Batman: Arkham City

Rocksteady Studios has done it again. It may not be perfect, but it has taken it's predecessor's place as the best superhero game of all time. One of the best that this year has to offer.

A stunning, impeccable achievement in game design and execution, Batman: Arkham City is every bit as good as you've heard. And more.

Is Batman: Arkham City a perfect game? It's a bold statement, but if not, it's very close.

Rocksteady has managed to do something nobody else has in the two years since Arkham Asylum: they've improved on that combat system. Add to that the larger, more free-roaming play area as well as the masses of extra content and Arkham City is an exceptional achievement.

If there is one game you buy this year, make it Batman: Arkham City. Few other games released this year will reach this level of polish, variety, story quality, action, scale, and length.

Speaking of some of the things Batman does in the game, there are new emphasis on Batman's sleuthing abilities and gadgets to assist in crime scene analysis. This is in addition to the detective mode from the first game. Which is pretty awesome since there are so many new and different things in this game it breaks it up and makes it that much more interesting.

Rocksteady's heavily modified Unreal Engine is a sight to behold as well. I'd go so far as to say the developer has beaten Epic Games at its own technology with Batman: Arkham City handedly surpassing Gears of War 3's highest visual achievements. The entirety of the open world is detailed, vibrant, and packed to the gills with content.

Beautifully polished and endlessly exciting, Rocksteady's latest take on Batman is finally the hero that PS3 truly deserves. [Dec 2011]

Arkham City is stuffed to the edge of the disc with content and replay value (in addition to the gigantic campaign there's an expanded Challenge Mode and New Game Plus), is incredible amounts of fun, is polished to perfection, has had real love poured into every aspect, and most importantly, it makes you feel like Batman.

There's a real sense of progression to Arkham City in its gameplay, in its story, in the variety of its missions (the abundance of open world side-quests will keep you busy for a long, long time), and in the evolution of its pointy-eared protagonist, that really deserves to be commended.

Rocksteady delivers a new masterpiece, enhancing the original in almost every way. Batman Arkham City offers a better story, masterfully paced storytelling, more freedom, more surprises, secondary missions and tasks, an intensified combat with new moves... To sum it up, a follow-up that met our expectations, without forgetting the strengths of the original, and growing up to be a spot-on tale of adventure and excitement: a serious candidate for the GOTY title.

Controlling Batman as he completely terrorizes his victims, whether via the invisible predator gameplay or the brutal combat, is an experience rivaled by few others. From its memorable Bourne Identity-esque opening to its shocking ending, Batman: Arkham City secures its place as my favorite superhero game since Freedom Force.

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.

This game could be one of the biggest and most enjoyable time sinks of the year. 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. [Nov 2011]

Just so there's no confusion, let's state it plain: Batman: Arkham City is not only the best superhero game ever made, it's one of the best games ever made full-stop. Batman: Arkham City takes the already superlative original and gloriously expands on it. It's a deeper game, more complex, more inventive, more mature. In our view it brings the caped crusader's world to life better than any comic, movie, or television show before it ... To say it one last time: this is what it means to be Batman. And when it comes down to it, who the hell doesn't want to be Batman? [Nov 2011, p.62]

Is this the perfect sequel? Yes. Rocksteady takes the core experience from the already fantastic Batman: Arkham Asylum and expands on it in every imaginable way. This is how every superhero game should be. Action game of the year!

Unparalleled in its representation of the Bat, Batman: Arkham City is a pedigree of gaming making and content adaption that no Batman fan should be without.

Batman: Arkham City is one of the best games I've ever played. It isn't perfect, but it's only kept away from perfection by a weak plot and a few nagging gameplay flaws.

Batman: Arkham City sets the standard against which future superhero games will be judged.

Batman is coloer than ever in this all new adventure. You'll fly from one magnificent moment to the other, with absolutely no time for boredom. Batman: Arkham City offers you the ultimate package, the best of the best and has everything you can ever ask for from a superhero game.

All in all, outside of a few minor issues, I couldn't ask for a better Batman experience. If Arkham City was a graphic novel, it would be considered a classic.

Batman: Arkham City is an absolute must for anyone who loved Arkham Asylum. If you didn't play that, then do that first because the storylines tie into each other.

Bigger, better and more versatile than its predecessor. Arkham City is a superb gaming achievement, and with it Rocksteady earns a rightful place in this generation's most talented developers.

An expansive and brilliantly crafted playground to test Batman's abilities as a detective, brute, and predator, Batman: Arkham City is highly addictive, and a work of digital art.

Batman: Arkham City is great. It has the main features from Arkham Asylum but improves every possible aspect to create a bigger, better and more exciting Batman game. It delivers constantly and it's the best superhero videogame we've ever seen.

Rocksteady already proved that they're an amazing studio with Arkham Asylum, but with Arkham City they now belong to the Olympus of the Action/Adventure genre. This game is the ultimate superhero experience.

Rocksteady has done a brilliant job integrating villains from the rouge gallery as side quests.

The control and responsiveness is perfect, the open-ended exploration is immersive as all hell, the stunning visual display and on-point voice performances are gigantic highlights, and the combat mechanic is second-to-none.

Batman: Arkham City isn't just better than Batman: Arkham Asylum, it's better than most games on the market.

A bold, confident reworking of a winning formula - one that takes Batman to the next level with incredible tech, skill and imagination. [Dec 2011, p.98]

We're sure you've already seen plenty of quotes and sound bites that announce Arkham City as the best superhero game ever made but such statements sell the game short: Batman's latest digital outing is probably one of the best games this year, if not the entire generation.

Batman: Arkham City is The Empire Strikes of the Batman gaming series. It's darker, grittier and adds so much to the original universe that Rocksteady created. If you liked Arkham Asylum then you will love Arkham City.

It is not as surprising as Arkham Asylum, but it improves upon it, updating and enhancing all its elements, and also allowing us to feel like Batman patrolling the troubled streets of Gotham. Although with few new features in gameplay, it is the best Batman game ever made, and one of the best games of this year.

Games have the ability to give players the experience of being a superhero in a very special way that is unique to the medium, and in Batman: Arkham City that experience has been crafted to a near perfection. It's a downright shame that the game has the aforementioned issues, because everything else is absolutely masterful.

Though the overload of features and the hit-the-ground-running pace can be dizzying for some players, this approach is a smart move on Rocksteady's part. There is no better way for gamers to truly understand the Dark Knight unless we're placed in his boots and have the world hoisted on our shoulders.

Takes the formula we loved in Arkham Asylum and advances it to a level I would have not thought possible in this medium. In Arkham Asylum, I felt as if I was playing a Batman tale; in Arkham City, every takedown I preform makes me want to scream "I am Batman!"

Batman is back, better than ever with new tools, new areas to explore and an exiting adventure. Arkham City is better that it's predecessor in every possible way and in the end, it's one of the best games of this generation.

A worthy successor.

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.

Arkham City is the best reflection of the Batman-comic books ever. Not because of the sheer amount of famous enemies that challenge our hero, but thanks to the amazing atmosphere that oozes from every pore of this remarkable action game. [Nov 2011, p.70]