Batman: Arkham City

 PC
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3012 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,637 out of 3012
  2. Mixed: 260 out of 3012
  3. Negative: 115 out of 3012
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  1. Longshanks1979
    Jul 30, 2014
    7
    Less is more when it comes to the Batman games. The game plays very similarly to Arkham Asylum and that's no bad thing. However the changes made are in many cases to the detriment of the game. In AA you start with only a few gadgets and slowly build them up. In AC you have all the original's gizmos and accumulate even more. The thing is, you end up with so much stuff that you barely useLess is more when it comes to the Batman games. The game plays very similarly to Arkham Asylum and that's no bad thing. However the changes made are in many cases to the detriment of the game. In AA you start with only a few gadgets and slowly build them up. In AC you have all the original's gizmos and accumulate even more. The thing is, you end up with so much stuff that you barely use some of the items at all. A similar thing happens with the combat, there are so many tricks and combos that some of the terrific flow that developed with the first game gets lost as you become spoiled for choice and the new stuff isn't integrated as well as the original moves. The open world of Arkham City is not as good as the more focused world of Arkham Asylum. It just means you have to grapple that much further between missions. I think this is still a good game but with Asylum Rocksteady made an almost perfect superhero game while Arkham City feels a bit overblown… Expand
  2. sanchokobe
    Aug 11, 2012
    7
    The game itself is damn near perfect. An improvement in every way over Arkham Asylum, which was also damn near perfect in its own right. However, I must dock three points from the PC version. One point is for the SecuROM DRM, and the other two are for Games for Windows LIVE. Why two points for that? Because you are required to sign in to it, otherwise you aren't allowed to save yourThe game itself is damn near perfect. An improvement in every way over Arkham Asylum, which was also damn near perfect in its own right. However, I must dock three points from the PC version. One point is for the SecuROM DRM, and the other two are for Games for Windows LIVE. Why two points for that? Because you are required to sign in to it, otherwise you aren't allowed to save your game. This means there is essentially two different brands of DRM in this game, PLUS you must have an active internet connection to play this offline single player game. That is absolutely disgusting. Shame on you, Warner Bros.… Expand
  3. Dyskresiac
    Dec 5, 2011
    7
    People need to calm down. A 0 score based off graphics for a decent looking game? Skyrim looks worse, did you rate that a 0? Likewise, the 10's are a bit much. Was Arkham City a good game? Yes. I enjoyed it. GOTY? I honestly cannot see that argument. Aside from being a larger sandbox, it actually was much more empty than its predecessor. The highs weren't as high, but the lowsPeople need to calm down. A 0 score based off graphics for a decent looking game? Skyrim looks worse, did you rate that a 0? Likewise, the 10's are a bit much. Was Arkham City a good game? Yes. I enjoyed it. GOTY? I honestly cannot see that argument. Aside from being a larger sandbox, it actually was much more empty than its predecessor. The highs weren't as high, but the lows weren't as low. There were no scenes or fights that you'll remember a few months from now (unlike the Scarecrow scenes from AA.) But you won't be groaning every time you had to fight the same enemies.... AGAIN (unlike all the Bane-wannabes in AA.) While it started out strong, it felt incredibly rushed at the later 1/3, making the environment incredibly hostile to any exploration. It felt like an MMO, simply telling me to run to talk to/fight the next NPC and come back. Ultimately, I'd give the first 2/3 of the game a 8 or 9 out of 10, and the later third a 5/10. Thus, the 7.… Expand
  4. davenbettridge
    Dec 8, 2011
    7
    Arkham City is a fun and a worth while single player game but is not the masterpiece many claim. I enjoyed the open world of Arkham city and found gliding and fighting around at my own leisure fun for a time. The environmental graphics are good, batman also looks good with a great animating cape. The story has a few moments but did not surprise me at all and ends up being completelyArkham City is a fun and a worth while single player game but is not the masterpiece many claim. I enjoyed the open world of Arkham city and found gliding and fighting around at my own leisure fun for a time. The environmental graphics are good, batman also looks good with a great animating cape. The story has a few moments but did not surprise me at all and ends up being completely unbelievable even for a cartoon which is unacceptable for a claimed 'masterpiece'. The combat is good and feels unique (much improved from Arkham Asylum being more fluid and giving the player more options in combat). Most of the Batman franchise is over used in the game with too many villains that are just there for the sake of it without much use or need. unfortunately as its a franchise Batman will never really learn any real lessons about crime or criminals and there never will be an end to Batman's troubles, batman is never going to die which destroys any suspense of danger, he will never totally defeat his enemies either, Joker will always come back again and again and again which does water down any story's significance. Recommened.… Expand
  5. screenjab
    Dec 31, 2011
    7
    Redundant game-play layered onto some pretty graphics, BAC caters to the lowest common denominator of simpletons in their teenage years. Punch, punch, walk-around, punch, walk-around, punch, repeat..
  6. MadclownJack
    Dec 9, 2011
    7
    So far I've not had any bugs, crashes or any other negative game play crippling faults. But aside from the game, and the revised graphics (not too revised, but still) and the switching between characters (who, I should mention don't differ much), the game play is pretty linear, which is not so different from the first part. Granted, there are some side missions and other stuff to do in theSo far I've not had any bugs, crashes or any other negative game play crippling faults. But aside from the game, and the revised graphics (not too revised, but still) and the switching between characters (who, I should mention don't differ much), the game play is pretty linear, which is not so different from the first part. Granted, there are some side missions and other stuff to do in the city. But in my opinion, beating up henchmen or saving the occasional "political prisoner" (ironically, by beating up henchmen) does have it's limit of being fun. It gets tedious, very fast. Those familiar with the first installment will rejoice in the knowledge that most of the key elements that made it so great, are present here also. The only twist is, there's not much else that's new. You can grapple and glide, and grapple and glide for as long as your heart desires. Though i wish the grappling and gliding was less constricting, like it is in Just Cause 2. In short, Arkham City is a game that follows the footsteps of the original very closely (sometimes too closely), is rich in story and cameos, but leaves much more to be desired in terms of content and gameplay.… Expand
  7. beergogglesftw
    Nov 22, 2011
    7
    I took off 1 point for the fact it was ported over with terrible optimizations. DX11 barely adds anything but a 75% fps drop. 1 more point was off for their crumby DLC overload. You are not buying a complete game here by any means. 1 more point off for using too much DRM... I bought this game through Steam (Only $40) so add one more form of DRM to SecureROM and GFWL and who knows whatI took off 1 point for the fact it was ported over with terrible optimizations. DX11 barely adds anything but a 75% fps drop. 1 more point was off for their crumby DLC overload. You are not buying a complete game here by any means. 1 more point off for using too much DRM... I bought this game through Steam (Only $40) so add one more form of DRM to SecureROM and GFWL and who knows what else.

    I'm sure in time, DX11 will be better optimized, and maybe even a GOTY edition will be released next year that contains all the DLC (making it a complete game). But in its current form, it does not have those things.

    At its core though, its a great game. Console port? Sure, I don't care. I use an Xbox360 controller on PC for these games anyway. Money is in developing consoles games, its not practical to sink so much money into PC games as if its will show consoles sales figures. Sure, the PC is capable of better, but thats just graphics and there's much more to this game than just graphics.    … Expand
  8. Mashley
    Nov 28, 2011
    7
    Lemme start by saying this a fantastic game, honestly if it wasn't for the stupid BS with the PC version I would give a 9 or 10. Great story, great action, great stealth, great graphics, just generally fantastic. But they delayed the PC version for over a month for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON. That's just shocking to be honest. And then when it is released it is full of issues, much touted dx11Lemme start by saying this a fantastic game, honestly if it wasn't for the stupid BS with the PC version I would give a 9 or 10. Great story, great action, great stealth, great graphics, just generally fantastic. But they delayed the PC version for over a month for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON. That's just shocking to be honest. And then when it is released it is full of issues, much touted dx11 support is completely broken, amongst a plethora of other issues, like CTDs and stutterry cutscenes. Honestly, this is a great game and besides the issues I would definitely reccomend it, but I just can't accept the stupid stuff WB pulled on us.… Expand
  9. colin_jack
    Dec 27, 2011
    7
    Brillitant game with excellent graphics and a superb storyline. My only criticism is its not as big as I'd have liked and I would have liked so I don't see myself coming back to it in the future unless they release some good DLC (the Robin/Nightwing content was beyond poor).
  10. hallowedguide
    Dec 23, 2011
    7
    Freshly finished this game and having played the first i cant really say it lived up to my expectations.
    being a huge physx fan i must say one of the greater dissapointments was the lack of environment featuring said physx. the previous batman made heavy use of tearable cloth, papers, leaves, clothing etc however if i recall correctly there wasnt even a single piece of environment that    Freshly finished this game and having played the first i cant really say it lived up to my expectations.
    being a huge physx fan i must say one of the greater dissapointments was the lack of environment featuring said physx. the previous batman made heavy use of tearable cloth, papers, leaves, clothing etc however if i recall correctly there wasnt even a single piece of environment that could be demolished except board but that was a cheesy half life style break. the cloth physx was dedicated about 2 rugs and some paper.
    the whole game was in my eyes too short following the main story. not really any attraction to do side stuff. a labouring jourey across the map to punch 4 guys and hide a nurse isnt what i would call entertainment. the story relies heavily on the thrills of "woahhh im actually meeting mr freeze and clayface" etc rather than an actually thrilling storyline. what they did in one building (essentially) they could not repeat in an entire city. alright game but not fun enough.    … Expand
  11. Teyas
    Jan 26, 2012
    7
    I bought this game in high anticipation from the Arkham Asylum, and got very annoyed that it got pushed back by a month, but hey, the wait was worth it (ish) as I think the gameplay and story was excellent, very engaging and it does carry on from Arkham Asylum, but you do not have to have played Arkham Asylum to understand what's going on. The gameplay also was very similar to ArkhamI bought this game in high anticipation from the Arkham Asylum, and got very annoyed that it got pushed back by a month, but hey, the wait was worth it (ish) as I think the gameplay and story was excellent, very engaging and it does carry on from Arkham Asylum, but you do not have to have played Arkham Asylum to understand what's going on. The gameplay also was very similar to Arkham Asylum, the usual, hit with left mouse click, reversal with right click at the right time, etc. There are more tools and toys to play around with, which makes the game have a slight versatility to the game. I had to stop and think 1 or 2 times to figure out what to do, which is far from a bad thing. Now, my favourite addition, Playing Catwoman, She is a great addition to the game and i found playing her more fun than playing Batman, and I liked that they had different storylines but cleverly entwined at parts with the main storyline to make sense. As for technical problems, I had none at all. I have a laptop that is 1-2 years old that has 4GB RAM and a Nvidia Geforce 240M with 1GB memory. And everything ran smoothly on all settings medium, and the graphics where still very, very impressive. I did not get the game through Steam, but I did not have one single problem or hitch with installing or registering it. And as for the Bugs, I found none, except his cloak went weird a couple of times that is it.

    Now, we come to the criticisms, It was very, very short, i installed it one evening and the started playing it that evening and I realised by 10-11pm with an hour break, that i nearly had completed it already, So I went to sleep and woke up, 2 more hours and there, the main story was finished, just like that. I was bitterly disappointed as I was having so much fun, and they do leave you with stuff to do after but nothing major or compelling.

    The game didn't make me think enough, it was very easy to work things out, and if you dont figure it out for a while, the game gives you "hints", but they aren't small "hints", they SHOW you HOW to do it with a small video clip, I personally don't like that, you should HAVE to work it out, it's really not that mind-taxing. And there is no really hard bosses, like in Arkham Asylum, the Scarecrow encounters where not hard to work out but to execute was a bit of trial and error and it wasnt quick and easy. The side-quests/missions, they were boring, very simple. Go here, destroy this, go here, get that. Very monotonous and I'd rather of had them spend their time enhancing and lengthening the main storyline instead of messing about with pathetic side quests.

    Overall, a very good game, and my main criticism is that it is very short, Arkham Asylum, i got 24hours Play Time from that and that was with mostly the main storyline, with Arkham City, I got a mere 10 hours before I had "other modes" and "challenge maps". But a very good game nonetheless and a 7/10 from me.    … Expand
  12. lucidanarchy
    Jul 30, 2012
    7
    This was a really cool game and thoroughly enjoyed it. I do wish there was a bigger area to play in to take down the everyday villain as well as driving the batmobile itself.
  13. Messerschmitt
    Sep 9, 2015
    7
    A good game but a bit disapointing especially in terms of the plot, pacing and the atmophere. Also i don't think that open world did a good thing for this game - Arkham Asylum was great Arkham City only good
  14. amycus89
    Jul 21, 2012
    7
    The game itself was superb. Amazing in every way. Absolute perfection.

    So why am I just giving it a 7/10? Because of the atrocious DRM. Aside from using both securom and GFWL, there is both an activation AND revoke limit: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=29769271&postcount=9

    Which you probably will use up sooner or later, because that's just how good the game itself is.
  15. slippery
    Dec 3, 2012
    7
    When I first started playing the game, I had a much harder time "getting into it" than I did with Arkham Asylum. In Arkham Asylum, it's very clear from the beginning what's going on: Joker has seized control of the Asylum. But in Arkham City ... who is this guy Strange? Why does he know who Batman is? Why was Batman put in Arkham City? What's wrong with Joker? Certainly this is aWhen I first started playing the game, I had a much harder time "getting into it" than I did with Arkham Asylum. In Arkham Asylum, it's very clear from the beginning what's going on: Joker has seized control of the Asylum. But in Arkham City ... who is this guy Strange? Why does he know who Batman is? Why was Batman put in Arkham City? What's wrong with Joker? Certainly this is a mystery (and continuation of Arkham Asylum) and I suppose part of the game is the unraveling of the plot. However, at first I had a hard time getting into it. The first "mission", freeing the hostages, was quite difficult compared with AA.

    Now, as I got INTO the game, I REALLY started to enjoy it. BUT, there were just too many characters, too many subplots. It got confusing after awhile. As well, I ignored the Riddler trophies at first because I had NO clue how to unlock them. A little help, an optional tutorial, would have been good. As it was, it got to the end of the story before I really got into picking up the trophies, and then what was left? HUNDREDS of freakin' trophies. Now this might have been a LOT more fun if I had done it here and there throughout the game.

    As it was, in large part because there was no hint as to how to unlock the trophies, or how to go about the buttons, etc., no clues suggesting that some of these would unlock be available to unlock AFTER gaining certain gadgets, I'm left with one long repetitive puzzle game at the end.

    Granted, I enjoy some of the puzzles. But the controls are just TOO imprecise to do some of the tricks well. I'm not a guy who likes to play the same little jump over and over until I get it. It would be nice if a few of these puzzles required a little more brains and a little less timing and button mashing ... especially when Batman's flying and grappling is often very difficult to control. Or maybe I'm just too old for this game.

    This game has a lot of fun and good elements to it, but overall, I ended my time in Arkham City feeling frustrated.    … Expand
  16. Aquazi
    Mar 14, 2013
    7
    The Arkham formula was cool and fresh in Arkham Asylum. But in Arkham City everything was just bigger, most dispersive, with a very weak plot and the gameplay was the same, attack-attack-dodge-attack-jump on gargoyle-attack-attack.

    Very repetitive game, It was sure good, but I found myself pretty bored a lot of times. I hope in the next Arkham game we will see a gameplay evolution    The Arkham formula was cool and fresh in Arkham Asylum. But in Arkham City everything was just bigger, most dispersive, with a very weak plot and the gameplay was the same, attack-attack-dodge-attack-jump on gargoyle-attack-attack.

    Very repetitive game, It was sure good, but I found myself pretty bored a lot of times. I hope in the next Arkham game we will see a gameplay evolution because I cannot stand another X-X-gargoyle jump-X-X-dodge all the time.    … Expand
  17. sft
    Sep 8, 2014
    7
    Oh boy, not quite such a wonder

    Arkham Asylum was a groundbreaking game for me. I loved the atmosphere, the varied and highly imaginative gameplay, the problem solving, and the superbly animated and free-flowing combat. It was engrossing, compelling, and had a far better storyline than most games. ARKHAM CITY promised more of the same and I looked forward to it immensely. Well it    Oh boy, not quite such a wonder

    Arkham Asylum was a groundbreaking game for me. I loved the atmosphere, the varied and highly imaginative gameplay, the problem solving, and the superbly animated and free-flowing combat. It was engrossing, compelling, and had a far better storyline than most games. ARKHAM CITY promised more of the same and I looked forward to it immensely. Well it delivered in some respects but disappointed in many. The overarching fault with CITY is that Rocksteady have crammed too much into one game. It’s the game equivalent of bloatware. Combat is less fluent due to too many new moves, some of which you are forced to use. The short, somewhat underwhelming main story is interrupted too often by side missions and the ridiculously numerous riddler challenges and trophies. And the open world structure, coupled with the often intrusive side missions, diminish the sense of urgency in the narrative. There are also too many villains jammed into one story. It may seem odd to criticise something for doing too much but sometimes less really is more. On the plus side you get to play as Catwoman and Robin as well as Batman (in the GOTY edition) and some of the enhancements do improve gameplay. In conclusion, CITY is a good game and is fun to play, but it’s not as impressive as Rocksteady’s admirable original. Oh, and good luck trying to get at all 440 Riddler trophies!    … Expand
  18. Erdrick27
    Sep 19, 2013
    7
    While this is a solid game with an interesting world to explore and the return of many memorable villains from the Batman universe I can't help but feel it missed the mark when compared to Arkham Asylum. It feels like the developer overextended themselves and the 'open world' can feel a bit too open, forcing the player to slog through previously visited areas while searching for the nextWhile this is a solid game with an interesting world to explore and the return of many memorable villains from the Batman universe I can't help but feel it missed the mark when compared to Arkham Asylum. It feels like the developer overextended themselves and the 'open world' can feel a bit too open, forcing the player to slog through previously visited areas while searching for the next goal marker. The riddler aspect is also stretched too thin with too many trophies (both for batman and catwoman) to find. The visual riddler puzzles also fall short as they don't work well in such a huge environment.… Expand
  19. Siddhartha19
    Oct 24, 2015
    7
    I played it for the story, the combat is underwhelming though, enjoyed the puzzles. Everything is really top notch, you can tell its a AAA, but the combat brings it down a couple of points, If your a Batman fan you should check it out, just dont expect much combat wise.
  20. zimmer600
    Aug 19, 2017
    7
    The second part of the trilogy of the archem, which has become much better than its predecessor in all aspects, a beautiful open world, a combat system brought to the mind (yes it is still just primitive, but it has become much more interesting), in general the game has become much better, retaining all the best That was in the game before.
  21. DaiBi
    Nov 20, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Прошел Batman Arkham City и, по обыкновению, полез смотреть на ревьюшки. К своему изумлению увидел повальный восторг. Как по мне игра несколько скучновата, и боевка и сюжет и персонажи.

    В боевке не понравилось малое вовлечение гаджетов, т.е. ты их можешь использовать, но особого толка от них нет, чисто для разнообразия. Все бои идут в общем то одинаково и после 10й стычки уже нет ничего нового. Врагов требующих особой тактики всего 3,5 штуки: чувак с броней, чувак со щитом, чувак с шокером, плюс чуваки с молотками и толстяки полубоссы (их, наверно, было штуки 3 на всю игру). Жалко, что в боях совершенно не вовлечено окружение, какая нить лужа для электрошокинга или, там, капот машины, которым можно было бы оглушить вражину или фонарь, вокруг которого бэтман мог бы сделать вертушку - столько возможностей...

    Формула стелса, как и боевки, тоже довольно статична. Способы решения не сильно меняются по ходу игры, увы.

    Сюжет поначалу интригует, но развивается странно:

    С самого начала нас озадачивают неким злодейским замыслом под названием "протокол 10", но почти сразу весь фокус переходит на болезнь бэтмана и "протокол" уходит в тень, чтобы всплыть уже в самом конце. То, что он все таки всплыл не удивительно - сия субстанция не тонет. Не, ну правда - разбомбить всех преступников ракетами, для чего их собрать в резервацию? А главный злодей считает этот факт началом захвата мира? Ммм....нет. Ну хоть Джокер наконец помер. Хотя тоже довольно бредово - напал на Бэтмана в последний момент и тот выронил лекарство, которым собирался вылечить Джокера. Чепуха какая то, если честно. :)

    Персонажи - ну это бэтман, комикс. Злодеи злодейские, герои геройские. Всё понятно. Серых персонажей одна штука. Да и той не дали сделать свой единственный значимый нейтральный поступок.

    По геймплею не очень понравилась гипернасыщенность мира загадками Ридлера, прям за каждым углом что-то зеленое. Как и когда, черт возьми, он умудрился сделать все эти головолмки? Их же сотни! :) Ну и ломать голову, почему не решается головоломка - "или я туплю или просто еще нужного гаджета не дали", не особо радует. Зато радует возможность получить эти загадки на карте, без необходимости заниматься их поиском.

    Не знаю, может не распробовал просто. Игра прошлась довольно быстро - 23 часа всего, и это включая тупления над загадками. Может еще попробую на харде и с падом.    … Expand
  22. 4ya5h1
    Apr 15, 2022
    7
    much better then arkham asylum but ending is awful. plot was really good for all of the game but ending... boss fights is 50/50. some of them is great(freeze), some awful (killer crock). game looks great. graphic is gorgeous, gameplay good
  23. GabriMH19
    May 12, 2021
    7
    - BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY -

    Ambientación --> 8 Escenarios --> 8 Narrativa --> 7 Personajes --> 9 Dificultad --> 6 Jugabilidad --> 6 Mecánicas --> 5 Gráficos --> 7 Innovación --> 5 Contenido --> 8 Errores o bugs --> 9 Plano artístico --> 7 - TIPS - No llego a entender porque esta segunda adaptación por parte de Warner del famoso caballero oscuro llega a ser tan aclamada por el    - BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY -

    Ambientación --> 8 Escenarios --> 8
    Narrativa --> 7 Personajes --> 9
    Dificultad --> 6 Jugabilidad --> 6
    Mecánicas --> 5 Gráficos --> 7
    Innovación --> 5 Contenido --> 8
    Errores o bugs --> 9 Plano artístico --> 7

    - TIPS -
    No llego a entender porque esta segunda adaptación por parte de Warner del famoso caballero oscuro llega a ser tan aclamada por el público. Si es verdad que esta ya cuenta con varios años a sus espaldas porque se nota que ha envejecido un poco mal y en muchas ocasiones peca de ser repetitivo. Pero en si no es una mala entrega de esta saga Batman Arkham. Se nota rápidamente todas esas mecánicas y variantes a las que nos tiene acostumbrados los juegos de Warner pero en mi opinión esta entrega no destaca pese a esto sino que han sabido adaptar y contar una buena historia relacionada con el personaje. En mi opinión creo que su tercera entrega Batman Arkham Knight es mejor en casi todos los sentidos aun siendo una adaptación mas moderna y actual de la misma formula empleada en toda la saga.    … Expand
  24. PnuTTT
    Dec 11, 2020
    7
    Good story, fun gameplay but the combat is way to easy even on hard difficulty. Overall good game
  25. Kujin
    Jun 29, 2020
    7
    Arkham City is a good game. With how fun zipping through the world, punching a whole room of dudes and preying on them from the dark is, it's easy to forgive the game's empty map, lack-luster stealth mechanics and forgettable story. Again - it's good
  26. teratoma666
    Dec 23, 2021
    7
    A good game that was made worse by its open world. It didn't add anything of worth to the game, but an illusion of bigger scale.
    Regardless of the boring transversal between missions, it's still a worthy sequel.
  27. Snjake
    Mar 18, 2023
    7
    Great story and gameplay rocksteady really outdid themselves with the arkham games
  28. TitaniumDragon
    Jan 19, 2012
    6
    A very mediocre sequel to a great game, Arkham City only improved upon the formula in one way - it made combat better.

    The problem? The main campaign was not only short but the setup of the city had you hunting down far too many sidequests and joker trophies. This game is a great example of why sandbox games are bad - the story is far more engaging if you just play it straight through,    A very mediocre sequel to a great game, Arkham City only improved upon the formula in one way - it made combat better.

    The problem? The main campaign was not only short but the setup of the city had you hunting down far too many sidequests and joker trophies. This game is a great example of why sandbox games are bad - the story is far more engaging if you just play it straight through, but the structure encourages you to faff around, making the game less fun. And if you don't faff around, the game is very short, with fewer areas than Arkham Asylum, and many of them are less interesting.

    The only real highlights of the game lie in combat, particularly the fights with Mr. Freeze, Ras, and Clayface. Many bosses, such as the Penguin, Two-Face, and Strange, are just boring and samey, and there are a number of things which seem like they will be boss-fights but instead are incredibly anti-climatic - several of the sidequests just end in "make a note on the bat computer about someone, but don't actually fight them". Worse, several enemies are alluded to who appear nowhere in the game, even though they are outright stated to be in Arkham City.

    A mediocre game overall, and a major step backwards from Arkham Asylum. These games do far better as more linear ones.    … Expand
  29. ineffable
    Dec 5, 2011
    6
    Did you play Arkham Asylum? Ok, good. That means you've played this as well. There are no big changes to gameplay, no big changes to design. That's not a terrible thing, but it's not a good thing either - you can still have fun bashing henchman's skulls. The problem is that it's all the same henchman - same body on every one, one of 2 voice actors for them all. Details, details, I know,Did you play Arkham Asylum? Ok, good. That means you've played this as well. There are no big changes to gameplay, no big changes to design. That's not a terrible thing, but it's not a good thing either - you can still have fun bashing henchman's skulls. The problem is that it's all the same henchman - same body on every one, one of 2 voice actors for them all. Details, details, I know, but it's still annoying. Did every supervillain in Gotham pool their resources so they could clone a retarded henchman 20,000 times? But back to the good. A solid cast of villains including the Joker, Ra's Al Gul, Hugo Strange, etc, makes for a fun time. Though it does come at the expense of shortchanging almost every villain in the game. We could have seen more Joker, more Mr Freeze... hell, even more Penguin (and I am not a Penguin fan). The addition of Catwoman as a playable character is a nice touch - but I felt a little cheated when she had such a small amount of game time dedicated to her - she's more fun to play as than batman in some ways. This game seems to suffer from the devs trying to cram too much in without refining what was already there. Combat, level design, gadgets, puzzles, dialogue, all these things could have used some fine-tuning (or, in some cases, deletion - having to do an aerial attack for enemies with shields, or having to use the remote controlled batarang for ANY REASON WHATSOEVER, are examples of some of the bad design choices). This game is a case of trying to juggle to many knives and then doing a poor job of dodging them as they fall. It's oddly beautiful in a way, but you probably don't want to see it again.… Expand
  30. krehfeld2
    Nov 23, 2011
    6
    This release was rushed, and DX11 Support and tesselation options are horrible. I am an avid, and dedicated PC gamer, and this release is why PC gaming is on the decline in popularity and quality. I truly cant wait for the day to pay 49.99USS for a game and it actualy works, and is fully optimized from launch.
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PC Game of 2011
15
#15 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
3
#3 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Computer Games Online RO
    Mar 5, 2012
    92
    Though the ending is surprising, in a way, the story isn't the main focus of Batman: Arkham City. Exploring and adventuring come first, you have so much to do that you that the hours just slip by you. Yes, the boss fights are probably too easy, the narrative too short, the framerate goes down on occasion and not all the players will appreciate searching through every nook and cranny to find trophies. But it's all up to you and Arkham City offers a variety that not a lot of new games have nowadays.
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  2. PC Master (Greece)
    Mar 1, 2012
    92
    The developers should be proud for Arkham City and its precise portrayal of Gotham's mood- at least accordingly to recent films and comic books. A gothic atmosphere is undoubtedly dominant, as the majestic architecture of neoclassical buildings shadows the industrialization and the bright lights of a contemporary metropolis.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 20, 2012
    90
    It's hard to create an extraordinary game but to recognize it is quite simple. Arkham City with its cinematic appearance towers high above the rest with its production values. [Dec 2011]
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