Page #: 2/33 |
@yoji | 18 October 11 | |
but what may be most astonishing of all is how effective those interpretations are in action. Its Hugo Strange is Arkham's unhinged overseer and would-be savior, a madman on a mission; its Penguin a thuggish, threatening brute that barks bile through a thick ney twng; its sickly Joker still the same violently unpredictable Clown Prince of Crime, and a murderous obverse to Bruce Wayne's rigid,
|
||
@yoji | 18 October 11 | |
righteous vigilante. The plot twists, turns, and shocks throughout, as its diverse cast of criminals haunts and taunts like a super-villainous Scared Straight program. Arkham City, as a game world, often feels hellish and hopeless in its abandoned city structures, crumbling streets, and bloodthirsty residents. But you're Batman, and you're not going down without a fight.
|
||
@yoji | 18 October 11 | |
The game's signature FreeFlow combat has seen several noteworthy expansions and improvements, including an increase in enemy count that can make standard throw-downs feel like all-out gang warfare. The ability to quick-deploy several of Batman's gadgets adds an extra layer on top of it -- including in the game's bounty of boss battles, which can get a little b*tton-mash heavy -- but oh, what wonde
|
||
@yoji | 18 October 11 | |
wonderful toys are at the Dark Knight's disposal. Handy new gizmos, like the Remote Electrical Charge and the Freeze Blast, create inspired opportunities to interact with the environment at large, and they often prove even more useful in the middle of a blood brawl
|
||
@yoji | 18 October 11 | |
A suite of new enemies, enemy take-downs, and WayneTech upgrades further add to the rich, rewarding combat, and clearing a room with a lengthy, seamless combo still feels like an outstanding accomplishment
|
||
@yoji | 18 October 11 | |
It's not all fisticuffs and flashy gadgets, though; the stealth-centric predator gameplay is a substantial component to Arkham City's success, and its represented incredibly well. Intelligent enemies ruthlessly hunt Batman as he slinks and sneaks through the environment in some of the game's most challenging moments,
|
||
@gollum | 18 October 11 | |
Ya big wuss
|
||
@yoji | 18 October 11 | |
and his Detective Mode -- now resembling an augmented reality overlay, making it a bit less practical for those that'd refuse to turn it off -- is expertly implemented. A selection of truly novel environmental puzzles will keep you guessing when out of enemy earshot, and it's to the game's credit how well such segments are paced.
|
||
@yoji | 18 October 11 | |
There's a real sense of progression to Arkham City in its gameplay, in its story, in the variety of its missions (the abundance of open world side-quests will keep you busy for a long, long time), and in the evolution of its pointy-eared protagonist, that really deserves to be commended.
|
||
@yoji | 18 October 11 | |
It's tough to sum up everything that makes Arkham City work as well as it does. If Arkham Asylum was a fun-house chock-full of Batman's most famous foes with a decent dose of fanservice for Dark Knight die-hards, this is a sprawling theme park that plumbs the depths of his case files.
|
||