Batman: Arkham City - Holy incredible sequels, Batman!

If ain’t broke, don’t fix it - the folks at developer Rocksteady seem to have taken this mantra to heart when crafting “Batman: Arkham City,” the sequel to the breakout hit “Batman: Arkham Asylum.” Taking place about a year after the events of the original, Quincy Sharp is now the mayor of Gotham and has moved all the inmates of Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison into a new maximum security prison named “Arkham City” - a walled off section of the city itself. Sharp puts a man named Hugo Strange in charge of this risky new institution and employs an army of mercenaries from a group call TYGER to round up criminals and keep inmates from escaping. Anyone who speaks out against Sharp and Strange have a way of winding up in Arkham City and turns the prison into a constant battleground between the various super-criminals and their thugs.

The opening sequence to “AC” is absolutely superb. It’s extremely cinematic and sets up the game perfectly – the chaotic mess of the events of the intro translates perfectly into the chaos that Batman finds inside the prison’s walls. Once inside the prison itself, Batman must contend with a cadre of super villains while investigating Strange and looking for a way to shut down the prison for good.

Everything about “AC” is bigger and bolder than its predecessor. While this means enhanced visuals, a deeper combat system, and more gadgets to play around with, it also means a deeper, more twisting narrative. Though this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the number of super villains with their own quests and storylines all sort of blend together and the main, overarching storyline losses steam at times because of it. There are major plot points dealing with Strange and the Joker that often times feel overshadowed by sidequests and the winding nature of including so many different characters into the plot.

For example (this might sound bland or confusing but I’m trying to make it as spoiler free as possible) I had a run-in with Joker. After this, I had to find Mr. Freeze to get his help against Joker. Come to find out, Freeze has been captured by Penguin. After completing a long indoor sequence to find him and defeat Cobblepot as well, I learn from Freeze that I must now find Ra’s Al Ghul (whose name they pronounce “ray-sh” and not “raaz” like in the movies and I don’t know which is correct), which is another long sequence in itself that ends in a boss battle. Returning to Freeze initiates another boss battle and so on and so on. And this stuff doesn’t have anything at all to do with Hugo Strange. Oh and also Catwoman is doing some stuff. Confused yet? Well you better start paying attention cause what I just described is, like, maybe 10 hours or so into a(n allegedly) 40 hour game. Luckily the format of the game, now a more traditional open-world environment, offers plenty of opportunity to have some fun outside of following the winding plot.

Though “Arkham Asylum” was basically an open world game, that title didn’t offer nearly as much side content as “AC.” Where in “AA” the sidequests amounted to basically finding Riddler trophies and riddles, “AC” has numerous sidequests to embark on as well as even more Riddler junk to collect. The city setting itself really shines as its own character, feeling alive, well-tread and teeming with villains and thugs that are all asking for a good thrashing. What truly makes the setting shine is how it deftly blends the major elements of gameplay – fighting, stealth and detective work – cohesively together. Where in “AA” the majority of encounters took place inside buildings where each room would have a specific method of progression – whether it was getting into a huge fight or taking out armed guards one by one, you pretty much knew it was going to be one or the other. On the streets of Arkham City, these encounters all happen organically. The streets teem with criminals – some have guns, some have bats, some have car doors used like shields – and it is up to you as Batman to take them out silently or engage in an all-out brawl.

Brawling is essentially the same as the first game – X attacks, B stuns and Y counters. It’s a simple equation to grasp but incredibly difficult to master. With the correct amount of button presses, Batman can now counter multiple enemies at once which also comes with new animations for combat as well as counters. Gadgets with uses in combat are also hot-keyed now (used to pulling the left trigger and pressing a face button) making it incredibly easy to throw Batarangs, stun enemies or disarm them during the course of a fight.

I can’t stress this enough how badass this game will make you feel. Setting up ambushes, taking out crowds of 15 or more thugs and pulling off crazy combos just like Batman would makes you feel like a boss. There’s almost nothing about this game I don’t like. Well, almost nothing.

While “AC” is an incredible experience overall, there are a few aspects of its design I feel could’ve used some work. For example, “AC” could’ve taken a big lesson in free-running from the “Assassin’s Creed” series. Though gliding/grappling around Arkham City is intuitive and easy, Batman’s movement across rooftops, billboards and watertowers is often interrupted by Batman simply not grasping a ledge he clearly should have or by your grappling hook deciding to take you in a different direction of its own choosing. With all your gadgets occupying each of the eight directions on the D-pad and some stacking multiple in a direction, it’s sometimes a little annoying to select the exact gadget you want. On top of that, silent takedowns can sometimes take a good amount of time to execute, leaving you very open to be discovered and take damage. I’ve found this to be especially true of Catwoman but it happens to Bats from time to time as well.

Those points, along with the sometimes overly-crowded plot, are pretty much my only complaints. The visuals and sound design are improved over the already slick sound and graphics of “AA,” with every detail of the city and characters appearing stunningly sharp. The music also sounds like it could fit perfectly into a Christopher Nolan Batman movie, adding to the epic trappings of this title. I don’t know if I’ve accurately conveyed just how much I love this game. Being a big fan of the Dark Knight only enhances the experience but literally anyone could pick up this game and have fun. The simplicity of its design and its gameplay that marries both stealth and close-combat fighting so exquisitely makes “Batman: Arkham City” not just a game you shouldn’t miss but a definite Game of the Year contender. And in a year featuring new releases from “Call of Duty,” “Battlefield,” “Assassins Creed,” “Gears of War” and “Elder Scrolls,” that is some very high praise indeed.