Batman Arkham City Game Review

 Batman will hurt you. Seriously hurt you. No I don't think you understand....in a fight I don't care how many forms of kung-fu, karate, ninjitsu, special forces, training you know, Batman will hurt you. You will lose teeth, wake up with headaches, and may have a limp for life. He is a bad man (bad in the cool way). I mean he has taken down whole groups of ninja, military and prisons of dudes.....what chance do you have? I mean a dude that is the size of the Hulk couldn't whoop him.....what chance do you have? That had to be the feeling of the criminals that felt the righteous Bat-Fury in the Rocksteady Game "Batman Arkham City". I just beat the game myself and did pretty fricken awesome (not to brag, although if I did brag, what would be the point.....I got it exactly one week ago, and now its gone.......seriously, $59.99 I paid for that game.). But Anyways....the rant I put out that follows is a labor of love and admiration for an incredible work of Art.


Joker takes Arkham Asylum, Batman takes it back. That was the goal of Arkham City's predicessor. In every sense of the word, this game gives you all the excitement of the Batman comic books and movies, by giving you a sense  that this could happen in the real world. What do I mean? In a normal game you give one or two hits, the opponent is down and there isn't any problem. They are laid out on the ground, they blink and disappear, not the case in the real world. Most guys don't have glass jaws and one or two hits is only gonna make your opponent angry. Especially if there are 4 or 5 guys. Here Batman hits a guy, dazes him and he gets back up. It will probably take  about 7 to 15 punches to lay a guy out and or one well placed strike in a critical spot on the body. Against 20 guys (yup you heard me) it is really important you anticipate these hits (you sense hits before an opponent strikes).

Bat Sonar (detective mode) is my favorite tool

Where does he get those wonderful toys? The gadgets are nice....instead of having to earn them all (and you do have to earn some) but many of the best ones are already available with a skill upgrades on them as you progress. One of the better weapons I think is better from the original are the Batarangs. In Arkaham City you can throw multiple batarangs at an enemy and knock the weapons out of their hand (handy when facing a machine gun or two) or even render them unconcious (let me know if you could do this in Arkham Asylum....maybe I was clueless to this). The grapple works well and getting freeze's ice hand grenades come in handy as well. a new upgrade is the ability to just grapple Riddler trophies instead of  walking to them. there is also a very useful device that jams guns......good for when your in a roomful of guys packing heat......but don't be ridiculous man.....you can't fight a room full of armed men....that's suicide...even for Batman. In this situation you use the batsonar (its what I call it) that's hidden within his cowl. It has X-ray which lets you know how many thugs are near and their vitals as well as letting you eavesdrop on their conversations.  This also comes in handy when you are looking for clues.

Batman has Catwoman wrapped around his....umm...nevermind

Supporting cast......getting the Bats back!! Alfred is on assit from the Batcave, Oracle is in his ear, Robin comes in and makes an appearance and Catwoman is a playable character who is just a butt-kickingly awesome as Batman.these guys are all there to assist him (not that he needs it). Catwoman's side story is a treat. Even tho i have beaten the game she still has unfinished business in Arkham City that I'm still working her through. Her main rouges are Two-Face and Poison Ivy. Nightwing will have a bundle available Nov. 1st and Robin will have a bundle available Nov. 22. each of these bundles will make them playable characters.

No more lame bird jokes

Batman's Rouges extend from The Joker, Solomon Grundy, The Penguin, Ra's Al Ghoul, Hugo Strange and Mister Freeze. One thing Arkham City did that impressed me was they really made The Penguin seem menacing. It's no secret that people thing he was one of lamer villains in the Bat universe, but Rocksteady made him like a London gangster, right out of "Snatch", "Rock-n-Roller" or what ever Guy Ritchie flick has cats like that. he tortures, murders, and menaces his way through Arkham and makes life a bit annoying for Batman. The common average thug also is a refreshing twist, their dialogue is so realistic.

Nightwing hurts people too

Story Matters......the story was once again well written and the Voice over actors really bring out the best in their characters (shout out to Kevin Conroy)....The premise deals with Hugo Strange who mysteriously knows Batmans Identity, He has taken over Arkham and put all the criminals in a beat up old part of Gotham to fend for themselves. Many cry foul including Bruce Wayne who has started a campaign to shut Arkham city down....but he is arrested by Stranges  Tyger guards and put in Arkham. He gets his Batman gear, sent via batplane by Alfred, and goes to work......

The game play flows pretty well and it truly deserves the perfect ratings that go with it. Most of the people I have talked to about the game cannot put nit down. I can't say enough about this marvelous game that will describe the true DOPENESS that this game has. The musical score gets you hype, the tidbits of "bat lore" gives you goosebumps and the side missions and the Riddler Challenges keep you engaged.....not to mention the surprise ending......your mind will be blown.....by the end my son and I looked at each other and said almost in unison.."REALLY?" Trust me, this game and with all of the cool add-ons and the other goodies the replay value will be high. Well what do you think? Did Arkham City live up to the hype for you? Will you be making criminals bleed or have you been hurting them already? let me know what you think....PEACE!!

Mister J don't look so good!!

Two-Face show Catwoman a good time..