When the original “Batman: Arkham Asylum” was released in 2009, it surpassed all the lofty expectations aiming to be the first great Batman video game, combining insanely polished combat, stealth and exploration.
With seemingly little that could be improved, the new sequel “Batman: Arkham City,” attempts to better an already proven formula by adding an open world.
The addition of an open world does exactly what you’d expect: At the expense of a tightly paced structure, you can meander about doing cool side quests for quite awhile before progressing in the main story.
“Arkham City” faces the same problem as most open-world games: it’s harder to get the player invested in the main goal when you’ve got about three other villains at any given time nipping at your heels. While the city is fun to explore, it really just puts more distance between you and your quests.
Though a bit incoherent at first, the story of the game easily eclipses the original. It mixes exciting, world-in-peril action with Batman’s intriguing internal conflicts.
After the events of “Arkham Asylum,” both the insane asylum and prison of Gotham City have been shut down and replaced by a walled-in district of Gotham called “Arkham City,” controlled by Dr. Hugo Strange. The game opens as Bruce Wayne gets arrested for speaking out against this brilliant scheme. It quickly makes the player forget about this ridiculous premise with an incredible intro sequence as you escape custody and start piecing together the mystery of the new prison district.
Still, the story gives the impression of trying entirely too hard. Within the first couple of hours after Hugo Strange is established as the main antagonist, the game introduces Joker, The Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, Bane, Harley Quinn, The Riddler, Victor Zsasz and Mr. Freeze.
The player gets to face these villains and more in boss battles that range from beating up greater-than-normal numbers of thugs to fighting one giant boss. The fight against Mr. Freeze is undoubtedly the best as it’s both cerebral and exciting.
The combat that made “Arkham Asylum” so great is back in pretty much the same form, except for a few new gadgets like the Freeze Blast, which is as much fun as it sounds. The player can button mash through dense groups of thugs with ease, though enemies with knives, stun sticks and body armor make the game increasingly more difficult.
Batman leaps around areas to attack and counter enemies, building up combos that make your attacks more powerful. The challenge is as much from mastering the rhythm of battle as it is avoiding damage.
The stealth sections against armed thugs are back as well, and this time Batman can use smoke bombs to escape into the darkness. You spend these sections grappling between hidden vantage points, watching enemies and waiting for opportunities to pick them off one by one without getting shot.
The indoor levels are less dynamic than the first game, but the excitement of flying around the rooftops of Arkham City to take out snipers often makes up for it.
With the issues of low difficulty and the detective vision ruining the visuals of the first game having been fixed, there’s little “Arkham City,” does wrong, aside from the conscious sacrifices made for the sake of an open world. It’s both thrilling and expansive, and one of the best games of the year.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
