Batman: Arkham City

Players: 1 Offline Player
Publisher: Warner Brothers Interactive
Genres: Action, Adventure
Release Date: October 18, 2011
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms:
Batman: Arkham City builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players soaring into Arkham City, the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds. Set inside the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City, this highly anticipated sequel introduces a brand-new story that draws together a new all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience as the Dark Knight.


Wow… just wow.

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Sage Reviews – Batman: Arkham City, 4.1 out of 5 based on 67 ratings

VN:F [1.9.15_1155]
  (67 votes, average 4.1 out of 5)

Batman: Arkham City is AWESOME!

A 12:00 AM first look at Arkham City makes for one DARK mid-KNIGHT!

Batman: Arkham City Video Review - ZGR

ZGR Daniel gives you the scoop on Batman: Arkham City! ZGR - Video Review

Batman: Arkham City Angry Review

Batman encounters a mysterious new villain as Angry Joe reviews Arkham City. Can Rocksteady and the Dark Knight live up to all the hype in this highly anticipated sequel? And just who is this new villain's true identity? Find out!

Batman: Arkham City Review

With expectations now sky high, Arkham City doesn't have the luxury of flying under the radar. This only makes what Rocksteady has created that much more impressive.

Arkham City: Nightwing DLC Details and Gameplay

Once he was an acrobat, then a sidekick, and then he became his own man. Now, you can play as him in Batman: Arkham City.
  1. October 26, 2011 at 04:55pm
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    The Arkham games are a whole lot of fun, best of all so many villains.

  2. October 26, 2011 at 04:30am
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    i might rent this one, i dont know, i saw arkham assylum as an overated hype beast so i dont really have that much interest in this one, assylum was ok, but just that, so many people out there talk about assylum like one of the best games ever made and it wasnt, it really wasnt, altho this one seems to have fixed a lot of the things the previous one failed at for me, then again, the world seems to be very open in this one, and im really not a big fan of giganto videogame worlds, they make me ocd and make me want to look every damn pixel of the thing and i really dont like to get obssesed at videogames

  3. October 24, 2011 at 01:03pm
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    I am Batman!!!

  4. October 24, 2011 at 02:39am
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    I think the AI is slightly better, as even plain thugs seem better at tracking when Batman runs off–if you don’t use the smoke bomb.

    I also think you should have mentioned that you have most of the weapons you got in the previous game from the start. No Zelda-esque crash that makes you lose your weapons.

    I also wonder what people think of Alfred vs. Oracle.

  5. October 23, 2011 at 08:38pm
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    Show Comment
  6. October 23, 2011 at 05:31pm
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    So basically, they took one of The Best Games for this generation… AND IMPROVED IT DRASTICALLY! How can this possibly be not awesome?

  7. October 23, 2011 at 05:30pm
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    I was surprised by how much Arkham City Outdid Arkham Asylum. I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with the game. The story was incredible, and even while I was able to vaguely guess what it was leading up to, it still managed to keep pulling surprises on me, especially the end. The side missions weren’t busy work at all, but engaging mini-stories against other Batman villains, and the hints it drops for the next Batman game sound downright mind-blowing.

  8. October 23, 2011 at 02:54pm
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    Good review sage, fune to watch (I dont always bitch about your reviews…only when I dissagree xD)

    I won’t be picking this game up any time soon tho. Mainly because of the busy months ahead.
    I still have to finish Dark Souls (yea right) and next week the mail will deliver Battlefield 3. 11 november Skyrim is due and a bit later Saints Row: The Third.

    December sees The Old Republic releasing and Q1 2012 Diablo 3 will see the light of day (FINALLY!!). So…busy busy busy.

  9. October 23, 2011 at 05:45am
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    Hands down the very best game I’ve played this entire year.

    They hyped up the game quite well and still managed to exceed my expectations. It’s very well crafted, acted, entertaining, huge and still everthing comes together as one. Nothing feels disjointed.

    I pre-ordered from Amazon Germany to get Robin early as a playable character in the Challenge maps and even he feels like a completely unique character with his own gadgets and playstyles. Expect the same from Nightwing, when he is released on November 1st.

    It’s a shame to see, how good Rocksteady gets Batman and how little Beenox does get Spider-Man.

  10. October 23, 2011 at 05:36am
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    Arkham Asylum was great game but Arkham City is even better. Besides option to play as Catwoman is awesome addition.

  11. October 23, 2011 at 02:25am
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    I wasn’t sure either if they could surpass Arkham Asylum but they got rid of the stupidness that was the ending of that game and somehow made it even funner to play. Glad I picked this game up!

  12. October 22, 2011 at 11:51pm
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    Definitely a very good game. In terms of gameplay, a flat-up improvement on its predecessor, to a surprising degree. The many new moves and gadgets, and new types of enemies that require their use to take down, are just incredibly well-implemented.

    To give some criticisms, I did feel that the story – or stories rather, as there are really two major plotlines that really don’t have any real effect on each other (broadly speaking, the Joker’s and Hugo Strange’s) – were weaker than they could have been, especially in the endings, but they’re still a fun ride while they last. I also personally don’t like the sandboxy design and overuse of sidequests, as those always just leave me feeling like there’s too much unnecessary stuff and not enough focus on the core of the game, the main story, but that is a personal taste thing. And the game’s gameplay and the fun ride the story provides for most of it is definitely strong enough to carry it for me in spite of that.

    Oh, and Ras al Ghul and Mister Freeze were two of the best boss fights I’ve had in any game in a long time. I give them a lot of credit on those.

  13. October 22, 2011 at 11:15pm
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    GOTY contender.

  14. October 22, 2011 at 10:18pm
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    Beaten this game, yet I still am not done playing. This game is that good!

  15. October 22, 2011 at 10:13pm
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    sage is batman

  16. October 22, 2011 at 10:04pm
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    Only able to see this game in Let’s Play perspective and review perspective so far,I do love how City looks especially the Music. Its one of the best Batman Soundtracks I’ve ever heard next to BTAS and Danny Elfmans score on the first Batman Movie..hell it even sounds like an soundtrack from Elfman.

  17. October 22, 2011 at 09:13pm
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    While I felt the feeling of being slightly overwhelmed at first, I never felt it to be a bad thing. It was exciting to see so much scale and openness, allowing you to feel even more like Batman than before with Arkham Asylum. The story was amazing, everything was extremely well done, and I could not think of any other way this would’ve been a better sequel.

    The only downside to this? Where does Rocksteady go from here? lol This will be one hell of a game to try and top or perfect if they do another sequel.

    • October 23, 2011 at 05:38am
      In response to MSHHitman
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      They planted lots of hints to a sequel game in Arkham City.

      I don’t want to give anything away, but you might want to go back to the Steel Mill’s office and check the floor there. There are also a bunch of secret radio frequencies, which give out numbers for letters in the alphabet.

      And finally, like in Arkham Asylum where you could find Quincy Sharp’s plans for Arkham City in a secret room, there is a secret hatch hidden inside the city. Contact me, if you want to know where.

      • October 23, 2011 at 12:10pm
        In response to Ductos
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        I actually would like to know about this secret. I know that they COULD do a sequel, with the teases they left and such, but in terms of a game, they couldn’t just do Arkham City 2, so would they go for a straight up Batman: Gotham, with even more scale and all the baddies from before and new ones? I’m not sure, but I’m just excited to see where they go from here.

        • October 23, 2011 at 07:18pm
          In response to MSHHitman
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          It’s located in the Industrial District on one of the boats near the collapsed bridge. You can access it with the Cryptographic Sequencer, but be warned: It’s the hardest password in the entire game.

          Rhymes with “Pity the Error”.

          • October 24, 2011 at 01:36am
            In response to Ductos
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            Thanks for that. I’ll try to remember it when I’m able to get into the PC version next month.

  18. October 22, 2011 at 09:09pm
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    Great review Sage. I’ve been on the fence about this one. I may just pick it up now.

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New Trailer for Harley Quinn's Revenge DLC Highlights the Dynamic Duo

Posted by [ 4 days, 17 hrs ]

The final piece of DLC for Batman: Arkham City is only a few weeks away from release and now a new trailer has been released for players to enjoy.

Harley Quinn's Revenge Announced as New Story Driven Batman: Arkham City DLC

Posted by [ 4 weeks ]

One final mission awaits the Dynamic Duo in Arkham City and BT has all the details you need to know.

Arkham City DX11 Patched, Kind Of

Posted by [ 5 months, 2 weeks ]

In the dark night, the dark knight got light effects to run tight in spite of slight setbacks to OSes of lower bytes. Will this affect you? It might. How trite.

Batman: Arkham City DX11 Issues Being Addressed

Posted by [ 5 months, 3 weeks ]

Excited PC players cranked their DX11 settings up this week to look at Arkham City in all its dark knight glory, only to discover the in-game camera to suffer from a condition that induced small seizures every few seconds. Rocksteady has acknowledged the problem, and is on the case! *theme song*

Arkham City: Robin DLC Details And Video

Posted by [ 5 months, 4 weeks ]

The Robin DLC is finally out for those who didn’t pre-order the game through Best Buy or didn’t buy a code from someone who hocked it on Ebay.

Arkham City PC Delayed

Posted by [ 6 months, 1 week ]

In surely the best year for games we’ve seen in a long time, the increasingly common trend of PC version delays rears its unpleasantly ubiquitous head. Arkham City now also delayed, but not for much longer.

Arkham City Conclusion is AWESOME!

Posted by [ 6 months, 2 weeks ]

I can’t believe that Robin was actually Harley Quinn the WHOLE TIME! All this and the ACTUAL plot twists in our Arkham City Long Haul conclusion!

Arkham City: Nightwing DLC Details and Gameplay

Posted by [ 6 months, 2 weeks ]

Once he was an acrobat, then a sidekick, and then he became his own man. Now, you can play as him in Batman: Arkham City.

Batman: Arkham City Angry Review

Posted by [ 6 months, 3 weeks ]

Batman encounters a mysterious new villain as Angry Joe reviews Arkham City. Can Rocksteady and the Dark Knight live up to all the hype in this highly anticipated sequel? And just who is this new villain’s true identity? Find out!

Batman: Arkham City Review

Posted by [ 6 months, 4 weeks ]

With expectations now sky high, Arkham City doesn’t have the luxury of flying under the radar. This only makes what Rocksteady has created that much more impressive.

New Trailer for Harley Quinn's Revenge DLC Highlights the Dynamic Duo

Posted By about 4 days, 17 hrs ago

The final piece of DLC for Batman: Arkham City is only a few weeks away from release and now a new trailer has been released for players to enjoy.

Harley Quinn's Revenge Announced as New Story Driven Batman: Arkham City DLC

Posted By about 4 weeks ago

One final mission awaits the Dynamic Duo in Arkham City and BT has all the details you need to know.

Arkham City DX11 Patched, Kind Of

Posted By about 5 months, 2 weeks ago

In the dark night, the dark knight got light effects to run tight in spite of slight setbacks to OSes of lower bytes. Will this affect you? It might. How trite.

Batman: Arkham City DX11 Issues Being Addressed

Posted By about 5 months, 3 weeks ago

Excited PC players cranked their DX11 settings up this week to look at Arkham City in all its dark knight glory, only to discover the in-game camera to suffer from a condition that induced small seizures every few seconds. Rocksteady has acknowledged the problem, and is on the case! *theme song*

Arkham City: Robin DLC Details And Video

Posted By about 5 months, 4 weeks ago

The Robin DLC is finally out for those who didn’t pre-order the game through Best Buy or didn’t buy a code from someone who hocked it on Ebay.

Arkham City PC Delayed

Posted By about 6 months, 1 week ago

In surely the best year for games we’ve seen in a long time, the increasingly common trend of PC version delays rears its unpleasantly ubiquitous head. Arkham City now also delayed, but not for much longer.

Arkham City Conclusion is AWESOME!

Posted By about 6 months, 2 weeks ago

I can’t believe that Robin was actually Harley Quinn the WHOLE TIME! All this and the ACTUAL plot twists in our Arkham City Long Haul conclusion!

Arkham City: Nightwing DLC Details and Gameplay

Posted By about 6 months, 2 weeks ago

Once he was an acrobat, then a sidekick, and then he became his own man. Now, you can play as him in Batman: Arkham City.

Batman: Arkham City Angry Review

Posted By about 6 months, 3 weeks ago

Batman encounters a mysterious new villain as Angry Joe reviews Arkham City. Can Rocksteady and the Dark Knight live up to all the hype in this highly anticipated sequel? And just who is this new villain’s true identity? Find out!

Batman: Arkham City Review

Posted By about 6 months, 4 weeks ago

With expectations now sky high, Arkham City doesn’t have the luxury of flying under the radar. This only makes what Rocksteady has created that much more impressive.

Batman: Arkham City Review

Batman: Arkham City Review

Arkham Asylum was a surprise hit that left gamers delighted and wanting more. With expectations now sky high, Arkham City doesn’t have that luxury. This only makes what Rocksteady has created that much more impressive. With a sizable open world, all of Batman’s gadgets at your disposable, and a phenomenal story, this may truly be the greatest comic book super hero game of all time.

PROSAmazing visuals, engrossing story, dynamic combat, packed with content, and simply fun to play.
CONSMinor control issues, small instances of texture pop-in, and corrupted data issues.
WTF?!Where the hell did Penguin find a shark and how did he get it inside his base?

From the moment the game begins, it reels you in. There’s a ton of intrigue surrounding this new super prison and Hugo Strange’s involvement in it all. Without giving away the bigger plot points, the overarching story revolves around Batman getting to the bottom of Hugo Strange’s plan and finding a cure for the Titan venom. As you explore the massive landscape, you’ll cross paths with just about every one of Batman’s noteworthy villains. While some play a lesser role than others, they all make their presence felt in this turf war waging within the walls of Arkham City.

While it would have been nice to see these characters fleshed out a bit more, it’s hard to complain. The story is excellent and could easily rival the Chris Nolan line of films. You’ll feel connected to the characters you encounter as the plot twists and turns. It didn’t feel like I was just playing a Batman video game, I felt like I was Batman plotting my next move against the scum of Arkham. That’s definitely a sign of a well-told plot.

getting bludgeoned by a one-armed giant with a steel pipe. oh yeah, real ‘fun.’

The biggest change from Arkham Asylum that best serves this game is its open world. You really feel like Batman as you sit atop buildings listening into thugs, glide across the city, and kick crime in the ass. Having more gadgets than ever really makes you feel like the world’s greatest detective. Whether it’s remote batarangs, ice bombs, or your electronic disruptor, you’re given a wide array of tools to tackle situations any way you want to.

With all these new gadgets come changes to the combat. You’ll be able to use your gadgets in quick attacks maneuvers like never before. On top of quick batarangs, you can now deploy smoke bombs, lay explosive gel on the ground, and many other moves to help you deal with your enemies. All these tools come in handy as the enemy types are more varied and the game will present them all in challenging configurations.

For me, the combat is definitely the highlight of the game. The free-flowing nature is so much fun, while still remaining challenging. Simply mashing buttons won’t get it done though. You’ll need to employ a certain degree of strategy if you want to walk away alive from some of the tougher fights. This combat system is unlike anything I’ve encountered and easily one of the most rewarding. I found myself taking on groups of random thugs just because I wanted to get into another fight. It’s that fun.Sage Reviews – Batman: Arkham City, 4.1 out of 5 based on 67 ratings

9/10

Batman: Arkham City is AWESOME!

A 12:00 AM first look at Arkham City makes for one DARK mid-KNIGHT!

Batman: Arkham City Video Review - ZGR

ZGR Daniel gives you the scoop on Batman: Arkham City! ZGR - Video Review

Batman: Arkham City Angry Review

Batman encounters a mysterious new villain as Angry Joe reviews Arkham City. Can Rocksteady and the Dark Knight live up to all the hype in this highly anticipated sequel? And just who is this new villain's true identity? Find out!

Batman: Arkham City Review

With expectations now sky high, Arkham City doesn't have the luxury of flying under the radar. This only makes what Rocksteady has created that much more impressive.

Arkham City: Nightwing DLC Details and Gameplay

Once he was an acrobat, then a sidekick, and then he became his own man. Now, you can play as him in Batman: Arkham City.
  1. December 31, 2011 at 09:13pm
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    Another flaw for me was that Hugo Strange was totally underused…

  2. November 02, 2011 at 02:32pm
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    Funny thing is that they confirmed a third game already… I don’t know how they could surpass this one but hey, they surpassed Arkham Asylum with this game so there could be a chance…

  3. October 26, 2011 at 09:31pm
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    I have to note that Two-face was really underused. The Penguin is more of a threat than him, the freaking Penguin.

    • October 27, 2011 at 02:27am
      In response to Granten
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      Yeah, but this Penguin was awesome. I mean, he enslaved Solomon Grundy and Mr. Freeze. Not to mention, there’s something incredibly shocking about him:

      He’s voiced by Nolan North. Let that sink in a bit.

  4. October 25, 2011 at 08:47am
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    I ,personally was expecting more from Two Face, i felt he was really underused…i was hyped to see him. And maybe a little cameo from Scarecrow xD But besides that it’s a solid solid game which i’ll be playin for a loong time xD
    PS : never really wondered about that shark until u mentioned it ! it rly is weird :) )

    • October 25, 2011 at 09:10am
      In response to fmkain19
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      I agree.
      They got such an amazing voice actor for the part (Troy Baker, better known as Vincent from Catherine) and then he gets only two parts where he actually appears.

      And as for Scarecrow….well…let’s just say, you have to look in the right spots to get the hints… ;-)

      • October 25, 2011 at 10:52am
        In response to Ductos
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        I found his mask , but besides that is there something else ?

        • October 25, 2011 at 11:01am
          In response to fmkain19
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          Read my comments on Sage’s video review about the secret hatch and the radio frequencies.

    • October 25, 2011 at 09:37am
      In response to fmkain19
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      That would have been an excellent place to put some Bat Shark Repellant. Then maybe a Bat Alphabet Soup Container.

  5. October 25, 2011 at 05:32am
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    Bought it, but ah…I’m actually kinda playing Dark Souls at the moment. Hopefully I can get around to this by the end of the year, but I also have to play Saints Row and Skyrim, and maybe maybe Skylanders.

    I suck, hey?

    • October 25, 2011 at 06:12am
      In response to Lowlander
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      Haha, I know how that is. When this was released I was playing Demon’s Souls, which I just finished. While I was playing Demon’s Souls though, I’d purchased Disgaea 4, which I’m currently playing. November will be basically a time of no gaming for me due to the work load it brings, so hopefully I’ll be playing this in December. I want to play it now though, haha.

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Arkham City Conclusion is AWESOME!

Posted in Video Games Awesome! [ 6 months, 2 weeks ]

I can’t believe that Robin was actually Harley Quinn the WHOLE TIME! All this and the ACTUAL plot twists in our Arkham City Long Haul conclusion!

Batman: Arkham City Angry Review

Posted in Angry Joe Show [ 6 months, 3 weeks ]

Batman encounters a mysterious new villain as Angry Joe reviews Arkham City. Can Rocksteady and the Dark Knight live up to all the hype in this highly anticipated sequel? And just who is this new villain’s true identity? Find out!

Batman: Arkham City Video Review - ZGR

Posted in Zeitgeist Review [ 6 months, 4 weeks ]

ZGR Daniel gives you the scoop on Batman: Arkham City! ZGR – Video Review

Sage Reviews - Batman: Arkham City

Posted in Bennett The Sage [ 7 months ]

Wow…just wow.

Batman: Arkham City Long Haul!

Posted in Video Games Awesome! [ 7 months ]

What is longer than this cosplay-through? The ICE AGE! Why not CHILL with these COOL bats with some Arkham City… FREEZE PUN!

Batman: Arkham City is AWESOME!

Posted in Video Games Awesome! [ 7 months ]

A 12:00 AM first look at Arkham City makes for one DARK mid-KNIGHT!

Check Out Arkham City's Boy Wonder

Posted by [ 11 months ]

Dick Grayson’s out and Tim Drake’s in. Looks like Robin won’t be laying any eggs today.