Batman: Arkham City

Following the success of the bestselling, award winning, 2009 Game of the Year hit, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City is a follow-up that revolutionizes how people think of video game sequels. Released in late 2011, Batman: Arkham City sets the bar for superhero games. Namely, it expands upon the already vast setting of Arkham Asylum. In this rendition of the Batman saga, Batman is asked to deal with a city crawling with thugs and supervillains, this time flying from rooftop to rooftop in a sprawling section of Gotham City.

Listed below are some of the pros and cons of this award winning videogame.

Pros

• Batman: Arkham City builds on the already strong story line set up in the first edition of the Batman franchise, Batman: Arkham City. However, players unfamiliar with the first storyline will have no trouble plugging into the sequel. The story is fresh and full of new plot elements that make it entertaining for new and old players of the Arkham games.
• The game brings back several villains from the first game as well as introducing many new ones. Returning villains are the Joker, Harley Quinn, Bane, Poison Ivy, Victor Zsasz and the Riddler. New villains are Hugo Strange, Two-Face, the Penguin, Talia al Ghul, Mr. Freeze, Solomon Gundy, Mad Hatter, Deadshot, Hush and the shadowy figure known as Azrael.
• This is the first of the Batman Arkham saga that introduces the character of Catwoman. Interestingly, she is introduced as a fellow vigilante who works with as opposed to against the Dark Knight. There are several points in the game where players get to play as Catwoman, completing missions and using her acrobatic skills to defeat enemies.
• Batman: Arkham City also introduces Robin and Nightwing. These are two more allies of the Caped Crusader. In addition, the characters who assisted Batman in Arkham Asylum are all present: Alfred, Oracle and Commissioner James Gordon.
• Reprising their roles from the first game are Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker. These two recognizable voices played the same characters in the television show, “Batman: The Animated Series.”
• Arkham City is huge. The map is sprawling and is at least five times as large as the setting of Arkham Asylum.

Cons

• Using a keyboard for this game is not the optimal way to play. For Batman: Arkham City, one should consider purchasing a game controller. It will make fighting and maneuvering around Gotham much easier.
• Some users have reported issues initially installing the game. While later, most claim to have figured out a solution to their initial problem, a few have not had any luck.
• Due to the high level of graphic quality in this game, a user needs to make sure he or she has the graphics card, RAM, processor and hard drive requirements needed to play this game free of glitches.

Batman: Arkham City is an incredible follow-up to the original Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game builds on its predecessor and has improved in the areas of graphics, maneuvering, characters and plot. Batman: Arkham City is most definitely worth downloading.