Review - Batman: Arkham City (2011)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. After the rousing success of Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009, Warner Bros. Interactive and DC re-teamed with Rocksteady to produce another Batman game. However, neither Eidos Interactive nor their parent company Square Enix were involved in this game. 

        Released in 2011, Batman: Arkham City was seen as a massive improvement on the previous title, and had a greater expanded roster of characters in the game. Returning characters include Batman, Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Bane, Zsasz, and Killer Croc, with newcomers including Riddler (making a physical appearance this time), Robin, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Solomon Grundy, Clayface, Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, Hugo Strange, Calendar Man, Azrael, Vicki Vale, Deadshot, Hush, Mad Hatter, and Catwoman, with both Oracle and Alfred helping out via Comms. 

        So, the game is set some time after the Arkham Island incident, and both Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Penitentiary have been shut down, with inmates of both facilities being relocated to a massive open-air super prison known as Arkham City. The facility, located in the rundown slums of Gotham North, is divided into four areas: Park Row, The Bowery, Amusement Mile, and the Industrial District. Also, the facility is operated by Professor Hugo Strange and patrolled by paramilitary security force TYGER. However, the TYGER guards are assigned to keep Arkham inmates in, not to quell any violence between them, which leads to a massive gang war between the trio of Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face. 

        Feeling the violence inside the walls of Arkham City is a powder keg that could spell bad things for Gotham, Bruce Wayne decides to begin a campaign to get the facility shut down for good. And, it's during a press conference he has outside of the gates of Arkham City that Bruce is captured by TYGER. Hugo Strange, revealing that he knows Bruce Wayne is, in fact, Batman, reveals that he is about to put something called Protocol 10 into effect, and he will out Bruce Wayne as Batman if he should attempt to interfere. Bruce is then sent into the Arkham City facility, where he is quickly nabbed by Penguin and his thugs. However, Bruce easily dispatches them, and heads to the rooftops to call Alfred, who sends the Batwing to airdrop the Batsuit. Because, after all, the game isn't Bruce Wayne: Arkham City, it's Batman: Arkham City. So, it makes sense that Alfred would send Bruce the suit so we play the rest of the game as Batman. 

       Anyway, once Batman is suited up, he hacks into TYGER's comms, and learns that Two-Face is holding Catwoman hostage in the Solomon Wayne Courthouse. Batman saves her from Two-Face, as well as a sniper shot aimed by Joker, who has set up shop in the Sionis Steel Mill. After an encounter with Harley Quinn in the old Gotham City Cathedral, which houses the Arkham Medical Center, Batman heads to the Steel Mill, where he learns that Joker is dying. Apparently, the TITAN formula he injected himself with has mutated into a blood virus that is killing him. Unfortunately, Joker infects Batman with the same virus, and reveals that Mr. Freeze is preparing the cure in the old Gotham City PD building in Amusement Mile. 

      Unfortunately, Penguin is holding Freeze in the Cyrus Pinkney Museum, and he's locked the place down, set up military grade signal jammers, and blown up some freeway connecting Amusement Mile with the Industrial District. So, after destroying the signal jammers, Batman heads into the museum, where he now has to save undercover GCPD officers sent in by Commissioner Gordon, as well as Freeze, and stop Penguin. However, Penguin reveals he has Solomon Grundy hidden beneath the Iceberg Lounge, and Batman must fight the undead monstrosity, and ultimately stops both Grundy and Penguin. Freeze reveals, unfortunately, that the cure for Joker's virus requires an enzyme that must be bonded to human DNA for decades. However, Batman knows a man that was exposed to such an enzyme for centuries: Ra's al Ghul. After an attack by a member of the League of Assassins, Batman follows her, plants a tracker, and calls in for some additional equipment, which is hand-delivered by Tim Drake/Robin. 

      Ra's al Ghul, along with his daughter Talia and the rest of the League of Assassins are based in the ruins of Wonder City, where a Lazarus Pit is located. Ra's allows Batman to sample the Lazarus formula, but Batman only seeks a sample of Ra's blood for Freeze to make the cure. Returning to the surface, Batman hears Strange mention that Quincy Sharp, former Arkham Asylum warden and current Mayor of Gotham, is now in Arkham City, and questions him about his connection to Strange. But, at the behest of Oracle, Batman heads back to GCPD to get Ra's blood to Freeze. The cure is made, but Freeze refuses to give it to Batman, instigating a fight. During the fight, Harley manages to steal the cure for Joker, leading Batman to go back to the Steel Mill to go after it. 

      After a lengthy traversal through the Steel Mill, and a brawl against the Joker and his goons, Batman finds himself buried under some rubble, and watches as Talia arrives to offer Joker the chance for immortality. Now, at this time, I should mention some of the DLC for Arkham City, specifically some DLC content that allows players to take on mini chapters as Catwoman. In these mini chapters, we have a prologue where Catwoman nabs a data card from a safe in Two-Face's campaign office. The next two chapters focus on Catwoman's attempt to gain help from Poison Ivy to Brea into Stranger's Confiscated Goods Vault, and choosing whether to save  Batman from his predicament or leave him to his fate.  If Catwoman chooses to leave Arkham City, an audio played over the credits sets up that Oracle is calling for help, as Joker's forces have grown too powerful, and Batman, Gordon, and all of the heroes of Gotham are dead. However, when Catwoman chooses to save Batman, he is set on his next objective: breach Wonder Tower and put a stop to Protocol 10.

        But, just what was Protocol 10? Well, Protocol 10 was only meant as a worst-case countermeasure in the event the inmates of Arkham City acquire illicit weapons and attempt to stage a mass breakout and launch an attack on Gotham. In such an event, TYGER is authorized to launch missile bombardment on Arkham City, killing every inmate in the facility. Damn. Anyway, Batman gets Strange's master control program, accesses Wonder Tower, and deactivates Protocol 10. But, in a shocking reveal, Ra's al Ghul shows up and reveals that HE had been backing Strange's vision for Arkham City and Protocol 10. Now, something interesting is that Strange had revealed that he planned to open facilities identical to Arkham City in both Keystone City and Metropolis. Okay, I highly doubt that such a facility could hold Superman, who would work in tandem with Lex Luthor to prevent such a facility from getting off the ground. Thoroughly defeated, Strange activates Protocol 11, destroying his control center atop Wonder Tower, and Ra's impales himself with his sword during the descent from the tower. 

       Unfortunately, Joker is still around, and invites Batman to meet at the abandoned Monarch Theater, where snipers are positioned all around the theater. After taking them out, it's time for the final showdown. However, we learn the following: Joker was never cured, Talia had taken the cure from Harley Quinn, and Clayface had been posing as Joker as a means to keep up appearances. After a long bout against Clayface, Batman drinks the cure, destroys the Lazarus Pit, and after Joker accidentally causes him to drop the cure vial, watches as Joker succumbs to his illness, remarking how he still would have saved Joker in the end. Batman carries Joker out of the theater, and out of Arkham City, leaving him on the hood of Gordon's car. As for Catwoman, well, she goes after Two-Face, who has taken over the museum, and learns that he distributed half her loot to his thugs. Eh.

      So, while the main plot, plus the Catwoman DLC is plenty, the developers of Arkham City added plenty of side quests as well. Such side quests include rescuing political prisoners from being beaten up by thugs, completing a series of augmented reality training simulations, and of course there's the Riddler side quest. In the case of the Riddler, old Edward has taken the Arkham City Medical staff hostage, including doctors and security. So, Batman must solve riddles and collect Riddler trophies (Catwoman has a set of Riddler trophies to collect as well) to locate and save the hostages, and eventually incapacitate Riddler himself. 

      Other side quests include investigating two types of crime scenes: one is for political prisoners killed by Deadshot, whose been hired by Strange to assassinate a set of targets, including Jack Ryder, Bruce Wayne, and Batman. The other crime scenes are for individuals killed by a serial killer dubbed "the Identity Thief," who turns out to be Dr. Thomas Elliot/Hush. Other side quests include working with Bane to destroy the remaining containers of TITAN around Arkham City, answering pay phones to locate Victor Zsasz, collect a disruptor upgrade in the Iceberg Lounge, collect a new gadget in the boiler room of the Steel Mill, locate and secure the cryotube holding Nora Fries, deciphering a series of symbols left around Arkham City by Azrael, and defeating the Mad Hatter. 

       The voice acting in Arkham City is practically second to none. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill return as Batman and Joker, and they are just phenomenal in this game. Tara Strong, who takes over voicing Harley Quinn for Arleen Sorkin, also does a fantastic job in this game, and would be a very popular Harley voice actress for years to come. The likes of Maurice Lemarche, Nolan North, Troy Baker, Wally Wingert, and Peter MacNicol as Mr. Freeze, Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, and Mad Hatter were all excellent. Dee Bradley Baker and Stana Katic as Ra's and Talia were both really good, and Corey Burton was absolutely chilling as Hugo Strange. 

       The developers at Rocksteady really stood out with the scale in this game. There is way more to explore in Arkham City than there was in Arkham Asylum, and plenty of landmark locations that longtime Batman fans will easily recognize. Going from an island to a walled-off section of Gotham was a brilliant move, and it really stands out as a fun area with plenty to explore, both above and below the streets. However, in addition to the returning riddles and Riddler trophies, there is one part of the game that is rather tedious: Calendar Man. You see, Calendar Man is locked up in a cell underneath the Courthouse, and he will tell a story of one of his many crimes as they correlate to a specific holiday. So, for instance, if you're playing the game on Valentine's Day, or St. Patrick's Day, or Halloween, or Christmas, then Calendar Man will tell a story of a crime he committed on that particular holiday. Meaning, you have to pop in the game on that specific holiday to hear the story... without starting a new game. 

       Overall, though, Batman: Arkham City is a vast improvement over its predecessor. It continues to story of the previous game, adds new elements, and immerses the player more fully into this version of Gotham City. I'm giving Batman: Arkham City a rating of 5/5. Definitely a game worthy of being Game of the Year. 

       Now, another piece of DLC content in Arkham City is Harley Quinn's Revenge, where Batman was captured by an emotionally unstable Harley Quinn, and after a few days, he is rescued by Robin. Getting to play an extra chapter set months after the end of the main game, and as both Batman and Robin, is kinda neat, and while exploration is limited to the Industrial District part of the Arkham City map, there's still a lot to explore. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll be back next time in my review of Pokémon 4Ever.