Batman: Arkham City accomplishes what most games strive to do, but many fail to pull off successfully.
You truly feel a part of the universe the game creates for you. You feel as though you are the Batman. That is, until you die of course. A game truly succeeds when it runs smoothly and everything works the way it’s supposed to, so when trying to put yourself in Batman’s cowl, you won’t have to worry about technical game problems like faulty checkpoints or glitchy game mechanics to break your immersion (if only the same could be said about Arkham Origins).
The game takes place after the events of Arkham Asylum, but you’re not required to be familiar with Rocksteady’s first take on the Batman mythos to understand what’s going on - the game effectively gets you up to speed with its natural story telling. In a nutshell, Mayor Quincy Sharp has sectioned off a part of the city to house all of Gotham’s criminals in one place, and given arch-villain Hugo Strange the position of prison warden. It sounds simple enough, but Bruce Wayne knows something isn’t right about Arkham City, and decides to investigate more directly as his alter ego. Once there you discover things are just as Bruce suspected - Hugo is using the prison as his own personal experiment, and there’s a more sinister agenda at play. The events going on in Arkham City are all part of a puzzle created for Batman to solve; as Hugo Strange says, “I look forward to breaking you.”
The story is well written, though stronger in some parts than in others. Other than the Joker himself, most of the villains can appear a bit two dimensional, their presence simply shoe-horned into the game to tick a box and please fans, or to act as a convenient maguffin to keep the story moving. The Joker has always been Batman’s arch-enemy - it wouldn’t feel like a Batman game without him - but it would’ve been nice to see the other villains prove worthy adversaries, rather than fodder to fill up the game’s story.
Thankfully, the villains are all well acted and make for fun adversaries, but it’s Mark Hamill’s Joker that steals the show. In a way, Arkham City feels as though it holds back intentionally at times in terms of the scope of it’s universe. A part of this could be in an attempt to ground the game by not mentioning characters with super powers, but seeing cameos of characters and places leaves you wanting more, and feeling as though most of the world has been established and you are merely peering into a window of it’s history, as you are teasingly able to see the rest of Gotham off in the distance, without ever being able to actually access it. There is also no Batmobile to be found (we’ll have to wait for Arkham Knight for that), and while the Batcave does make a late appearance, it feels somewhat under-utilized. We do get a glimpse of Robin as part of a cameo lasting all of 30 seconds (he becomes a playable character in the Harley Quinn’s Revenge DLC) as well as a couple of other fan-favorite characters, but it simply leaves you wanting more. This slightly detracts from the immersion as Batman, but so many other things are done so well, this misstep can be forgiven. If you are well involved with Batman through television and comics, you probably already feel well versed in the universe; if not, you can’t help but feel as though you don’t fully understand the weight of what’s going on because you don’t know the history behind the characters’ relationships and why their appearance is so significant. The story nonetheless is an enjoyable one, and has it’s fair share of twists and turns - although towards the end things become a bit confusing and the conclusion feels somewhat rushed. But if your’re smart, you’ll figure out what’s going on ahead of the big reveals and appreciate the story that much more for it.
Arkham City taps into each one of Batman’s facets: the detective, the fighter, and the Dark Knight. The weaker of the three is the Detective sequences. There simply isn’t much to it really. You’ll literally just pointing and click on objects in the environment to progress the story, utilizing Batman’s Detective Vision - which allows him to highlight objects of interest, and see enemies through walls. You never really feel like you’re solving mysteries, a problem only made worse by the fact that Batman’s internal monologue has a nasty habit of walking you through exactly what’s happening. These sequences can be interesting and creative at times, and are thankfully few and far between, but we can’t help but feel they are a missed opportunity. Batman is supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, but not once do you feel like you’re actually doing real detective work.
The combat is the same as it was in Arkham Asylum, and has lost none of its freshness. While on the surface it feels simple and straightforward, once you start mixing things up with your various gadgets and attempting to pass every encounter in one single unbroken combo chain, it can become very complex. The combat is primarily a series of hits and counters, allowing you to execute special combos once your meters build up. You can swiftly move from one enemy to the next, stun attackers, Whichever way you choose to fight, taking out a dozen convicts and hearing a TYGER operative, (those who “enforce” the law of Arkham City) watch in awe as you do it makes for a satisfying “I’m Batman!” moment. Because of the variations in combat, situations, and enemy types the gameplay remains fresh and addictive, making each encounter enjoyable rather than feeling like a chore.
Finally there’s stealth in the form of Predator sequences. Grappling onto gargoyles, hiding in grates, around corners in walls, the whole area is there to be bent to your will, manipulating and traversing your surroundings picking off enemies like flies and alongside your arsenal of gadgets, you are presented with an array of choices on how to approach a situation and take out your prey. The enemy AI is smart enough, that they feel worth taking out, and their increased fear and heartbeat seen through detective vision brings them to life as actual people within the game rather than mindless drones with guns. They also adapt to your tricks and techniques, forcing you to adapt to the dynamic situation, making you feel like that much more of a bad ass when you still take them out magnificently. Batman is also more agile than ever as Arkham City introduces a brand new gliding system, that has very fluent and sleek controls, allowing you to virtually fly anywhere, just like Batman. This allows for traversing the large expanse effortless and enjoyable.
Both combat and Predator sequences can be replayed in the form of challenge maps, where you can utilize a variety of techniques to earn higher scores. These scores are compared on global leaderboards allowing to compete to be the best Batman.Even if you don’t want to compete online, recording your scores is enough to encourage you to strive for a higher one and beat your own personal best, honing your skills. This adds an increased level of replayability to the game and highlights some of the game’s strengths.
There are also plenty of collectibles to obtain, in the form of Riddler trophies scattered throughout the map. But you don’t just simply pick them up. Most trophies require a creative way of unlocking access to them, and some can be increasingly difficult or require specific gadgets as you progress further into the game, adding a slight metroidvania feel to the proceedings. Collecting these trophies unlocks concept art, character bios, and more challenge maps. There are also plenty of side missions that are well crafted and dedicated to more minor Gotham villains. Many of these missions require a certain level of mastery of your your skills as Batman: gliding, fighting, investigating, reflexes, memorization and much more. The map is densely packed with plenty to do, so while the main story is relatively brief, all of the ancillary content will keep you playing for quite a while after the credits roll.
You’re also able to play as Catwoman, in a few missions interspersed throughout the game. Catwoman has her own moveset, utilizing her bullship to scale buildings and in combat. Her missions are enjoyable enough, though it can sometimes feel like she’s a little over-sexualized - can someone please explain why her top is permanently half-unzipped? - and the propensity for other characters to repeatedly call her a bitch can become somewhat tiresome. We understand that Catwoman has always been a character who uses her feminine… erm, assets to her advantage, but in Arkham City this personality trait is often taken to ridiculous extremes and the result is that Catwoman often feels like little more than a caricature. Still, it’s a minor point and shouldn’t detract from most people’s enjoyment of the game.
The musical score is mostly composed by Nick Arundel, and although none it is something you’d listen to while riding in your car, it makes for good ambient noise and does a good job of setting the tone. Taking its lead from Hans Zimmer’s work on Nolan’s recent movie trilogy, there’s plenty of heavy percussion and strings and while it’s all well-composed and produced, a little more variety in tone would have been welcome.
Arkham City looks good as well, with a lot of attention to detail put into the environments. Every nook and cranny that you would expect to be an area in lower resolution that the game ignores is actually filled with Easter eggs and references to the wider Batman universe. This makes the world truly convincing and a joy to explore. This detail doesn’t stop at the environment either; every cut and bruise Batman endures through his journey remain through the course of the game, and because he wears the same suit the whole way through, each tear and rip is seen the whole way through as well: towards the end you have a battered and beaten Batman, his trials reflected in his tattered costume. Character models suffer a little from exaggerated muscles, and Batman’s chin is as wide as his neck, but plenty of imagination has gone into many of the characters’ visual designs, particularly when it comes to villains such as Penguin and Mister Freeze.
Arkham City allows you to truly become the Batman. It does everything possible to convince you that this is the Dark Knight you know, and the result is an immersive, authentic experience that does justice to the license. Each character, whether hero or villain, give excellent performances, the gameplay is fluent and innovative and the world truly feels as though it’s been ripped straight from the comics. Any fan of Batman, superheroes, or video games in general will feel right at home, and it remains the high point of the series so far - a series which suffered a recent mis-step thanks to the sub-par Arkham Origins. Here’s hoping that Rocksteady’s return to the series next year will see it ending with a bang rather than further diminishing returns.
Now, bring on Arkham Knight.
