Riddle me this, Dark Knight.
There are two rather notable disadvantages of this review of Arkham City and those are: A) I haven't played its predecessor, Arkham Asylum and B), I haven't downloaded Catwoman since I didn't find it worth the $10 asking price. These two things will obviously lead to the puzzle missing a few pieces but I don't feel it's that big of a problem (or it might, who knows). So, for the purposes of this review I'm going to look at Arkham City as a stand-alone game and I'm going to pretend that Catwoman is no more than some cleavage for you to gawk at.
Arkham City itself is a section of Gotham with a huge wall built around it (set up by evil bearded scientist, Hugo Strange) and all of Gotham's most notorious and not-so notorious criminals are all dumped there to duke it out and see who can gain control. Naturally gang warfare ensues with the most predominant gangs belonging to the Joker and Penguin. Two-Face does have a following as well but he has so little screen time that his presence is easily forgettable, which leads me to point out the first flaw of Arkham City; there are just too many villains mentioned and/or dealt with over the course of the adventure and it leads to a degree of disappointment. Aforementioned, along with a number of villains having little screen time, some play roles that are so menial that it really just doesn't feel worth having them in the game altogether. Secondly, it also raises the question of exactly how all of these baddies were managed to be rounded up and put in the same hell-hole. What's an even more perplexing thought is how did Strange even gain so much power that he could just command his troops to swoop in and throw Bruce Wayne into the mix (who was merely campaigning against Arkham City)? These are the kinds of questions that imply 2 possible answers, first being blatant plot holes, and second being the setup for a sequel (and it's more than likely to be the latter).
Despite these glaringly obvious issues, Arkham City's story is no short of decent. All of the events which take place are fitting for Batman, and it really shows how Rocksteady took very good care in development and capturing the essence of Batman. There is no one moment where you think "Wait, Batman wouldn't do that…"
When it comes to sandbox games, it's important to implement methods of movement which are reasonably fast and enjoyable to use, since you'll be spending quite a lot of your time getting from point A to point B. On the ground, Batman can walk stiffly with the control stick, and you hold down the A button to run. I never particularly like this as opposed to an auto-run feature in sandboxes because it hinders the flow of movement to a certain extent. Arkham City employs an almost parkour-type of movement system and it feels unnatural to hold down a button to run. This is especially apparent when grappling and gliding from building to building. When you're in the air you can glide and use your grappling hook to traverse through Arkham City. For a certain length of time in the game this can be hindering to movement because nothing feels like it flows, and quite often times you might grab onto ledges or street lights that you weren't aiming for. This is remedied however later in the game if you complete a side mission which gives you the Grapnel Boost, where gliding and grappling become more intuitive. Arkham City's movement mechanics are more or less the opposite of what good controls for a sandbox should be. The Crackdown series would be a good example of fun, smooth roaming with excellent platforming; you didn't feel a shift, regardless if you were roaming the streets, scaling buildings, hopping along rooftops or gliding. Arkham City feels as if its control scheme isn't built for a sandbox. What it has is definitely functional, but it could have been a lot better.
Interestingly though, the combat in Arkham City is all about flow, hence why the system itself is called "Free Flow Combat". Initially, this system may seem confusing because it goes against the normal conventions of combat systems. Generally, once you're in a brawl the first thing you're most likely to do is start mashing the controller to see which buttons do what; you'll be successful in finding which buttons do their corresponding actions, but you wouldn't be too successful in beating your enemies. Button mashing doesn't suit the free flow system at all - rather it focuses on finesse and accuracy to take out your enemies. Once you gain a feel for the combat, it then becomes all the more enticing. Batman takes down enemies and counters their attacks in creative, acrobatic and often brutal ways. This makes it not only fun but satisfying as well. One very pleasant surprise on my first playthrough was that Batman quite often uses the environment during fights (i.e. bashing a thug's head on a wall to knock them out). The system emphasizes 'flow' to the point where everything is seemingly effortless to pull off, which is what makes it so unique and gratifying. The ability to quickfire gadgets during battles also adds a huge level of depth to your strategy; you can freeze enemies on the spot, knock down enemies farther away with your Batarangs, or use your explosive gel to knock down multiple enemies at once. Once you defeat a group of enemies you gain experience points and level up, which will allow you to upgrade your Batsuit, learn special moves and upgrade gadgets.
Combat shines the most when you're surrounded by a ridiculous amount of enemies (which the game does for you quite often) and a challenge is presented to you; there are various amounts of weapons and defenses you'll have to overcome. This then demands that you prioritize and plan the way you'll beat this challenge, since it is sometimes very difficult to regain your stature if you're hit by an enemy. Once your flow is broken it is crucial that re-think your strategy, which makes winning a battle feel more rewarding.
Arkham City almost flawlessly blends stealth and combat together. Although Batman may have no problem taking down enemies with hammers, pipes or bladed weapons, enemies equipped with firearms are a completely different ball-game. The game employs a 'Detective Mode' which allows you see the number of thugs in a room, and marks which are armed with guns. There are instances in the game where you find yourself in a room with just armed thugs and you'll have to take each one out individually (or even two at once, given the right conditions). There are virtually endless ways for you to neutralize your enemies; numerous gadgets and the environment can be used to your advantage. Gargoyles in particular are a valuable asset for you to use. They're used as tactical vantage points to observe the area, and plan for which thug you want to take out first. What's impressive is that the enemy AI isn't stupid; if you're discovered on one of these vantage points they won't hesitate to destroy them. They also become more aware of the environment in other ways, for example if you take down a thug from a ledge, enemies will check ledges while approaching them, preventing you from exploiting that one tactic. One other key element you can use to your advantage is the mental state of the enemy. Thugs start off calm, and then when they discover an unconscious inmate (or you) they become nervous. When you pick off other enemies one by one, they steadily go from a state of nervousness to terror, which can then allow you to use 'scare tactics' and watch your prey shake and look away in fear when they see you up close. These stealth sequences are also complemented quite nicely with dramatic music, which makes you feel the tension in the risk of being discovered.
What makes Arkham City (or any game for that matter) good is not only its mechanics but its overall atmosphere and aesthetics as well. As mentioned in the beginning of this review I said that the look and feel of the game is similar to that of the blockbuster movie, The Dark Knight, with musical scores to complement it. Arkham City is a place of ruin, but one that once held great history. The game lets you explore and find out the history of Arkham City through Riddler's secrets, which emulates the feeling of being in the world of the Caped Crusader. To add to the aestheticism of Arkham City, several of the original voice actors from Batman: The Animated Series, and many memorable themes from the show are evident. This adds to the game's merit, making it a more than welcome addition to the legacy of Batman. Naturally, the game incorporates mostly darker colors, which I would normally dislike but is fitting for a Batman game. The visuals are stunning, and a nice feature which adds to your adventure is the damage done to your suit. Over the course of the game, remnants from previous battles are left as cuts, bruises and tears in your Batsuit, and by the end of the night, Batman looks like hell.
Given that the story missions for Arkham City won't keep you occupied for very long, the side missions do make up for it, with the Riddler being the main attraction. What makes them enjoyable is that each one is unique, as opposed to most games where they would include the same fetch quest, just collecting a different item for a different faction, or whatever the case may be. They give way to the more deductive side of Batman – showcasing his ability to solve problems with tactics other than punching people in the face or breaking their bones. Not that any of the side missions that involve a little thinking are difficult, but it's nice to have some instances where you're working to solve a crime or puzzle, or find and destroy the TITAN containers.
The Riddler plays a big role in Arkham City, which means that (if you're bothered) most of your play time will be devoted to gathering his trophies, solving his riddles and completing challenges, to ultimately save those who he's held hostage. There are a total of 400 secrets for Batman to discover. After saving the first hostage, and if you've found enough secrets, you'll be given the location of the next hostage after you solve one of his riddles from the Enigma Machine. Catching the Riddler will involve you doing numerous challenges to collect trophies, some demanding more creative and cunning ways to retrieve them. Each Riddler challenge you complete unlocks collectables, such as concept art, character trophies, character biographies, and more. The sheer amount of content in the game that is unlocked through the Riddler side mission makes you almost feel obliged to collect all of the secrets, which is the subtle genius behind the concept. The Riddler also has a number of challenge rooms, where there are two types to test your combat and stealth skills. These are (appropriately) more challenging than the rooms you'd find while playing the story, and scores and recorded and put up on the leaderboards to show who's the best. You are also awarded medals by meeting certain requirements, which allow you to become more versatile in combat and stealth, thus improving overall.
As a whole, Batman: Arkham City is an exciting adventure that is cleverly designed to keep you playing for hours on end. With the excellent free flow combat and stealth, and an atmosphere in which you can be completely absorbed in, it easily overshadows its flaws and it is definitely a game that you must play.