Arkham City

I maintain that games do not need to be fun to be great games. They just need to be interesting. Children of Men is not a fun movie, but it's still a great movie. I think the same can be said for video games. However, it certainly doesn't hurt when a game is so fun you can't put it down. Arkham City is that game.

The game opens with a great intro, revealing that Hugo Strange knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman and a fantastic escape from custody. From there, the story and the game becomes increasingly intense. I will not reveal the ending, but it is a glorious piece of suspenseful game design. One thing that Rocksteady has proven is that they can characterize Batman villains like no other. The Penguin is a Guy Ritchie-style English gangster. The Joker is a strangely endearing psychopath. Zsasz is the creepiest serial killer in gaming history. Every character feels alive and appropriate for the environment. I think the dark and gritty story is a bit over-used, but every aspect of this narrative is so well-realized that I can certainly overlook that. It's so enthralling despite the fact that I have never read a Batman comic in my life. It's possible that they missed the mark on accurately portraying some of them, but I'd never know it.

Then there's the game play. There is something supremely satisfying about flying around Arkham's dilapidated skyscrapers. I'm not exactly sure what it is. I imagine it's the feeling of power, but whatever the reason it's enjoyable on a massive scale. For how sublimely filthy the environments are, the game play is squeaky clean. The predatory nature of Batman is still very much on display, bringing the amazing stalking mechanics from Arkham Asylum. That may sound creepy, but there is nothing more satisfying than silently taking down guards one by one without them ever knowing where you are. The fighting system works really well and, most importantly, makes the player feel like an unstoppable badass. Rocksteady has said that they didn't care if they made Batman overpowered because, well he's the Batman. He's supposed to be powerful. Whether flying like a silent sentinel or punching goons in the face, the player can get a real sense of the power of The Dark Knight. It's a real triumph and something that game designers need to use as a reference. It doesn't matter if the player character is very strong if the point is that the player character is supposed to be the biggest badass on the playground.

Of course nothing in the world is perfect and the game isn't without its flaws. I personally had occasional problems with the fighting system. While it works well, like I said above, I had problems hitting the specific guy I was trying to pummel occasionally. I also didn't like some of the goons, like the shielded henchmen, simply because it broke the free-flowing beauty of the normal fights. The joy came from effortlessly moving from one bad guy to another with few impediments and the shield guys interrupted this. Both of these problems could be attributed to my n00b status, but they were still problems. The variety of missions wasn't always the best, as is the case with many open world games. This is not to say they were all the same; they weren't. However, there were a few too many ring-flying missions. After a while, I felt like I was playing Superman 64. When that happened, though, I just went to the next Riddler trap (a Saw-esque death puzzle) and got back to the enjoyment.

Arkham City is a game about power. It's about the men who use and abuse their power whether it's political, criminal or magical. It's also a fantastically fun game that melds game play and story-telling in fantastically compelling ways. Even when the game gets difficult, you never feel powerless. Rocksteady never takes away the player's feeling of being the best of the best. It's fantastically fun and deep to the extent that I could write a whole paper on it. In the interest of brevity, I will leave it at this; if you have any interest in Batman or flying or beating up thugs, this is game for you.

Also, sorry this is a little late. The day got away from me between school and my next game for review. Thanks for reading and any feedback would be much appreciated.