Arkham City is a fantastic game, from top to bottom. The original game Arkham Aslyum, in comparison, feels like riding a bicycle with training wheels. You, being five, think this is probably the greatest thing ever and that nothing ever will come along that will upstage that bike with training wheels.
That's where your stupid, primitive, five-year old mind is wrong.
Arkham City is like getting a motorcycle right after that bike with the pathetic training wheels. Oh yeah, and the motocrycle's wheels are on fire. Better yet, you can fly off a fifty foot jump over a pool of lava and when you land, the most beautiful women tackle your very body with ecstasy (or men if you'd like).
But alas, my metaphor is getting out of hand. Let's get back to the actual game. Arkham Asylum's visuals, first of all, are astounding. The detailing of every wall in the game is a special thing to behold. While chasing the Penguin through a museum, I was constantly stopping at each and every exhibit that included dinosaur fossils, stuffed dead animals, and so much more. Further, each exhibit had a button to press and the Penguin would say something diabolical about what was in the exhibit over a speaker. The development team didn't even have to assume players would want to press the buttons, but they did it anyway. This is just one example of many of the perfectionist, attention-to-detail work of the animation team. I'm not even going to mention the snow effects in the game and how each flake dissolves on Batman's person (oh wait I just did).
Controls-wise, the game is flawless in it's execution and fun-factor. The battle system of Arkham Asylum returns. Many of the techniques and gadgets of the last game has returned (with new perks, of course) but even more have been introduced. Probably my favorite is the inclusion of the ability to summon bats to disorient your enemies. Or maybe my favorite would be the hundred mile per hour, sky-dive into an unsuspecting foe from above. Or maybe it's the- you know what? There's too many things to love about the combat system of Arkham City.
The open, Grand Theft Auto-esque world feels fantastic. While there is a main story line, you can literally stop at dozens of places in between plot points around the city, fighting crime, saving prisoners, solving Riddler puzzles, etc. I played for about 4 hours the first night, quit and returned to the main menu. Surprisingly, the game said I was about 7% through the entire game. SEVEN PERCENT. This was definitely worth my 60 dollars.
Last thing I'd like to cover is sound design - which, of course, is stellar. Mark Hamill voices the Joker (for perhaps the final time) and, along with all the other voice actors, brings their characters to life giving them depth and a lasting impression. The music is very inspired by not only the Tim Burton film adaptations, but I also sensed some Christopher Nolan Batman. I swear, every time I punch someone, the sound effect resonates with such force that I believe I just knocked the lights out of a criminal.
So basically, buy this fu**ing game. Enjoy it. And if you're disappointed by the lack of psychological reading this week, play the game and psychoanalyze yourself - you may surprise yourself by talking, walking and fighting crime like Batman.
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