Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360)
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DESCRIPTION
Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to the 2009 blockbuster Batman: Arkham Asylum, and is a third-person Action-Adventure game which incorporates elements of stealth, melee combat and puzzle solving gameplay. In this highly-anticipated sequel, the Dark Knight confronts numerous classic enemies from the Batman universe, many of which were present in Arkham Asylum, and players will now be able to play as Catwoman to complete certain missions within the game.Arkham City is a slum-district of Gotham City that has been converted into a maximum-security prison used to house Gotham's worst prisoners. Prisoners are given free rein within the fortified walls of Arkham City as long as they don't attempt escape. Batman maintains a vigil over this city, and must take action when Two-Face hatches a plan to publicly execute Catwoman to gain notoriety. Also, prison psychiatrist Hugo Strange has his own secret agenda for Arkham City.
Batman: Arkham City features enhanced movement options for Batman, which include sliding, leaping, gliding and the grapple hook. Additional melee attack moves are available for Batman, and he can now take on more opponents simultaneously. There will be a whole host of new and improved gadgets to play with in this game, with all the gadgets from the previous game being available at the start of Arkham City.
FEATURES
- Play as Catwoman - Complete certain missions playing as Catwoman. Her combat moves are more acrobatic, and she uses her claws, bolas and a whip when fighting. Catwoman has her own heist-focused storyline which is seamlessly interwoven with the main game story.
- Intriguing New Story - Multiple Emmy-Award winner Paul Dini has written the story for Batman: Arkham City, which takes you deep into the rotten core of Gotham.
- Massive Environments to Explore - Arkham City is a huge super-prison five times the size of Arkham Island, and encompasses many industrial districts which include famous Gotham City landmarks.
- Improved FreeFlow Melee Combat - The array of attacking moves, counters and takedowns have been doubled in this game, and Batman can now take on more opponents simultaneously in melee combat. Arkham's gangs have improved AI, and will coordinate attacks from many directions.
- New and Improved Gadgets - New gadgets include Smoke Pellets and the Cryptographic Sequencer V2. Most of the existing gadgets have been improved or have new capabilities, such as the grappling gun which can now be used whilst gliding to boost Batman higher into the air.
- Classic Batman Characters - There is a huge cast of legendary Batman characters in the game, including The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Penguin, Harley Quinn, Hugo Strange and many more.
- Impressive Voice Acting - Actors Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy supply their vocal talents for the roles of The Joker and Batman respectively.
Video Review - Batman: Arkham City (machimina.com)
 Score 9.0 Superb | Batman: Arkham City's irresistible world, joyous movement, rewarding combat, and varied side quests make it an exceptional adventure game. The Good
But these criticisms are nitpicks in a game that does so much so well. From the speedy exhilaration of soaring high above the streets to the atmospheric thrill of discovering long-forgotten secrets in the tunnels below Gotham, this is an unforgettable adventure that will keep you coming back to the cape and cowl long after you've seen the credits roll. |
 Score 9.5 Amazing | I've beaten this thing twice and still want to call in sick and chase Riddler Trophies. Batman: Arkham City isn't just better than Batman: Arkham Asylum, it's better than most games on the market. Presentation: 9.0 I think a few villains deserved more attention than they got here, but the story, the setting and the comic nerd love given to this game are awesome. Graphics: 8.5 Some texture pop-in along with iffy lip syncing, but Arkham City looks great in a totally grimy, filthy way. Got to love Batman's costume breaking down over time. Sound: 9.0 Mark Hamill's Joker and Kevin Conroy's Batman are out of this world. A bit too much of the same voice actor for generic thugs. Music and sound effects rock. Gameplay: 9.5 I felt like Batman - that's awesome. The majority of stuff will feel familiar, but from gadgets to gliding it’s been tweaked and improved. Lasting Appeal: 9.5 You need to play the game twice. Then, there are the side missions, the Riddler Challenges, the challenge maps and whatever DLC Rocksteady whips up. |
 Score 10 Masterpiece | The sturdy foundations laid by the excellent Arkham Asylum haven't been reinvented, but every corner of the game somehow finds itself broadened and yet more focused, ensuring it can bear the weight of a loftier and more developed structure. Batman is now swifter and more dangerous, the villains more noteworthy and numerous, and the intricate world is more playful, varied and detailed. . . . It doesn't take the world's greatest detective to spot that this is an expertly crafted adventure, one that maintains a breathtaking pace and invigorating rhythm from beginning to end. Dizzyingly extensive and lovingly detailed, Rocksteady has created an intricate, spirited and unequalled playground worthy of one of the most iconic characters in modern fiction.
✓ Batman!! ✓ Stealth ✓ Batman! ✓ Combat |
 Score 9 Excellent | Heaven inside hell, eh? Prisons, murderers, lunatics: Arkham City's built of gloomy stuff, but it feels uncommonly like escape each time you load it up. It's escape of the best kind: into a different world where your actions might save lives and where you're decisive, dynamic and rarely given to starting conversations with gambits like, 'OK, rate the top five chocolate bars for me, leaving out Mars'. Is it over? Unlikely. Rocksteady's latest certainly knows how to drop the curtain, but it feels like a dark second act or the middle section of a trilogy. If that's the case, it's tantalisingly tricky to figure out what the studio can do next. First they gave us a hero; now they've given us his ideal playground. And along the way, they crossed off one of the trickiest entries on my own personal to-do list: an entry that's right there in between Meet Ty Pennington and Finish that Robert Musil book. Become Batman. Done. |
 Score 10 Incredible | We’ve tried to describe as much of Batman: Arkham City’s awesomeness in this review as possible, but there’s so little space and so much more to admire. The epic, soaring music. The arguably greatest graphics of the year. The predictably stellar voice acting, but with a particularly perverse performance by Mark Hamill as the Joker and especially enjoyable take by Nolan North on the Penguin. The menus filled with bonus short stories that address any questions you might have assumed were left unanswered. . . . GamesRadar Verdict Batman: Arkham Asylum was the greatest superhero game of all time. The sequel, Batman: Arkham City, is five times bigger and about a billion times better. You do the math. You'll love
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 Score 9.4 Excellent | Regardless of whether you love or hate Batman, Arkham City is one of the greatest open-world action games. It’s hard to imagine much improvement over Arkham Asylum but somehow Rocksteady has squeezed Arkham City for every drop of epicness. The rhythm-action-like combat is as simple yet skilled as before, but battles are often several times bigger with an enhanced sense of Batman’s strength and ability. The story is an absolute thrill, a gradually unravelling mystery jammed tight with twists that manifest themselves in superb boss battles and wall-to-wall criminal characters. . . . Arkham City is an adventure polished to shimmering perfection, a Batman experience of jaw-dropping magnitude and depth right from its opening scene to the end. Shame on us for even having a glimmer of doubt, this is one of the best open-world action-adventure games of this generation. Final Verdict Even the pickiest Batman fan couldn’t fail to love this game. Not matter what your genre preference is, whether or not you have enough beer tokens for the weekend or money to feed the kids next week, Batman: Arkham City is a priority-one purchase. |
 Score 10 Platinum | Arkham City not only lives up to the standards set by Arkham Asylum, it bests its predecessor in every way and stands tall as one of Batman’s greatest moments. Concept: The Dark Knight soars in this ambitious follow-up to Rocksteady’s surprising blockbuster, Batman: Arkham Asylum. Graphics: Gotham City is lavishly detailed with dark hues and soaring architecture. Most of the central-story missions take place indoors in environments that are just as striking. The museum is particularly impressive. Sound: Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy could do this in their sleep at this point, but their work couldn’t be better. The glut of enemy chatter makes Gotham come alive. The score intensifies the action and complements the mood perfectly. Playability: Combat is as fluid as ever, and Batman’s new maneuverability in the open-world is handled exceptionally well. Catwoman is another fully playable character that performs as admirably as the star. Entertainment: This is the best use of a license in the industry’s history. The wealth of amazing content is daunting. Replay: High |
