| Love: | Batman. |
| Hate: | Living in a place called Gotham yet still being judged for dressing up in skin-tight costume and driving around fighting crime. |
| ———————————————————————————————————————————————– |
Openly broadcasting that I hail from a place called Gotham (albeit the English village rather than the fictional American metropolis) I have always been somewhat of a Batman fan, and when mentioning specifically where I reside, people will often ask the question 'are you Batman?' Whilst it may be true that I have attained the impressive physique that you might expect from the caped crusader (ha!) and have a similar interest in dressing up in skin-tight clothing, regrettably I am not Gotham's Dark Knight. Nor am I at all like his trusty sidekick Robin, as Alex and Simon would have you believe, or any character in one of the DC Universe's most iconic comic book franchises.
So iconic is the franchise in fact, that not only does it have numerous films based upon the title character (with The Dark Knight being the eleventh highest grossing movie of all time), but also a whole host of video games. Spanning across a whole array of gaming platforms, some being cash ins on based on individual movies, some on the comic book world, and even a Lego Batman game (with a sequel due to be released in mere weeks), these games have been as brilliant and as terrible as the films themselves. I like to rank them on a scale of Joel Schumacher (bad) to Christopher Nolan (good). The latest game which focuses on the Dark Knight himself is the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2009 game Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City.
Anything goes in a full on brawl. And I mean anything.
As the title suggests, Arkham is no longer just an island institute for the terrifyingly insane inmates that Batman himself apprehends (and re-apprehends several times in the course of a week). A whole section of Gotham City's slums is cut off from the rest of the world by high prison walls, where anyone with a trace of a criminal record, or political opponents, are sent by Mayor Quincy Sharp, who you might recognise as the Warden of Arkham Asylum, and struggle to survive alongside the maniacs such as the Joker, Penguin, Ra's al Ghul, and dozens of other notable characters. With Arkham City under the control of Professor Hugo Strange and with Gotham City essentially a police state, Bruce Wayne, ever a paragon of virtue, speaks out against the super prison, and is, somewhat predictable, thrown in with the rest of the inmates. Enter Batman.
Following a short stint as Bruce Wayne, where you are instantly recognised by dozens of thugs who try to beat you to a bloody stain (but being Batman, even hand and foot shackles can't stop you), you make it to the rooftops and call the ever reliable butler Alfred to airdrop you the Batsuit. Now with a giddy player behind the controls, and in doubtlessly more suitable attire, Batman can start to figure out the mess he is in, and take care of the situation in a style that you will feel very familiar with if you played Arkham Asylum, but with a much more easily traversed outdoor setting than the previous title. (Let's face it, the wide open spaces did nothing to help you when you use a rappel to get from place to place).
The graphics, whilst not that noticeably different to Arkham Asylum, are still brilliantly rendered and make the game look as sleek and stylish as it performs. Batman moves with acrobatic grace, and yet combat looks and feels equal amounts of brutal and efficient. Whilst it may not be the most realistic for a large man to be somersaulting over equally large thugs with ease, it stays relatively true to the comic book vision of Batman, rather than the static and completely useless rubber-clad Batmen such as Clooney or Keaton.
For some reason Harley Quinn is obsessed with her increasingly slutty costume changes. I'm sure some of the more...unique...players are equally interested too.
The sound is also on par with its critically acclaimed predecessor, with Kevin Conroy returning for yet another role as the caped crusader, a much more audible representation than Christian Bale, and Mark Hamill (yes Luke Skywalker) returns as the Joker, another role which a 'veteran' reprises for the game. Combat is another key area where the sound excels, with punches that sound painful, and well executed combo's rewarding you with the satisfying sound of breaking bones. In the rest of the game, you can't complain about the sound effects, footsteps, the rappels, the cape and other minor aspects being realistic and standing out as little as possible.
The soundtrack to Arkham City brilliantly captures the dark, yet very much action packed tone of the game, and the rest of the voice cast do stellar jobs in their roles, keeping to this one continuous theme that is shared with Arkham Asylum; not quite as dark and twisted as Tim Burton, but close, and with all the gritty realism of the Christopher Nolan films. With all this talk of directors you might think I was talking about another Batman movie. That's exactly the feeling you get from Arkham City, the sheer scale of it being relatable only to films as the game takes itself to a level all of its own.
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