of mass melee encounters when thugs rain down upon you in the heat of battle but the next conflict requires a whole host of stealth options where you eliminate one enemy at a time.

The addition of new gadgets is pleasant, but only adds incrementally to the already fine and fluid combat experience. The line launcher gets my vote as it not only being enables Mr B to traverse unjumpable chasms, but in mid glide, you can fire another line, change direction and turn a corner – thus opening up new areas, previously out of reach and most of the time access those pesky riddler trophies.

There is quality, craft and a well defined balance oozing out of every pore of the game. However, I personally cannot find the connection to Batman as a role/character. There’s an assumption that because of his history, comics and films that we should know the back story and I feel he’s not introduced properly (like a new character from a new game who you don’t know), you don’t get to know him or develop a relationship with him as a character and subsequently I’m left feeling, at best, ambivalent towards him. The other niggle I have is that there’s no consequences for dying; it merely brings you back to the start of your current mission with full health and ready to do battle again, so these two elements make caring for little Batman very hard, as a character he’s impenetrable and if he dies he’ll just come back to life, so I value him even less.

This sequel is an important improvement on the original and Rocksteady Studios learnt what worked and what fans wanted more of by trawling the forums which is admirable. Considering this is only number two, Rocksteady have created two works which add value to the already huge Batman canon. They now have a fan base already awaiting the next instalment and ready to build on this plentiful single player experience, oh and the song that runs over the end credits, absolutely inspired. Superhero needed. This position has now been filled.

Her Review with Tracey

For the love of Batman. First of all, as Ian rightly heaps on the plaudits, mechanically, aesthetically and audibly Batman: Arkham City is masterful and there’s a lot to like, perhaps even love but for some reason, me and the Bat don’t get on.

Donning the Batsuit during an uber brief cutscene is a rather un-momentous occasion but taking your first step off a ledge into the inky city below is genuinely impressive. Flight is smooth and graceful, gliding and whipping around decrepit buildings with a black rubber cape spread out wide behind is pure joy. Apparently, it’s possible to play the majority of the game without ever touching the ground and there’s so much to explore. The first 20 mins of the game were overwhelming as the city sprawl is all open – where to go first? Spotting a corpse or hearing trouble brewing in the streets below as yet another political prisoner gets a taste of City fist sets the mood. Arkham City is full of lunatics, madmen and violent inmates (which interestingly apart from three leading female characters are all blokes).

Dive bombing from a great height and hurtling his tiny feet (they are tiny compared to his biceps) into an unsuspecting evil doer before getting into some serious street brawling, this Batman is a confused mixture of utterly ruthless, high octane martial arts and steadfast morals. He will threateningly growl in someone’s face before snapping their arm or jaw in two (with a echoic shotgun sound effect rather than a meaty bone crack – shame it didn’t come up POW) but will never kill. He is fully aware of his complete lack of personality as he tells a cop looking for revenge “You’re emotional. You’ll make mistakes. Leave it to me”. Clearly the only way to get the job done is to duff people up to within an inch of their life, then walk away feeling like a big merciful cheese. It’s the one facial expression, gruff voiced version of Batman that a current generation of fans and Christian Bale wannabes have grown to love but for me it is the thing I dislike about him most. Batman isn’t super, he’s wealthy and it’s his wealth that has given him access to super weapons, gadgets and materials. What drives him initially into the City is the fact that he thinks housing all of Gotham’s most notorious criminals in one spot is a bad idea. Turns out, through his naivety and lack of ability to understand humans added to his general stupidity when putting himself in risky situations, he ends up with a lot more to fight for and save.

Some people refer to him as the world’s greatest detective and yes, his cryptograph is a snazzy bit of kit as it can tune into broadcasts, hack locks and of course allow chat with Alfred and the Oracle back at the Batcave but strip the man of his tools and Bruce is all brawn no brain (really, how many times can one guy fall for the ‘lure-you-in-then-trap-you-or-bash-you-over-the-head trick’?). Maybe it’s this attitude and lack of real intelligence in Batman that influenced the decision to take away so much of the in-game freedom that for me would have brought this game to life. Despite taking the hints option off, persistently Batman boringly told me “I need to scan the area for evidence. I need to trace this, I need to find that. The bullet came from here. I need to go there.” Any mystery or genuine problem solving is removed from the main storyline. Scanning evidence is a dull one button affair and is all processed automatically. Yes the cryptograph allows Batman to overhear inmate’s conversations below but the majority of the time, they are about wanting burgers, not subtle hints of what to do. They occasionally comment on the main events but only after they have happened. There are 400 Riddler trophies to collect in every nook and cranny of the city that do require a bit of thinking and skill but chances are, you won’t have the right equipment to access 80% them until you’ve completed the main story, so back to being bored.

Batman is a stubborn and selfish glory boy – so what keeps us playing? Most definitely, it’s the other villainous characters – Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, Joker and more - that will delight fans and newcomers alike. Their costumes, expressions and habits with excellent vocal performances that bring menace, glee and outrage to proceedings are compelling and utterly convincing. How the bad guys plan and plot against each other is fascinating and is where the strength of the story lies. I found myself wishing Batman would butt out as the tension of recruiting members to swear allegiance to the potential new top dog of the city prison was complex and unpredictably exciting.

I also downloaded the Catwoman bundle DLC pack which allows you to play the slinky Selina feline thief in a separate storyline that interweaves with Batman’s main story. With ample bosom almost bursting out of a precariously zipped lyrca all-in-one, she is by far the most dynamic and sexy character in the game. Her story is directly informed by her devious, gymnastic personality, she’s brassy and authentic. The strength of her story is matched with some fabulous combat moves including an over the back of the head kick plus she can reach other parts of the City that Batman can’t. There’s also Nightwing DLC available too.

The combat itself is magic and slick. A spiky alert ring of blue will appear above someone’s head if they are about to attack, allowing for some glorious counter attack animations that change depending on the attack or the location and include head butts, baseball bat reversals into the stomach and of course Chinese burns. Swiftly knocking out two guys at once before launching onto the next opponent happens in the blink of an eye whilst the camera beautifully curves around Batman’s back meaning the pace or sight is never broken during the action. Smoke bombs conceal or disorient enemies whilst a whole range of your gadgets, quickly strung together with stun or punch combos assure Batman always wins.

It looks amazing with the fluidity, attention to detail and speed never compromised though a few hours in, for me it became strangely monotonous perhaps because there’s never any real sense of threat or challenge. Maybe this is due to the fact that Ian highlighted – Batman is almost invincible. Should you get overrun with enemies and mess up your blows, you pass out and one short loading screen later, you’re back in the thick of it, no worse for wear. You never have to retreat or hide to regain your health, nor do you have to seek out first aid kits. It keeps the pace up but at the detriment of me really caring at all what happens to Batman – his health isn’t that precious which creates a curious, grating imbalance with the main story line. Chances are you won’t fall in battle that many times anyway as when you find one approach doesn’t work, there are so many options, gadgets and upgrades, you’ll find another that certainly will. I felt the need to fully invest in the game or have any skill other than being able to rapidly hit one button to get by was stripped away. The other slick moves felt just for show. For me, it’s a constant reminder that without the suit, Batman is just a guy with loads of money, a thick neck and very little brain.

Overall, interactivity is not enough. The story feels like it was written around visiting as many iconic locations and characters from Batman’s comic back catalogue as possible when really it’s a two man showdown and is just a series of fights with some flying in between. Favours and alliances are made and broken along the way and I saw the ending coming a mile away. The combat is undeniably brilliant and whilst sat atop a vantage point, if you take time to pause and look out over the neon lit, grimy city below, harbouring Gotham’s most loathsome and certified insane criminals as the majestic, goosebump inducing score builds, it’s easy to see why fans whilst be overjoyed with this latest Batman offering. There is plenty to like here, perhaps even love but me and the Bat, we still don’t get on.

Batman: Arkham City is available now on Xbox, PS3 and PC.