Arkham City opens with a bit of a surprise (and a certain pussy...that is, if you got the code). After the initial surprise, the game actually started kind of slow for me. The city is much larger than the asylum from the first game but I kind of felt like I picked up Arkham Asylum after a long layoff. It didn't feel like a new game yet. The initial disappointment quickly blew over, though, as I got a bit further. I think the side missions in this game are absolutely critical to overall enjoyment. There are so many side characters, villains, items, collectables, and just cool stories to experience just from the side missions. And then there's the main story, of course. The story slowly builds, twisting and turning, before culminating in a truly awesome twist that I didn't see coming. The guys at Rocksteady sure as hell know how to tell an amazing Batman story.
Allow me to speak of the villains because they...are...amazing. I never thought the Penguin could be quite as diabolical and evil as he's portrayed in this game. Some of the things he talks about doing to his victims caught me off guard in an awesome way. This game is definitely a little darker than it's predecessor. And then there's Zsasz. Do yourself a favor: complete his side mission because this dude is truly demented and disturbed. The best boss fight in the game belongs to Mr. Freeze. Again, you can't top Batman villains. It can't be done. Of course, there's the one and only Joker. Can we give Mark Hamill an award of some sort? On a larger note, the voice acting is superb all around. Hugo Strange (who I think is voiced by the same guy who did Yen Sid in Kingdom Hearts 2) is a great addition to the cast and you won't know what's going on with him until the game is almost over. Mentioned all of the villains and cameos would have me typing out a novel so you just have to play it. There's still plenty of side missions I need to finish so I'm probably missing some myself.
Catwoman. Oh, Catwoman. Nobody wears leather quite like her. She's limited compared to Batman because she doesn't have all of the cool gadgets but she's still fun to play with. She's very quick and tripping and slapping thugs with her whip is always cool. She has four episodes that are integrated through the main story, as long as you download her content before you start the game. Which I recommend. Her missions were a nice little break from time to time. Robin is also in the game. It would be cool to play as him but, as I understand it, he's only available for Challenges. Of course he's going to be DLC (unless you bought your game at Best Buy).
The only thing negative I guess I can say about the game is actually kind of a good and bad thing. There are so many side missions and Riddler trophies and secrets to collect, it almost becomes overwhelming to the point where it takes away from the main game. There were so many times where I was flying towards a main story marker and then something on the side would suddenly pop up. I just couldn't help myself and ended up changing direction to do the side stuff. I eventually just had to restrain myself and move on with the main story. I guess it wouldn't be so bad for the non-ADD people out there.
Once it was all over, I really enjoyed the game. I even loved the simple things, like boost grappling from building to building. It's truly exhilarating and that is an accomplishment in itself. For those out there who have played the game, let me know what you thought of it! Reading all of the glowing reviews is nice but getting reactions from "regular" gamers is always better.
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