Batman: Arkham City (2011) Review

After playing Arkham Asylum, I very quickly decided to start playing the sequel Batman: Arkham City and I have now completed the game and here is my review for it. The premise of the game is set after Arkham Asylum and sees a portion of Gotham closed off for the criminally insane, led by Hugo Strange. Batman & Catwoman must deal with the challenges of Arkham City to make sure they survive the night. 

Characters

Reprising his role from Arkham Asylum, Kevin Conroy is back as Batman and he is fantastic in the role. As he ventures round this city of craziness you see how it is affecting him and how he is trying to keep up his very confident aura with the real issue with his enemies. He just fits the role superbly well and I just think Conroy is a truly legendary interpretation of Batman and he really nails it here. 

As mentioned above, this game adds Catwoman as a playable character and this is a truly brilliant addition. Voiced by Grey Griffin, she is a brilliant addition to this franchise and feels like a different character to Batman both in the way she plays and the way she comes across. She has her own story which is cool to see the developers taking the time with this extra addition. 

Mark Hamill also reprises his role as Joker and he is still a real integral part of this game. There is more villains and a grander story but the relationship between Joker & Batman is at the forefront of it and once again Hamill & Conroy have an amazing chemistry together. 

Corey Burton play Hugo Strange and I really liked the depiction of the character, he is a very different villain to the others that Batman has come across and he battles Batman on a different level to them. Burton nails the mannerisms and sliminess of the character. 

As mentioned above, we have more villains here and Mister Freeze, Penguin & Two-Face are given some time to shine and it is cool seeing their additions. 

Story

The story and premise of the overall idea is really good. There are way more villains here and I love how the criminals have their own gangs and are basically having a gang war in Arkham City. Batman has a lot of fires to face and there is a ticking clock and that made this feel different and more open then the previous game. However, the overall quality of the storytelling takes a dip in the final act and feels kind of rushed with some strange story decisions being made which holds back the overall quality of the story. 

Side Activities 

Unlike Arkham Asylum, Arkham City is an open world game which means there is way more side content here. There are really fun side missions including characters such as Bane, The Mad Hatter & Hush. The Challenge Maps are back but this time you can play as Batman, Catwoman, Robin & Nightwing which provides way more variety to the play and though they aren't that interesting they were good enough here with all the other content. There is also a fun DLC called Harley's Revenge which I also enjoyed playing. 

Gameplay

The gameplay has been massively improved and just flows so much better. There are more gadgets to be used here and the combat is leagues better then it was in Asylum. With it being an open world game, it is great to glide across the map as Batman, taking down random thugs along the way. Catwoman has her own combat and she is also a lot of fun to play as and it shows how much care was put into her character.

Style

This game looks great, it has a way more open feel which makes it stand out from Arkham Asylum. The developers wanted us to feel the grand scale of Arkham City and I think it really achieved that. It made the player feel like they are Batman and it just pushed it above Asylum. 

Overall

Overall, Batman: Arkham City is a fantastic game and a brilliant love letter to the character of Batman. I think it is slightly better the Arkham Asylum but this is a must play for any gamer and especially for Batman fans. 

Rating - 9/10