The greatest suspension of disbelief mandated by Batman: Arkham City isn't that there exists an underground crime ring of costumed supervillains -- rather, that they've been given free roam in a sizable, corded-off chunk of Gotham. It's a government-sanctioned world where everyone tries to kill everyone else, sometimes with guns, which prisoners characteristically aren't permitted to possess. Such a place shouldn't exist; which is exactly why Bruce Wayne has taken it upon himself to shut it down.
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| ARKHAM CITY REVIEW |
Arkham City lacks the raw acreage of a Liberty City, Stillwater or Rome, but provides much more space between its key structures than was present in Arkham Asylum. Batman zips between enemy hideouts using a satisfying system of locomotion; though your destination may occasionally look distant, it only takes a minute or two of gliding, diving to gain velocity and grappling between buildings to get just about anywhere you want to go.
Your effortless flight is impeded by thugs in the employ of the various archnemeses which wrestle for control of the landscape. Dispatching them in hand-to-hand combat requires the judicious use of the returning Freeflow system, which rewards well-aimed strikes and well-timed counters with combo boosts (that let you activate special attacks and garner extra experience). And it punishes clumsiness with ... well, death.
There are plenty of sidequests to divert your attention from the campaign, the most prevalent of which being The Riddler's hidden trophies and puzzles. There are 400 in total to discover, all of which unlock concept art, character trophies or challenge maps. After accruing enough, you'll also discover the location of Riddler's nefarious, Saw-like deathtraps, and the imperiled captives within.
There's more incentive to hunt down the Riddler's leavings this time around, though their sheer volume makes the earliest part of the game -- when you don't possess the gadgets required to access them -- pretty frustrating. It takes the Metroidvania philosophy of "come back when you're properly equipped" to an inscrutable extreme, though the ability to mark out-of-reach trophies on your map helps hugely in the endgame..
After all!! The 72-year-old lore of the Batman universe is about as immutable as comic book icons come. If Batman: Arkham Asylum was evidence of Rocksteady's comprehension of the franchise, then Arkham City is proof of their understanding of its quiescence.
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