One man's cranky journey to nerd out over everything

I was a big fan of Arkham Asylum. It drew a lot of inspiration and game mechanics from Legend of Zelda and Metroid, it featured 90s cartoon voice talent Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill returning as the voices of Batman & The Joker, it was as if the people at Rocksteady games knew exactly how to craft a game suited to my interests.

And that’s how it felt to me: Crafted. Not just “let’s put Batman stuff over some other game’s template”, as a lot of other superhero games tend to be God of War ripoffs (Green Lantern & X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

I didn’t know how they would top it, but they did it by upping the scale of everything in the first game, which is both good and bad.

The good:

• It is a very detailed city, with lots of little nooks and crannies to explore. This game takes place in a big chunk of city, which is roughly the size of a SNES-era Hyrule. While you’re mostly going from rooftop-to-rooftop, there are a handful of buildings that are “dungeons” and every area gets more accessible as you collect gadgets.
• The combat challenges are WAY easier in Arkham City than they were in Arkham Asylum. I am still trying to get 3-medals on some of the AA challenges, but in AC I am knocking them out like crazy. Conversely, the predator challenges seem to be a bit trickier in the new game, or it could just be that I’m a terrible Batman.
• The fighting is smoother and the moves are more awesome.
• The voice acting is still good. I’ll be a little bit sad if this is truly Mark Hamill’s last showing as the Joker because he really kicked up to a higher level.

• I like the different takes on the characters. Making the Penguin a savage little Cockney man was an interesting choice. I love that his monocle was a broken bottle that got jabbed into his face.
• I like the way the weaved the Catwoman story in and out of the main story. I hope that opens the door for more characters to be included in the inevitable sequels, since Nightwing and Robin are playable in the DLC challenges. I also like how each character handles a little differently, just enough to notice, but not enough so that you feel like you have to re-learn how to play the game.
• The Riddler stuff was way better in this game. In fact, most, if not all of the side missions were well thought out. A fun distraction and didn’t take you out of the main game for too long. The Zsasz phone booth missions were also really intense.

The bad:

• In the first game, Batman was drawn into Arkham Asylum because the Joker engineered a prison break, and Batman had to run all over the place to take out the bad guys and save some of the staff. That made sense. In this game, the mayor of Gotham City sectioned off a chunk of Gotham City to serve as an open air prison camp, which includes all kinds of crazy landmarks and public institutions, including a museum, but no one thought to empty the museum of exhibitions first? The whole premise of the game is kind of crazy and stupid, even for a comic-based video game, but once you choose to ignore that, it’s pretty fun.
• Batman’s a real asshole in this game. He’s supposed to be a kind of stoic loner, but every time someone tries to help him or challenge him, or interact with him in any way, his answer is invariably, “Fuck you, I’m Batman.”

• But it’s not just Batman who has a shitty attitude, everyone in the game hates women. I get that it’s in a prison, so it’s not exactly populated with saints but all the bad guys in the game talk about what a bitch Catwoman is, but they’d still fuck her if they got a chance. It’s a little unnerving, I don’t know that it’s super necessary, and it made this game feel a bit awkward in tone, like it was trapped between being a cartoon show and the Christopher Nolan movies.
• They released an Arkham City soundtrack, which was full of some okay songs, I guess, but they were nowhere to be found in the game. There was no “Gotham FM”, they didn’t even play over the end credits, and if you listen to the songs, they are TAILOR MADE for end credits, as they aren’t good enough to be their own singles, but they all kind of capture the mood of the game. And yet, the one song that I loved, The Heavy’s “Short Change Hero” which they used in a trailer, wasn’t on the soundtrack. I don’t get it.
• I hate the Augmented Reality training missions to teach you how to glide with the cape. Again, that could just be because I’m a shitty Batman.

• Two-Face is such a great villain and they didn’t use him enough, and when they did, it wasn’t very well.

• This game felt really short. I know there’s a harder New Game Plus mode, and I know I’m still playing free-roam mode after the end of the game, but the main story felt so short. Arkham Asylum felt short, too. I guess it’s a testament to how good the pacing and excitement were, since I am left wanting more. But for $60, I don’t know.
• This isn’t really directed at Arkham City, but this game and Uncharted 3 are the first games I’ve ever bought on Day 1, where I had to go through the hassle of getting pre-order bonuses and getting DLC as it comes out, rather than waiting for a Game of the Year or Greatest Hits edition. I’m not sure if it’s worth the hassle.
• As of yet, there are no plans to release alternate costumes based on Grant Morrison’s time traveling Return of Bruce Wayne arc. I won’t be 100% happy with a Batman game until you can crack skulls as Caveman Batman, Pirate Batman, or Cowboy Batman.

I totally recommend the game, but while I have decided that this is a game I’m going to go balls-out for and buy the DLC as it comes out, I might recommend that you wait for a Game of the Year version so that it includes some extra stuff.