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These sequences are a lot more fun than simply blowing up a wall and collecting a trophy. There are even Saw-like sequences where you have to save victims from Riddler's traps.
#BATMAN ARKHAM CITY REVIEW SERIES#
Before you can access them, you may have to use your remote-controlled Batarang to hit a distant switch, figure out the pattern to a series of flashing lights or escape a deathtrap before the Riddler gasses you. There is now more variety in where those trophies are hidden. In the original Arkham Asylum, the trophies were mostly collectible statues hidden behind walls or in vents. One of the cooler improvements to the game is the Riddler's Trophies. This was within an hour of starting the game, and the side-quests only get denser from there.
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In one section, I tried to reach The Joker's hideout to get important information, but along the way, I encountered a murder victim in an alleyway, a hidden vigilante standing on a rooftop nearby, and I received a phone call from a murderer who threatened to kill his victims unless I played his game. It can sometimes be difficult to advance the story simply because you're bombarded with other things to do. There are hidden side-quests, Riddler puzzles, civilians to rescue, secret passages and Easter eggs littering the landscape. The city may not be huge, but it is dense and packed to the brim with things to do. Some of the Augmented Reality racing challenges were lackluster and out of place, but they're optional and rarely an issue.Īrkham City is a darn sight bigger than the asylum but tinier than anything in Prototype or Infamous. You never feel slow, and you're never forced to leave the rooftops if you'd rather not. Batman gets around the city with his grappling hook and gilding cape, which do a great job of providing mobility. The game is far more open than Arkham Asylum, and you can spend a lot of time traveling around the city and finding things to do. Most of the game takes place in the titular city, so you have a large city to explore instead of being confined to the narrow interiors of the asylum. The inclusion of biographies and text-based stories fleshes out the background for those who don't know the difference between Nightwing and Robin. It's a game for Batman fans, with a lot of cameos and callbacks to older Batman narratives. The ending is sure to be controversial, but it's interesting and unexpected enough to be very memorable. Fortunately, the game manages to remain interesting enough that you can quickly power through the meandering points. By making so much of the content optional, Arkham City loses some of Arkham Asylum's incredibly strong pacing. Several fun subplots make up for this, but it would've been nice if the main story were more focused. The main story line starts and ends strongly, but it meanders near the middle. If that weren't bad enough, the events of the previous game have left The Joker rather sickly, and the clown prince of crime had decided to go out with a bang. Strange implements the mysterious Protocol 10. Batman has to find a way to escape before Dr. This comes to a head when Hugo Strange, aware of Bruce Wayne's identity as Batman, has him kidnapped and thrown into Arkham City. Strange have been using it as a personal prison camp. Hugo Strange decide to wall off part of Gotham City into a superprison called Arkham City to house the nastiest villains, including the likes of The Joker, Mr. After a brutal uprising, Gotham elected former Arkham warden (and secret supervillain) Quincy Sharpe as mayor.
#BATMAN ARKHAM CITY REVIEW FULL#
Even in a year full of amazing titles, Arkham City stands out as a high point.Īrkham City begins in the wake of the events of Arkham Asylum. Arkham City manages to surpass the original with flying colors. It promised to be bigger and better than the first game, and that was difficult to imagine after the polished excellence of Batman: Arkham Asylum. The sequel, Batman: Arkham City, has to live up to a lot of expectations. Coming from the relatively unknown studio, Rocksteady, it not only turned out to be a good licensed game, but also one of the best games of 2009. Licensed games are more likely to be duds than gems, and that is why Batman: Arkham Asylum was so surprising.