Better With Wii U? – Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition

Posted By Austin Yorski about 5 months, 4 weeks ago

Better With Wii U? – Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition

Better with Wii U?

The Wii U is launching with roughly half a billion games. You don’t have the time to read that many full reviews (and we can’t write that many), so instead we’ll be bringing you a series of mini-reviews entitled “Better With Wii U?” We’ll still be publishing full write-ups for brand new titles, but these pieces will let you know the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of every port/re-release for Nintendo’s newest console.

HOW WAS THE ORIGINAL?

“I can confidently say that if you can only afford a few games this season, Batman: Arkham City absolutely has to be one of them. The fantastic story, robust amount of content, and fun factor all mesh together to make, without question, one of the finest games of the year.”- Taylor H.

We loved Arkham City here at Blistered Thumbs. Our official write-up and all three video reviews were highly positive, and the game made the “Best of 2011″ list for many a site writer. The only complaints any of our producers had with the experience were some niggling control issues and some texture pop-in. Even in a year that saw the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Portal 2, Batman held his own.

We scored the game 9 out of 10 with a “Buy it Now!” recommendation. Read the full review right here.

WHAT’S NEW WITH WII U?

The titular armor refers to the new suit worn by Bruce Wayne as he stalks about the open world assaulting thugs and villains alike. As you could probably guess from the header image, the suit’s main feature is adding electricity to punch attacks. This manifests within the game as a meter that charges up while you fight. Once you’ve filled the meter, tapping the associated icon on the GamePad allows you to begin your electro beatdown.

In addition, every gadget and mini-game has been altered in order to utilize the Wii U’s fancy new controller. This means that you’ll be tapping the screen to navigate menus, maneuvering the GamePad to scan for clues, and tilting it in order to aim Batarangs. The controller screen can also be used as your map while you play the game on the television, or you can just play the whole game on the GamePad while someone else watches regular programming on the big screen.

Armored Edition also includes all previously released downloadable game content for Arkham City, including the somewhat controversial Catwoman Pack.

WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US?

GamePad integration is a mixed bag. The overall effect on the game is minor, as the Battle Armored Tech gimmick is all but standard in third-person action titles. I don’t see DmC: Devil May Cry getting a Wii U port entitled Devil Trigger Edition. However, the addition doesn’t interfere with the quality of the original release.

The same cannot be said for some of the other new features. On one hand, using the GamePad to plant explosive gel is fine, but when it asks you to swipe, poke, and tilt every few minutes the experience stops being novel and starts becoming annoying. It is natural for launch titles to feel like tech demos, but when such features are shoe-horned into a game that was awesome to begin with, it becomes all the more egregious. With that said, you can disable some of the motion controls from the options menu if you are so inclined, although much of the functionality is irrevocably intertwined with the game in this version.

On the bright side, there are inspired instances in which new features pull their own weight. For example, the ability to search environments while in Detective Mode with the GamePad is probably the most smoothly integrated augment reality yet seen in a mainstream title. It probably helps that the conceit of the controller as part of Batman’s suit interface is relatively believable. Also, Alfred’s voice comes from the controller! That’s pretty awesome.

WHO SHOULD BUY IT? WHY?

If you’ve already beaten Batman: Arkham City then you can safely skip Armored Edition. Some of the GamePad features are cool the first time, but the experience is not improved enough to justify the purchase. In addition, the PC version appears to be superior in just about every technical metric, including textures, load times, and frame rate. Also, the B.A.T. for which the game is named is laughably irrelevant.

However, if you’re a Nintendo fan who missed Rocksteady’s magnum opus the first time, then you should definitely buy a copy. The included DLC is more than enough to make up for the occasional gimmicky misstep, and the rest of the experience holds up remarkably well. Even if this isn’t the definitive version of the game, it is still a port of arguably the best superhero video game of all time.

A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes and played for about 8 hours. The title was previously completed by the reviewer on the PC.

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