Review: Batman Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City is a video game developed for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, or Xbox 360. It is based on the DC comic superhero Batman. This game was announced in 2009 but it was released in 2011. It was created by Rocksteady Studios and was released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game acts like a sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum.

 

Specs

We have been testing this game on the following hardware:

• AMD Athlon X2 2.7 GHZ CPU
• 4 GB of RAM
• ATI RADEON HD6290

The minimum hardware requirements for this game are:

• Core 2 Duo E4600 2.4GHz or Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4800+
• 2 GB of RAM
• GeForce 8800 GS or Radeon HD 3800 series

It can work on Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. You also need to have at least 17 GB of free hard drive space and a sound card.

 

Story

The story is focused on the newly created Arkham City. After the events of the game Batman: Arkham Asylum, where Batman puts a stop to a massive blackout at the Asylum led by the Joker, Quincy Sharp takes all the credit for himself. After the defeat of the Joker, Quincy Sharp uses the publicity and spreads the word that he stopped the massive blackout and defeated the Joker. This helps him to become the next mayor of Gotham City.

He creates Arkham City after the elections. Every criminal, both sane and insane is put in Arkham City. They are allowed to move freely in Arkham City but if they try to escape, they will be shot down by a mercenary group called TYGER. This group TYGER guards Arkham City. Batman has been monitoring Arkham City for the past few months and believes it to be a ticking bomb waiting to go off.

 

Gameplay

Arkham City is an open-world action video game. It incorporates elements of stealth and predator tactics. The gameplay is smooth. The player controls Batman and moves around Arkham City to complete mission objectives. There are also secondary missions that include secondary characters like Cat woman or Robin and secondary stories.

The gadgets that were available during Arkham Asylum are also available in this game. Some gadgets like the Batarang have been improved. For example, the Batarang has two more options brake and boost. There are optional challenges from the Riddler that require a little more effort to complete them.

 

Combat

Changes have been made to the combat system. Batman can make double or triple takedowns. New moves have been also added to the game. Batman can make a new move like the Dive Bomb to move quickly or make a dramatic entrance to a battle scene.

Detective vision is also available in this game. This vision was also improved. Batman can use Detective vision to make the surroundings transparent and the enemies illuminated.

Skin pack DLC allows players to have Classic Batman costumes, costumes from animated series, The Dark Knight costume, or Batman Beyond costumes.

 

Characters

Heroes in Batman Arkham City include:

• Batman
• Cat woman
• Robin
• Alfred Pennyworth
• Nightwing
• Commissioner Gordon
• Gotham City Police Department and many others

Enemies in Arkham City include:

• The Joker
• Harley Quinn
• Killer Croc
• Edward Nigma aka the Riddler
• Clayface
• Dr. Hugo Strange
• The Penguin
• Two-Face and many more

Many characters only make a cameo appearance. Many locations are available in Batman: Arkham City.

 

Gadgets

Gadgets like:

• Bat claw
• Explosive gel
• Batarang
• Remote Control Batarang
• Sonic Batarang
• Smoke bomb
• Disruptor
• Freeze technology

and many more gadgets are available for the player.

 

Ending

The game ends with the death of the Joker. Batman decides to give the Joker an antidote. The Joker finds this hilarious and dies laughing. Batman takes his body and leaves it on the hood of a police car.

He states to Cat woman that there is much left to do in Arkham City indicating there may be a sequel to this game.

 

Best Features

The good things about this game are: exceptional adventure game, great graphics, smooth combat movements, movement around the city is thrilling, and the locations and the world of Arkham City are designed with rich details and great secondary missions.

The story is perfect and this game will encourage you to play for many hours at a time. The only bad thing about this game is that the boss fights are too easy.

 

Rating

★★★★★★★★★☆

On a scale from 1 to 10, we would give 9 to this game. We recommend you try it. You won’t be disappointed.