An Instant Classic

'One of the most immersive, enjoyable games I have ever played'

My first play through of Arkham City (AC) was rushed and I was almost too quick to judge that it was a rushed game. But after a second play through, sat and enjoying every little bit of a game that documents what would equate to the worst night ever for Batman. Now before I start what will be a one off in-depth look at the Caped-Crusaders adventure I have to warn everyone that it WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS, so if you haven't played it yet do not read on if you don't want to know about the majority of the game.

Seriously, DONT!!

Right, so after the events of Arkham Asylum (where Joker rose up within the prison and tried to break free with a substance known as TITAN), Bruce Wayne... who is Batman (ps. if you do not know this fact you will struggle throughout this blog) is seen backing a campaign that is against the brand new inner city prison known as Arkham City. With quick flashes to a man known as Hugo Strange, the player is told that he knows who Batman is...he knows that Wayne is the titular character. After being arrested by police, Bruce Wayne is brought in and tortured by Strange, before breaking free and is thrown into the viscous world of AC. And who is the first person he meets? 

The Penguin. (yes, with a bottle in his eye)

Wayne finally dons his suit, and it is go time. Before you, the sprawling piece of shit that is AC,  a rundown city full of murderers, rapists and the worst villains of the Batman Universe.  Including these little mischief makers aka some of the best villains ever created!!!

<<<< Harley Quinn and a sick looking Joker (explained later)

Dr. Hugo Strange (his head is upside down = beard and bald head) >>>>>>>>

<<<< The beautiful Harvey Dent (Two-Face) and Catwoman

And my favourite, Edward Nigma... aka The Riddler>>>>

<<<< Uma Thurman looks stupid compared to this version of Poison Ivy

There are several more villains in the game, some of them even I had to look up. But meeting up with each and every villain throughout the game is memorable in itself, especially the exchanges with the Riddler. Now, as far as the villains are concerned, you will be happy to know that each one gets prominent screen time, but by far the standout of the game for many people is the Joker. Batman's greatest foe isn't in the best of shapes at the start of the game, suffering badly from his overdose on the TITAN formula. But, as usual, this doesn't stop him being a class A knob head. And, just like in The Animated Series and the previous game, Mark Hamill (LUKE F*CKING SKYWALKER) brings the craziness of the Joker to life. If you don't believe me check out this YouTube clip!!!

So back to the game. You realise that inside the walls of AC, gangs have been created underneath 3 main villains. Two-Face, Penguin and The Joker hold 3 separate parts of the City, fighting each other for control. Hugo Strange is God, holed up in his tower watching over the violence. As Batman swoops and fights his way through the action, you go get the Penguin, who by the way is holding a massive shark inside the lobby of a flooded building. Then, fast forward a bit, you are faced with The Joker, dead in his chair, as Harley Quinn cries. Out of nowhere, a second Joker appears and you get mashed with a baseball bat. This is a strange moment. It is quick and almost easy to miss, but Batman is then in the custody of a very dangerous man, and now infected with the same disease ridden blood of joker! Now i won't spoil this section, but afterwards Batman is met with the cool (apologies in advance) Victor Freis.... Mr.Freeze!! Not the shitty Arnie version, this guy is a proper upset bloke, missing his wife and a lil bit chilly with his crazy powerful suit on! Now I could re tell the story of the game, but you have a wikipedia to see that. I want to highlight my moments that define this game as the 3rd best game i have very played (which is VERY good because I have played many!). One of the early moments that made me go 'hrrgeennnflllrrrgggnn' was the battle with Mr. Freeze, who as most enemies betray you and want to kill you, mainly because it is Batman who put him in the prison in the first place! By now, players are quite nifty in battle, stealthily grabbing enemies, using gadgets etc. Now looking at old Frosty here ( ^^^ ) you would think fighting him would be simple, go behind him and shank him.... well, the battle is made more difficult each time you attack as his state of the art suit learns your attacks, then stops you from making them again with the ice gun. Half the fight is deciding how to attack him, as if he see's you...you will get hurt....the smart blue bastard.

As for other standout moments, the map itself is a wonder. A miss mash of Batman lore rolled into a dark, dank and run down city. That up there is just one quarter of one of the several HQ's for the villains, and there is a lot of stuff in between. Around every corner comes a new bit of information to be discovered, using the 'Detective Mode', which makes your vision look like a real life blueprint...like so >>>>>
With this, Batman can scan whatever he wants, and thanks to The Riddler giving you hundreds of trophies and riddles to solve, using the environment and winks to the rich history of Batman. The map is huge, almost 4x the size of the original game and every bit better. Even at the end of the game, I was discovering things around the map that made me smile or say whoa! as with every trophy or riddle you solve you get a paragraph or two of villain history, some context to the story of the game and finally some audio tapes of scientific cases. The map provides so much more than it probably should, a visual history of DC's most famous (I SAID IT) hero. AC also lets you, if you choose to, take on some of Batman's most underrated villains... which leads nicely on to my next Woah moment(s).

So these fellas, an assortment of badassery and bat shit craziness. They make up just three of the amazing side quests in the game. So the top guy, is Deadshot. He never misses, EVER. well at least until the end of the quest. His power is to be a great shooter, and now he has been hired to kill certain people. Throughout the game, you hear gunshots in the distance. You go investigate and start to hunt down Deadshot before he takes out his next victims, including Bruce Wayne and then Batman (which by the way would take him a while as they are both the same person). The hunt for the best assassin in the world is really cool and culminates in a way which will make you laugh, trust me. Next, is the Mad Hatter. His side quest only appears by chance, so if you miss it, its gone. He tricks you into thinking he has a cure for the blood disease that infects both Batman and the Joker. At his tea party (yep) you are given a hat (yep) because he LOVES hats (yep) and then you fight him on a clock falling through the sky.... (yep). AWESOME side quest. Finally, is probably the most morbid quest in the game. As you creep through the streets, you come across bodies without faces, bandaged up and hidden in alleyways. After a number of these cases Batman gains enough evidence to find out it is in fact Bruce Wayne that has killed the people. (SHOCK) So Batman traces the killer back to his hideout, gets caught in the surgery room and Hush reveals himself. A man so intent on crushing Bruce Wayne that he has gone to the trouble of cutting people faces off and moulding them into that of Bruce Wayne. Amazingly, you don't get to fight him, and he escapes, with the screen saying his file will be held for later observation in the BatCave.....NEXT SEQUELS VILLIAN?!?! This is what I mean, for a tiny side quest, these types of what I like to call 'story-aid' help progress the characters and now hint at the next game. Superb!

^^^ Yeah, this happens.....ALOT




This next bit is nearer the end of the game, well it is actually the penultimate bit of the game, which means the blog is nearly over. But trust me, these are just a FEW things i LOVE about this game. So, you finally make it all the way up the huge tower where Strange is chilling out. After clearing his room of guards, you come face to face with the slap head and knock him silly. The following cutscene is a :0 moment! Ra's Al Ghul (check HERE for his backstory in the game, too long to document here) turns up and reveals he was the one planning everything, trying to destroy the society that has grown too far and lost its way (BATMAN BEGINS MUCH?!?!). He says this after driving his sword straight through Strange. As Batman tries to help Strange, the Doc blows up the tower, forcing Batman and Ra's through the window to the ground below. Unfortunately for the immortal Ghul, he lands on a big capital A for Arkham, snapping him immediately. As cutscenes go, this one was fucking amazing. I will put the clip below so you can see it for yourself.







The final part of this blog is arguably the most contentious point of the entire game. This is a MASSIVE SPOILER. Like seriously, it is a  WHAT THE ACTUAL FECK is going on moment.

So, as we know, Joker is sick. But we also know that there were two Jokers. Well...turns out, the second, healthier Joker is intact Clayface. A dude so messed up that when he has the chance to fix his face, he still looks like this. >>>

So then you fight that monstrosity, and it takes a while as you can imagine. It is a shocking moment, but one you have to expect, as in the previous game Clayface is locked in a cell and changes into loads of different people whilst you watch him....just people forgot thats all. So you beat him, and the ill Joker jumps you for the cure (remember...disease?). Unfortunately, he stabs Batman in the arm, causing him to drop the serum and condemn Joker to an early grave. And yes. Joker DIES. The best villain, in any film, game, TV Show comic or real life... the Joker is killed by a little bit of nasty blood. Batman even admits, 'Whats funny is that I would of actually saved you' as Joker takes his final breath. Its a scene I never ever thought I would see... especially after 15 hours of amazing twists and turns, you never thought they would go THERE!! Now, lots of people hated this ending. i loved it. The Joker has gone, just like the films at the moment. His shadow will lurk throughout the next game, most likely being involved somehow, but he is gone. And even though he is a nasty little bastard, he was entertaining!! Comedic and sick, witty and devilish. The joker made both Batman games the success that they are. His death signified a huge design choice that angered many fans, but in reality... this happens in comics all the time...so get used to it. The fact that the game ends with Batman walking through the streets of Arkham with Jokers limp body in his arms is a symbol of the game itself. Proof that no matter how pure the hero, someone has to pay the price. For Bruce, Joker was family... digging away at his hard shell and joking around like two brothers.  Batman realises the monumentality of his death, as do the inmates of AC, allowing them to walk by, through the gates and out into the world. I do not think that any game captured rivalry like this one, a massive Woah moment in every sense.

From this.....

To This...

So there you go, that was my jump into a masterpiece. A well crafted, well written and downright fun game to behold. If you have no enjoyment in comics or super heros....still play this game for the story and gameplay, because you DONT need to be a nerd to appreciate it (but a bit does help a lot). The game itself is so superb that you do not need to know anything, but it is there if you want to delve deeper. Fluid combat, great visuals and some of the greatest characters ever will pull you in. It even has playable CatWoman and an acceptable Robin character. EPIC WIN. Batman Arkham City is THE best game of 2011. Go and play it right now, then tell me if I am wrong.... go on.... I DARE YOU.

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