A larger, more polished, more expansive game than its predecessor by every measure. And yet, despite the significantly greater ambition behind Arkham City, the game, with the protestations of many, is not as good. Why?

The game recycled most of the graphics, including models/animations/textures and even scripts. The game still feels good and you still move/act as Batman should but the game hardly feels as innovative as it once did. You're still performing gliding/inverted/shadow takedowns. You're still fighting in the same frantic way as you're hopelessly outnumbered by the game's very cheap AI. You're still crawling through conduits, dodging large numbers of armed flunkies. I suppose you could argue that the gameplay is what makes Batman fun. I love Batman. He's a favorite to me, don't get me wrong and, yes, the game has distinct moments where you feel like the consumate hero/champion. You definitely have the opportunity to kick some butt in this game but most of the game seems pointless filler.

While the game's beginning is catchy and puts Bruce Wayne in peril, the game's story quickly loses its impetus and becomes yet another story in the Batman mythos. By dropping you within Arkham City and giving you choice...the game actually diminishes one of the most charming elements of the prequel: the ability to move quickly, with purpose and to "know what to do". Instead you're presented with a bunch of moral quandries that repeat over and over and never really enhance the game before the first encounter. Do you save the two reporters incarcerated in Arkham Aylum? Or do you pursue Titan? Do you waste time figuring out Enigma's puzzles? Or do you stop Zsasz?

If there is a thing such as too much freedom, then Arkham City has a patent on it. Traveling through the city with gliding/batline is an awesome experience...for the first 2-4 hours. Afterwards many people just use fast travel or numb themselves to the banality of it all. Similarly, the city is *crawling* with goons. In fact, there are 3-4 goons on the rooftop to every building. You're constantly fighting goons. While that's an excuse to practice your combat and feel like a virile pummeler of justice, the truth is that it gets old very, very fast because there's no context or purpose to just going around and punching an endless wave of cardboard cutouts in the face. And navigating Arkham City can be a pain, even with the built in GPS.

Some goons are fine. 10000 goons? Not so fine.

Yes, the ending does try to be more profound than its predecessor's and it does take distinct risks. But by then many players, myself included, are just numb from the constant parade of enemies. Batman has such a rich, expansive rogues gallery and yet we see all the same baddies again. Joker. Enigma. Bane. Penguin. Two Face. It would have been so nice to mix it up with different enemies and LESS enemies. Batman is the world's greatest detective and yet we rarely see that side of him in these games. You rarely have to employ cleverness outside of combat, and that's so sad.

I won't spoil the ending but despite trying something daring, the ending makes no sense. Several key characters die and Batman reacts to the death of one ... but not the other. His behavior is illogical and unsubstantiated from the DC universe interpretation. In all, it feels bizarre, contrived and it ruins much of the game's story for me.

Arkham City isn't a bad game. It's fun in short stretches and you still have a wealth of takedown options in Batman's arsenal. Too bad they put *too* much in the game and soured the experience a bit. If you can get it for 8 dollars, during a Steam sale, it's worth trying.

Worth a look.

7/10.

A larger, more polished, more expansive game than its predecessor by every measure. And yet, despite the significantly greater ambition behind Arkham City, the game, with the protestations of many, is not as good. Why? The game recycled most of the graphics, including models/animations/textures and even scripts. The game still feels good and you still move/act as Batman should but the game hardly feels as innovative as it once did. You're still performing gliding/inverted/shadow takedowns. You're still fighting in the same frantic way as you're hopelessly outnumbered by the game's very cheap AI. You're still crawling through conduits, dodging large numbers of armed flunkies. I suppose you could argue that the gameplay is what makes Batman fun. I love Batman. He's a favorite to me, don't get me wrong and, yes, the game has distinct moments where you feel like the consumate hero/champion. You definitely have the opportunity to kick some butt in this game but most of the game seems pointless filler. While the game's beginning is catchy and puts Bruce Wayne in peril, the game's story quickly loses its impetus and becomes yet another story in the Batman mythos. By dropping you within Arkham City and giving you choice...the game actually diminishes one of the most charming elements of the prequel: the ability to move quickly, with purpose and to "know what to do". Instead you're presented with a bunch of moral quandries that repeat over and over and never really enhance the game before the first encounter. Do you save the two reporters incarcerated in Arkham Aylum? Or do you pursue Titan? Do you waste time figuring out Enigma's puzzles? Or do you stop Zsasz? If there is a thing such as too much freedom, then Arkham City has a patent on it. Traveling through the city with gliding/batline is an awesome experience...for the first 2-4 hours. Afterwards many people just use fast travel or numb themselves to the banality of it all. Similarly, the city is *crawling* with goons. In fact, there are 3-4 goons on the rooftop to every building. You're constantly fighting goons. While that's an excuse to practice your combat and feel like a virile pummeler of justice, the truth is that it gets old very, very fast because there's no context or purpose to just going around and punching an endless wave of cardboard cutouts in the face. And navigating Arkham City can be a pain, even with the built in GPS. Some goons are fine. 10000 goons? Not so fine. Yes, the ending does try to be more profound than its predecessor's and it does take distinct risks. But by then many players, myself included, are just numb from the constant parade of enemies. Batman has such a rich, expansive rogues gallery and yet we see all the same baddies again. Joker. Enigma. Bane. Penguin. Two Face. It would have been so nice to mix it up with different enemies and LESS enemies. Batman is the world's greatest detective and yet we rarely see that side of him in these games. You rarely have to employ cleverness outside of combat, and that's so sad. I won't spoil the ending but despite trying something daring, the ending makes no sense. Several key characters die and Batman reacts to the death of one ... but not the other. His behavior is illogical and unsubstantiated from the DC universe interpretation. In all, it feels bizarre, contrived and it ruins much of the game's story for me. Arkham City isn't a bad game. It's fun in short stretches and you still have a wealth of takedown options in Batman's arsenal. Too bad they put *too* much in the game and soured the experience a bit. If you can get it for 8 dollars, during a Steam sale, it's worth trying. Worth a look. 7/10.