logan j. fowler gives us his first impressions on the sequel to the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum …
How do you better something that’s already so damn good? That’s the question I, along with a ton of other gamers, had when we first set our sights on footage for Batman: Arkham City. Arkham Asylum, the game’s prequel, finally gave us fanboys a Batman game worth playing, as the caped crusader has had a rocky history with video games. But circling back to the original question, how do you build upon and create a sequel that meets the awesome elements of the first one, while fixing the bugs, and overall creating a good, if not superior, sequel?
Well, as I popped the Arkham City disc into my XBOX 360, my typical gaming style was put to rest. See, when I play video games, I don’t normally play for long, maybe a half hour tops, unless the game has enough draw to it to suck me in. As soon as I started playing, I didn’t stop until I went to bed (which was later than normal). Arkham City is THAT good.
Taking the format of Asylum and putting it more in a borderline open world, Arkham City breaks Batman out of the institution we saw in game number 1, allowing him to take to the skies between missions, grapple from roof top to roof top, and glide from point A to B. I never thought I’d be so happy to be rid of the confines of Arkham Asylum, but truth be told, developer Rocksteady Games gave us the ability to be more like the dark knight by allowing him more freedom in this type of environment. Don’t worry, you won’t get lost in the city; markers are there for you to follow, as well as meters to let you know how close your next objective is to your current standpoint. In addition, the map allows you to pinpoint an area that you want to travel to, providing our hero an easier path to that area without gamers finding trouble.
The game runs a parallel line to the Grand Theft Auto games, in which you can take on core missions or side missions. Both of these will add points to your overall score allowing you to upgrade gadgets, your suit, your abilities, and the like. You can also dive down into the city every once in a while to put the beat down on thugs, helping you rack up the numbers. What I thought was an improvement in Arkham City over Asylum was that the “arcade style” that was found in Asylum -– go to room, beat up thugs, go to next room, etc. — is kind of removed here. You will encounter thugs in your missions, undoubtedly, but the linear path is not as clear cut as it was in the previous game. It just seems like you have more choices in this aspect.
In addition to playing as the titular Batman, you can also take on the role of Catwoman, who takes some getting used to, but in a matter of minutes, you’ll be “whip slinging” and getting around the city with ease. She is a great addition to the game, and helps to break up the Batman sections, not that the game really needed it, but still, Catwoman is definitely fun to play as.
Graphically, Arkham City looks glorious. The character models all look great, and the city is not plagued with fuzzy textures you would see in a semi open world. The buildings even have a touch of personality to them, as neon signs, banners, and colorful lights decorate a vast number of structures. These little details add a lot to the proceedings.
In the voice department, every vocal credit earned their pay for sure. Mark Hamill returns as the Joker (haven’t seen him physically in the game yet, but I have heard his voice throughout my time with the game), and I personally can’t get enough of the former Jedi lending his pipes to the clown prince of crime; in fact, when I watched Batman: Under The Red Hood, I sincerely missed Hamill as the voice as the villain everyone loves to hate. Kevin Conroy (who is also returning) breathes life into the voices of Batman and Bruce Wayne, adding a slight alteration for each character as to get a distinction of the protagonist having an alter ego. The rest of the rogue gallery featured (or who I encountered already, including the Penguin, Harley Quinn, Hugo Strange, Catwoman, Two-Face, and Victor Zsasz) have incredible voice actors, and I can’t wait to get more time with each of them.
Rounding out the sound department, the music for the game is top notch, and enhances the atmosphere found within the game. Really no complaints whatsoever here either.
As I’ve mentioned earlier in this write up, I haven’t had much time with the game, but speaking on difficulty standards, I am sure the game has a fair learning curve. Thugs found earlier in the game will be easier to take down, but as you progress throughout the city, completing missions and what not, the bosses will get harder, the challenges more difficult, and your patience will be tested. Along with the expanded upon Riddler Challenge, in where you have more trophies left by the question mark man to find than you ever did in Arkham Asylum, I know the game is not going to be a walk in the park … err … city. However, I look forward to the rising difficulty and skill building the game will offer, not just for the sake of upgrading, but because it’s going to be worth it.
If you haven’t guessed it already by what I’ve written here, Arkham City is amazing. It takes a successful formula put into play by Arkham Asylum and injects it with more personality, better game play, and while it does have a dose of the familiar (you’re still going to be hanging from gargoyles to get the drop on bad guys), the beautiful, yet gloomy environment makes it feel brand new again. The caped crusader flies high yet again with help from Rocksteady Games; Batman: Arkham City is a must buy for any fan boy, fan girl, or gamer (or any combination of the three) this holiday season.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V1ZF5cNYCs&w=560&h=315]
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