REVIEW: Batman: Arkham City.

First, I want to apologize to Gears of War 3 for not reviewing it. Gears hit shelves over a month ago, and I haven’t been able to put it down. It’s a fantastic game that deserves its own review, and I’ll get to that next week. I just came off of an Arkham City drinking binge, though, and I need to write now while I’m still Batman intoxicated.

Batman: Arkham City is not a game you simply play; rather, it’s a game you completely immerse yourself in, and become Batman. As a follow up to one of the best games I’ve ever played in Batman: Arkham Asylum, I (along with gamers everywhere) had lofty expectations for the Dark Knight’s latest adventure. Rocksteady took everything that was great about Arkham Asylum and expanded on it.

Instead of being confined to a small island that houses Arkham Asylum, you’re now behind the walls of a massive maximum security super-prison that encompasses a huge chunk of Gotham City. Professor Hugo Strange is in charge, and former Arkham warden Quincy Sharp is now mayor of Gotham. While I sort of have a problem calling it open-world, it’s just a nit-pick from an otherwise fantastic game.

I beat the game last night (actually, this morning, at like 5am). I played the main storyline almost exclusively, and finished in about 15 hours. The sheer amount of things left to do is incredible. I’m a sucker for easter eggs, and there’s plenty. I’m a sucker for trophy challenge type stuff, and the Riddler Trophies return with over 400 (!) spread across the city. I’m a sucker for the combat free-flow, because it’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had in a fighting game.

The addition of Catwoman was fantastic. Not only is she hot (thanks nerds who made the game!) but she’s super agile. I mean, the way she saunters around in skin tight leather with her tits hanging out is great. But the way she can climb on ceilings and pounce on enemies is awesome. I actually think I enjoyed her missions more than Batman’s. Her addition was a fantastic choice.

The negatives are definitely there, but I feel like the positives outweigh them handily. I finished the game, and all I could think of was what I didn’t like. I had some time to think about it, though, and I can’t wait to finish this review so I can keep playing. I’m nowhere near done with the Riddler trophies, and I have a lot of achievements to unlock.

Some of the villains feel thrown in for being thrown in’s sake. I certainly enjoyed the character bios from Arkham Asylum, and learning about lesser known villains like Maxie Zeus, Prometheus, and the Mad Hatter. But do we really need to involve them in this game? I don’t know. It sort of felt like they were trying to give us the most bang for our buck, but it wound up feeling like sensory overload. That’s really my only complaint. That, and gliding. Gliding takes a little getting used to, as I kept dive-bombing instead of just gliding, but once you get the hang of it, it’s way better than just gliding. So, really, my problem with the game is it feels a little forced storyline wise, and probably has too much content.

Seriously guys, my complaint is that the game has too much content?

Overall, I still really, really enjoyed this game. It’s a game I won’t stop playing anytime soon. It had the daunting task of following a game I called “the best I’ve ever played”, and it did so magnificently.

9 out of 10.