Batman: Arkham City
Every month we celebrate the most important, innovative, or just plain great games from PlayStation’s past. This month, we adopt our best heavy smoker voices and forget how to smile as we revisit a Caped Crusader classic
Arkham Asylum was the first great Batman game, but City was arguably the first true Batman simulator. When it hit shelves in October 2011, we had, for the very first time, something that allowed us to explore a fully realised 3D city as the dark knight. Throw in a load of classic villains, and it was a costumed dream come true.
Okay, so it isn’t Gotham City exactly. Arkham City is essentially an immense open prison, handily explaining away the lack of civilians – but it’s a city nonetheless. There’s a very strong story, and even some intriguing sidequests that bring in villains lesserknown outside of hardcore Batfandom, such as bandage-bonced Hush and the mysterious Azrael. However, you’re free to wander off and do your own thing simply because you’re in the mood to mete out some extremely violent justice to a bunch of strangers.
Insomniac’s Spider-Man may win the joy of movement competition when it comes to superhero games, but
Arkham City comes swooping in very close behind. Each and every time you leap from a tall building, Batman fully unfurls his cape, and you can glide for distances that are as satisfying as they are hilariously unrealistic. Diving serves as both a way to quickly reach the ground to kick baddie backside and a carefully manipulated mechanic to extend and speed up your flight. The grapnel gun is more at home in a city environment, too, ensuring you’re never far from an opportunity to soar over the rooftops.
City sits between Asylum and Knight not only chronologically, but also in terms of content. Combat remains the same entrancing ballet of brutality people loved in Asylum, and that game’s carefully curated claustrophobia is also retained for the indoor sections. This is
THE SAME ENTRANCING BALLET OF BRUTALITY THAT PEOPLE LOVED IN ASYLUM.
married to the wondrous freedom of an open world that carried over to Knight, without that sequel’s controversial Bat-tank shenanigans. At one point, Rocksteady toyed with the idea of a multiplayer mode for City, but decided to dedicate all its energies to a singleplayer experience instead. It paid off.
WAYNE’S WORLD
As enjoyable as the freeform element is, there’s a brilliant Batman story to take part in, supported by stellar acting. Kevin Conroy once again proves that he is The Batman, Mark Hamill returns to provide a sensational Joker, Grey DeLisle is a purrfect Catwoman, and we have City to thank for the introduction of Nolan North’s preposterous
Mockney Penguin. As you’d hope, an assortment of villains means an equally varied number of environments and setups. Who can forget the courtroom brawl against an army of Two-Face’s thugs, or the Mr Freeze boss fight that demands you use a selection of surprise attacks in true Batman style?
Another great thing about this game is that, while it can be enjoyed in isolation, knowledge of the prequel adds an extra layer to the experience in a way that few games before or since have managed. Sure, it means being familiar with the unique combat and how the detective mode and gadgets work, but a continuous story thrums in the background throughout. If you’ve played Arkham Asylum, the Bane subplot immediately makes sense. A few friendly faces return. And that ending that nobody saw coming… wow! A Bat-classic through and through.