Batman: Arkham City

 Xbox 360
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1926 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,704 out of 1926
  2. Mixed: 125 out of 1926
  3. Negative: 97 out of 1926
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  1. Luke2758
    Oct 18, 2011
    9
    In the end, Rocksteady did it again with the release of Arkham City. The game is beautifully impressive and the shift to the open world gameplay really makes a big difference as players can now explore and enjoy the dark streets of Gotham City. Despite the easy boss fights, the game is still phenomenal and simply the greatest Batman adventure you can imagine.
  2. Eliut
    Oct 19, 2011
    10
    This game is without doubt the BEST GAME of any superhero that has come out in the story (leaving aside that most Batman games are brilliant) has it all and does not hurt anything.

    Excellent atmosphere, excellent graphics for "this" generation, incredible music and addictive gameplay. A game that you MUST HAVE!
  3. Veritas
    Oct 19, 2011
    10
    Let me reiterate what has been said many times in these reviews, this game gets it. The only reason someone might not like this game is if they are A. Not a Batman fan or B. Are contrarian by nature. The game has a flow unlike most games of the genre. There's a sense that the environment around you is alive. Chatter for enemies on multiple radio bands liven things and drop clues as to yourLet me reiterate what has been said many times in these reviews, this game gets it. The only reason someone might not like this game is if they are A. Not a Batman fan or B. Are contrarian by nature. The game has a flow unlike most games of the genre. There's a sense that the environment around you is alive. Chatter for enemies on multiple radio bands liven things and drop clues as to your best way of attacking the next objective. It reminds me a lot of Spiderman 2. There may be an issue with the combat being just a bit to easy, but you're effing Batman, and layin the smack down on thugs shouldn't be hard in the first place. Anyway, well worth your time and money, even amongst all of the stellar games coming out.… Expand
  4. blackopshatred
    Oct 23, 2011
    10
    I. love. batman! This game combines some of the best and in depth elements of all great action-adventure game and blends it into a gaming masterpiece. It filters out the crap and leaves the audience fufilled making the world a better place. Truly desreves a 10!
  5. sinder53
    Oct 27, 2011
    8
    Taking the Arkham Asylum formula and putting it in an open world setting works. The complex yet accessible combat is as good as ever, traveling around the city, especially as Batman, is a treat, and the ability to complete side missions to take a break from the main story is a nice touch. One of the biggest flaws though for me was that there was just too much stuff to do. Yes. This is aTaking the Arkham Asylum formula and putting it in an open world setting works. The complex yet accessible combat is as good as ever, traveling around the city, especially as Batman, is a treat, and the ability to complete side missions to take a break from the main story is a nice touch. One of the biggest flaws though for me was that there was just too much stuff to do. Yes. This is a positive negative but I was just overwhelmed with all the riddles, trophies, side missions, main story, and challenges to accomplish and it sometimes felt like a never ending chore. At one point I had to make a conscious decision to just stick with the story so I would feel like I was making some sort of progress. But really when I get to be a super badass Batman to do all these "chores" I can't complain too much. This game is great and a must buy. It might be a challenge to achieve 100% completion but I think Rocksteady had that in mind when creating it. It will be a challenge I will be happy to suit up for days to come.… Expand
  6. TheKingOfGames
    Oct 18, 2011
    10
    This game is the coolest looking game which I have ever seen!!!!! Everything which a good gamer wants in a video game it has it. I can proudly say that Rocksteady has done a great job. Definitely Action / Adventure Game of The Year.
  7. Daematune
    Oct 23, 2011
    10
    Arkham City's chaotic gates are open, and Batman's here to close them. From a start to finish amazing story, engaging side missions, free roam, an addictive combat system, an arsenal of meaningful high-tech gadgets and a whole gang of iconic villains waiting to be put to justice; Arkham City has it all. For a superhero game to truly be a superhero game though you need to know theArkham City's chaotic gates are open, and Batman's here to close them. From a start to finish amazing story, engaging side missions, free roam, an addictive combat system, an arsenal of meaningful high-tech gadgets and a whole gang of iconic villains waiting to be put to justice; Arkham City has it all. For a superhero game to truly be a superhero game though you need to know the character-- you need to be the character. In Batman: Arkham city, you are the Dark Knight.… Expand
  8. c0mmander
    Oct 24, 2011
    9
    Arkham City is simply STUNNING. Expectations were high for this follow up to the critically acclaimed arkham asylum. Rocksteady have gone above expectations with a fantastic campaign that is varied in it's elements, an amazing open world in which to explore and a fantastic free flowing battle system. The game builds on everything that made the 1st game successful and added more. Playing asArkham City is simply STUNNING. Expectations were high for this follow up to the critically acclaimed arkham asylum. Rocksteady have gone above expectations with a fantastic campaign that is varied in it's elements, an amazing open world in which to explore and a fantastic free flowing battle system. The game builds on everything that made the 1st game successful and added more. Playing as Catwoman for example is a fantastic change up from playing as the Dark knight as she has fantastic combat differences. I won't go on but here are my scores for the things I've taken into consideration.

    Graphics: 9
    Gameplay:9
    Longevity: 9
    Presentation:9

    Overall: 9    … Expand
  9. metabun
    Oct 23, 2011
    7
    It's a solid game, but don't expect anything groundbreaking compared to the first game. The game area is much bigger, and listening to the radio chatter is amusing and keeps the city feeling alive. Side missions are well done, but the Riddler section of the game is grossly overdone. I seriously wonder how much time they spent on literally dumping huge amounts of Riddler items all over theIt's a solid game, but don't expect anything groundbreaking compared to the first game. The game area is much bigger, and listening to the radio chatter is amusing and keeps the city feeling alive. Side missions are well done, but the Riddler section of the game is grossly overdone. I seriously wonder how much time they spent on literally dumping huge amounts of Riddler items all over the city, as opposed to spending it on more real game content. The voice acting needs no comment. The combat is still very fun and robust, but feels too similar to AA. Bosses remain disappointing.… Expand
  10. Henrycsi
    Nov 11, 2011
    5
    Remember when a sequel was supposed to innovate? I loved Arkham Asylum, and although the sandbox feel in City is nice, I don't feel, with the other games out there (Skyrim), that I need to play through this. A longer production time and more innovation would have been nice.
  11. SpunkyMonkey
    Apr 5, 2012
    6
    Arkham Asylum was a class game and a truely wonderful experience, however Arkham City, whilst good, just never hits those heights. The first bugbare is the rather hard to swallow plot and introduction - without adding spoilers lets just say you have to suspend your belief a fair bit to swallow it. Then there's the sandbox element of the game - it works to a certain degree, but you neverArkham Asylum was a class game and a truely wonderful experience, however Arkham City, whilst good, just never hits those heights. The first bugbare is the rather hard to swallow plot and introduction - without adding spoilers lets just say you have to suspend your belief a fair bit to swallow it. Then there's the sandbox element of the game - it works to a certain degree, but you never have to walk around the streets of AC and you can quite easily miss a lot of content by rushing through the game - which wouldn't be so bad if the game didn't make you want to progress far and fast so that you can obtain upgrades and complete the puzzles which are lying around. As an overall experience it just doesn't flow that well, and no sooner have you got into it than it;s ended. But it's still good, the combat flows well and moving around AC is a blast. However, another gripe is the DLC setup of the game - I'm looking at certain buildings and listening to various conversations they strongly hint at other villains which I should be encountering.....which I don't - again it pushes you on to get further and before you know it it's all over. Which wouldn't be so bad if the game hadn't thrown absolutely everything at you in terms of enemies and gadgets in the first 10 minutes. It really is a very oddly paced game and one that just doesn't work that well as a full package. Yes it's fun, yes it's worth playing, but no it's not a classic, no it's not as good as the original, and no it's not very memorable.… Expand
  12. smelvis
    Oct 25, 2011
    8
    Huge city with lots of guys whose asses you get to beat. Looks great, controls feel great. Def one of the better games I have played in awhile. That being said it is pretty similar to Arkham Asylum....but then again it is a sequel so I dont expect them to reinvent the wheel. All in all..worth buying. ITs pretty fun!
  13. MrShifty
    Oct 27, 2011
    7
    Arkham City is a fun game, undoubtedly, but they must have spread some serious love and $$ around to get all those 10/10 reviews. Read those reviews for what's good about it. Here's what's not:

    1) It's short, for one thing. Yes, there are a bunch of optional side-quests, but I've completed at least half of them plus the main story, and I can't possibly have put more than 10 hours in.    Arkham City is a fun game, undoubtedly, but they must have spread some serious love and $$ around to get all those 10/10 reviews. Read those reviews for what's good about it. Here's what's not:

    1) It's short, for one thing. Yes, there are a bunch of optional side-quests, but I've completed at least half of them plus the main story, and I can't possibly have put more than 10 hours in. (The advertised 25 hours just for the main story is totally laughable.) I would guess that it would take maybe another 5 hours at most to complete all of the side-quests. The rest of the supposed 40 hours of gameplay must be just hunting for Riddler trophies, which is sort of interesting, but isn't real content.

    2) It's small. The open world thing is cool and all, but the prison/city feels very small. You can easily get from one end to the other in 3 minutes. Part of that is that travelling by grappling-hook + glider wing is very fast, but part is that the area is just small. There are 5-6 large internal areas that you have to work your way through, but that's not any more than were in Arkham Asylum. The asylum actually felt bigger to me simply because it took longer to get around and seemed to have more secret nooks and crannies.

    3) The plot makes no sense. The ending, particularly, is full of head scratchers. There's a big 'reveal' with flashbacks and ominous music and everything, but I couldn't even figure out what the reveal meant. It really does make no sense. The first game had a very cohesive and interesting plot. This game seems to at first, but just doesn't pull it all together.

    4) It's misogynistic. As you swing around the city, you are constantly overhearing conversations of inmates. Every few minutes, you hear one that has rape fantasies about Catwoman and/or Harley Quinn. The word **** seems to be used with particular frequency. There's even a scene where Batman grabs Harley by the throat, grins maliciously, then throws her to the ground. I wouldn't have as much a problem with this except for two things: 1) this is a rated T game, from a comic book/cartoon franchise, guaranteed to appeal to 10 year olds. 2) There's no push-back by any of the good guys. Batman never condemns the misogyny. At the very least, you could have Catwoman say something like "I'm not a **** I'm a kitty" as she clocks some dude with her high-heels. Or Oracle could say something like "Those guys in there sound like real ladies-men." But that doesn't happen.

    I honestly think that Arkham Asylum was a far better game: more content, more interesting environments, better story.    … Expand
  14. David1991
    Jul 11, 2012
    5
    I bought this game when it first came out and i have to give warning to anyone wanting to buy it, its not a complete game. if you buy it second hand you don't get catwoman. if you don't pay extra for DLC ( Taken out content ) you get no robin and no costumes for batman, WHICH should be in the game as unlockables anyway. its ridiculous its just pure greed. im not a person that usuallyI bought this game when it first came out and i have to give warning to anyone wanting to buy it, its not a complete game. if you buy it second hand you don't get catwoman. if you don't pay extra for DLC ( Taken out content ) you get no robin and no costumes for batman, WHICH should be in the game as unlockables anyway. its ridiculous its just pure greed. im not a person that usually complains but when i buy a game i expect the full game. which is exactly why i returned my game months ago when it first came out and always said i would buy THE COMPLETE EDITION. no not game of the year edition THE COMPLETE EDITION which is what it is. on september 07. yep all this time for a complete copy of a game because i refuse to pay extra for content which should already be on disc, and unless you done the same your basically bending over and taken it up the ass while opening your wallet. great game - worst greed practices ever. this game probably deserves a 10 but ill give it a 5 since i only had half the content on disc.… Expand
  15. deacon
    Oct 28, 2011
    10
    There are few sequels that manage to make their predecessors irrelevant the way that Batman: Arkham City has done. Batman: Arkham City is to the comic console game what The Dark Knight was to the comic movie. I
  16. killiana1a
    Nov 10, 2011
    9
    A great sequel. By sequel I mean it in every sense of the word. Arkham City has not recreated the wheel as we know it when we drive. Arkham City is the same prison type setting for a game that has brought respect for comic book video games. New villains, a bigger prison, and more gadgets. The combat is the same with a few more enemies to make you mad when you don't get that 30+ hit combo.A great sequel. By sequel I mean it in every sense of the word. Arkham City has not recreated the wheel as we know it when we drive. Arkham City is the same prison type setting for a game that has brought respect for comic book video games. New villains, a bigger prison, and more gadgets. The combat is the same with a few more enemies to make you mad when you don't get that 30+ hit combo. The best part about Arkham City is moving from point A to point B. You feel like you are Batman and not just some Street Fighter type character.… Expand
  17. SpiderJedi
    Dec 19, 2011
    8
    This game is a solid 8. I got bored at first with the fighting mechanic, pretty much the same as was in the first one. What really makes the game great is the environment, the developers did a great job making a big world with tons of references to the Batman mythos. The story and voice acting really are stellar, and add in a big way to this game!
  18. Ishman
    Dec 20, 2011
    7
    It's definitely an awesome game, and I had a lot of fun with it, but i felt it was too short and mildly easy. Sure, new game plus makes things harder but It was really a case of been there done that, I'm not one for replaying games personally, there's too many other awesome games out there to be going over old ground again. Don't even get me started on the DLC, I payed nearly a $100.00It's definitely an awesome game, and I had a lot of fun with it, but i felt it was too short and mildly easy. Sure, new game plus makes things harder but It was really a case of been there done that, I'm not one for replaying games personally, there's too many other awesome games out there to be going over old ground again. Don't even get me started on the DLC, I payed nearly a $100.00 Australian for my copy and then I have to pay more for content that really should have been included initially, how much money do you need you greedy c*nts? I couldn't believe when i finished it, i thought i was maybe halfway through and then it ended on what I thought was a fairly unmemorable boss fight. I found the side quests to be a little bland as well. All in all its a rad game, I just don't feel the value for money is there for a single player game. Bang for Buck? Skyrim all the way.… Expand
  19. wasd0109
    Oct 20, 2011
    10
    Simple
    After another swallow gameplay
    Great combat system again The story is pretty good But the villains.. The story of them seems thin Guess just the beginning:) Is not as good as the last one However, it was because the last one was so GREAT! It's just like MW->MW2 Anyway, this is just a great game If I could, I would give Arkham Asylum a 12 And this one a 11! Final word Rocksteady    Simple
    After another swallow gameplay
    Great combat system again
    The story is pretty good
    But the villains..
    The story of them seems thin
    Guess just the beginning:)
    Is not as good as the last one However, it was because the last one was so GREAT!
    It's just like MW->MW2
    Anyway, this is just a great game
    If I could, I would give Arkham Asylum a 12
    And this one a 11!
    Final word
    Rocksteady ROCK!!!!!!!!!!    … Expand
  20. LetzTalkMoveez
    Dec 10, 2011
    6
    "Arkham Asylum" is as close to to a masterpiece as video-games get for me, and this isn't. The atmospheres are nearly identical, and there's not much new to do. Occasionally very fun (the flying sequence), but disappointing.
  21. anarin
    Nov 8, 2011
    5
    I believe the only reason I kept playing this game is because it is Batman. If this was a title other then the famous name, the ratings would be much lower. It is your typical x button mash game, has terrible camera angles and the story line lasted me one night. There is absolutely no punching someone in the face unless you want to alert the other 15 guys in the room that you are there.I believe the only reason I kept playing this game is because it is Batman. If this was a title other then the famous name, the ratings would be much lower. It is your typical x button mash game, has terrible camera angles and the story line lasted me one night. There is absolutely no punching someone in the face unless you want to alert the other 15 guys in the room that you are there. Apparently Batman packs grenade punches that awaken the dead, lets not even get into how you have to kill "the stun gun guy", "the riot shield guy" and "the knife guy" all completely different ways. I found myself saying "my god this game is ridiculous" about 25 times. On a positive note, if you can get by all the defects this game has, it is fairly deep and will keep you playing with side missions. Just don't expect the main storyline to wow you. Definitely a rental game.… Expand
  22. Tackett351
    Oct 30, 2013
    2
    Listen I'm a big gamer and I love a challenge, there's not a game I own that I don't crank it up to the highest difficulty, it was enjoyable until Y button and other associated buttons in conjunction made it annoying to play, I literally stopped playing it when the shield guys are introduced, I'm sure it may be fun for people on lower difficulties due to being able to get hit and stillListen I'm a big gamer and I love a challenge, there's not a game I own that I don't crank it up to the highest difficulty, it was enjoyable until Y button and other associated buttons in conjunction made it annoying to play, I literally stopped playing it when the shield guys are introduced, I'm sure it may be fun for people on lower difficulties due to being able to get hit and still stand a chance, I'm a huge batman fan and the developers attempt to make this game difficult is just plain (fart noise)+thumbsdown.… Expand
  23. Deusex
    Mar 3, 2014
    5
    While it has good ideas, it doesn't live up. Due to technical issues.

    Pros:
    Your batman enough said.
    Good graphics.
    Good fighting system.
    Puzzles are good also.

    Cons:
    Bad story, wasn't interesting.
    Small world.
    All characters look similar.
    Bad boss fights.
    Too easy.
    Stealth was mediocre. Wasn't fleshed out enough like a splinter cell game.
  24. TheMWall
    Nov 18, 2011
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I cannot, understand how this game has been rated so high. It is clearly a step backward from Asylum for variety of reasons. The storyline is poorly developed, at the game's onset you hear about Protocol 10, then promptly spend the next several hours doing nothing about it. When it all goes down, the end comes quickly and without much excitement. They cram as many villains as they can into the game, which I felt took away from the story. It felt forced, jumping from freeze to penguin to joker to Ras to twoface to mundy to Harly to ivy to clayface to the most annoying riddler to listen to in the history of the riddler. The City is maddening to go through. Did you play Spidermsn 2 with all of the swinging through New York? This was the exact same, except with a grappling hook. It was tedious, repetitive, choppy, and constantly interrupted by snipers, 'political prisoner assaults', phone calls from the Joker (which were sometimes entertaining), and so on. In my opinion, Batman was 'off' throughout the game. His actions, threats, demeanor, and total lack of emotion when two prominent characters die is maddening. He's stiff and inhuman. It's almost like they tried too hard to make Batman more tough and awesome...well, he's Batman and doesn't need the help. Playing as Catwoman is overrated. It's mostly repitition of tasks to find a Riddler trophy, which adds time to the game, but it's meaningless time. Inmates talking about 'getting with Catwoman' gets old, and it's constant. Combat takes a step backward too. There are countless gadgets that serve little purpose, and numerous new enemy types that frustrate and un-fun combat. The game has an excellent soundtrack and I was very impressed by the graphical design of the City. For me though, the terrible story, choppy travel and combat, and different demeanor Batman make this a game to pass on. There are out-of-story challenges and an interesting 'new game plus' option, but I was so frustrated by the game on my first play through I think I'll pass and send this straight to eBay. If you are a fan of the TV show 'Lost', the Joker does have a great reference kind of bashing the show that got me to laugh out loud...unfortunately, that's really the best thing I can say about the game.… Expand
  25. bogmire
    Nov 14, 2016
    0
    this gaem is so bad wow oh my gosh terrible i cant believe how bad it is its so broken and not fun at all. i would rather eat a brick tha play this game for one second.
  26. snowykangaroo
    Nov 24, 2011
    3
    At first this game was AMAZING through about the first 3rd of it was fun. And then it dropped. A lot. It became repetitive and annoying. After completing this game I was furious after playing Asylum and loving it this was the biggest disappointment of my gaming history there was nothing what made you feel like batman. I played most side mission and augmented reality's and they made theAt first this game was AMAZING through about the first 3rd of it was fun. And then it dropped. A lot. It became repetitive and annoying. After completing this game I was furious after playing Asylum and loving it this was the biggest disappointment of my gaming history there was nothing what made you feel like batman. I played most side mission and augmented reality's and they made the game worse they were stale and tedious. The only reason im not giving this a 0 is because of the combat what was the only thing done well. if they spent more time perfecting the story and length this would be a flawless 10.… Expand
  27. EyEmAtchOo
    Oct 27, 2011
    6
    First of all, this is an excellent game of the highest quality. There is tons to explore and do, a great many surprises, and all of it good fun. Playing as batman gives you all the best elements of being James Bond, a ninja, Sherlock Holmes, and a vampire. There is much to be praised, and yet by now most if not all of that has been covered elsewhere, so I'll just note that I agree withFirst of all, this is an excellent game of the highest quality. There is tons to explore and do, a great many surprises, and all of it good fun. Playing as batman gives you all the best elements of being James Bond, a ninja, Sherlock Holmes, and a vampire. There is much to be praised, and yet by now most if not all of that has been covered elsewhere, so I'll just note that I agree with pretty much all of the positive reviews.

    I do have one rather huge objection to this game though. They somehow got it pushed through with a "teen" rating, and yet as a parent I feel strongly that it really should have been given a "Mature" rating. Particularly as when playing as the Catwoman, you find yourself constantly fending off gangs of thugs while they basically threaten to gang rape you. (They constantly taunt you along the lines of "I'm gonna make you purr for me kitten" and "let's see what's underneath that cat suit.") As she fights on through the story she begins to look bruised, filthy, cut up, and her cat suit has indeed become quite tattered. (Not in a clearly provocative way, but I still found it potentially disturbing for younger players given the context with the thugs.) I think every female character in the game gets called a **** more than once along the way, mostly by the various thugs who talk about putting them in their place. Overall I was surprised by how strong the tone of sexism was expressed. You also see cops get executed while begging for help. There is probably some other stuff too, as the game is nothing if not extremely violent, but Batman's "one rule" of not actually killing anybody (he just beats them all unconscious) keeps the bloodshed down. I'm not sure what sets the line between teen and mature, but it bothers me that many parents will buy this game for their 13 year old boys on the basis of the game's stellar ratings, without understanding what the ratings board is condoning for their children. And it bothers me that Rocksteady was not more responsible in the first place with either toning that mature content down a bit or not seeking a teen rating. And on that basis I have to give the game an 6.    … Expand
  28. RezzaDee
    Oct 27, 2011
    5
    That's why writing reviews on day one is pointless. People who give a 10 have barley played it so first impression is the review you will read. A bad review is either a troll (if instant review) or will get loads of "thumbs down" on his comment because he won't give a "green" coloured review. Truth is the game is OK not bad and by no means great! It's literally the same as AA (no I'm notThat's why writing reviews on day one is pointless. People who give a 10 have barley played it so first impression is the review you will read. A bad review is either a troll (if instant review) or will get loads of "thumbs down" on his comment because he won't give a "green" coloured review. Truth is the game is OK not bad and by no means great! It's literally the same as AA (no I'm not saying its an expansion pack "rip off") it's literally the same game but the Map is now bigger. Story was boring tbh as it didn't grab my attention like AA did. Yes there's lots of side missions but they also get boring and fast too. The story was an easy 7 hours without speed rushing. I do feel the release videos by the dev's were way over there head, I would be proud of making a bigger scale game too. But don't believe the hype. Good game but sadley not THAT much off an improvement. My opinion anyway.… Expand
  29. BillScurry
    Sep 9, 2012
    3
    There is so much to love about this game -- the damn shame is those things are rendered moot by the game's enormous flaws, namely the brutal combat system (unintuitive, user-unfriendly, Guitar Hero-type button-mashing nonsense) and the absolute lack of logic within tasks, which leaves you going to Google every six seconds to see where the hell you're supposed to look for something. This isThere is so much to love about this game -- the damn shame is those things are rendered moot by the game's enormous flaws, namely the brutal combat system (unintuitive, user-unfriendly, Guitar Hero-type button-mashing nonsense) and the absolute lack of logic within tasks, which leaves you going to Google every six seconds to see where the hell you're supposed to look for something. This is a game celebrated for the centerpiece combat engine, yet I was constantly getting my ass kicked on "easy." Once the story was over, this went into cold storage, never to be played again. Mark Hammill's voiceover work as the Joker, however, is almost worth the price of admission.… Expand
  30. Wendigo2064
    Oct 25, 2011
    4
    So, I loved "Batman: Arkham Asylum." I went into "Batman: Arkham Asylum" expecting a piece of overrated franchise nonsense, and I still loved it. It had a refreshing, if unoriginal, mix of Zelda, God of War, and the stealth of early Metal Gear Solid without any of the talking heads. But "Batman: Arkham Asylum" adds nothing new and plenty wrong. Quantity does not trump quality, and the citySo, I loved "Batman: Arkham Asylum." I went into "Batman: Arkham Asylum" expecting a piece of overrated franchise nonsense, and I still loved it. It had a refreshing, if unoriginal, mix of Zelda, God of War, and the stealth of early Metal Gear Solid without any of the talking heads. But "Batman: Arkham Asylum" adds nothing new and plenty wrong. Quantity does not trump quality, and the city of Hugo Strange seems to agree with me. There's too much nonsense and none of the intrigue. Instead of my expected "game of the year," I've got an overstuffed sandbox full of pointless side missions and two dimensional villains. Seriously, is there some rule in the batman universe that every sequel has to include twice as many villains and less character development for each? Unfulfilled story aside, the gameplay is solid, if you like this sort of thing. One button attack, another to counter, a few gadgets to flesh out the hordes of villains you'll be fighting on your way to the next actual challenge, and plenty of animations to make you at least feel like you're doing more than mashing buttons. The riddler challenges are less riddles and more fetch quests. The world is bigger, though not in actual "dungeons" (or "things not on the overworld map.") Let's face it - this is the assassin's creed of batman. I liked the second assassins creed, but "AC Brotherhood" made me feel how bloated the world really was. Is there more content in "Arkham City" than its predecessor? Not really. But there's more level grinding, empty sandbox environments, and character cut-outs. So it's bigger. It's certainly not better. If you wanted a bloated, dull version of Arkham Asylum, here you go. Good riddance.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2011
6
#6 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2011
6
#6 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
94

Universal acclaim - based on 87 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 87 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 87
  3. Negative: 0 out of 87
  1. Planet Xbox 360
    Dec 22, 2011
    95
    Improved gameplay, new mechanics, and an even stronger story denote whether you care about Batman or not, it's still a game worthy of your time. With some easter eggs possibly hinting at plots for a third game, let's hope Rocksteady isn't quite done with the Dark Knight.
    Read full review
  2. games(TM)
    Dec 1, 2011
    90
    Arkham City handles its side-stories gloriously. [Christmas 2011, p.102]
  3. Gamer Limit
    Nov 29, 2011
    95
    All in all, outside of a few minor issues, I couldn't ask for a better Batman experience. If Arkham City was a graphic novel, it would be considered a classic.
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