Batman: Arkham City is the direct sequel of award-winning and respected among the gaming community, Batman: Arkham Asylum, TPP action game created by the British team of developers from Rocksteady with the cooperation of Warner Bros. Interactive. In the game, just like in Arkham Asylum, the player takes the role of the title hero. As it befits any respected superhero, our job is to fight crime with a variety of hi-tech tools and of course, our fists. Meet all the iconic enemies of Batman such as The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Deadshot, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and many more.
Deep, non-linear story, worthy of one of the most legendary heroes ever created
The story presented in Batman: AC starts a few months after the events from Arkham Asylum. Warden of the Asylum, Quincy Sharp, unjustly attributed the heroic actions to himself which have granted him the position of the new mayor of Gotham City. After gaining the power and money, he bought a huge slums area of the city, leaving hundreds of lower-class citizens without a roof over their heads.
After that, the new major ordered build enormous walls around the area and placed the most dangerous criminals inside. That was the birth of Arkham City. Instead of killing one another, criminals locked within this new zone started creating organized gangs, becoming even more dangerous than before. Arkham City became the ultimate city of crime, supervised by Hugo Strange – a mysterious individual appointed by the major. Strange gives his ‘protégées’ total freedom, with only one rule – nobody escapes.
New and improved gameplay mechanics
Arkham City gameplay mechanics are very similar to what we had the opportunity to see in the previous game. However, developers did their best to improve already excellent solutions used in Arkham Asylum.
This time encounters with groups of enemies are even more spectacular than before. There are plenty of new moves and means of eliminating enemies. It is worth to mention, that combat is now defiantly more challenging, as enemies won’t give you much time for reaction. Their attacks are coordinated and extremely dangerous. You will encounter goons equipped with knives, guns, riot shields, tasers, etc. and will pose a real threat quite often. Of course, we can try a more subtle, stealthy approach and eliminate our enemies quietly, without letting them see what’s coming. The combat is not the only activity available in Arkham City.
During our stay in this hostile place, we can explore the area that is approximately 5 times bigger than Arkham Asylum. The city is full of The Riddler’s puzzles, random events, and engaging side quests. In addition to that, the developers from Rocksteady have given us the opportunity to play as sensual Selina Kyle, better known as Catwoman. The heroine possesses a number of unique abilities and equipment, allowing us to try out a completely different set of skills.
Reception
Arkham City received extremely positive feedback from both, critics and the gaming community. According to the Steam platform, 96% of user’s reviews are positive. It goes without saying that Rocksteady studio managed to provide us with spectacularly high-quality, AAA video game.
