Batman Arkham City was one of the best games of the year. From gameplay to the writing. It truly is an amazing game.
The story in Batman Arkham City start you out obviously as batman (although may be different depending on DLC's you may have). You start things off going after two-face who has captured Catwoman, but this is just all a introduction mostly, the true plot revolves around non other than The Joker. Who is rather sick from the Titan serum, and is dying. Of course he traps Batman and passes his dying disease over to Batman, now Batman must search for a cure before time runs out. You'll meet plenty of familiar faces along the way (but I won't give to much away) . Many from Arkham Asylum will return with plenty of new characters also. Mostly every new character was a joy to see (being the huge batman fan that I am). Some new heroes and villains that will be welcomed by all Batman fans. the writing throughout Arkham City is really well done, explaining everything and just blowing your mind by the end. The ending was just outstanding, my jaw was on the floor the entire time, it could not have ended any better. I was very impressed with how well all these characters played a big part in the storyline, I personally felt like it would get too crowded with all the villains and heroes they added but it was a very clever and well written story, which happens to be not only one of my favorite Batman stories but one of my favorite video game stories.
Gameplay -
The gameplay will feel very familiar to any who played Asylum. With the beat-em up style with counters and plenty of gadgets to use while fighting, it was a blast. Batman has many more moves this time around that are a tone of fun to use. You can keep gaining more with the level up system like the first game, upgrade your armor, gadgets and earn new moves throughout the game. Aside from the familiar combat. They still have Batman gliding and using his Grapple Gun to gain access anywhere in Arkham City. There are a ton of side missions along with the main story line. They also added some side missions that will teach you all the tricks of gliding around the city.
Exploring and fighting crime have never been this much fun, the combat is so smooth and fluent and is just incredibly satisfying to beat thugs to the ground. This is far from a button masher, with so many combos and gadgets. Batman has plenty of tricks up his sleeve to deal with bad guys. Jumping and gliding through the city felt like a true Batman experience that I didn't quite get with Asylum. Batman's Detective mode is back. Which is very useful for seeing enemies through walls and finding extra goodies. You can also scan riddle trophies, which will then be saved on your map for you to obtain at a later time (because some trophies are out of reach until you obtain certain gadgets). Finding Riddler trophies and solving his Riddles is a blast and provides for a very lenghty game. With the main plot and all the side quests, Challenge maps and Riddler trophies/riddles. You will have plenty of things to steal your time. If that is not enough, after you finish the game, you will unlock what they call "New game plus" which is the campaign all over again but with tougher enemies and you are allowed to keep all of your gear from the first play through. As for the gadgets they are very unique, some familiar from Asylum but there are plenty of new toys also which are just plain awesome and really come in handy.
Boss fights are very clever (some more than others). But all are satisfying and well made.
Sound -
The soundtrack to Arkham City is amazing. There are some very epic tracks on it. Throughout the game, the music captures every moment perfectly and really drive the tension up. Whether your sneaking around or fighting a boss, the music will definitely capture every moment perfectly. Of course some tracks are better than others. There are 2 soundtracks for this game "The original score" and a album made up with a couple of different artists. Such as Coheed & Cambria and Daughtry.
The sound effects were really well done too, very crisp and fit perfectly. From punching an enemy, to gliding through the air, every single sound was well done. This was actually some of my favorite sound work done in a video game, I just thought they did a really good job. Plenty of cool scenes (that I won't spoil) that provided some awesome sounds and really pulled you into the experience.
Now as for the voice acting. Prepare to hear some of the most talented voice work ever. I first need to point out Mark Hamill for his excellent work as The Joker. He is truly a genius, He played The Joker perfectly, from getting pissed off to his twisted sense of humor that we all know and love. Mark Hamill plays it out wonderfully and I really hope he reconsiders playing The Joker. Kevin Conroy also did a fantastic job, I am a little upset he was not nominated for the VGA's but he did have some tough competition this year. But with that being said, he is an amazing voice actor, he is my favorite Batman, I just think he plays it so well, not too over the top either, he just has that voice where there is no need to over play it. Tara Strong did a amazing job also as Harley Quinn. She however did not play her in the first game, that was Arleen Sorkin. But Tara Strong is so talented that I hardly noticed. She deserves that nomination she received and could very well win. The rest of the cast was also very good, I could not find a fault in any of the voice acting.
Graphics -
Batman Arkham City is one of the best looking games of the year. Not perfect mind you, but the visuals were very nice with this game. The city of Arkham looked beautiful (in a dark and violent kind of way). Each building was fully detailed, if you could see it, Batman could reach it. Standing on the highest point and looking down was pretty breath taking, I was pretty impressed with how well it looked. They really sharpened it up since Arkham Asylum (not saying that looked bad fyi). Some of the textures looked a tad bit bland but its not noticeable at all, you'll have to be real stingy to notice. One thing I want to point out is the fact that Batman's suit gets damaged over time, starts to rip with some slashes, his cape will start to rip also SPOILER: HE WILL NOT END UP NAKED SO DON'T GET EXCITED. The character models were very well done, crisp and sharp. This game is one of the better looking ones of this year. But don't expect it to win any awards towards it graphics. But for what it is, it is excellent and I'm confident you won't hear any complaints about it.
Final Rundown: Batman Arkham City is a fantastic game, with some of the smoothest and most fluent gameplay out there. And a amazing story to match that really ends perfectly, it is without a doubt one of my favorite story lines ever. The game is a looker and is just plain awesome to glide around the city. And don't worry about it being too short, there are plenty of DLC's which blend extra playable heroes into the story mode, extending its life, and with all the Challenge maps, New Game Plus, Riddler trophies and riddles. You will have your hands full for a while. This is definitely a great contender for Game of the year.
+Pro's
Great Story.
Amazing Gameplay.
Outstanding Soundtrack.
Terrific Voice Acting.
Plenty of Goodies to collect.
-Con's
Challenge Maps get very repetitive.
Thugs talk way too much and get annoying.