Game Review: Arkham City
If you have to choose one single-player game to buy this year, this is it.
Batman: Arkham City continues the story of Arkham Asylum, shortly after the events of the first game. The criminals have been relocated to Arkham City, a sanctioned-off area of Gotham where the most dangerous villains in the Batman universe reside. I won’t tell you how the game starts off, because the entire story is a masterpiece and every bit should be experienced.
Aside from story, this is an absolutely gorgeous fast-paced open-world adventure with streamlined beat-em-up combat, refined stealth sections, and a dark sense of humor. Everything from the first game has been kept and built upon; you start the game off with all the gadgets you finished the last game with, and there are even more where those came from. The combat is just as easy to pick up with the punch/counter system, but they’ve added more depth to counters this time around. You can do simultaneous counters against multiple people, and these provide some of the most satisfying moments in gameplay.
I could go on for pages about why I love this game. The graphics, the gameplay, the crossover storylines between characters, there’s just too much greatness in this game to get into in a 250 word review.
This is one you have to experience. If you haven’t played the first, go find a used copy. Arkham City is so good that it just beat Portal 2 as my favorite game this year.