Batman Arkham City for PC

Batman Arkham City is the follow up to Batman, Arkham Asylum from Rocksteady Games in 2009.

The first game was critically acclaimed, and rightly so. Never before has ANY superhero game placed you so firmly in the boots of the lead character. It was at times eerie, exiting, and always dripping with atmosphere. It gave you the whole of the infamous Arkham Asylum to run around in, and we got to face off with many of Batman s "Rogue's Gallery."

So, a month or so after our console brothers got into the new game, us PC gamers finally get to experience the new game. What's the new Batman game like, is it bigger and better as promised, and was it worth the long wait?

This has to be the most amazing introduction to a game I have experienced since Half Life. Wow, this thing just sucks you into the story from the get go. It is clear to see that once again, Rocksteady Games have really done their homework. The story hangs together so well, and the research into every single character's back story is unbelievably comprehensive.

Graphically, the game is simply stunning. OK, so many are having issues running in DX11, such as random slowdown, but it still looks amazing in DX9, at least until a patch comes out to help it. The Batsuit design may not appeal to the purists out there, but I think it's a more convincing look than the movie suits have ever achieved. An boy oh boy, how well is that thing animated? The cape is worth a special mention. It just looks right. The only criticism I can level at the suit design is they kept the chunky arms from the first game.

Oh man, this just feels right! Combat is smooth and flowing, relying initially on just a couple of buttons, one for strike, one for counter. And that's all you need initially. Later on you can mix it up a bit with Batarangs and the grapple gun, chaining together massive combos of 20 plus moves.

All of these combos give you XP to spend on upgrades to gadgets, combat skills and the Batsuit. This gives a slight RPG feel of developmental as you progress through the game. And of course, as you access more gadgets, you get to tackle some of the Riddler's challenges that were previously unavailable.

This time around, seeing as you have a much larger playing area, the game is much more like a sandbox type game. You can follow the main story quest, take on side quests, or just flap around the city on patrol, taking on the scum-bags as you see fit.

Interspersed with the main plot are sections where the action swaps to Catwoman. Unfortunately she doesn't play too differently to the Batman, but it is still a very welcome addition, and again, costume design is awesome!

Story wise it's flawless. The playing area is 5 times larger that Batman Arkham Asylum, the challenge maps are back as are the Riddler's challenges, there is so much to see and do in this game it is unreal. The combat is better than ever, and the ability to so silent take-downs from many new situations is a nice addition.

There are so many reasons to recommend this game it's unreal. Please support the hard work of these guys and buy it, I love it and I am sure you will too. I could write more here, but I need to go play me some Batman Arkham City.

10/10

Footnote

R.I.P Jerry Robinson, co-creator of The Joker, Two-Face and Alfred Pennyworth (January 1, 1922 – December 7, 2011). Your contributions to the world of comics will be sorely missed.

If you enjoyed this article

Please don't forget to click the green "Rate Up" button and "share" it with your friends via Email, Twitter, Facebook, or any other social networking sites.