Batman: Arkham City

BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

Published by Rocksteady Games
Platform: Xbox 360

Sporting the largest advertising campaign seen outside of the Call of Duty franchise, Batman: Arkham City was always going to be one of the biggest events in gaming this year. With a slew of fine reviews under its gadget-packed belt, it promised to deliver on every criticism of its shining predecessor, Arkham Asylum. In terms of gameplay, that's spot on - City rarely fails to excite and entice, with a boggling amount to do in Gotham's brand new sandbox prison. Where this one struggles is in its lore.

The original game was almost universally loved - finally, a game that stuck with comic tradition and delivered an adult experience with genuine impact. The Scarecrow hallucinatory sequences were true stand-out moments in recent gaming history, and the combat system was both simple and ingenious. Following a plot reminiscent of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, you struggled to free the island sanitarium from the clutches of the Joker, voiced superbly by Mark Hamill.

Things have changed. No longer satisfied that an island is the best place to keep Gotham's scum, mayor Quincy Sharp has fenced off an entire section of Gotham City and stuck every lunatic and crook into it. No cells, no cops, and no discrimination between one kind of criminal and another. Add to that a rogue security unit controlled by the mysterious 'warden' Hugo Strange, and you have yourself a problem waiting to happen - an uncontrolled crime capital.

Bats is in there quick-smart, but it won't be an easy task for him, wrapping up his Rogue's Gallery whilst finding out what led to the inception of this place. And not all is well amongst the villainous - the Joker may, in fact, be dying...

It's a ridiculous concept, one which doesn't really follow from Asylum's perfectly crafted plot, and one which tries as hard as it can to wedge in every baddie that did or didn't make an appearance in the latter. A staggering twenty-one of the Gallery show their faces at least once (Croc's brief appearance being rather disappointing), and even then the few that don't cameo (specifically Scarecrow) are sorely missed. Much as the gameplay is almost impossible to fault, it has to be said that in the story there are leaps of logic that, even by comic book standards, just don't gel.

Despite being written by Paul Dini, a comic veteran and the author behind Asylum, it feels bulbous and slow, weighed down by the expansive history of the franchise rather than buoyed by it. There are great moments and exciting set-pieces, but at the end of the day it lacks the pacing and atmosphere that made Asylum such a blast. On top of that, there are also some rather large leaps in Batman lore that accompany the whole experience - nothing here for spoiler's sake, but let's just say not everyone will walk out alive. It ends up being the side missions that provide the most compelling nuggets of intrigue, as well as interesting character encounters.

There is one very welcome introduction to this game, and that is the ability to play as multiple characters. Rocksteady made the now infamous choice of making Catwoman playable in the campaign only through a coded download, which comes in a brand new boxed game but not a pre-owned, and must otherwise be purchased separately. [The business scheme protects the company from losing funds on pre-owned game sales, whilst refraining from outwardly damning them.] Catwoman is a revelation, a seductively costumed anti-heroine with a smooth control scheme akin to Batman's but not as gadget heavy. She plays like a dream, with her own methods of exploring and taking baddies down, and really helps to keep the feel of the game fresh. Admittedly, there's some fan-service-esque cleavage flashed when she slides under low hanging surfaces, but it's all too heavily stylized and playful to feel objectifying. JB Hi-Fi's special edition also comes with a code to play as Robin in the 'Riddler's Revenge' play modes, similar to the Predator levels in the original but with added combat rounds and challenges.

With extra playable characters, the Story Plus mode (essentially a hard mode with all of your gadgets given to you at the start), the exhaustive Riddler's Revenge mode, and an expansive world to explore, there's plenty to keep you occupied. Batman: Arkham City is wholly recommended, but for those looking for a compelling storytelling experience, you may find it just slightly wanting. The game is a toffee apple - the shine of the graphics, the swath of secrets and the phenomenal gameplay engine are a thick, sweet and sticky coating over a piece of fruit that's gone just a little bit stale.