Batman Arkham City is my favorite game of all time. It has some major talent and passion behind it only releasing two years after Arkham Asylum, it’s a beautiful game that warrants a playthrough from anyone. So let's step into the shoes of Batman and Talk about it. (Play the total paranoia intro)

Arkham City released October 18th 2011 for Xbox 360,PS3, and Pc. With development for the game starting before Asylum was even complete, which is crazy. That just shows their confidence in Asylum. Arkham City easily makes me feel like Batman most of the time because I feel like I’m in Gotham and not parts of big American cities.

The map is one of this game's strong points and I haven’t seen a game map littered with so much life since. Only in Gotham and I’m gonna see a chemical plant next to a movie theater, only in gotham and I gonna see a sign that says live nudes next to a courthouse. It has streets barely narrow for cars meant for what seems like pedestrians. It shows age, there are billboards and businesses referencing characters who are not in a single Arkham game, like Rat Catcher, Maxie Zeus, and Sal Maroni. The entire courthouse is burnt in half a reflection of Two-Face and his sense of duality. Every building and every street has some story to tell, small or not. Arkham City is so full of life with architecture that clash together such as the Steel Mill and the Monarch Theater yet they feel like they are in the same world perfectly. And I love the Fact you can see Arkham Island from the GCPD and you can see that the plants and the events have affected the Island. The Collapsed Streets are eerie and you can tell they are from a withering. Gotham is a reflection of Batman and The Jokers during this game, decaying, weary,fading. And the immersion with the map is so alive with the thug dialogue and assaults on political prisoners. I look at Arkham City and I see a place that was once a metropolis where the wealthy would prosper and the honest, but now it’s become corrupt and taken by greed.The steel mill feels like a maze with twists and turns that open up littered with balloons, and clowns galore. The museum feels like a fortress with trophies and monuments to why Gotham should fear the Penguin. The GCPD is bitter, and a reflection of how the cops have failed to keep the city safe. With the inside being repurposed to a lab with the single purpose of curing Mr.Freeze’s wife Nora. with Wonder Tower towering over the entire prison where Hugo Strange can just watch and learn.

Arkham City is a story about death. In some way every main character that shows up is a reflection of that with Batman and Joker slowly dying. Two-Face may as well be half dead. Ra’s Al Ghul constant;y cheating death. Hugo Strange plans on killing everyone within this concrete hell. Mr.Freeze is a man trying to save his dying wife.Strange put up a light and an audio tape at the memorial of Thomas and Martha Wayne to pretty mock Bruce, just to show how death affects someone. Even though most of the story is a wild goose chase some would say, I would say it’s some of Paul Dini’s best work with Batman. It’s as good as stuff like Heart of Ice and Mad Love. Unlike Arkham Asylum it’s not just a simple comic esc adventure. Arkham City is a much Darker Gritty story. And believe me Arkham Asylum is pretty dark but as much as City. Arkham City isn’t as black and white as Asylum, some characters act as allies but can’t fully be trusted such as Mr.Freeze or Tailia Al Ghul. Arkham City shows the consequences of actions in Asylum also. With Penguin having titan, and Joker dying due to an overdose of that same drug. Hugo Strange and Quincy Sharp opened up Arkham city not only because of Ra’s grand plan but also because of the Arkham Island Riots. The game opens with a painting depicting Cane carrying the body of Able, the first murder in the bible, and Arkham City closes with Batman carrying Joker's corpse. It ends and begins with death.

A sequel should always improve on the original, and that’s exactly what Arkham City did gameplay wise. Rocksteady looked at what worked and refined it, the traversal improved with being able to dive bomb while gliding and adding the Grapnel boost which is a must have on every playthrough. You pretty much start with every skill and gadget that you ended with in Asylum, Including the beautiful batclaw and inverted takedown. A new array of gadgets to have fun and utilize in your play through too. Don’t get me started on the Combat it’s just perfection, truly addicting and so just fluid and brutal. Feels and looks like something I would Batman do in the comics. The predator sections are so much more fun with new tactics and challenges that make you get more creative with each encounter. The boss fights while not the best in the series are definitely up there. The Mr.Freeze fight is easily one the greatest boss fights of all time, making you do a different takedown each time shows how smart he is with how Freeze adapts. The introduction of the mine enemies and body armor thugs are a fun challenge. Arkham City did a wonderful job on improving what Asylum did right.

Arkham City also has some of the best character designs. Batman’s suit is the best take on a comic accurate suit of all time. Mr.Freeze looks sick as hell. Joker is just as lanky as he needs to be. Batman is also huge like he should be. His forearm alone is like the size of Harley Quinn. Two-Face looks awesome with his burned self. Arkham City looks like a moving comic.

All in all Batman Arkham CIty is a wonderful game, that’s an experience. An experience child me watched my dad playthrough only to finally play through it myself pretty much a decade later. I’ve played the game four times in the last two years. I believe and will stand by Arkham CIty being something everyone should play through at least once. It has so much passion and love behind it. It’s a piece of media that has and will continue to be a great introduction into the amazing world of Batman to many people.

My wife said if this review gets 50 likes and 5 awards, she will buy a case of beer, guys help me out.

Came from Arkham Knights. City still got the fun and challenging element